• He launched a multi-faceted commercial enterprise Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL). ABCL is engaged in production, distribution and all other aspects of the movie making.
• Was one of the judges at the 1995 Miss World beauty pageant.
• While filming Coolie (1983/I) he received a near fatal injury. He was hospitalised and the Indian press issued daily bulletins on his health.
• When he was just trying to get a break in movies he was told to soften his 'deep' voice. However, it was soon realised that his deep rich voice was excellent for narration. He worked as a narrator in several films.
• Suffered from a rare muscular disorder known as myasthenia gravis.
• He is a vegetarian
• He is the first Asian actor to have a wax model at Madame Tussaud's in London, Britain
• Was named Actor of the Millennium in a BBC News Poll ahead of such luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Marlon Brando.
• Was considered 'finished' in the late 90s after a string of flops and failed political and business ambitions. But made an unexpected comeback as host of the popular TV quiz show "Kaun Banega Crorepati?" (2000), which put him right back on the number one spot of Bollywood actors
• Formed a hit pair with Rekha
• He also sung in many movies such as 'Laawaris', 'Toofan' and 'Silsila'.
• Became a grandfather in 1997 when his daughter Shweta gave birth to a daughter, Navya Naveli Nanda.
• Works with the Indian government's media campaign to publicise the National Immunization Days and encourage people to take their children to be vaccinated against polio and other deadly diseases.
• Son of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, who passed away in January 2003.
• Suffers from asthma.
• His favourite screen name is Vijay, which he had in over 20 movies.
• His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was considering naming him 'Inquilab' (which means 'revolution') before settling down for Amitabh which means 'brilliance unlimited'.
• On his 61st birthday, he relaunched ABCL as AB Corp.
• Actress Nirupa Roy played his mother in most of his films and last time she was seen as his screen mother in Lal Baadshah (1999).
• Has a double M.A. (Master of Arts) degree.
• The facial caricature of the Indian comic book character 'Supremo' is inspired by him.
• Following a near fatal accident while shooting 'Coolie', during which he suffered internal bleeding and required 17 bottles of blood, he became a champion for the cause of encouraging more people to donate blood.
• Not common nowadays, but when he used to play title roles, the credits always displayed "Amitabh Bachchan as" or "Amitabh Bachchan in and as" and then the title of the film would come up.
• Singer Sudesh Bhonsle dubs his voice for playback songs in many movies.
• At the age of 58, he jumped from a height of 30 feet, along with co-star Manoj Bajpai, for 'Aks'.
• In 1996, he released an album called "Aby Baby". This album was released under ABCL and featured songs like "Eer Bir Phatte" and remixes of his songs from his early movies "O Saathi Re" and "Kabhi Kabhi". "Eer Bir Phatte" was inspired by one of his famous dialogues in his movie 'Adalat'.
• In 1984, he was honoured by the Indian government with the Padma Shri Award for his outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry.
• His wife Jaya Bachchan describes him as a "loner".
• He was supposed to play one of the lead roles in Shashi Kapoor's 'Utsav' (1984) however, Amitabh opted out of the film. Shashi Kapoor replaced him.
• Amitabh was the first choice of Rakesh Roshan's 'King Uncle' (1993). But since the actor wasn't signing films then, Roshan opted for Jackie Shroff.
• Prakash Mehra was planning on making 'Chankaya Chanddragupta' and had signed Amitabh for the main role. The movie was shelved.
• Vidhu Vinod Chopra wanted Amitabh to play the lead role of Inspector Inayat Khan in 'Mission Kashmir'. The reason why Amitabh declined the role was because of his commitment to Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein (2000).
• Kader Khan wanted to direct him as the lead hero in 'Jaahil', unfortunately the movie was never made.
• At home Amitabh Bachchan's folks call him Munna.
• Had Amitabh not been an actor, as he says, he would be selling milk in his hometown Allahabad.
• When Amitabh applied for the newsreader job in Radio, he was rejected because they didn't find his voice impressive. Today his burnished baritone voice is a rage.
• He is an ardent fan of Waheeda Rehman. He considers her to be one of the most beautiful women on earth.
• He was first cast opposite Rekha in 'Haseenon Ka Mela'. But Rekha didn't fancy working with this lanky newcomer, as a result he was replaced by Sanjay Khan!
• Both the times Amitabh worked opposite Rajesh Khanna ('Anand' and 'Namak Haram'), he ended up winning the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.
• He is ambidextrous, i.e. he can write with both hands.
• Amitabh loves to see women in sarees.
• He has an extremely sweet tooth. His favourite sweet is gulab jamuns from Jhama's in Chembur.
• Satyajit Ray was so impressed with Amitabh that he decided to use his voice as commentary in 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi' since he did not find any suitable role for him.
• A God-fearing person, Amitabh reads the Bhagwad Gita regularly.
• He has a penchant for watches and sunglasses, and possesses an enviable collection of both.
• He is a punctuality freak. He always reports on time on the sets.
• Amitabh and Jaya met for the first time at FTII, Pune, and then again on the sets of 'Guddi'.
• He's very particular about neatness and orderliness. Even as a struggling actor, his two-room apartment was scrupulously clean.
• He loves Holi and is known to celebrate the festival of colours by throwing parties, at which half the film industry is invited. Part of the festivities includes bhang, colours and songs.

These are a few of his favourite things

• Cars : Amitabh owns fleet of cars including a Lexus, two BMWs and three Mercedes Benze. His favourite is the Lexus. The car is bullet-proof and has radial tyres. The car also has a global positioning system, which enables him to know at the snap of his finger the closest food outlet or shopping mall he would like to visit.
• Clothes : Amitabh is very fond of suits - his favourite is Gabbana; they have been designing his suits for the last 30 years. The fabric is specially imported from Italy; threads imported from France and buttons from England. His other favourite brand is Fratelli Rosetti.
• Travelling in style : London and Switzerland. In London, he prefers to stay at St James's Court, which is five minutes away from Buckingham Palace. He stays in the presidential suite, and the hotel has designed a brand new gym especially for him in this suite. A lift takes him to the underground parking lot directly from his suite.
• Home truths : Amitabh loves comfort and style and does not compromise on them. The flooring in his home is Italian marble and the bath fittings are from France and Germany. He owns two bunglows in Mumbai - Pratiksha and Jalsa. Interestingly, Jalsa, his second home, was gifted to him.
• Time is precious! : According to ad pundits, Amitabh charges anything between Rs.5 to Rs.12 crore per ad. According to one report, a company paid him Rs.10 crore for 10 days, which is about Rs 7,000 per minute!