Amitabh Bachchan, the iconic star known for his sober lifestyle, wasn’t always the teetotaler we see today! In a throwback interview from 1980 with India Today, he opened up about his past as a chain-smoker and drinker and even a meat-eater. He shared that his shift away from these habits wasn’t driven by religious beliefs, but rather the practical struggle of finding vegetarian food while traveling abroad. Interestingly, Amitabh mentioned that his wife, Jaya Bachchan, and his mother, Teji, both enjoy meat, and that never bothered him.
He had said, “I don’t smoke, drink or eat meat. It isn’t anything religious but simply a matter of taste. In our family, my father is a vegetarian and my mother is not.
Similarly, Jaya eats meat and I don’t. I used to eat meat – in fact, I used to drink and smoke as well but now I have given them up. In Calcutta I smoked 200 cigarettes a day – yes, that’s right, 200, but then I gave it up after coming to Bombay.
I used to drink too – anything, we’d drink anything we could get our hands on but a few years ago I decided I didn’t really need it. My habits don’t cause me any problems except when I’m shooting abroad. Then, it becomes difficult to get vegetarian food.
” In that same interview, Amitabh Bachchan opened up about his non-violent nature but admitted he had a bit of a temper in his younger days. ‘I don’t think I’m a violent person myself. Nor do I lose my temper often.
Of course I got into a few fights in.
