5 Things To Know About Amitabh Bachchan From 'Draw My Life With Vir Sanghvi'

Did you know that Amitabh Bachchan can read and write in Bengali? Or that he was declared dead in Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital following a freak accident on the sets of Coolie?

Earlier on Wednesday, noted journalist Vir Sanghvi released a video that literally sketched out Bachchan's life, outlining many facts that are not popularly known about the acting legend. This is the first of a series by the television host and food critic, titled 'Draw My Life With Vir Sanghvi'. Sanghvi will aim to cover the lives of 50 famous Indian personalities, including Narendra Modi and Sachin Tendulkar through simple hand drawn animated sketches.

The four-minute video features Sanghvi taking viewers through Big B's life: he starts off by introducing the Piku (2015) star's real surname: it's Srivastav, not Bachchan by the way. Bachchan was a pen name used by Amitabh's father Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a famous hindi poet.

Sanghvi also highlights the many ups and downs of Bachchan's career: he was at one point of time forced to sleep on a bench, and was almost bankrupt. In spite of his struggles, Sanghvi calls him the greatest star in Hindi cinema, and describes Bachchan as the "man who never stays down. He always comes back and he is up again."

Here are 5 things to know about Hindi cinema's ultimate superstar:

1. He was not allowed to speak Punjabi as a child because his father said it would ruin his Hindi pronunciation.

2. He worked in Kolkata as an executive in a company called Bird and Co, but realised it was not the life he wanted.

3. He became a success after getting a makeover: he changed his hairstyle, added a bit of stubble and decided to sign only action films.

4. He decided to become a taxi driver after all else failed initially, but couldn't even land that job!

5. He joined politics in 1984, and was even hailed as a potential prime minister.

Watch the video here to know more about Amitabh Bachchan: