In a career spanning several decades, veteran actress Farida Jalal has given many memorable performances, including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, where she played the ‘cool’ grandmother and ‘Dai Jaan’ respectively.
The actor, who was recently seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, has often talked about the times in his interviews when he worked with older stars and shared his friendship with them. Farida shared screen space with both Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan (then Jaya Bhaduri) in several films and over the years they became close friends. Farida, who had known the couple since they were courting, often went on coffee dates with them.
During a recent interview with Bollywood Bubble, he shared that the trio would often go on coffee outings at the Taj Hotel and enjoys long drives together. The Duplicate actor also recalled witnessing their fights. “I lived in Pali Hill and Amitabh Bachchan ji lived in Juhu. They were not going to get married. There was a courtship going on between the two and there were fights among themselves just like a couple does. Amitji himself used to drive the car at night and Jaya would sit next to him and I would sit behind. I used to tell them, ‘I feel like I’m the third wheel’ but they insisted me to join them.
Farida recalled that she had insisted that the couple not take her along on the coffee outing as it would be late at night. “I was someone who used to sleep early, but they still called me. And they kept fighting and I saw it. Jaya used to cry, and he used to calm down her. I loved those moments very much. My friendship with Jaya is very long. I used to lovingly call her Jiya. While recurring from those coffee dates, they used to speak about films. Then he left me and went home. At all I can say that they are lovely people. He invited me and Gulzar Sahab to his wedding,” he shared.
