Prattusa Mallik
When you type ‘Jaya Bachchan’ into any search bar, the most common recommendations that appear are ‘jaya bachchan angry’ or ‘jaya bachchan hair oil recipe’. While she has been in the limelight in the recent times mostly for her unpleasant interactions with the paparazzi or her controversial statements on her granddaughter’s podcast, it is worth noting that the actress’s contributions to the film industry and society in general extends to so much more than that.
If this has piqued your interest, here are five facets of Jaya Bachchan’s work and public persona that you will find interesting.
Born to Bengali journalist–thespian Tarun Kumar Bhaduri and his wife Indira in Jabalpur, Jaya was exposed to the arts and literature quite early in life. Her acting journey began at the age of 15 in Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar (1963). Her formal entry into Bollywood was with Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi in 1971, soon after which she went on to become one of the highest paid actresses of the decade.
While Guddi gave her commercial success, the girl–next–door image it gave to Jaya quickly cemented her position in several films of ‘Middle Cinema’ directors such as Gulzaar and Basu Chatterjee. On the other hand, her work in films such as Govind Nihalani’s Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, gave her critical appreciation.
Here’s a lesser–known fact: the yesteryear diva even wrote the story of a film! We’re talking about the massively popular film Shahenshah, starring Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. While the film marked Jaya’s last work as a writer, we can’t help but wonder if she would pick up the pen again!
As a Chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India, the actress has not only been proactive in critiquing the government’s role in the decline of the culture of children’s cinema in India, but has also worked extensively in finding and executing insightful solutions for the same.
“As a young person, I felt very neglected by the Government of India... There were things being done for children, because Chacha Nehru wanted it that way, but there was nothing being done for the youth,” she said in an interview, adding that this is what led her to change the name of CFSI to National Centre of Films for the Children and Youth, when she came to power as its chairperson.
Jaya Bachchan began her political career when she was first elected in 2004 as the Member of Parliament from Samajwadi Party. Throughout the years, she has continued being a voice that has time and again championed the underdog.