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Bollywood star turns blogger
29/04/2008 11:34 - (SA)
Mumbai - Indian film megastar Amitabh Bachchan has reached out to fans in cyberspace, launching a blog about his life which has triggered a flood of responses from around the world.
"The Big B," as he is known to legions of film-lovers in movie-mad India, uses the site, blogs.bigadda.com, to share his thoughts, discuss upcoming movies and answer questions from fans.
"Adda" in Hindi means a big get-together of friends.
"The advantage of this blog is that I can express my view freely and there is no restriction to it," the 65-year-old movie legend told AFP.
Bachchan, who launched the blog in mid-April, is following in the footsteps of other Bollywood stars such as Aamir Khan who also use the Internet to share their thoughts.
The star - whose latest film Bhootnath, or Devil Uncle - is slated for release next month, said he was not particularly Net-savvy but that friends had persuaded him to start writing.
"It gives me a chance to interact with my fans on a personal basis," said the star, who has made more than 100 movies.
It allows "me to express myself, share and reflect my emotions, thoughts, opinions and listen to what people have to say to me".
Instant hit
He also said the blog would help him rebut gossip "that keeps doing the rounds".
The site has become an instant hit and Bachchan has been bombarded by gushing messages from fans from as far away as Poland, the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada.
He has said he was getting so many messages that he needed to employ people to help him send the replies, otherwise he feared "the loss of my fingers".
The actor got more than 500 comments from people wishing him a speedy recovery after he recently injured his hip.
One loyal fan, Rasha Zayed, wrote: "Oh my God... hope you are fine now Mr Bachchan. I kept waiting for your entry last night... the first thing I did today was check your blog." It was signed "with love".
It has been more than three decades since Bachchan, the son of a Hindi poet, left his job as a freight broker in Kolkata and set off for Mumbai to pursue his dream.
He is now a familiar face in movies and on television and despite his advancing years can regularly be seen dancing to the song-and-dance routines that have made him famous.
Bachchan's blog can be visited at http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/
- AFP
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South Africa
