There’s something endearing about Shweta Bachchan-Nanda. It’s a Sunday afternoon, and the newly published author of 'Paradise Towers' walks into a room at Janak, the Bachchans’ office in Mumbai’s Juhu.
Dressed in a loose tee and slacks, her hair heavily oiled, she asks with childlike curiosity: “Did you really like my book?”
Rarely known to give interviews, the statuesque daughter of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan is expressive and often self-deprecating in person, as she tells TOI about writing a light-hearted book of fiction, being shy, and starting a new life at 44.
Congratulations on your debut as a writer with Paradise Towers. How did you manage to spin a tale on people in a Mumbai high-rise, given that this world is removed from the kind of home you’ve lived in? This is something that I’ve been asked before. In fact, the first time I was asked this was by my own mother because she’s the only one in my family to have read the manuscript. Please allow me this flattery, but she said, ‘How do you know so exactly what happens in a multi-storeyed building? That’s not your life’. And I said ‘Yes mama, but I have eyes, I’ve had enough friends growing up who lived in buildings, and I observe.’ She felt that there are a lot of characters and a certain milieu of society that I’d got bang-on. I think it’s one of the benefits of being born into a family of actors. They observe. Wherever they’re going or whatever their interactions are, they observe the characteristics and quirks of someone’s nature… the more pronounced the better, and I think I’ve just inherited that. It’s something I do actively whenever I’m meeting someone or out at a party. What I love doing is just sitting and watching things unfold. And today it’s not just passive observation, I also make notes.
You mean, active eavesdropping! No no! (Laughs) I was a very shy child while growing up. Always hiding behind my mum, hating being pushed forward… I’d sit quietly and observe things and I think that has become second nature. We lived a very protected life, growing up. My parents were from UP and MP — they came to Bombay to work and make a living, it was the ‘70s. My father worked hard and made a name for himself but back then it was all very new. My brother and I were the first inheritors of what my father had made for himself. And of course as a parent you don’t know how this recognition can affect your family, so the first instinct is to be protective. We were also part of a very big joint family — my chacha, my cousins were always together. My grandparents lived with us. But there was always this curiosity about life in buildings when friends in school would say, ‘I’m going to my building friend’s birthday’ or that magic hour between 4 and 6 in the evenings when they’d all go down to play. The grass is always greener on the other side and Paradise Towers is born out of that observation and desire, for ‘building friends’ you can access at any time, and interactions between people in different flats. It’s come from 44 years of keeping my eyes open, being shy and looking at what everyone’s doing.
(L-R) Shweta Bachchan-Nanda, Big B, Abhishek Bachchan, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Your parents must be proud because you’re carrying forward the legacy of both your grandfathers — Harivansh Rai Bachchan (noted poet) and Taroon Coomar Bhaduri (journalist and author). They’re happy — proud they will be after they read the book when it releases next month. No one apart from my mother has read it yet because she’s direct, honest and if she didn’t like something she’d tell me. I’m not the only one who writes though. My cousin brought out a book of poems. I’ve been a writer for myself, I’d write short stories and they remained in my journals or got torn up and thrown away. It was only when I started putting some of my writing out in a column and got a compliment or two, that I found the confidence. Then one day I just woke up with this story in my head and it took me a year to put it together.
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Why take a risk with fiction when you could have rustled up an authentic account of India’s most famous film family? Fiction was a conscious decision because my father has said many times that he doesn’t want his biography done. I also feel that actors’ lives are shared with the public on such a large scale, that sometimes you have family memories or moments you may want to just keep to yourselves. Their lives are so vast that I wouldn’t even attempt or know where to start because I’d be biased and not be able to look at either my father, mother, brother or sister-in-law’s lives objectively. Jaya Bachchan with daughter Shweta Are you nervous about living up —or writing up — to expectations? I am, but I hope it’s enjoyable and it gives people a couple of hours of feeling good. It’s not a heavy book or one fraught with darker issues. It’s a light book that my mother feels one can pick up and finish reading on a flight from Delhi to Bombay.
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You’ve been famously media shy. Suddenly we’re seeing a lot more of you in the public eye… You’ve been writing columns, you faced the camera for an ad film and you also launched a fashion line. Has the last year given you a newer perspective on life? It’s actually not that thought-out but I also believe something I read somewhere that every seven or eight years, your life, outlook and many things about you change completely. It’s almost like a snake shedding its skin. For me that happened when I hit 40. Both my children were out of home in boarding school and suddenly I was sitting there with nothing to do. I thought I’d go crazy just looking at the walls or going to visit my children and sitting on their heads. Which teenager would want that? It would have caused a lot of teen rebellion and friction. I am shy, I am an introvert and I’m trying to push myself out there, so I’m not in my comfort zone even as I sit here talking to you but it’s just out of a desire to do something. I feel good about starting a life at middle age. It’s fun and I hope more women do that, especially if you’re a stay-at-home mom and you find yourself in that space when children have their own lives, husband’s away at work and you’re wondering ‘what am I doing with all this free time?’ Women are famous multitaskers. I’ve always heard that said, seen my mum do it, and now suddenly I’m doing it. Be it designing or writing, they’re all different aspects of creativity and it’s keeping me busy. Jaya Bachchan with daughter Shweta You must be tired of being asked this but does acting still not interest you? I have no potential as an actor, let’s get that sorted!
But your father insists that you’re the real actor, a mimic par excellence in the family… I think there’s a very fine line between good mimic and good actor and I don’t think I’m crossing any of those! Even this ad I managed to do because I had him right by me. He asked me to behave with him the way I do at home. My Dad and I have that equation so it was easy but I don’t think I can do it otherwise. I have complete respect for those who face the camera every day and manage all those emotions they share with us. I’m happy to hide behind my words.
Does the public gaze bother you more now? You maintained a certain normalcy while growing up but how do you shield your children today with so many more cameras and paparazzi following star kids around? In a certain way, yes but I also understand that this is the way the world is now. They haven’t lived in India for so long and have been away from the film scene here but yes, there’s a constant gaze and they’ll have to learn to balance and make their peace with it. They’ve also made my job easy by not being the kind of children I need to be constantly watching over. I also had an internal dialogue and made a conscious decision to take a couple of steps back when they turned teenagers. Of course I’m always there for them. My son Agastya is in England, my daughter Navya Naveli is in the US and they’re fed up of me asking them for pictures even if it’s from their geography field trip! (Laughs)
And, how would you define the Bachchans in one line? I think we’re very, very tightknit as a family.
Amitabh Bachchan Turns 75: The Rocky Road To Fame
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Call him the Big B or 'Shahenshah', Amitabh Bachchan is surely the First Man of Bollywood.
But that was not always the case. He has seen the highs and lows of fame in the true sense.
After being down in the dumps - health scare, financial crisis, political dud - he had a proverbial phoenix-like rise, with an estimated net-worth of Rs 700 crore.
Call him the Big B or 'Shahenshah', Amitabh Bachchan is surely the First Man of Bollywood.
But that was not always the case. He has seen the highs and lows of fame in the true sense.
After being do..
Read More
When he debuted out in 'Saat Hindustani', Bachchan never fit the bill of the quintessential hero in the looks department. Tall, lanky, not-so-fair complexion, and the baritone didn't quite act in his favour initially.
Though his debut didn't set the cash registers ringing, his performance secured him a National Award for the best newcomer.
With 'Zanjeer', Bachchan arrived as the The Angry Young Man in Bollywood. And like they say, there has been no looking back since.
(Instagram: Amitabh Bachchan)
When he debuted out in 'Saat Hindustani', Bachchan never fit the bill of the quintessential hero in the looks department. Tall, lanky, not-so-fair complexion, and the baritone didn't quite act in his..
Read More
Through the mid-70s and till the early 80s, Bachchan had his charm working on Bollywood, paving the way for a one-man show for many years.
But in 1982, a serious accident on the sets of Manmohan Desai's 'Coolie' had left him out of action for a while. He survived that and returned to continue with films.
In his five-decade career, he has won numerous awards, including four National Awards. He has also bagged 15 Filmfare Awards and is the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare with 41 nominations overall.
(Instagram: Amitabh Bachchan)
Through the mid-70s and till the early 80s, Bachchan had his charm working on Bollywood, paving the way for a one-man show for many years.
But in 1982, a serious accident on the sets of Manmohan Des..
Read More
In 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi.
His political stint, however, was short-lived: he resigned after three years, after being embroiled in the Bofors controversy.
In 1984, Bachchan took a break from acting and briefly entered politics in support of long-time family friend, Rajiv Gandhi.
His political stint, however, was short-lived: he resigned after three ye..
Read More
At 57, there came a huge blow in Amitabh Bachchan’s life when his movies flopped. A major financial crisis followed after the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited tanked even before it took off.
(Image: Instagram/Amitabh Bachchan)
At 57, there came a huge blow in Amitabh Bachchan’s life when his movies flopped. A major financial crisis followed after the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited tanked even before it took off.
(Im..
Read More
With the new millennium, came a revamped Bachchan in 2000. The role of a stern, older figure in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Mohabbatein’ did all the right things for him.
He also diversified his portfolio, adding television to his kitty. The first season of quizshow 'Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC)' became a runaway hit, and there was no looking back for the thespian. He is currently hosting 'KBC' in its ninth season, and people can't seem to get enough of 'Lock kar diya jaye'.
(Image: Instagram/Amitabh Bachchan)
With the new millennium, came a revamped Bachchan in 2000. The role of a stern, older figure in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Mohabbatein’ did all the right things for him.
He also diversified his portfolio, add..
Read More
Bachchan's charisma has charmed all age groups - and sections. From endorsing social schemes set up by the Government to turning cultural ambassadors and highlighting the cause of the girl child, he continues to be an inspiration, for the audience and advertisers alike.
Bachchan's charisma has charmed all age groups - and sections. From endorsing social schemes set up by the Government to turning cultural ambassadors and highlighting the cause of the girl child, he ..
Shweta Bachchan-Nanda's first fashion recall: Helping mum Jaya adjust Kanjeevaram saree pleats
