‘Zanjeer‘ is an important film for Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, as its success in 1973 led to their marriage. Despite their on-screen chemistry, Jaya was initially unsure about joining the film due to her small role. In a 2012 piece, she revealed that Salim-Javed offered her the part, but she hesitated. It was only after Amitabh encouraged her that she decided to take the role.This decision turned out to be important not just for the film but also for their personal lives.
In a 2012 piece for India Today, Jaya Bachchan reflected on how quickly time seemed to pass during the early days of her marriage to Amitabh Bachchan. She wrote whenever she looked back on their marriage, she could not help feeling that the months and days sped by swiftly. ‘Zanjeer’ was released in May and by June 4, they were man and wife. Several heroines had turned down ‘Zanjeer’. Salim-Javed had asked her to step in. She had been hesitant since there was not much of a role for her.
The actress revealed that is when Amitabh told her quietly, ‘I believe you are refusing to act with me.’ She relented and accepted. If it had been any other actor, she would not have done ‘Zanjeer’. It was an excuse to be with him and if her participation helped the project, so be it.
Jaya further said that Amitabh brought about a semblance of order in her uneven, self-absorbed way of functioning. Before that, she had been fiercely independent. She had total faith in him as an actor and as a man whom she loved. He was the only man in the world she wanted to listen to. He made her feel wonderful and complete. She wanted to be with him, through thick and thin, and that is how circumstances willed it to be.
In a 2012 piece for India Today, Jaya Bachchan reflected on how quickly time seemed to pass during the early days of her marriage to Amitabh Bachchan. She wrote whenever she looked back on their marriage, she could not help feeling that the months and days sped by swiftly. ‘Zanjeer’ was released in May and by June 4, they were man and wife. Several heroines had turned down ‘Zanjeer’. Salim-Javed had asked her to step in. She had been hesitant since there was not much of a role for her.
The actress revealed that is when Amitabh told her quietly, ‘I believe you are refusing to act with me.’ She relented and accepted. If it had been any other actor, she would not have done ‘Zanjeer’. It was an excuse to be with him and if her participation helped the project, so be it.
Jaya further said that Amitabh brought about a semblance of order in her uneven, self-absorbed way of functioning. Before that, she had been fiercely independent. She had total faith in him as an actor and as a man whom she loved. He was the only man in the world she wanted to listen to. He made her feel wonderful and complete. She wanted to be with him, through thick and thin, and that is how circumstances willed it to be.