“I will become a goongi budhiya!”

(Here's my int with Mrs B for People mag, in case you missed it.)

In one significant respect, Jaya Bachchan is a misfit in the film industry. In a world full of diplomacy, double-speak and political correctness, she stands out like a breath of fresh air. Always direct, always candid, always all-heart. And this unique characteristic has got her much strife on a regular basis. The last being the ugly verbal spat with Raj Thackeray, which led to threats of violence on the streets of Mumbai. The question is, will this fiery actor and MP now tone down, and become as boringly discreet as the rest of the film frat? Has Bollywood lost its last surviving brave heart? In an exclusive interview, Jaya bares her soul on this, and may other compelling issues.

You were holidaying with Mr Bachchan in Paris last week… was it an escape from the recent crisis on the language issue?
No, it wasn’t about that, I don’t believe in the word ‘escape’. He was in Paris, he had some meetings to attend and the shoot had got cancelled. So I joined him there.

It’s been thirty five years of marriage. Does the romance continue?
Well, with time the connotations of the word ‘romance’ change, it’s not the way when you are sixteen. It means spending time with your children, grand children, remembering moments, and that’s romance too. We lead very ordinary lives.

Mr Bachchan doesn’t buy you roses anymore?
(Laughs.) Of course he does! You know he could have been in Paris on his own, but he invited me to join him, and that was a very sweet thought. Once, I had stepped out of the room, while he was busy blogging. And bought him a perfume that I know he likes. So maybe this is romance.

Marriages seem to be falling apart these days, how have you managed to keep it going for so many years? How can you keep a man faithful to you for so long, that too such a desirable man?
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 to grow. And if he goes, then he was never yours! (Smiles.)

But surely all those rumours about affairs must disturb…
(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 ways, and if you are sad you are sad, and if you are happy you are happy.

Once and for all: Is there any truth about the affair with Rekha?
If there was any, he would have been somewhere else, na? People liked them as a couple on screen, and that’s fine. The media tried linking him 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.

Would you mind if they worked together again?
No, why should I mind? But I feel it will be more like a sensation than actual work. And that’s a pity because one will miss the opportunity of seeing them together. Both of them probably realise it will go beyond work.

Doesn’t the husband ever scream at you for being so outspoken?
(Stares hard.) Do I look like the kind of person who can get shouted at? He’s my husband, he’s not my boss! I think Amitji is more worldly-wise than I am. I call him Gandhiji (laughs). He always looks at things from the other person’s point of view.

And you agree with him on that?
On a philosophical level, yes. On a normal human level, no! (Bursts out laughing.)

I think after the recent issue with Raj Thackeray, you will think ten times before making a public statement. Guess you’ll lose your spontaneity.
Who is to blame? You tell me. The problem is certain people have the liberty to say what they like, certain people don’t. I will try to be correct from hereon. I felt genuinely sorry for what I had said at the music launch, and that’s why I called you. But I have certain convictions which no one can take away from me. Maybe I say things that come from the heart, maybe I should use my mind, I need to realise who I am. I will become a goongi budhiya from now! (Laughs sarcastically.)

Has Sonia Gandhi made an effort to thaw the ice between the two families? There were reports she was concerned about the MNS tirade against you.
I don’t know. I suppose being the leader of the party that governs this state, she may have enquired.

Don’t you think for emotional reasons the Gandhi and the Bachchan family should get friendly again?
Well, if you speak of emotions, then one should ask did it (the break-up) have to happen in the first place?

You are not an easily forgiving person…
I agree with you. But if you reason with me, I am a very forgiving person. I am an honest person, I do not have needs in life, I can be happy anywhere. And I hope and think I have brought my children up with the right values. I keep telling my son every single day, it doesn’t matter if a film does well or not. What matters is a light boy saying thirty years later, ‘it was such a pleasure working with you’.

And I guess you would want some of those values to rub off on people who join the family, Ash for example.
Yes. That is why I wanted my son to marry a girl who has those values, who has that tradition, that culture.

Is that one of the reasons Abhishek’s marriage plans with Karisma didn’t work out?
(Long silence.) She has the blood and genes of the Kapoors. They have the tradition. Her father and I were buddies, they had good relations with my husband. So one must not always blame the families.

So then what went wrong?
Ask Abhishek.

Did it have to do with Babita?
That I don’t know. Look, I don’t think it’s correct to discuss this, they are both married people now, so let’s bury this issue.

About the movies. Films from your era had soul. Guddi, Abhimaan, Koshish. These days most stuff is mindless entertainment.
With due respect to the Hollywood culture, even there the films being made today aren’t what they used to be. And it’s the same here. Money has become the over-riding factor. Very few people are saying, ‘let’s make a sensible film, let’s work within a budget, let’s make a little profit, and be happy’. We have forgotten to create art, and have become very dependent on the commercial aspect. We should learn a lesson from the European cinema. You know, I don’t watch previews these days because I would hate to give my true reactions to the director.

Did you like Drona? And please don’t respond as a mother.
I didn’t mind it. I think they have tried to make something different. I think the budget they had for a concept like this, they needed twice the amount of money. But I think children will love the film.

SRK came for the Drona premier, that was nice of him.
Yes. Abhishek called him and said, ‘Sir, it will make a huge difference to me if you arrive’. And he did, which I think is very gracious of him. I have a weakness for Shah Rukh.

He did not say a very nice thing about Ash in that brawl with Salman, you don’t hold that against him?
Of course, I do. I haven’t had the opportunity to discuss it with him, and I am going to speak to him about it. If he was at my home, I would have slapped him, just as I would my own son. But I have connected with him in my soul, and that’s it.

So then why didn’t you invite him for the Abhi-Ash wedding?
Is Aishwarya going to invite him for the wedding? Let me tell you, very honestly, if we could have invited him, we would have changed the date of the wedding. I would like to give my family the freedom and the space.

You must have hurt when you heard Raj Thackeray say, ‘Guddi buddhi zaali, pun aazoon akal aali naahi’.
Of course, yes, I was hurt. I would never use this kind of language. And I am more hurt that the conscience keepers of this nation kept quiet when he used this kind of language.

Didn’t you stop Mr Bachchan from committing hara-kiri with RGV ki Aag?
Yes, I did stop him.

And he didn’t listen.
Noo! (Smiles.)