People still consider me an icon: Amitabh Bachchan

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, whose movie career is into its fifth decade, says he draws inspiration from young actors and is humbled that he is still considered an icon among them.

The 69-year-old actor began his cinematic journey in 1969 with Saat Hindustani and rose to superstardom with Zanjeer. With more than 180 films to his credit, Big B still continues to be active in his career, having inspired many over the years. "I am very humbled that people still consider me as their icon. It is fantastic to see young boys and girls erupting out of nowhere, who may be professionally trained or not trained but are doing a fantastic job," Bachchan told PTI.

"They are far more superior to what we were when we started off. I am so lucky to be living in the same era as these actors whom I have met and even had the opportunity to work with some," he added.

His career continues to scale new heights, the latest being his Hollywood debut in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, a 3D film adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name. The film also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. "Baz Luhrmann was in India and he called my office. He had an artiste with him who wanted to gift me some paintings. We chatted in our office and at that time we did not really discuss any film project."

"After almost a year and half, Baz called me again and said that there was a small role which he wanted me to do. I decided to be a part of the film just as a small gesture," said Bachchan, who was in Ranthambore recently to front the 'Save Our Tigers' campaign.