As a rookie journalist working with a news agency several years ago, my day at work used to start with making a story out of Amitabh Bachchan’s blog update. The megastar’s blog posts were often published around midnight, containing thoughts and anecdotes narrated in his unique style, providing great insight into his life as the biggest Bollywood star, besides being an interesting read. Despite being one of the busiest actors in the film industry, he continues to post every day. On the very rare occasion that he misses, he follows it up with a sincere apology for his ‘extended family’ or EF, as he fondly calls them.
This dedication to connect with his fans on a daily basis on a digital platform was unprecedented in 2008, when the veteran actor started his own blog. Bachchan is known for breaking the norms and trying new things in his career. He did so with his approach towards connecting with fans too, at a time when younger stars were probably reluctant to join the digital bandwagon for fear of over-exposure. Bachchan realized early on that digital was going to be a major medium for stars to stay connected with fans, and he was right.
Also read: Happy Birthday Amitabh Bachchan: How ‘Shehanshah’ of Bollywood Changed the Small Screen Forever
He was also one of the first big stars to join Twitter, in 2010, and his following is at over 46 million right now. The 79-year-old star is one of the most active Bollywood personalities on the micro-blogging site. He diligently numbers every tweet, tries to keep track of the numbers and rectify if the sequence goes wrong. Unlike many stars, he doesn’t get active only when he has to promote his work. He genuinely tries to keep in touch with his fans, share rare photos of himself and his family members – all in a heartwarming attempt to keep his fans close.
The fans of the megastar also shower him with a lot of love, and there are many followers whose names the Big B knows very well by now simply because they have been dedicatedly engaging with the star for years. Much like other stars, Bachchan is also subject to trolling. He was forced to put out a blog post last year after listing his charitable efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, after a netizen questioned his efforts in helping others. When he was diagnosed with Covid-19, he updated his fans with information regularly, alleviating concerns about his health and also spreading awareness about the nature of the disease.
It’s truly uncommon among actors of his age and era to take time out to engage with followers on social media despite their busy schedules. But Bachchan has always been the trendsetter, and not the trend follower. With 28.4 million followers on Instagram, he is not the most followed celebrity there, but is a regular contributor there, too. His social media activity speaks of a man who sincerely appreciates the love this country’s people have been showering on him for decades, and he tries to do his bit to give it back to them in any way he can.
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