‘Jaya Bachchan invited Rekha to her home, made it clear who is Mrs Bachchan,’ says veteran journalist; claims Rekha turned vegetarian for Amitabh Bachchan

Senior journalist Pooja Samant tells the story behind Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha's alleged relationship, and how Jaya Bachchan drew a clear line in the sand between the actors.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: September 14, 2025 08:11 AM IST

3 min read

Jaya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan with Rekha

Jaya Bachchan reportedly made it clear to Rekha that she could never be Mrs Bachchan, (Photo: Express Archive)

The supposed love triangle between Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha was quite a scandal in the 1970s. Amitabh was married, and the stories about this alleged affair led to a lot of speculations and ‘what-if’ features on exactly what transpired between the two and where Jaya stood on the whole matter. Veteran journalist Pooja Samant is the latest to fan the flames, as she talked about the triangle in a recent interview.

Recalling the time when Rekha and Amitabh were still working together, Pooja told Hindi Rush that Amitabh and Rekha parted ways as they grew older. “A level of infatuation must have developed between the two, but I don’t think it was love because he was already married,” she claimed. She also added that Rekha’s decision to show up with sindoor at Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh’s wedding worsened the situation and “took attention away from the bride and groom on their special day.” Pooja claimed that as per her sources, Rekha even turned vegetarian to impress Amitabh.

ALSO READ: Jaya Bachchan would send letters in Amitabh Bachchan’s tiffix box, he was ‘grateful’ when she gave up her career for kids, says veteran journalist

Out of the three people involved in this situation, Rekha is the only one who has been vocal about the matter. Pooja said that in all of the years interviewing Amitabh, the actor never once talked about Rekha, and how Jaya, reportedly tried a completely different tactic to lay down the law. She said, “I have interviewed Amitabh a lot of times, but he never used to answer questions about Rekha. He would completely ignore the topic, and Jaya, on the other hand, would never give interviews. But there is a story about how Jaya once invited Rekha to have dinner at their home. While bidding farewell to Rekha, Jaya made it clear in not so many words that she was Mrs Bachchan and will always hold that position no matter what. That was the last sign that she could give to Rekha, and you can see for yourself that Rekha and Amitabh stopped working together after one point.”

During an appearance on The Great Indian Kapil Show, Rekha recalled working on the film Suhaag. A fan asked her about a particular dance sequence with Amitabh, and she responded with, “Ye sochiye ke jinke saath main Dandiya khel rahi thi, wo kya shaks hai. Acha nahi khelungi toh kya karungi? Dandiya aati ho ya na aati ho, saamne aise aadmi-shaqs aa jaata hai toh khud hi har angh angh theerakhne lagta hai. (Think about this: the personality of the person I was performing dandiya with. I obviously had to do a good job. Even I didn’t know how to play dandiya; when he stood in front of me, I would just start dancing.”

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