My surname does not reflect any caste: Amitabh Bachchan

MUMBAI: During a pormo of his latest film Big B said, “I’m proud to have a surname that does not reflect a caste.”

With the director Prakash Jha and actor Manoj Bajpayee to promote his latest venture, “Aarakshan”, Bachchan shared his views on aarakshan or reservation and his experience on filming the first issue-based venture in his career.

When asked about his stand on the issue of caste-based quotas in the country’s education system, Big B said, “I have grown up in a family where my father was a kayastha from UP and my mother was a Sikh.

Sharing his childhood memories Bachchan said, I remember, when my father was trying to get me admitted to school, the principal had asked him his surname. And, instead of saying Shrivastava, my father said “Bachchan”, which was what he used as his pen name.

Today, I’m proud to have a surname that does not reflect a caste. Like my character in the film, Dr Prabhakar Anand — a principal, who abides by his principles — says in the film, I think, the opportunity and means to study should be provided to every student.”