From Abhimaan to K3G: 7 iconic films of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan

Jaya Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan make for one of the most iconic couples in the industry. The couple tied the knot exactly 48 years ago. They both starred opposite each other for the first time in 1972 film Bansi Birju and since then the couple has appeared in a number of films together.

While the two were last seen in the 1981 film Silsila, after 20 years, they appeared together again on screen in the Karan Johar directorial Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which was a blockbuster.  

On the occasion of their wedding anniversary we have curated a list of some of the best films featuring the legendary couple:

Sholay (Amazon Prime Video)

The 1975 blockbuster film features Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra and Hema Malini in pivotal roles. Helmed by Ramesh Sippy, Sholay tells the story of two friends, Jai and Veeru (Amitabh and Dharmendra respectively). The duo arrives at a small village to work for an ex-police officer, Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev), who wants to avenge his family’s death from the infamous dacoit of the area, Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). Jaya and Hema play the love interests of the duo.

Abhimaan (Voot)

Abhimaan is a musical drama revolving around a famous singer Subir (Amitabh), who encourages his wife, Uma (Jaya) to pursue the same path as she has a beautiful voice. However, things take a turn for worse when she starts getting much more fame and popularity than her husband.

Milli (Amazon Prime Video)

The Hrishikesh Mukherjee directorial is a romantic drama that narrates the love story of Amitabh’s Shekhar Dayal, who is a serious and unhappy man with Jaya’s Milli, who is full of life. The story takes a tragic turn when Milli gets diagnosed with cancer.

Silsila (YouTube)

Directed by Yash Chopra, this one is the most loved romantic-drama film of Jaya and Amitabh that also features Shashi Kapoor, Rekha and Sanjeev Kumar in crucial roles. While Silsila did not perform very well at the box office at the time of release, it has slowly gathered the status of a cult film. It is the story of Amit (Amitabh), who had to marry Shobha (Jaya) to save her honour, while he’s still in love with Chandni (Rekha).

Chupke Chupke (Amazon Prime Video)

Chupke Chupke is a Hindi remake of the Bengali film Chhadmabeshi. The romantic-comedy film has a huge ensemble star cast of Amitabh, Jaya, Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Om Prakash, Usha Kiran, David Abraham Cheulkar, Asrani and Keshto Mukherjee. The story is built on a practical joke, that was played by Dharmendra’s Parimal Tripathi. He cooks up the story of his wife’s affair with another man just to comically tease his in-laws, especially his brother in law.

Zanjeer (YouTube)

Zanjeer is one of the classic movies of all time. Amitabh got the recognition of an 'angry young man' with his role as Inspector Vijay Khanna in the film. The Sholay star can be seen fighting against crime to maintain moral values in society. Directed by Prakash Mehra, the film also stars Jaya, Pran, Ajit and Bindu.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Netflix)

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is a special mention in this list. Starring Amitabh, Jaya, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor Khan, it also features Rani Mukerji in a special appearance.

The film is written and directed by Karan Johar and tells the story of a family that adopted a son and raised him with their ideologies, who later gets banished as he marries against the wish of his father. However, after growing up, the younger son of the family takes the matter into his hands to reunite the family again.