At a glance: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's political journey

New Delhi, Apr 7: Film actors have played important roles in politics across the world. Ronald Reagan, the famous Hollywood actor, went on to become the president of USA while Arnold Schwarznegger was elected as governor of California for two successive terms. In India, the list of actors-turned-politicians is very long and it includes actors from both Bollywood and Southern cinema. Amitabh campaigning for his Lok Sabha electionAmitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's greatest superstar ever, also tried his hands at politics in 1980s. Amitabh himself was never interested in politics but had to jump in the fray on the insistence of his childhood friend Rajiv Gandhi. Amitabh's Lok Sabha electionAmitabh contested Lok Sabha elections from Allahabad constituency in 1984 and comprehensively defeated H N Bahuguna, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Amitabh got a massive 68.2 percent of the popular votes and his victory margin was one of the biggest in the history of India's general elections. Amitabh with Rajiv GandhiAmitabh always believed that politics was not his cup of tea and he resigned merely after three years of his tenure as an MP. Amitabh termed politics a cesspool. He was also disappointed with his family's name getting dragged into Bofors scandal. He and his brother's name appeared in connection with the Bofors scandal. Amitabh attending Parliament sessionAmar Singh, the then Samajwadi party leader, helped him when he was passing through a rough phase in life and was facing tremendous financial crisis. As Amitabh was dead against going back to politics, Amar Singh persuaded his wife Jaya Bachchan to enter active politics. Jaya Bachchan finally joined Samajwadi Party and is serving her second term as Rajya Sabha member. Amitabh and Rajiv Gandhi with Indira Gandhi's dead bodyLet's have a look at some of the rare pictures of Amitabh Bachchan's political journey, his family and political friends:Amitabh during Rajiv Gandhi's funeralAmitabh with his father Amitabh (extreme right) with Indira Gandhi and Dara SinghAmitabh with brother Ajitabh and familyAmitabh with his kidsAmitabh with wife Jaya and kidsAmitabh with wife Jaya and his parentsAmitabh , Jaya and Amar SinghAmitabh, Jaya and daughter Shweta