Tuesday, October 11 2005 14:26 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Mega star Amitabh Bachchan, who introduced the motif of 'angry young man' in the Bollywood, and mesmerized the cinemagoers with this image, today (Oct 11, 2005) turned 63.

The icon was flooded with flowers, phone calls and cards wishing him on his birthday.

A fan even cycled from Delhi to Mumbai to wish Amitabh on his birthday while another admirer plans to write a 25-km-long letter to the Superstar and personally hand it over to Big B.

"On his birthday, the actor will be shooting for KBC II. Later, he will be leaving for New York with his son Abhishek to join the crew of 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'," Amitabh's office said.

The son of noted poet Harivanshrai Bachchan and Teji Bachchan, Amitabh after completing his education, gave up his job as a freight broker for a shipping firm at Kolkata to move to Mumbai in 1968.

After months of struggle and ironically rejected by All India Radio for an announcer's job for his deep voice and by film producers for the tall and brooding persona, Amitabh reached the dizzy heights in the Bollywood using these as his assets.

Though Amitabh's debut in K A Abbas' 'Saat Hindustani' in 1969 went unnoticed, he made a mark in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Anand'.

His role as a soft and unassuming doctor 'Babu Moshai' determined to save his friend from terminal illness, played by the then superstar Rajesh Khanna, was a craze in the 70s.

'Zanjeer' catapulted Amitabh into an image of angry young man for which the millions of his fans still remember.

Amitabh's anger and rebellion was all visible in box-office hits like 'Deewar' and 'Laawaris'.

Though he played the angry young man to perfection, he also did comic roles in 'Chupke Chupke', 'Amar Akbar Anthony', for which he got the Filmfare award for best actor, and 'Do Aur Do Paanch.'

Amitabh set a new trend of a hero-comedian in 'Mr Natwarlal.' The actor also did serious roles in 'Abhimaan' and 'Mili'. However, he became the much worshipped icon when thousands of his fans prayed after he suffered a near fatal injury during the shooting of 'Coolie' in 1983.

His four of the biggest hits this year were, 'Bunty Aur Babli' and 'Sarkar' with his son Abhishek, 'Black' and 'Waqt'.

'Virudh,' in which he co-starred with Sharmila Tagore, won him applause. The actor was chosen as the 'Superstar of the Millennium' and got immortalised at Madame Tussaud's wax museum at London.

He also features in Amol Palekar-directed 'Paheli' which has been selected as Indian entry in the foreign film category at the Oscars.

He became the country's most-loved television star when he anchored the popular game show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' in 2000 and is in the hot seat of the KBC-II, which went on air on August four.