Amitabh Bachchan is the greatest talent of our time: Gordon Brown

Applauding the cinematic genius of Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan, British prime minister Gordon Brown described the actor as one of the "greatest talents" of our time.

Brown spoke glowingly of the 67-year-old actor as he presented him with the keys for a mobile diabetes unit at a charity dinner last night.

The bus, named 'Amitabh' in the honour of Big B, will help screen people in Mumbai for diabetes and has been donated by diabetes prevention charity organisation 'Silver Star', founded by Indian-origin Labour MP, Keith Vaz in 2007.

"It is a pleasure to be here with Amitabh Bachchan. I talked to him just as we arrived. I was saying that I had 4 million viewers in a TV interview. I asked how many people will watch his next film and he said 500 million people. That shows the greatness of this man," Brown said.

"Some years ago, we met in India and now here. He is more prosperous now. He is one of the greatest talents of our
generation," the prime minister added.

Bachchan was joined by Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt and Shilpa Shetty at the charity event. The actress is a known face in the UK post 'Celebrity Big Brother' win in 2007. 

Brown described Shetty as an "acting phenomenon and a committed humanitarian".

"Your campaign for AIDS awareness is an inspiration. We all know the stigma attached to HIV and AIDS but no injustice should be allowed to last for ever... you are tackling one of the difficult issues," he said.