When Jaya Bachchan’s father was invited to speak on Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘affairs’: ‘It unnerved me’

He humorously expressed how the couple found themselves thrust into the limelight, writing, “My wife and I are asked to sign autograph books not because we are what we are but because we are what we are to Jaya and Amitabh. Some years ago, my wife was given a public reception at a hill-station in Uttar Pradesh and made a patron of, of all things, a sports organisation because she happened to be Jaya’s mother and Amitabh’s mother-in-law. I, in my turn, was invited to one town to open a new judo club—because Amitabh is supposed to be the angry young man who fights his way out with judo, karate and what have you.”

Though Taroon Bhaduri found this new reality bittersweet, he admitted the internal conflict he experienced. “The professional journalist in me felt slighted, but the father in me felt elated,” he wrote.

One of the most bizarre moments he recounted was when a women’s organization invited him to speak on Amitabh’s supposed affairs. He wrote, “But the ultimate was reached in another town where a women’s organisation invited me to speak on Amitabh’s ‘affairs’. This unnerved me no end, and I told them I was too busy mismanaging my own affairs to bother about someone else’s.”

Through the ups and downs of fame and public scrutiny, Amitabh and Jaya’s family continues to remain one of Bollywood’s most celebrated and respected families. They have two children: Shweta Bachchan Nanda, who has ventured into writing and fashion, and Abhishek Bachchan. Shweta is married to businessman Nikhil Nanda, and they have two children, Navya Naveli Nanda and Agastya Nanda. Abhishek Bachchan is married to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and they have a daughter, Aaradhya Bachchan.