Media365
4 min readNew DelhiOct 13, 2026 01:26 PM IST
Amitabh Bachchan recently turned 84 but the veteran actor, who has been in the public eye for almost six decades now, believes that birthdays don’t demand celebration. In a recent interview, the actor said that he has no plans to retire and said that he has always had some sort of divine protection as he “come to the jaws of death” but still managed to pull through.
In a chat with Subhash K Jha for Rediff, Bachchan spoke about his birthday and said, “What is there to celebrate? It’s a day like any other day. I’m grateful that I am still working, that my body is able to keep pace with my spirit.” He also recalled the “family tradition” of his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, reciting a poem dedicated to the family member and said that after his near-fatal accident on the sets of Coolie in 1982, the tradition took on a new meaning.
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When Amitabh Bachchan saw his father break down
“This tradition took an entirely new definition when, after my near-fatal accident in 1984, my father recited my birthday poem. It was like a new life for me. While reading the poem, my father broke down. It was the only time I’ve seen him like that,” he said.
Bachchan previously took a sabbatical from the movies after he joined politics back in 1984 but once he left politics, he never thought of retirement again. Decades later, he still has no plans for retirement. “Why should I think of giving up?” he questioned and added, “Why are people so keen to retire me from my work?” He also shared, “I have come to the jaws of death and then been pulled back. Someone somewhere has protected me all these years.”
Big B says he is ‘bad with economics and finance’ despite Rs 4,000 crore net worth
Bachchan also faced financial bankruptcy in the 1990s after his company ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited) went through some tough times, and while his net worth is now valued at Rs 4,000 crore, as per Hurun India Rich List 2026, he still continues to believe he is “bad with economics and finance.”
Amitabh Bachchan during the first season of KBC. (Photo: Express Archives)
Talking about his longevity as an actor, he said, “I have no idea about what sells and what doesn’t. I’m bad with economics and finance. I’ve never known how to market myself. But I think if you look at my career graph you’ll see there have been very few other actors with this kind of variety.” He has worked with the likes of Yash Chopra, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Manmohan Desai in the 1970s and 1980s, and has continued to work with newer directors in recent years. “I’ve now found acceptability as a senior character. So I’m taking it from there,” he said.
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No plans of turning director for Amitabh Bachchan
But despite his success as an actor, and a few successes as a producer, direction has never been on his radar. “I can’t even dream of it. Because I don’t even know the craft well enough. Other creative people throw a gauntlet at me, and I pick it up. But that’s it,” he said and added that he does provide his inputs to the director he is working with but it is entirely upto them to either accept or reject his ideas. “Most of the time they reject my inputs. And happily, those films have done well. So I feel my suggestions are not worth taking. Otherwise, all my directors have been extremely compliant,” he said and added that he has never been a “difficult actor” and also believed that the “director is the captain of the ship.”
When asked about his unfulfilled wishes, Bachchan listed a few and said, “To play the piano. To work with Guru Dutt. To spend more time with my family.”
Amitabh Bachchan is currently hosting the 18th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati.
