The Bachchans
Very superstitious: The letter A
We had to wait four months for her name, but unlike most babies, Beti B - or Aaradhya, as we now know her - didn't have to wait 16 years for a car. Proud dad, Abhishek, 36, bought her an Audi A8 last week, choosing the car because they believe A is their lucky letter. "We had shortlisted a few names, but it's difficult to choose that ‘one'," said the Guru star before her birth. "I can't tell you the names that we're considering right now. Ash and I want it to be with the letter A." And it's clear from looking at the family names, that the letter A - Aishwarya, Abhishek, Amitabh - is as important to the Bollywood royal family as the number four is to Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
Shah Rukh Khan
Very superstitious: The number 555
The Badshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, 46, insists every one of his cars' licence plates features the number 555, with the RA.One actor's friend, CEO of Red Chillies Entertainment, Bobby Chawla, spilling of his pal's predilection, "There is no mystery to it. Shah Rukh is fond of the number, that's it. We had applied for the numbers and have had these for a long time now." And an SRK source has also revealed that every one of the star's family members and staff have to honour his lucky digit in their mobile phone numbers, saying, "We all have the number 555 in our mobile numbers. In fact, the only difference between our numbers is the last two numbers."
Shilpa Shetty
Very superstitious: Cricket matches
The mum-to-be and co-owner of the Rajasthan Royal IPL cricket team revealed that she sticks to unusual traditions when watching her team play. "We have these silly superstitions," the 36-year-old Apne star confessed, "I started with wearing two watches [at the games]. Plus, every time we were batting I'd keep my legs separate and not crossed." Adding, "But when the other team bats, I will cross my legs. Now my newest fad is a bracelet."
Vidya Balan
Very superstitious: The colour red
Critics would say that Vidya Balan, 34, has had amazing luck in her career - with both Kahaani and The Dirty Picture becoming mega hits. And while fans would attribute this to her natural talent and good career decisions, director Rajesh Mapuskar has revealed that Vidya believes it's all down to the colour red; so much so that she dismissed the traditional green attire for her lavani dance in his upcoming film Ferrari Ki Sawari. "The Dirty Picture was such a huge hit that she feels red is her lucky colour and so she insisted on doing the song in a red sari," he said. "The result is looking fantastic."
Sanjay Dutt
Very superstitious: The number 9
The 52-year-old star, famous for playing villainous anti-heroes, is known for his love of cars - in fact, he even owns two of the most expensive models in the world, the Rolls-Royce Phantom and the Bugatti Veyron. And like many of his Bollywood peers, he has a special number for his licence plates: 4545. But having a private plate isn't a status symbol for the Rascals star, but rather superstition as he considers nine his lucky number, and loves any combination that adds up to it.
Hrithik Roshan
Very superstitious: His double thumb
The gorgeous Agneepath star, 38, was born with two thumbs on his right hand, was afflicted with a debilitating stammer when growing up, and was diagnosed with severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine) when just was 21 - all of which meant he was told by doctors that he would never be able to dance, perform stunts or act. Having now proved he can do all of those things, father-of-two Hrithik admits he views his "lucky charm" double thumb, as a reminder of his past struggle and will never have it removed.
"Life was tough for me," he said. "When I was a kid, nobody played with me because they thought I looked ugly with my extra thumb. It pained me. I once thought of getting it surgically removed… but slowly, I realised that the exterior is not the criterion for love and success."
Aamir Khan
Very superstitious: Releasing his movies at Christmas
The 47-year-old actor once dubbed the ‘Indian Sean Penn', is so serious about films that sources have spilled he believes that a festive release gives them the golden touch - with 2007's Taare Zameen Par, 2008's Ghajini (the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time) and 2009's 3 Idiots, all released in December, and all were smash hits. In fact, this year's film Talaash, in which he stars alongside Kareena Kapoor, is scheduled for a December release, and Dhoom 3, co-starring Abhishek Bachchan, is planned for December 2013. Plus, after Aamir and his director wife, Kiran Rao's long struggle with fertility the fact that their son, Azad, was born last December surely adds fuel to his superstitious fire.
Other beliefs
While the whole family is renowned for their superstitions, Dad, Big B, 69, is the biggest believer. "I learnt to be superstitious about cricket from dad," his son Abhishek revealed. "He doesn't watch a match live since he believes every time he does, an Indian wicket falls."
Another star with festive spirit…
Sources tell us that gorgeous Ladies vs Ricky Bahl actress, Anushka Sharma, 23, also believes the month of December brings her luck. "Anushka and her filmmakers are getting increasingly superstitious about their film dates," spilled one. "December for them seems to guarantee ideal returns." With every single one of her hits having come out in the 12th month of the year - Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) and Ladies VS Ricky Bahl (2011) - the film she's currently working on with Imran Khan, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, is also slated for release this December.
