When Jaya Bachchan slapped Rekha in front of Amitabh Bachchan in public; here's what happened next
Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha's affair rumour did affect so much that there came the point when wife Jaya Bachchan lost her control and slapped Rekha in front of Big B; read next
Yes, we could not take our eyes off the sizzling chemistry between Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha's legendary. They kept the audience's eyes and heart captive as they delivered so many hit films together.
By the end of the 1970’s the news of Rekha and Amitabh’s love affair made its way on all cover stories and interviews, considering he was already married to Jaya Bhaduri. He fell in love with his co-actor Rekha on the sets of ‘Do Anjaane’ (1976)
According to reports, Amitabh and Rekha's affair rumours made Jaya Bachchan uncomfortable. So much so that there came the point when Jaya lost control slapped Rekha in front of Big B.
It happened when Amitabh and Rekha were about to be cast in Ram Balram by filmmaker Tito Tony. Learning it, Jaya was not happy and had some excellent connections in Bollywood.
According to reports, Jaya adviced producer Tito Tony to cast Zeenat Aman for the film opposite her husband. However, Rekha couldn't take it when she came to know about being replaced. She knew producer Tito Tony wouldn't help so; she directly requested director Vijay Anand to convince him.
Back then, Rekha was the most sought actress, and when a star like her approached a director for work, he could not refuse. But the director advised Rekha to convince Tito Tony.
To that, Rekha gave Tito an fantastic offer that he couldn't refuse. Rekha said that she would do the film for free. So, now it shooting started, with Zeenat Aman paired opposite Dharmendra and Rekha was opposite Amitabh.
Reports suggested that, Jaya couldn't control her anger, in the heat of the moment slapped Rekha. The film's entire cast and crew were shocked to see this.
Jaya once spoke about Amitabh and Rekha's alleged affair and how she managed to keep the marriage intact for these many years after speculations about the affair were picking up pace. While speaking to People magazine, she said, “By just leaving him alone. You have to have the conviction. I married a good man and a family that believes in commitment. (Thinks) You must not get too possessive, especially in our profession, where you know things aren’t going to be easy. You can either drive the artist crazy, or you can help him or her grow. And if he goes, he was never yours (smiles)”.
When asked if those rumours disturb her, Jaya Bachchan was quoted as saying, “(thinks) You are a human being, you do react. If you react to negativity, you also react to positivity. You are reassured every second by gestures, by looks, by happenings and that keeps you going. (Thinks more) A human being at a very vulnerable age and time gets carried away either way, and if you are sad you are sad, and if you are happy, you are happy.”
When asked whether these rumours about them were true, she said, “If there were any, he would have been somewhere else na? People liked them as a couple on screen, and that’s fine. The media tried lining him up with every one of his heroines. My life would have been hell if I had taken it all seriously. We are made of sterner stuff”