Jaya Bachchan

Biography

Jaya Bachchan (née Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party, serving since 2004.

 Known primarily for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, she is noted for reinforcing a natural style of acting in both mainstream and "middle-of-the-road" cinema. She has received several accolades, including nine Filmfare Awards and the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honor awarded by the Government of India.

Making her film debut as a teenager in Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar (1963), Bachchan's first screen role as an adult was in Guddi (1971), directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, with whom she collaborated in several films thereafter. She was noted for her performances in films like Uphaar (1971), Koshish (1972), and Kora Kagaz (1974).

 She starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan in several films, including Zanjeer (1973), Abhimaan (1973), Chupke Chupke (1975), and Mili (1975). The cult film Sholay (1975) saw her playing the much-lauded role of a young widow.

Following her marriage to Amitabh Bachchan and the birth of their children, she restricted her work to films, notably starring in Nauker (1979) and Silsila (1981). After a 17-year sabbatical, she returned to acting with Govind Nihalani's independent drama Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998). 

She has since played emotionally troubled mothers in the commercially successful dramas Fiza (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), and Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003). After another hiatus, she will make her comeback in 2023.

Jaya Bhaduri is the daughter of Taroon Kumar Bhaduri, a journalist, author, and poet, and his wife, Indira. She studied at St Joseph's Convent School, Bhopal, and graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.

On 3 June 1973, she married Amitabh Bachchan. The couple has two children: Shweta Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, who is also an actor. 

Shweta is married to industrialist Nikhil Nanda, grandson of the Kapoor family in Delhi, and has two children, Navya Naveli and Agastya Nanda, while Abhishek Bachchan is married to actress Aishwarya Rai, and has a daughter, Aaradhya Bachchan.