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Amitabh Bachchan is one of the biggest superstars that Indian cinema has ever seen, and unlike many of his contemporaries, Bachchan has stayed relevant across generations. On of the biggest secrets behind his success is his evolution. As the decades passed, Bachchan kept up with the times and made sure that he wasn’t restricted by his fixed ideas. Ironically, he had very strict rules for himself when he started his career. In an earlier chat with Vir Sanghvi, Bachchan had once shared that he was against doing advertisements when he started his career, as his sole focus was to become an actor. So much so, that at one point, he rejected Rs 10,000 for an ad and was ready to sleep on the benches of Marine Drive, as he did not have much money.
Amitabh Bachchan moved to Mumbai in the late 1960s after a short stint in Kolkata where he was working for a British company. Being the son of famous poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Amitabh knew that he was inclined towards the arts and wanted to become an actor. He barely had any money on him when he moved to Mumbai, but he had his driving license. The actor had the personality of a model and so, soon after landing in Mumbai, he started getting modelling opportunities for advertisements. “There were opportunities then, too, when ad agencies approached me. I was offered Rs 10,000 for an ad, which was huge money since I was earning Rs 50 a month doing radio spots. But I felt doing an ad would take something away from me and I just resisted the temptation,” he said.
This interview was conducted in 1999, when his company ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd) was going through tough times, prompting the actor to do commercials for the first time in his career. Looking back at the 1960s, Amitabh said that since he had a driving license, he felt that he could become a cab driver to make ends meet, but was strictly against the idea of appearing in ads. “I came to Bombay with a driving license, and that’s about it. It said if I don’t become an actor, I will drive a cab,” he said, and added, “The whole intention was to act.”
But giving up the opportunity to make Rs 10,000 wasn’t easy, as he did not even have a place to stay so he ended up sleeping on the benches of Marine Drive in the company of some rats. “I didn’t have a place to stay. You know there is a limited amount of time you can spend with friends because you’re barging into their house. So I spent a couple of days on Marine Drive benches with some of the largest rats I have seen in my life,” he said.
It took him some time to find his feet in Mumbai, but before he knew it, Amitabh started getting some big opportunities in the movies and eventually became the biggest star in Indian cinema.
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