Amitabh Bachchan reveals his hilarious trick to get wife Jaya Bachchan ready on time for events

The quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati 18 has often become a medium for Amitabh Bachchan to share glimpses of his personal life. While interacting with contestants, the actor frequently shares light-hearted anecdotes about his family and marriage. This time, he opened up about what he does to avoid getting late when he and his wife, veteran actor Jaya Bachchan , have to attend public events.

In a promo for an upcoming episode of KBC 18 on Instagram, a female contestant was seen asking Amitabh Bachchan if he ever had to wait for his wife to get ready for a wedding or other event. Responding to her, the KBC 18 host said that it is a very good question. He smiled and added, "Let me tell you the trick: whenever we have to go somewhere, a time is decided. I tell her the time, which is one hour before the actual time. So she starts getting ready accordingly, and we end up arriving on time. So if the time for the wedding is 6 pm, I tell her 5 pm, so she starts getting ready by 3:30 - 4 pm and ends up getting ready on time!”

A few days ago, a contestant had asked Amitabh if Jaya scolds him when he returns home late. Her question prompted the host to share an endearing glimpse into their family dynamic.

He said, “I know what is going to happen, so what I do is, as soon as I wake up, we have all our family members’ names saved in our contacts and have made a group where I send a message saying, ‘Namaskar’ with folded hands. Then I tell them that I have a shoot somewhere and will be late, so they should not wait for me for dinner. I inform all beforehand, and that saves me. But suppose I didn’t tell her (Jaya Bachchan), then I will be scolded and asked, ‘Where were you? You didn’t inform us. Is this the time to come home?’ So, if I am very late, she eats her dinner and goes to sleep herself.”

Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan were formally introduced on the sets of the film Guddi in 1971. Jaya was drawn to Amitabh. While Jaya fell for him early, Amitabh grew closer to her during the filming of Ek Nazar in 1972.

After the success of their film Zanjeer in 1973, the couple planned a holiday to London with friends. When Amitabh asked his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, for permission, his father reportedly said that if they wanted to go on a trip together, they would first have to get married. Amitabh agreed, and the couple had a quick, private wedding ceremony on June 3, 1973, before leaving for London the same day.

The couple went on to welcome two children, daughter Shweta Bachchan and son Abhishek Bachchan. They have three grandchildren - Navya Naveli Nanda, Agastya Nanda and Aaradhya Bachchan.

Santanu Das is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 5 years of experience, writing on films, pop culture and film festivals. He has a keen interest in writing about South Asian independent films and has covered several film festivals, including Sundance and CPH: Docx. He also brings a sharp perspective to the monthly column called The Fault in Our Stars, where he writes about a recent film/series and what stops the ‘good’ from becoming ‘great’.