Actor Ranveer Singh has credited megastar Amitabh Bachchan for bringing out the performer in him and making him realise his love for cinema.

Sharing anecdotes from his growing up years, the 29-year-old "Gunday" star said Bachchan has been a source of inspiration through out his life.

"Amitabh Bachchan has had a serious great influence on Indian pop culture and on me. He is an icon, a living legend in the truest sense. My earliest and fondest memories of engaging with Hindi cinema are all directly related to Amitabh Bachchan.


"My dadi (grandmother) used to say that I should grow up and become a hero like him. Once at a party, I was dancing and the crowd gathered and they started whistled and clapped. That was my first experience of being a performer and the song was Amitabh Bachchan's famous number 'Juma Chumma'," Ranveer told a session at the India Today Conclave 2015 here.

The "Band Baaja Baaraat" actor said at a time when he had no hopes of making it big in the film industry as he was an outsider with no connections, Bachchan became a turning point in his life.

"The question of becoming a hero was getting bigger and serious for me day by day. I was an outsider, so I felt I didn't have a chance. But I wanted to be close to acting so I opted for creative writing. I went to America to pursue that and in one class I got to enact the epic 'Mere paas maa hai', a scene of 'Deewaar'.

"It was again Mr Amitabh Bachchan at a turning point in my life. No one there understood what I said but they all clapped. That was again a time I realised that I loved being a performer. I told my father that I just want to act. He asked me to complete graduation and then chase my dream. That day changed it all for me. I decided I will try my hand at becoming a Bollywood hero," he said.

Ranveer said the 72-year-old actor has touched not only his but also lives of many people around him in some way or the other.

"In coming years, I believe Bollywood will be defined as BB and AB ¿ Before Bachchan and After Bachchan."