Amitabh Bachchan : Taking up the cause of AIDS

The 62-year-old actor chose the venue of the ongoing 35th International Film Festival of India in Goa to announce that he is joining the select league of such superstars like Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, Wills Smith, singer Beyonce Knowles and Irish rock band U2's local vocalist Bono in the campaign against AIDS.

Amitabh accepted the Foundation's offer to don a black tee shirt with 46664 printed on it in white, the number South African anti-apartheid movement icon Nelson Mandela wore during his 25 years of imprisonment in the Robin Island.

On the occasion, the actor watched the film Yesterday, the South African entry for this year's Oscar award in foreign film category, which tells the story of an HIV-affected woman deserted by her husband.

Amitabh announced that his son Abhishek would donate his entire fee for appearing in a lead role in India's first feature film on AIDS, Phir Milenge, which also stars Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty. The beneficiary is a school with AIDS-affected children.

'If there is any noble cause I can lend my name to, I will not hesitate,' Amitabh said.