Jaya Bachchan recalls changing sanitary pads behind bushes during outdoor shoots: ‘It was awkward and embarrassing’
Veteran Bollywood actor Jaya Bachchan started her career in films at the age of 15. She was working at a time when there were no vanity vans for actors and no facilities at outdoor locations. Not even proper toilets. In the latest episode of her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda’s podcast, What the Hell Navya, Jaya opened up about the difficult times she faced on film sets as a young woman.
Talking about it, Jaya shared, “When we used to do outdoors, we didn’t have vans. We had to change behind the bushes.” A shocked Navya interrupted, “The sanitary pads?” Jaya responded, “Everything. There were not even enough toilets. It was awkward and embarrassing. You used 3-4 sanitary pads and you carried plastic bags to discard the pads and put them in a basket so that when you get home, you can get rid of it.”
The Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani actor mentioned how uncomfortable it was to work during periods. “Can you imagine sitting down when you have 4-5 sanitary towels on you? It was really uncomfortable. And then you didn’t have the kind of sanitary towels that you have today, you just stick it on. You had to make a belt with two ends, towels only had loops, to tie tape to it. It was really bad.”
Jaya, who is known to voice her opinions candidly, asked the people who ‘go crazy’ on Mother’s Day if they have ever bothered to understand what their mothers have gone through. She shared her two cents on period leaves for women, and said, “They are against women getting period leaves, at least give them one or two days off, and ask them to compensate for it on some other day when they are okay. Men have to understand this. Also, some women are not considerate towards other women. They also need to be considerate.”
During their conversation, Shweta Bachchan also vented about the stigma around menopause and said people need to be more sensitive towards women who are in their middle age, and are undergoing significant changes in life.
