At 67, Big B remains the most bankable star in Bollywood

New Delhi: With his ability to redefine himself time and again, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who turned 67 today, has successfully established himself as Indian cinema`s brand ambassador besides being the most sought after star in Bollywood.

"When I was a four-year-old I used to ask for gifts on my birthdays but that phase is over now. I think the biggest gift for me at this point of my life would be that I continue getting work and the support of my family," the superstar said on the eve of his birthday. And while most of the stars and superstars have went into oblivion, the "angry young man" of Indian cinema, who started his career in the Hindi film industry with `Saat Hindustani` in 1969, is enjoying the busiest time of his career with back to back releases and a prime time reality show on television. Bachchan, who made a comeback to television as "pop philosopher" on `Bigg Boss 3`, will next be seen in fantasy movie `Aladin`, where he is playing a genie. Apart from `Aladin` the actor has six other big budget films lined up for release, including `Paa`, `Teen Patti`, Ram Gopal Verma`s `Rann`, Shoe Bite` and Sanjay Leela Bhansali`s `Chenab Gandhi`. Despite his busy schedule, Bachchan has also found a blog to stay connected with his fans across the globe and hardly a day goes when the star does not update it. Bachchan, who will soon complete his 40th year in the film industry may feel that the "excitement of birthdays and gifts has long since gone by" but that has not stopped his fans across the globe from celebrating his big day, with more than 6000 logging in on his official website to wish their icon a happy birthday. In an industry, where it is easy to get stereotyped, Bachchan remains one of the few actors to get the chance to portray a myriad of avatars on screen-- be it a modern genie in `Aladin` or a media tycoon in `Rann`. But the actor has had a bumpy ride to the superstardom. In his initial days in Mumbai, Bachchan struggled hard to establish himself as he survived through 13 consecutive flops. Interestingly, his dream break came with Prakash Mehra`s "Zanjeer" in 1973, which was turned down by then superstars Dev Anand and Rajkumar. Bachchan became the voice of the youth as an "angry young man", who was ready to take on a corrupt system alone. He became the face of youth rebellion with films like "Deewar" and "Sholay" "Amar, Akbar and Anthony", "Don", "Trishul" and "Mukaddar Ka Sikander". They helped him reach the height of superstardom, which remains indisputable till today, though there were plenty of road blocks on the way, including bankruptcy and a near death experience. While filming "Coolie" in 1982, Bachchan suffered a near fatal intestinal injury during the filming of a fight scene with co-actor Puneet Issar. He remained critically ill in hospital for many months, at times close to death. The public response included prayers in temples and offers to sacrifice limbs to save him, while later there were long queues of well-wishing fans outside the hospital where he was recuperating. Bachchan made a foray into politics in 1984 and won the Allahabad seat but the experience left a bitter taste in his life after he was accused of scams and corruption and he vowed never enter the field again. The actor faced a career decline after 1985 with his films tanking at the Box Office. However, he delivered some hits like "Hum", "Agnipath" and "Khuda Gawah" during this period. Bachchan faced near bankruptcy after his company ABCL suffered huge losses after films and the 1996 Miss World Universe competition, which was organised by ABCL in Bangalore, failed to generate money. However, Bachchan resurrected his career with Star Plus` "Kaun Banega Crorepati" in 2000. The reality show, which was adapted from UK`s "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", made the actor a favourite to the millions across the country, who religiously tuned to the programme everyday, bringing the actor back to his former glory days. And Bachchan, who is fondly called the `Shehenshah of Bollywood` continues to thrive with no plans of fading away. Bureau Report