There was a moment in the Rajya Sabha in July when Jaya Bachchan bristled at being called ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’—which is how her name is registered in the database. And it looks like this fight has been going on for a long time because Reddit unearthed how her father, Taroon Coomar Bhaduri, revealed in a 1989 article for The Illustrated Weekly how Amitabh Bachchan once stood up for her using her maiden name professionally. 

‘She is more famous as Jaya Bhaduri’

Amitabh and Jaya dated before marrying in 1973 after Zanjeer became a hit. Taroon recalled how Amitabh once stood up for Jaya when someone suggested she should use her marital surname on film posters.

He wrote, “I remember one incident. After their marriage, Jaya was doing a film and when the posters appeared, her maiden name was billed. Someone, obviously trying to flatter Amitabh, said: ‘Why should this be? She should be billed as a Bachchan.’ Amit promptly retorted: ‘Of course, she is a Bachchan, but you should know that in the industry and professionally, she is more famous as Jaya Bhaduri’."

In the same article Taroon wrote of how the Bengali priest they hired protested against their wedding because Jaya is a Bengali Brahmin and Amitabh isn’t. He wrote, “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.”

Taroon called Amitabh the ‘most misunderstood and maligned man in the film industry’ despite his fame and his ‘introverted’ nature off-screen. He also claimed that the press wrote about how he was unhappy about their marriage, but the truth was far from it, calling Amitabh a ‘lovable boy’.

Jaya on her name

In July, deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh Narayan Singh, referred to her as ‘Jaya Amitabh Bachchan’ to which she replied, replied, “Sir, sirf Jaya Bachchan bolte to kaafi hojata (It would’ve been enough to call me Jaya Bachchan).” 

She also added, “Ye jo hain kuch naya tarika hain ki mahilaayen apni pati ke naam se jaani jaye. Unka koi astitva nahi. Unki koi upalabdh hi nahi hain, apne mein aur astitva nahi hain. Ye jo naya shuru hua hain, I just…(Some new methods have emerged that women have to be known by their husbands’ names. Women have no identity. They have no achievements, no identity of their own. This new thing, I just…).”

Amitabh was recently seen as Ashwatthama in Kalki 2898 AD. He will soon be seen in Vettaiyan in Tamil and Aankh Micholi 2 in Hindi. Jaya was last seen in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.

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