Big B living on only 25% of liver

In August 1982, an entire nation went into mourning when reigning superstar Amitabh Bachchan was seriously injured during a fight sequence with co-actor Puneet Issar during the shoot of Manmohan Desai's Coolie (1983).

Fans across the country prayed for his recovery as Bachchan, then not even 40 years old, fought for his life, having suffered serious damage to his intestines. Eventually, he recovered. Coolie released a year later and became a box-office hit.

However, in 2000, after 18 years of functioning normally, he discovered that he had lost 75% of his liver due to cirrhosis caused by a newly-discovered antigen of Hepatitis B, which entered his body through one of the 200 blood transfusions he had to undergo during his treatment, said a report.

Bachchan had revealed these details on his blog earlier, as reported by DNA in 2010. On Monday, Bachchan spoke again about his condition at the launch of a Hepatitis B campaign kickstarted by the Health Ministry in association with UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) in Mumbai.

About 40 million people in India are estimated to be suffering from Hepatitis B in India at the moment, and the campaign aims to eradicate this completely over the next ten years. However, this does not mean that Bachchan is in any immediate danger.

While cirrhosis is generally associated with alcoholism, Bachchan, 73, has reportedly been a teetotaler for 35 years and has been under constant supervision for a while. He is also known to follow a strict vegetarian diet and a healthy lifestyle (which includes no smoking, tea, coffee, aerated drinks, sweets, and even rice)