Jaya Bachchan

Jaya Bachchan

Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan (Bengali: জয়া ভাদুড়ী বচ্চন, Hindi: जया बच्चन; born Jaya Bhaduri on 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Bachchan is the wife of Amitabh Bachchan, and the mother of Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan. Bachchan is recognised as one of the finest Hindi film actresses of her time, particularly known for reinforcing a naturalistic style of acting in both mainstream and "middle-of-the-road" cinema.

Making her film debut as a teenager in Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar (1963), Bachchan's first screen role as an adult was in Guddi (1971), directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, with whom she would collaborate in several films. She was noted for her performances in films including Uphaar (1971), Koshish (1972), Kora Kagaz (1974), among others.She appeared alongside her husband Amitabh Bachchan in films such as Zanjeer (1973), Abhimaan (1973), Chupke Chupke (1975), Mili (1975) and Sholay (1975).

Following her marriage and the birth of her children, Bachchan restricted her film work for some years, and after her appearance in the 1981 film Silsila, she took an indefinite sabbatical from films. She returned to acting with Govind Nihlani's Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa in 1998. Since then, she has appeared in such films as Fiza (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), which garnered her several awards and nominations.

During her career, she has won six competitive Filmfare Awards: three for Best Actress and three for Best Supporting Actress, which makes her the overall most-awarded performer in the female acting categories, along with Nutan. She was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.