Hundreds of Bachchan’s fans carrying his posters gathered outside his residence in Mumbai to catch a glimpse of the actor.

The actor shook hands with his fans while accepting their wishes.

The fans celebrated the superstar’s birthday across India.

In Bhopal, look-alikes of Bachchan celebrated the day, cutting cake and distributing it.

“On his birthday I pray for his long life. He is 65 now, and I wish he lived 65 years more. The blessings of the whole country and the world are with him,” said Rajesh Yadav, one of the look-alike.

Porters in Kanpur sported a photograph of Bachchan on their uniforms and prayed for the long life of the actor.

“We are grateful that Amitabh Bachchan acted in the film, ‘Coolie’ (Porter), based on our life. That is the reason today we are celebrating his birthday. We have offered prayers for his health and long life,” said Raju, a porter.

Bachchan was a rage of Indian cine goers in the 1970s and 1980s and is still amongst the most popular in the country.

Son of a Hindi poet, he quit his job as a Calcutta freight broker for films and made his name in the 1970s playing a “Dirty Harry”- style cop in the ground-breaking movie ‘Zanjeer’.

His best-known film, “Sholay”, ran in Bombay for seven years - turning him into an icon in India, much like Elvis Presley was in the West. Millions of young men aped his distinctive hairstyle and people in remote villages rattle off lines from his films.

A fatal accident he survived on the sets of “Coolie” in 1982 let the country into a tizzy, forcing state television to telecast hourly bulletins, the first in media history.

He was voted the millennium’s greatest star of stage and screen in a BBC online poll three years ago, ahead of Hollywood icons including Lawrence Olivier, Humphrey Bogart and Charlie Chaplin.

Seven years ago he also became the first Indian movie actor to be exhibited in wax at Madame Tussaud’s museum in London.

In recognition of his popularity, French perfume-maker Lomani has also named a fragrance, “Amitabh B” after him.

While many contemporaries have retired from Bollywood–known for its megawatt musicals and song-and-dance extravaganzas–the silver-bearded actor still continues to attract audiences of all ages.

He recently appeared in a Bollywood remake of Sholay in director Ram Gopal Varma’s “Aag”, in which he played the bad guy. In comparison to the original, the remake bombed at the box office. (ANI)