Bombay (AFP)

Living Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan will be the first Indian star to lend her voice to Alexa, the voice assistant for US group Amazon, who wants to expand her share of India's huge market of 1.3 billion people.

77-year-old “Big B” has been a national monument for over half a century in India where his baritone voice is instantly recognizable to all.

Amazon India explained on its blog on Monday that it has partnered with Bachchan "to create a unique experience with the voice of a celebrity," which will be available on Alexa from next year.

"This will include popular proposals, like jokes, the weather, shayaris (poems), inspirational quotes, tips and more," according to the e-commerce company.

Alexa started using the voices of famous people like that of American actor Samuel L. Jackson in September 2019, following in the footsteps of Google which had given its customers a few months before the possibility to hear singer John Legend on its Google Assistant.

Amitabh Bachchan, a great user of social networks, said he was "excited" by this project.

“With voice technology, we are building something to have a more effective dialogue with my audience and my admirers,” he wrote on the Amazon blog.

The actor made a foray into the vocal blog in 2010 with “Bachchan Bol” where his fans could listen to his recorded messages.

Amazon, whose voice assistant competes, in addition to the Google Assistant, with Apple's Siri, is competing in the Indian e-commerce market with the subsidiary of the American Walmart, Flipkart, and that of the Indian group Reliance, JioMart .

The American tech giant, whose boss Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world, is also targeting the streaming market in competition with its compatriots Netflix and Disney + Hotstar.

Bachchan's latest film, a comedy-drama titled "Gulabo Sitabo", premiered direct in June on Amazon Prime Video, after cinemas closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Amitabh Bachchan and his family have themselves been infected with the coronavirus.

The actor had to be hospitalized in July, along with his son Abhishek Bachchan and his stepdaughter Aishwarya Rai - both also actors - as well as his granddaughter Aaradhya.

All four have since been able to leave the hospital.

The Bollywood superstar returned to work in August, for the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

after the removal of restrictions on filming due to the coronavirus.

However, with the surge in cases approaching five million in India, the authorities in Bombay, where Bollywood is located, have asked producers to ensure the regular disinfection of sets and facilities, the wearing of masks and 'physical distancing "respected as much as possible".

© 2020 AFP