Amitabh Bachchan has often spoken about the challenges he faced before he became one of Bollywood’s biggest stars. His journey to the top was far from easy, with his unconventional looks and towering height once becoming subjects of criticism. The veteran actor has now recalled an early career incident when he was even asked to leave a set because someone felt he was “too tall.”
In a conversation with Commonwealth Games 2026 gold medallists Lovlina Borgohain, Jhandu Kumar, Sharmila Dhankar and Asmita Dey in a special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 18, Asmita asked Amitabh Bachchan whether he had also faced scolding on film sets in the way athletes were reprimanded when they made mistakes during training.
Responding to the question, the veteran actor spoke about some of the challenges he encountered early in his career.
He said, “Humko badi daant padti hain, shuru-shuru mein toh bahut padi thi. ‘Tumko kuch aata nahi hai, acting-wacting, tum bahut lambe ho, jaake ghar jaao.'[I used to get scolded a lot. In the beginning, I was scolded immensely. They would tell me, ‘You don’t know anything about acting, you are too tall, go back home’].”
Big B added, “Then when I finally got work, they would say, ‘Okay, fine, stand over there and say the dialogue.’ They would ask, ‘Is this any way to deliver a dialogue?’ They would scold and correct me, and slowly, I improved.”
The actor also recalled the moment he was scolded once for arriving late for a shoot during his early days.
“Usually, I try to reach the shoot on time. Once, I was late. The director was standing outside the set. I arrived in someone else’s car because I did not have one at the time. When I reached, the director saw me and said the shooting had been packed up. He told me, ‘Get out of here,’ and asked me to leave,” he concluded.
On the work front, Amitabh Bachchan will next be seen in Kalki 2 alongside Prabhas. The film is expected to hit theatres in December 2027.
