Amitabh Bachchan turns 84, greets fans outside Jalsa at birthday Sunday darshan

Amitabh Bachchan turned 84 on Sunday, 11 October, and stepped out of his Juhu home, Jalsa, in Mumbai to greet fans who had gathered outside, news agency ANI reported. The birthday fell on a Sunday, the day of his weekly “Sunday darshan”, a meeting with fans at the gate that ANI said he has kept up for more than 40 years.

Fans outside Jalsa

IBTimes India reported that fans had been waiting outside Jalsa since Saturday night. According to ANI, as carried by Gulf News and Asianet Newsable, fans brought long birthday banners and wore T-shirts printed with his monogram and characters from his films.

ANI said the actor wore a dark maroon kurta with a Kashmiri Kani pashmina shawl, his trademark dark-rimmed glasses and a saffron mouli thread on his right wrist. Fans and film personalities also posted birthday wishes on social media, IBTimes India reported.

A career of more than five decades

Bachchan was born on 11 October 1942 in Allahabad, now Prayagraj, in Uttar Pradesh. Widely known as “Big B” and the “Shahenshah of Bollywood”, he has worked in films and television for more than five decades, ANI reported. The agency noted these milestones:

• Zanjeer (1973), in which his role as Inspector Vijay Khanna helped establish his “Angry Young Man” image
• Films including Black and Paa
• Host of the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati since its Indian television debut in 2000
• Four National Film Awards for Best Actor
• Padma Shri (1984), Padma Bhushan (2001) and Padma Vibhushan (2015)
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2018)

Family

Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan married in a private ceremony in June 1973, and the couple have been married for more than five decades, IBTimes India reported. They have two children, Shweta Bachchan Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan, and three grandchildren, Navya Naveli Nanda, Agastya Nanda and Aaradhya Bachchan.

Sources: Gulf News (ANI), Asianet Newsable (ANI), IBTimes India.