Why Jaya quit acting after her marriage?

Veteran actress Jaya Bachchan once opened up about why she decided to quit acting after her marriage with Amitabh Bachchan.

As she appeared on 'Koffee With Karan season 2', back in 2007, host and filmmaker Karan Johar asked Jaya Bachchan why she chose to step away from acting despite being at the top of a successful acting career.

Jaya Bachchan recalled that Amitabh Bachchan had said to her that he did not want a “9-to-5 wife“. She added that Big B had become occupied with his work commitments, and hence she felt it was important for one parent to remain available for their children.

Jaya Bachchan shared, “He said that I don’t want a 9-5 wife. What happened was that he got so busy…that I said one parent has to be there with the children."

She also recalled a heart-melting incident with daughter Shweta Bachchan, saying, "I remember Shweta once telling me that when I was getting ready to go for a shoot, she said…’Where are you going? Don’t go… let papa go… You don’t go'. It was terrible."

Talking about her cinematic journey, Jaya Bachchan made her acting debut back in 1971 with Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Guddi'. She essayed the role of a schoolgirl infatuated with film star Dharmendra, who played himself in the drama.

After this, Jaya Bachchan proved her mettle as an actor with her impressive performances in many projects such as 'Uphaar (1971)', 'Koshish (1972)', 'Zanjeer (1973)', 'Abhimaan (1973)', 'Kora Kagaz (1974)', 'Chupke Chupke (1975)', 'Mili (1975)', 'Sholay (1975), and 'Silsila (1981)', to name just a few.

After tying the knot with Amitabh Bachchan in 1973, Jaya Bachchan took a 17-year-long break from films, focusing on her family completely.

However, she made her comeback in 1998 with Govind Nihalani's critically acclaimed film 'Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa'.