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Bollywood: Why is Amitabh’s ethnic surname not? Know the full story of Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s revolutionary step
Samira Vishwas | September 26, 2025 12:24 PM CST

News India Live, Digital Desk: Rarely anyone knows that the real name of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was going to be ‘Inquilab’. Recently, Amitabh’s brother Ajitabh Bachchan has exposed this great secret. He told why Amitabh’s father, great poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, who had adopted the name ‘Bachchan’ by removing his caste surname ‘Srivastava’ in front of his name. This decision not only shows the depth of Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s ideas, but also explains how his family rejected caste discrimination in the society. Amitabh Bachchan’s father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a great opponent of caste-caste. Ajitabh said that there was no mention of ‘Bachchan’ nickname anywhere in Harivansh Rai’s school documents, and this name was later given to him by his poet friend Sumitranandan Pant. When Harivansh Rai was doing PhD in Oxford, an official there asked what his surname was. Harivansh Rai Bachchan thought that if he tells his caste, he would again become part of the same social system from whom he wanted to make distance. So he proudly said, “Bachchan!” It was from here that he and his family had a new surname ‘Bachchan’. First, he was to be named ‘Inquilab’. But this was done during India’s independence movement. When India became independent, Harivansh Rai named the son Amitabh. Actually, famous poet Sumitranandan Pant, who came to his house, told him, “When his name was Harivansh Rai, he used to come back from the stage in a similar poem recitation.” Pant also told that at that time Harivansh Rai showed him his poems and told him that he had no surname and he paid attention to the art of writing poetry. Pant was the person who said that you name your name ‘Bachchan’, since then he was known by this name. It is not just the story of changing a surname, but the story of a family who laid the foundation of better and discriminatory future for his children. Amitabh Bachchan got the name ‘Bachchan’ not only his identity, but also a symbol of his family’s revolutionary ideas and his commitment to social equality.


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