Considered as one of the most legendary actresses of Hindi cinema, Jaya Bachchan is celebrating her 70th birthday today i.e. on April 9. Born in 1948, wife of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan has thrilled the Indian audience in her films during 70’s and early 80’s. She has also been an active political identity being a Rajya Sabha member from Samajwadi party.
She is one of the most awarded actress of her time and has been also adorned with Padma Shri in 1992. She has also won a total of 9 Filmfare awards including the life achievement award which she was given in 2007. She also has a tally of 3 IIFA awards to her name. On her birthday, lets have a look at some of the amazing performances by her in her films.
Uphaar (1971)
Based on a short story of Rabindra Nath Togore called Samapti, the film covers an innocent and imature love story of two people. The film features Jaya Bachchan as Mrinmayee (Minoo), who marries a lawyer Anoop (played by Swaroop Dutt). At start, Minoo does not respect the love of Anoop and is not interested in household activities. She is neither educated nor mature enough to understand her relationship with Anoop. When her husband Anoop goes to Calcutta and asks Minoo to come along, the latter rejects her proposal. But later, she starts missing. Anoop and realises her love for him. The film adorned Jaya Bachchan with Filmfare Special Award.
Guddi (1971)
One of the most popular films of Jaya Bachchan is Guddi, in which she potrays a school girl who is obsessed with her love for actor Dharmendra, which is played by actor Dharmendra himself. Kusum aka Guddi played by Jaya Bachchan, shows her in a spunky and carefree schoolgirl who has a big crush on actor Dharmendra. Guddi is not able to distinguish Dharmendra in his on-screen and off-screen image, and considers him to the superman, one who can never do anything wrong.
When her sister-in-law’s brother Navin (played by Samit Bhanja) proposes her for marriage, she discloses that she is in love with actor Dharmendra. The story then focuses on the attempts of Navin and his uncle (Utpal Dutt) to make Guddi realise the difference between illusion and reality. The uncle contacts Dharmendra through a mutual friend and they show Guddi the difference between the real world and the make-believe world of cinema.
Koshish (1972)
Considered one of landmark movie in Indian cinema, Koshish is a story based on the life of a deaf and mute couple, their conflicts, and their struggle to live in a normal society. It is a remake of a Japanese film Happiness of Us Alone, and brought nomination for Jaya Bachchan as the best actress at Filmfare awards. The movie covers the story of Hari (Sanjeev Kumar) and Aarthi (Jaya Bhaduri), who are deaf and mute. They fall in love, marry each other and have a child who they bring up to be well educated. The story escalates with events of happiness and tragedies and how the family overcomes the issues coming up in their lives.
Abhimaan (1973)
The film proved to be the gateway for the best actress filmfare award for Jaya Bachchan. Based on a lives of two singers, the film showcases Amitabh Bachchan as Subir, who is a struggling singer. He marries Uma (played by Jaya Bachchan), who is also a singer. The films concentrates on the ego clashes between the couple as Uma lead a way to success in her singing career, while Subir faces failure. His pride and jealousy tear the marriage apart.
Kora Kagaz (1974)
Bagging one more Filmfare Best Actress Award, Jaya Bachchan featured in Kora Kagaz which depicts a sad love story of two people, who meet each other while travelling in a bus. The meeting of Professor Sukesh Dutt (Vijay Anand) and Archana Gupta (Jaya Bhaduri) eventually ends into their marriage. However, Archana’s mother does not like Sukesh due to his modest income and makes up stories about their affluence. This results in acrimony between Archana and Sukesh, and they decide to separate. While Archana parents asks her to remarry, she finds it difficult as she still has feelings for Sukesh.
Nauker (1979)
The films potrays Jaya Bachchan as a servant, who becomes a love interest for a wealthy widower Amar, played by Sanjeev Kumar. Amar has to choose between two sisters as his new wife, Shobha and Sheela, who reside in Bombay. In order to know more effectively about them, he arrives at their home switching places with his servant Dayal. While acting as a servant, he discovers his love for Geeta (played by Jaya Bachchan) who is also a servant. The story continues as Amar comes to know about the secrets of the two sisters. The film brought Filmfare Best Actress Award for Jaya Bachchan.
