Speculation about Amitabh Bachchan turning down the role of the game-show host in Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' finally comes to an end. The Big B confirms that the offer never came to him.

The Big B would've been the most natural choice for the part of the game-show host especially since he has hosted the show Kaun Banega Crorepati (which forms such an integral part of 'Slumdog Millionaire') with such spectacular success in real life.

"We decided against that. Mr. Bachchan is too much of our hero and too representative of Bollywood globally to be sacrificed for a character's sake. We preferred to retain his character of the entertainment badshah and cast someone else as the host."

Anil Kapoor was roped in for the game-show host's role. "But we did need Mr. Bachchan to make an appearance as himself," reveals Loveleen Tandon. It was for a scene where a mass of slum dwellers spot "Amitabh Bachchan ka helicopter" hovering in the air. The icon had to descend and sign the young hero's autograph.

"For that," reveals the casting director. "We approached Feroz Abbas Khan, the guy who has made a career out of impersonating Mr. Bachchan. He's uncanny in his imitation of the icon. Even the way the duplicate signs the autograph is exactly the way the original does it."