Amitabh was almost named 'Inquilab' by father!

If fate would have had it differently, superstar Amitabh Bachchan would not have existed. The country's 'angry, young man' would have been, instead, Inquilab (revolution) Bachchan.

A new book on the history of Bollywood reveals that poet Harvanshrai Bachchan wanted his son to be named Inquilab but accepted poet Sumitra Nandan Pant's suggestion of 'Amitabh' which comes from Amit and Abha.

Talking about when the country was in the midst of the Quit India Movement, journalist Mihir Bose writes in the book 'Bollywood, A History', that the man who would be identified as the 'angry, young man' of the country, was, infact, very much a good boy when he was young.

The Bachchans were well-connected to the rising Bollywood establishment and Harvanshrai was a regular visitor at Prithviraj Kapoor's stage performances after which there would be soirees to recite his poems.

But when Amitabh came to Bombay in 1969 looking for work he did not try to make his way to R K Studios, and chose to launch himself without pull, the book says.