It was in 1973 when Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri had tied the knot and with the fair share of ups and downs in their married life, they had not only made their marriage work, but also transformed it into a happy and successful one!
50 years ago, the angry young man of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan had broken millions of hearts when he tied the knot with his soulmate, Jaya Bhaduri. Celebrating a marital bliss of close to five decades, Amitabh and Jaya are standing tall as a time-tested couple, setting new parameters of trust, understanding, respect, and love in the relationship of husband and wife.
Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan's love story is weaved with all the essential ingredients which make it as interesting as those reel tales they have summed up together. Hold your breath, as this piece of write-up, has many such episodes, which are little known to the outer world. Here we spill the beans on their romantic tale:
It was in early 1970 when the country's most celebrated couple had a glance at each other. Jaya saw Amitabh at Pune Film Institute when on one fine day he arrived there accompanying the famous filmmaker K. Abbas and a group of other actors. Though Amitabh's personality caught Jaya's attention, nothing substantial really happened. By then, while Amitabh was still struggling to be an actor, Jaya was already a superstar.
Jaya appeared on the cover of a glossy magazine and it worked as a trigger for their love story. When Amitabh came across this cover, he took a thorough look at Jaya Bhaduri. Call it serendipity as Jaya matched all those features of his dream woman– a perfect balance of traditional and modern values. Moreover, he could not get over the charm of her beautiful eyes. Somewhere it rang the love bell in his heart. Much later, Hrishikesh Mukherjee brought them together and the sets of the movie Guddi served as the formal meeting ground for the duo. Amitabh was really thrilled to work opposite her, who had already earned a good name as a versatile actor.
Recollecting the experience, Jaya Bachchan was quoted as saying by the DNA:
"I was introduced to him on the sets of Guddi. I was impressed by him and somewhat in awe as he was Harivanshrai Bachchan's son. I felt he was different, though people laughed at me when I said that. I expressed my feelings and said he's going to make it big, even though I was aware he wasn't the usual stereotype hero. I fell in love with him very soon."
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Jaya Bachchan was the first one who realised that she had developed feelings for Amitabh Bachchan and it grew intense with time. It was only the sets of Ek Nazar, which worked as Cupid for Amitabh too, and their story had taken a sweet turn. The angry young man fell in love with the Bengali beauty.
Rajesh Khanna, who happened to be a very close friend of Jaya, never really gave his nod to her relationship with Amitabh. In fact, he had cautioned her several times about meeting Bachchan. There were talks that Amitabh was a frequent visitor on the sets of Bawarchi to meet Jaya and Rajesh used to ignore him. But nothing could stop Jaya from falling head over heels in love with Amitabh.
Life becomes exciting when a bit of drama and thrill is involved, it makes the story worthwhile. When it is about the legendary actors, Amitabh and Jaya, one cannot expect anything to be so plain and simple. A major turn came to their love saga just before the release of Zanjeer (1973) when their friends made a condition that if the movie becomes a hit, they will go to London.
This time it was Amitabh's parents who rejected his idea of London trip, saying he cannot go out with a girl unless he marries her. Instead of feeling dejected about their 'no', Amitabh rather took the biggest step in his love life and felt this is the right opportunity to take the wedding vows.
He proposed Jaya Badhuri for marriage and it was an instant yes from her. He approached her parents for their approval and they gave their nod immediately. Within a few days, everything was fixed and on June 3, 1973, they tied the knot and the same day they left for London. The wedding was a low-key affair with only a few friends and family members attending it.
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On their every anniversary, we eagerly wait for Mr Bachchan to delight their fans with some pictures from his wedding album. A few months ago, we had found a couple of unseen pictures of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan's wedding on social media. The Bengali beauty had looked mesmerising in her red bridal ensemble while the handsome tall man had made our hearts skip a beat in a cream-coloured sherwani. Amitabh and Jaya in one frame are always a sight to behold, but with their wedding pictures, they had stolen our hearts like never before!
Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan's married life is blessed with Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham moments and they've been living their 'happily ever after' with their daughter and son, Shweta Bachchan Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan, son-in-law and daughter-in-law, Nikhil Nanda and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and grandchildren, Navya Naveli Nanda, Agastya Nanda and Aaradhya Bachchan. In a throwback interview with a media portal, Mr and Mrs Bachchan had said in unison that Shweta and Abhishek are the most prized part of their relationship.
Despite being at towering success, Jaya Bachchan had chosen to be a dedicated homemaker and a doted mother after her marriage. Quitting films at the peak of her career was her willful decision. Expressing his feelings about his marriage, Amitabh, as quoted by the DNA, had once said:
"Every marriage is a challenge, and mine wasn't different. One thing I find very admirable about Jaya is that she chose to give preference to home not films. There was no obstacle from me ever, it was her decision."
Jaya Bachchan had once confessed that she was really scared when she met Amitabh Bachchan in person for the first time and felt he would be the only one, who could ever make her to do things without a fuss. She had admitted that she even decided that to please him, she would do anything.
The couple lovingly often calls each other with a pet name and Amitabh was christened as 'Lambuji' by Jaya. She used to call him with this name, until their daughter, Shweta, too started addressing him the same way.
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It was just three years of their wedding when news about Amitabh Bachchan's affair with his co-star, Rekha had started making rounds in the media. Such rumours had impacted Jaya and Amitabh's married life. However, regardless of the rumours and uproar revolving around Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha's affair, the Bachchan couple had upheld their poise and respect in public and had never dragged things to a nasty point. Big B also had link-up rumours with Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi, and a few other actresses but only his relationship with Rekha had created a stir in the media.
But by the end of the '70s, the reports of Amitabh Bachchan falling for his Do Anjaane co-star, Rekha had made its way to the industry grapevine and became the cover story for most magazines. Then came Yash Chopra's film, Silsila in 1981, which brought the real-life love triangle of Amitabh, Jaya and Rekha to the big screen and the trio was asked about the same in interviews and media interactions. Soon, Rekha became the 'other woman' and the stories in media were all about the rifts created between Jaya and Amitabh because of his rumoured extra-marital affair.
Amitabh Bachchan had also voiced his opinion and quipped that he was never troubled by any tittle-tattle about him. Possibly, this is why they never expressed themselves to accept or deny any of the rumours written or said about them.
And without a shadow of a doubt, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan make it to the list of long-lasting couples, who have swum together against the tides to make it to the shore. It was in 1973 when Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan tied the knot, and now, it has been 50 years since the couple is inspiring us with their love and relationship.
We cannot thank Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan enough for keeping our faith intact in the institution of marriage and proving that love 'does' lasts forever! Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan had their fair share of ups and downs but they not only made their marriage work, they also transformed it into a happy and successful one.
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