Amitabh And Jaya Bachchan's Wedding Was 'Kept Secret' As The Priest Protested Against Their 'Inter-Caste' Marriage

Jaya Bhaduri and Amitabh Bachchan got married in 1973 after a courting for a couple of years. According to Jaya’s father, Taroon Coomar Bhadhuri, their decision to wed was “a bolt from the blue.”

Jaya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan got married in 1973 after a courtship lasting a couple of years. According to Jaya’s father, journalist Taroon Coomar Bhadhuri, their decision to wed was “a bolt from the blue.” In an article for 'The Illustrated Weekly of India' in 1989, he reflected on their marriage and dispelled rumors that he had opposed the union. He also addressed speculation that Amitabh’s different caste had been a concern, describing his family as liberal.

What Jaya Bhadhuri's father wrote about Amitabh Bachchan

In the article, Bhadhuri praised Amitabh's perseverance and said he was confident his daughter wouldn't settle for an ordinary man. “I felt he was not the run-of-the-mill Bombay film star. There were vicious people who said that Amitabh married Jaya because she was a big star, but it’s totally untrue. He waited for 'Zanjeer' to be a success. But Jaya would have married him anyway. I know that for certain. She is not a fickle-minded person. She is a very determined individual, bent on having her way since childhood. It is difficult for me to say what drew them together,” he wrote.

Amitabh informed Jaya’s mother about their decision and urgently called them to Mumbai. “And presto, we were in Bombay the next day to make arrangements for a ‘secret marriage’ on June 3, 1973. There is no point now in going into the details of how the whole affair was kept secret and the marriage arranged in the flat of friends of our family, the Pandits, at Malabar Hill. But there is something more to it,” Bhadhuri wrote.

 

Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri's wedding

The marriage happened quickly, and there was some difficulty in finding a Bengali priest to perform the ceremony. Bhadhuri, who identified as an atheist, mentioned that Jaya’s mother wanted “a proper Bengali marriage.” He described the challenges in arranging the rituals, saying, “A Bengali marriage is usually a long-drawn-out but a highly interesting affair. The Bengali priest (who was located with great difficulty) at first protested against having to preside over a marriage between a Bengali brahmin (Jaya) and a non-Bengali non-brahmin (Amit)."

"After a lot of hassles, this was sorted out. Amit went through all the rituals, offending no one, and the ceremony went on until early the next morning. He did with sincerity all he was told to do. The following day, they flew to London. On their return, I held a reception at Bhopal and again Amit did whatever he was told to do.”

Addressing rumors that he had been unhappy with the marriage, Bhadhuri called this speculation “slander, plain and simple.” He wrote, “I would like to know just one good reason why my wife or I would have been opposed to the Bhaduri-Bachchan alliance. Amitabh was, and is, a lovable boy. He struggled hard to come up in the world of films. Initial failures did not deter him, and with a teutonic doggedness, he pursued his career."

"He proposed marriage to Jaya only when the film 'Zanjeer' clicked, and he has not looked back since. So, what reservations could we have? That he was not a Bengali and was a non-brahmin? How ridiculous! Another daughter of mine too is married to a non-brahmin, and if it is any consolation to my detractors, my second daughter is married to a Roman Catholic."

"Apart from my wife and I, my elderly parents, too, not only joined in the marriage celebrations but blessed all the three couples and this, in view of scores of invitees. And my father was a very proud brahmin. His words still ring in my ears: ‘It is their life. Who are we to throw a spanner in the works? If they are happy, so should we be.’”

 

Jaya and Amitabh have now been married for over five decades and have two children—daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda and son Abhishek Bachchan. They also have three grandchildren: Agastya Nanda, Navya Naveli Nanda, and Aaradhya Bachchan.