Amitabh Bachchan Celebrates 71st Birthday: Rare Pictures of the Superstar [PHOTOS]

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who turned 71 on Friday, celebrated his birthday with his family on Thursday midnight. He was overwhelmed by love from his well-wishers.

"A strange calmness descends on the eve of the clock that strikes 12 midnight .. the family, the few that are in town, bring in the greetings, the 'little one' ably tutored sings a 'happy birthday' to herself first and then after suitable prompting, to me ... its these little moments that make up a birthday .. the bigger moments follow," wrote Amitabh on his blog.

"It is 71 now ... just last year or just the other day it was 70 ! The years seem to pass by faster now than they did before. There was a desire to push the pedal all along those early years , to mature, to become adult, to bring on greater age ... now you depress the brakes pedal with equal effort, and hope to stem the slide as it were .. no not I, I accept the years the giving up on time, on age ... it shall happen to us all .. that is the commonality of the process of life .. we are blessed, all of us ... !!" he went on to say.

The superstar thanked people close to him and his fans for their birthday wishes.

Amitabh, who is regarded as one of the greatest actors in Indian cinema, has starred in over 180 films in a career spanning over four decades. Some of his greatest films are "Sholay", "Deewaar", "Silsila", "Kabhie Kabhie", "Zanjeer", "Coolie", "Agneepath", and "Don".

He has won won several awards, including three National Film Awards for Best Actor, He was also conferred the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards by the Government of India for his contribution to Indian cinema.

Check out rare photos of Amitabh Bachchan in the slideshow above.