Actor Amitabh Bachchan is known for his frequent tweets and posts on sports and sportspersons but few know that he himself was an ardent sportsperson and a boxer during his school days. Records of his alma mater, Boy’s High School and College (BHS) of Prayagraj and a letter written by the actor to his school in 2011 is a testament to this fact.

As Amitabh celebrated his 77th birthday on Friday, people of his hometown extended their warm wishes to him in their own way. Academic supervisor of his former school CB Luke shared how Bachchan was an active athlete and also boxed as a student during his seven years in the school, between 1949 and 1955. As a student from class one to class seven, he even acted in plays, a fact that he himself conceded in a letter written to the school on November 3, 2011the year BHS celebrated its 150th anniversary.

In the letter, the Bollywood star wrote about his athletic achievements on the playing field, the boxing ring, and also about his escapades on the stage. “During my years in BHS, the academic initiation that I imbibed became forerunners of whatever else I was to pursue in time to come,” he wrote, adding that he was member of the Blue House.

Remembering his principal “Mr Dutt”, Amitabh recalled how under his disciplined guidance and care, there were many moral and social initiatives that were imparted to him as a student. “Those were the days my friend, the happiest and the most colourful.