Amitabh Bachchan: Bollywood star and son Abhishek in hospital with coronavirus

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and his son have been admitted to hospital with coronavirus.

Bachchan, who is India's most famous film star, said he had been "shifted to hospital" after contracting the virus.

The 77-year-old actor added on Twitter: "Family and staff undergone tests, results awaited."

His son Abhishek confirmed on Sunday that his wife, Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and their eight-year-old daughter have also tested positive but are asymptomatic.

Bachchan's wife Jaya, who is also an actress and a one-time member of parliament, has tested negative.

Bachchan and his son Abhishek were admitted to the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai, with local reports claiming they both have a cough and fever.

Abhishek said both he and his father have "mild symptoms", and called on their millions of fans not to panic.

Bachchan - who previously appeared in a public health advert in India urging people to take the virus seriously - is understood to be in an isolation unit.

Following their admission to hospital, health officials have confirmed that both father and son are in a stable condition.

Bachchan's luxury home is now being sanitised, and his cars have been sprayed with disinfectant.

Despite the Bollywood film industry recently returned to filming after months of lockdown, Bachchan has been unable to return to set due to his age.

With more than 180 films under his belt, the septuagenarian is considered Bollywood royalty and has previously been named among the highest paid actors in the world on Forbes' rich list.

In 2015, Bachchan attended the official unveiling of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in London's Parliament Square with then-prime minister David Cameron.

India is struggling to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, passing Russia on Monday to record the third highest number of coronavirus cases in the world after the US and Brazil.

On Saturday, the country reported a new daily high of 27,114 cases, bringing the total to 820,916, while 22,123 people have died with the virus.

Following the spike, several states brought back lockdowns, including the country's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, home to more than 230 million people.