I was barely five or six years old when I started watching Hindi movies. The only big name in Indian Cinema we were familiar with was that of Amitabh Bachchan. Surely there were other names in the Indian films too but Amitabh was the most known actor at that time in my age group people. Born on October 11, 1942, Amitabh Bachchan gained popularity in the early 1970’s as an `angry young man’ of Bollywood. The most interesting thing about him is that even after so many years have passed, he is still going so strong and showing no signs of slowing down.  He is regarded as one of the most prominent figures of Indian Cinema and recently, he was felicitated with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th  Mumbai Film festival for completing 40 years in the film industry.  In fact he remains the biggest star of the country.  I remember, I fell in love with the movie `Anand’ when I watched the same with my parents at the Press Club Chandigarh. I was impressed by Amitabh’s acting skills who played a sober doctor and then a friend of dying patient. We all have watched some of his wonderful movies including  Zanjeer, Sholay, Shan and Shakti and with time his performances have matured and he is now doing a greater variety of roles. In the movie ‘Black,’ he has given a mind boggling performance of an old mentor teaching deaf and dumb children. It is an unconventional role where the audiences are touched by his finest expressions especially when he is shown to be a patient suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  Where his powerful performances on cinema screen cannot be denied, his influence outside the film industry is equally charming. It is rather difficult to get a credible account of anybody’s life but I have learnt from Sukhbir Sachar, a good friend of mine who worked with the Taj group at one point of time and entertained film celebrities. In Sachar’s words, “ Amitabh had a good friend circle and he always behaved nicely in public.” Besides, many film stars have voiced similar opinions about the icon and the aura for him gets bigger with each passing day.  In this issue of HUM, we pay a special tribute to a living legend called the Big B, the eternal Amitabh Bachchan. Enjoy.