Amitabh Bachchan had a condition before marrying Jaya Bachchan: ‘Definitely don’t want a wife who will be 9-5’

Veteran Bollywood actor Jaya Bachchan recently shared how her husband, superstar Amitabh Bachchan, didn’t want her to work regular hours after marriage. She said this in the latest episode of her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda‘s podcast, What the Hell Navya. Jaya and Navya were joined on the show, as always, Shweta Bachchan Nanda. The subject of the new episode was ‘Modern Love: Romance & Regrets’. On the podcast, Jaya also shared that she was supposed to tie the knot with Big B in October, but they had to bring their wedding forward to June since his parents didn’t allow them to go for a vacation together.
When Navya asked Jaya about her love story, the actor shared how before marrying her, Amitabh Bachchan had one condition. “We had decided we will marry in October, because then my work would have reduced. But he had told me, ‘I definitely don’t want a wife who will be 9 to 5. Please work, but not every day. You choose your projects and work with the right people’,” Jaya recalled.

Amitabh and Jaya took their wedding vows on June 3, 1973. The couple will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2023. Their marriage was a low-key affair and it took place at Jaya’s Godmother’s house in Mumbai.

While senior Bachchan’s career continued to flourish even after marriage, Jaya put her career on the backburner to prioritise the family. Talking about this, Big B had said at the India Today Conclave in 2014, “One thing I find very admirable about Jaya is that she chose to give preference to home and not films. There was no obstacle from me ever, it was her decision. In marriages, all decisions are taken the wife.”

While narrating her love story with Amitabh Bachchan to Navya, Jaya also revealed why they chose to marry in June and not in October. “We had to go on a trip after the success of the film we did together (Zanjeer). But one day, he called me and said, ‘There’s a problem. My parents won’t allow us to go on a holiday and if we want to go, we must get married.’ So I said we were already planning to get married in October, let’s get it done in June. But you will have to speak to my parents. He called my father, who was not very happy, since he never wanted me to get married,” Jaya said. However, her father agreed, and the two got married in a simple ceremony.