For someone to start her film career in her teenage with Satyajeet Ray and then going forward to do her her first screen role as an adult with Hrishikesh Mukherjee, there has to be no doubt in her potential as an actor. And Jaya Bhaduri (nee Bachchan) had that talent to perform and the humility to stay grounded.
A gold medalist alumna from the prestigious FTII in Pune, Jaya Bhaduri started her film career with a supporting role in Satyajit Ray's Bengali film, Mahanagar, at the age of 15, with Anil Chatterjee and Madhabi Mukherjee. And it was her talent at the film institute that made Hrishikesh Mukherjee pick her to play the eponymous role of Guddi in the 1971 movie where she played a school girl obsessed with filmstar Dharmenda. The film was a run-away success among the masses and the classes and there was no looking back. In her long illustrious career, Jaya worked with Middle-Cinema directors like Gulzar, Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee in films that went on to achieve classic status with time. Her girl-next-door image still remains endearing to Hindi Cinema fans around the world.
As Jaya Bachchan celebrates her 69th Birthday on April 9, here's a list of Top 10 Iconic films of Jaya Bachchan:
1) KOSHISH (1972)
Koshish is considered a landmark movie in the history of Indian cinema. Directed by Gulzar, the movie had challenging performances by Jaya Bhaduri and Sanjeev Kumar. The movie depicts a deaf and mute couple and their conflicts, pain and struggle to carve out a niche for themselves in a desensitized society.
2) ABHIMAAN (1973)
The story traces the musical journey of the couple played by Amitabh and Jaya. The husband is a singer and he decides to encourage his wife too. However with time, the wife shoots to fame while the husband lags behind. A classic take on jealousy and desires, Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Abhimaan is considered a cult classic.
The film is also remembered for its songs, composed and arranged by the late S. D. Burman, written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, and sung by playback singers Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, and Kishore Kumar.
3) KORA KAGAZ (1974)
Directed by Anil Ganguly, the film starred Vijay Anand, Jaya Bhaduri, A.K. Hangal, Achala Sachdev and Deven Verma.
Professor Sukesh Dutt (Vijay Anand) and Archana Gupta (Jaya Bhaduri) meet each other in a chance encounter while traveling by BEST bus service in Mumbai. Their meeting again results in formal introduction to each other. Both get attracted to each other and get married. Archana's mother does not like Sukesh due to his modest income. She makes up stories about their affluence, which offends Sukesh. This results in acrimony between Archana and Sukesh, and they decide to separate. Archana goes to live with her parents, while Sukesh relocates. Archana's family asks her to forget Sukesh, and remarry, which Archana finds difficult since she still has feelings for Sukesh.
The film fetched Jaya Bhaduri her first Filmfare award for Best Actress, even as the film won National Awards for Best Popular Film providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Female Playback Singer for Lata Mangeshkar for 'Roothe Roothe Piya', composed by Kalyanji Anandji.
4) MILI (1975)
Mili (Jaya Bhaduri) is a story about a girl who suffers from pernicious anemia, a disease considered untreatable during the period the film was produced. Her lively, inquisitive and cheerful demeanour spreads happiness in everyone's life. She becomes an inspiration to her new neighbour Shekhar (Amitabh Bachchan) who is a drunkard and always depressed. With her cheerful ways she changes Shekhar and he falls in love with her, unaware of her ailment. When he comes to know about it, he thinks of going away as he cannot bear to see her die. A reproach from a neighbour makes him reconsider his decision. As he loves the girl, he offers to marry her and take her abroad for her treatment.
Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the film also starred Ashok Kumar and was a major box office and critical success.
5) CHUPKE CHUPKE (1975)
Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and based on Upendranath Ganguly's Bengali story Chhadobeshi, Chupke Chupke was an instant classic comedy with a rather colorful star cast namely, Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Om Prakash, Usha Kiran, David Abraham Cheulkar, Asrani and Keshto Mukherjee.
The film traces a comedy of errors as people pretend to be different characters and what follows is utter confusion. However it is a delight for the viewer and a must watch.
6) SHOLAY (1975)
Arguably the Greatest Indian Film ever, Ramesh Sippy's Sholay, the film follows two criminals, Veeru and Jai (played by Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan), hired by a retired police officer (Sanjeev Kumar) to capture the ruthless dacoit Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri also star, as Veeru and Jai's love interests.
When first released, Sholay received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. It broke records for continuous showings in many theatres across India, and ran for more than five years at Mumbai's Minerva theatre. By some accounts, Sholay is the highest grossing Indian film of all time, adjusted for inflation.
The combined sales of the original soundtrack, scored by R. D. Burman, and the dialogues (released separately), set new sales records. The film's dialogues and certain characters became extremely popular, contributing to numerous cultural memes and becoming part of India's daily vernacular.
7) SILSILA (1981)
Yash Chopra managed to create quite a stir when he captured the alleged real life romance of Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha with the love triangle angle of Bachchan's wife Jaya in his 1981 film. The film treads along the lines of infidelity, love and hurt.
This was also the last film to feature Rekha with Amitabh Bachchan, putting an end to this popular on-screen pair and their rumored off-screen affair. The film did only average business at the box office, faring much below expectations. Since its release, however, the film has gained a strong cult following and is today considered a classic in its treatment of the themes of abandonment and familial responsibility. Producer Yash Chopra considered this film and Lamhe his favourites. The movie's music became a "superhit" upon the release of the film and continues to be as popular.
8) HAZAAR CHAURASI KI MAA (1998)
The Film marked the return of Jaya Bachchan on screen after a gap of 18 years. Directed by Govind Nihalani and based on Magsaysay and Jnanpith award recipient Mahasweta Devi's Bengali novel Hajar Churashir Maa, the film deals with the life of a woman who loses her son, a Naxalite, to the violence that is a result of his adopted ideology.
The critically acclaimed film starred Jaya Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Milind Gunaji, Seema Biswas, Joy Sengupta and Nandita Das and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
9) KABHI KHUSHI KABHI GHAM (2001)
Jaya Bachchan's role as the mother appealed to hundred's of women all over the world. The Karan Johar mega-ensemble movie, managed to establish her as a superstar once again, although this time at the age of 53.
The film tells the story of an Indian family, which faces troubles and misunderstandings over their adopted son's marriage to a girl belonging to a lower socio-economic group than them. It starred Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor in leading roles, with Rani Mukerji appearing in an extended cameo appearance.
10) KAL HO NA HO (2003)
Directed by debutante Nikhil Advani, the film, written by Niranjan Iyenger and Karan Johar, it managed to capture the woman that is Jaya Bachchan in all her glory once again. She played the role of the single mother in this film treading the paths of Diaspora. The film narrates the story of a pessimistic uptight student, Naina Kapur (Preity Zinta), who falls in love with her neighbour, Aman Mathur (Shah Rukh Khan), a terminally ill patient who tries to play matchmaker for Naina and her friend, Rohit Patel (Saif Ali Khan).
The film was a commercial success and emerged as the second highest-grossing film domestically, and the highest-grossing film in overseas and worldwide that year.
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