Achieving legendary status in the entertainment industry is no small feat, and Amitabh Bachchan's journey to the top was filled with formidable hurdles. Long before he became a household name, the veteran actor had to endure relentless rejection and harsh criticism during his formative years. He shared these lesser-known anecdotes while hosting the popular quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati 18. During an interaction with Commonwealth Games 2026 gold medalist Lovlina Borgohain, Jaswant Kumar, Sharmila Dhankhar, and Asmita Dey, the megastar looked back at the arduous phase that preceded his stardom.
The conversation took an insightful turn when Asmita Dey drew a parallel between sports and cinema, asking whether actors, much like athletes facing a coach's wrath for mistakes on the field, ever get scolded by directors on film sets. Answering this, Amitabh Bachchan detailed the heavy criticism that came his way when he was desperately trying to find a foothold in the movies. He noted that people openly doubted his capabilities back then, often dismissing him by pointing out his towering height, telling him bluntly that he had zero acting skills and should pack his bags to go back home.
The road remained rocky even after he managed to secure minor opportunities. Recalling another bitter incident from his past, the actor spoke about the strict discipline of the early days. While professionals always try to be punctual, he admitted that there was an occasion when he arrived late to a location. At that point in time, he did not own a car and had borrowed someone else's vehicle to commute. To his dismay, the director was standing right outside the premises, and the moment he stepped out, he was fired from the film on the spot.
Long before attaining superstardom, Amitabh Bachchan's association with cinema began behind the microphone rather than in front of the camera, spanning more than five decades of contribution to the arts. His very first breakthrough in the industry came in 1969 as a voice-over artist when he lent his trademark baritone to Mrinal Sen's low-budget film Bhuvan Shome, a pioneering project that went on to become a major landmark in the parallel cinema movement of India.
