Superstar Amitabh Bachchan's workaholism is well known. Little wonder that he dozed off at a felicitation ceremony in Chennai.

Amitabh was at Satyam cinema where he was honoured by the film federations of Chennai. Extreme exhaustion caught up with the 67-year-old veteran when he fell asleep before the ceremony Saturday and woke up thoroughly disoriented, not knowing where he was.

Director Balki who was with the Big B, says: "He was fine. He finally had some sleep. You've to understand that this is no ordinary human being. Amitji is a miracle. He can continue working non-stop without sleep."

At the end of the evening, the Big B had 24 shawls to bring back - though he had gone with only a day's baggage. When asked what he would do with the massive haul of 24 shawls, the Big B replied: "I'll give them away to the needy."

Says Balki: "Last week, he was running around getting the ('Paa') premiere in place. Then on Friday morning, he left to shoot for 'Bigg Boss' without any sleep after the premiere. After shooting the entire day in Lonavala, he attended the Bombay Times party and then on Saturday early morning he left for Chennai. At an age when a lot of us will be in a rocking chair he is still rocking."

But those close to Amitabh feel he is again overdoing his work schedule and needs to slow down. Says a person close to him: "Even after two major health scares recently, Amitji has refused to slacken his pace. Except for the break he took to be with Amar Singh in Singapore earlier this year, he has been working round the clock."