Filmfare’s Editor-in-Chief Jitesh Pillai pens a heartfelt ode to the feisty and authentic Jaya Bachchan, reflecting on her remarkable filmography, her life beyond the screen, and her fearless stance on social issues.
Why do I love Jaya Bachchan? Because she’s real. She’s forthright, she’s feisty, and if you like straight talkers, it’s easy to warm up to Jaya Bachchan. To state that she made an impact much before her Bollywood debut, Guddi, in Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar, would be stating the obvious.
As a child actor, she showed us flashes of the famed talent that would blaze on the screen with Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi. Guddi is the kind of debut actors only dream of. As the star crazy Guddi, Hrishidaa was able to mine a heartwarming performance out of this FTII graduate. She was smart, savvy and yet had an innate innocence you rarely come across today. Guddi was all heart.
And then there was a stampede of hits and fine fettle performances. Uphaar, Parichay, Jawaani Deewani, Zanjeer, Piya Ka Ghar, Bawarchi, Shor, Koshish and Anamika gave us a natural actor in a sea of Max factor faces and unnatural wigs. And at the height of her fame, within two or three years of her debut, she chucked up to marry the man she loved- Amitabh Bachchan.
And the success streak continued. Post marriage, there was Mili, Abhimaan, Chupke Chupke, Sholay, Naukar, and Kora Kaagaz. Disproving the myth again that married heroines don’t make successful films. She won the Filmfare award for best actor for Naukar, much after marriage and kids. She did movies off and on, completing pending assignments until Silsila in 1981… after which she took a long break of almost 17 years.
So what was the secret of Jaya Bachchan’s success? She made acting look easy, accessible. Her tears were real as was her free-flowing laughter. Jayaji channelled out of the ether some energies which made her believable. If she didn’t believe in the scene, she just didn’t do it. Even years later, when I saw her in a play, Maa retire Hoti Hai or Govind Nihalani’s Hazaar chauraasi Ki Maa, I saw the same conviction.
A lot of actors build walls, put on strange masks and behave like people we would rather not meet as the years go by. Jayaji is shorn of that artifice. What you see is what you get. She champions crucial social issues with immense clarity and conviction. Her recent remarks on the Transgender Persons Amendment Bill echo the collective sentiment of the community and allies. She shoots from the hip and plays it straight. A lot like her performances. That’s why they go straight into your heart and stay there forever.
People speak from the heart, Jayaji speaks from the gut. Mind it!
Also Read: Editor’s Take: Why Priyadarshan Needs to Be Celebrated More
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