Allahabad, Oct 11 (IANS) An artist Monday celebrated megastar Amitabh Bachchan birthday in a unique way by creating 68 sand sculptures of the superstar around another 11 feet sand sculpture of the actor in this Uttar Pradesh district, which also happens to Bachchan's native place.
R.K. Chitera, 26, prepared Bachchan's sand sculptures along the banks of the river Ganga as Bachchan turned 68 Monday.
"I am his (Bachchan) big fan... It's just a small effort to express my feelings for the great actor, who has fans not only in India but across the globe," Chitera told reporters in Allahabad city, some 200 km from Lucknow.
"I created the sculptures on behalf of residents of Allahabad as they wanted to mark his birthday in a special way... I am quite sure that with the help of media persons, Amitji would surely come to know about the unique style in which his birthday was celebrated in his home town," he added.
It took nearly six hours for Chitera to complete the sand sculptures.
"All the 69 sculptures (including 68 sculptures each of 2 feet) are more or less same. They all depict Amitji in a cheerful mood... The megastar is smiling in all the sculptures," said Chitera, who claims he has not missed out any single movie of the superstar.
People started converging near the banks of the Ganga, since 7 a.m. when Chitera started creating the sculptures.
Later, fans of Bachchan assembled at the site in large numbers and offered prayers for his long life. During the process, the portraits were also showered with colourful flowers.
"Besides his (Bachchan) contribution, his association with Allahabad makes him very close to us... People of Allahabad feel Amitji is like a family member to them," said Viresh Shukla, a resident of Civil Lines area, who along with several others, prayed for the actor in front of his sculptures.
Pawan Kumar, a student of Allahabad University, who was also present at the site said: "Amitabh Bachchan is a role model for many. It's been a long time since he (Bachchan) visited his home town. I hope Chitera's work would serve as an invitation for the superstar and he visits his hometown soon."
Happy Birthday Mr. Bachchan
--Mahi
Today, the most iconic figure ever on Indian screen turns another year older. The day is expected to be celebrated world over with as much fervour and grace as ever. Mr. Amitabh Bachchan's birthday is an event. In fact any festivity at his household is an event that makes for national news. He is a legend, a national heritage, a treasure, a topic of discussion for millions.
In last half a century, ever since films started gaining more visibility and more and more superstars started getting iconic status, there have been over dozen odd personalities that have been elevated to being a God in their own right. The phenomenon has been more prominent down South but Hindi cinema hasn't been left untouched either. For simplicity sake, let's pick up two veteran actors who are still around, kicking and alive and have been equated to God by many a fan. 
It is clear that the screen icons who have actually turned out to be some of the biggest VVIPs of the country have publicly stayed on to be the most humble of all. Rajinikanth merrily walks in his kurta-pajamas in the biggest of events and doesn't even try to stand out in a crowd. Amitabh Bachchan's personality means that even if he wants; he can't be missed in the crowd. Still, he never aims at bringing on any forced flamboyance, something that even today's two-hit wonder kids revel in doing so on a constant note. 
Come on now, isn't it taking things a really too far? 
The core issue, as is always a risk, lies in the fact that when superstars get the tag of a God, King, Ace or references alike, it becomes all the more tougher to keep it all intact. Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth realised it first hand after the debacle of Mrituydaataand Baba respectively. They were not knocked off from the pedestal but the fan base was shaken for sure. Rajinikanth still managed to survive it all due to some huge hits that came before Baba and his immediate act of compensating the distributors for the losses, hence winning his fans' hearts all over again.