‘You’re too tall, go back home’: Amitabh Bachchan recalls early rejections, scoldings in Bollywood at KBC S18

MUMBAI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan hilariously recalled the scoldings from his early days of rejection and scoldings from the directors in Bollywood.

In the latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 18, Amitabh Bachchan welcomed the Commonwealth Games 2026 winners, which included Lovlina Borgohain, Jhandu Kumar, Sharmila Dhankar, and Asmita Dey.

Bonding over the rigour of training and discipline, a cheeky query from Asmita about directors scolding megastar Amitabh Bachchan prompted Big B to candidly reminisce about his early days of rejection and tough directors in Bollywood.

#अस्मिता_डे (Asmita Dey)

त्रिपुरा के एक बहादुर योद्धा की कहानी,,,
जिन्हें देखकर ऐसा लगता है की अगर कुछ करने की आग हो ना तो कुछ भी असंभव नहीं,, और ना पैसा मायने रखता है,,ना पहचान,अब खुद पर भरोसा होना चाहिए,,,,
ये देश की बेटी,,,

जिन्होंने गरीबी, अभाव और भूख से लड़कर आज kbc जैसी… pic.twitter.com/dOvcHUEzAO

— परमार भावना (@BhavnaRajkot33) August 18, 2026

When CWG 2026 Gold Medalist Asmita Dey asked, “Just like during our training, whenever we make a mistake or do something wrong, our coaches scold us. So Sir, when you do shows, do your directors scold you too?” To this, Amitabh Bachchan humorously recalled his early days in Bollywood when he faced rejection due to his tall height and lack of acting skills.

Amitabh Bachchan humorously recalled, “I used to get scolded a lot. In the beginning, I got scolded immensely; ‘You don’t know anything, acting-wacting, you are too tall, go back home.’ Then when I finally got work, it was ‘Okay fine, stand over there and say the dialogue. Is this any way to deliver a dialogue?’ They would direct me, and slowly I improved.”

The actor and host also shared an instance when he was asked to leave the sets of the film because he was late. “Normally, I always try to reach the set on time, but once I got late. The director was standing outside the set. I arrived borrowing someone else’s car since I didn’t own one back then. He looked at me and said, ‘Shooting is packed up; get out from here’ and he asked me to leave the space,” added Amitabh Bachchan.

Amitabh Bachchan is one of the legendary actors in Bollywood who has given Hindi cinema classics like Sholay, Deewar, Zanjeer, Mohabbatein, Anand, Silsila and many others. The actor is currently hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 18. (ANI)