Jaya Bachchan, actor and Amitabh Bachchan’s wife, decided to put her acting career on hold in the early 1980s to focus entirely on raising her children, Shweta Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. Despite being a huge Bollywood star, Jaya made sure her kids had as normal a childhood as possible, away from the glitz and glamour. Known for being a strict mother, Jaya Bachchan had once said that she instilled in Shweta and Abhishek the belief that being kind and compassionate mattered more than being a top student. In an interview with veteran journalist Subhash K. Jha, she spoke about it while reflecting on her childhood.
Jaya Bachchan joked about how she had her share of red marks in school, but her conduct was always impeccable — a fact that made her father proud. “When they were growing up I always told my children it didn’t matter how they did in their exams. It’s what they made of themselves as human beings that mattered. I remember when I was a child, there were always a lot of red marks on the report card in some subjects. But the conduct column was always very good. That made my father very happy,” she recalled in the chat.
Jaya’s approach to motherhood was rooted in strong values and she held those close to her heart. While she cherished her own career, she found greater fulfillment in being a hands-on, loving mother. Speaking of her children, she added, “My children and my brother-in-law’s children grew up together. They played and ate together, and went to the same school. They had a normal life. They knew their parents were celebrities… we didn’t hide it from them. But they didn’t know what that celebrity entailed. They were aware that there was a public interest in them when they went out. But we made sure they grew up with the celebrity status being a normal state of being. We never had to explain their identity to them.”
Opening up on Amitabh Bachchan and her “celebrity” status, Jaya Bachchan had said, “Amit and I have been honoured, but never dazzled by our celebrity. As a couple, we’ve ensured that our children don’t compromise or denigrate it.”
Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan got married in 1973, after dating for a while. Their wedding came about in a unique way: Amitabh’s father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, insisted they get married before heading on a planned trip to London to celebrate the success of Zanjeer. The ceremony was simple and intimate, with only close family present before they left for the trip. The couple welcomed their daughter, Shweta, in 1974, followed by their son, Abhishek Bachchan, in 1976.
Abhishek is married to Aishwarya Rai and they are parents to Aaradhya Bachchan, while Shweta is married to Nikhil Nanda and has two children, Navya Naveli Nanda and Agastya Nanda.
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