Amitabh Bachchan turns 71

Mumbai: "The wish is that something challenging comes up everyday. I will continue working till there is strength in my body," is how megastar Amitabh Bachchan prophesied as he turned 71 today.

Having starred in over 150 films in a career spanning more than four decades, Bachchan continues to hold sway over millions of his fans with his baritone on the big screen as well as on TV. It was an emotional moment for the veteran actor when his two-year-old granddaughter Aaradhya wished him `happy birthday`. "A strange calmness descends on the eve of the clock that strikes 12 midnight... The family, the few that are in town, bring in the greetings, the `little one` ably tutored sings a `happy birthday` to herself first and then after suitable prompting, to me... It`s these little moments that make up a birthday ... The bigger moments follow," Bachchan wrote on his blog. Later, the actor said in a media interaction that he will continue working. "The wish is that something challenging comes up everyday... I will continue working till there is strength in my body," Bachchan said while launching a charitable scheme in the name of his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan to provide free electricity to 3000 families through solar panels. While writing on his blog, a reflective Bachchan noted that time seemes to be flying faster now than before. "It is 71 now... Just last year or just the other day it was 70! The years seem to pass by faster now than they did before. There was a desire to push the pedal all along those early years, to mature, to become adult, to bring on greater age... Now you depress the brakes pedal with equal effort, and hope to stem the slide as it were... No not I. "... I accept the years the giving up on time, on age... it shall happen to us all... That is the commonality of the process of life... We are blessed, all of us...!!," he said. Bachchan said he is looking forward to the future. "Let what comes tomorrow lie in store, in oblivion and in frozen stone - better it be like that than melt away its originality to one that cannot be comprehended!! I embrace your being." The megastar was born to Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan in Allahabad on October 11, 1942. Bachchan continues to be one of the busiest actors in Bollywood thanks to his knack for adapting and reinventing himself to the demands of showbiz. Starting his cinema journey with `Saat Hindustani` in 1069, Bachchan went on to give blockbusters like `Zanjeer`, `Deewar` and `Sholay` in his `Angry Young Man` avatar. He went through a bad phase in the `90s but one of the first actors to understand the potential of TV, Bachchan returned as the host of `Kaun Banega Crorepati`, a show that not only helped him overcome his financial troubles but also reconnect with the audience again. He is currently hosting the seventh season of the show. In this phase of his career, Bachchan starred in hits like `Mohabbatein`, `Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham`, `Baghban`, `Khakee`, `Black`, `Bunty Aur Babli`, `Cheeni Kum`, `Bhoothnath`, `The Last Lear` and `Paa`. Last year, the actor made a much delayed foray into Hollywood with a special role in Baz Luhrmann`s `The Great Gatsby` and recently starred in Prakash Jha`s `Satyagrah`. He now plans to make his fiction debut on TV with Anurag Kashyap while movie projects with Umesh Shukla, Sudhir Mishra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra and several other directors keep him busy. PTI