Jaya Bachchan began her acting journey at just 15 with Satyajit Ray’s Bengali classic ‘Mahanagar’. Eight years later, she made her Bollywood debut in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Guddi’, a film that explored the fascination of youth with the glamour and star power of cinema. In the film, Jaya Bachchan portrayed the titular role of this girl who was obsessed with Dharmendra. The film later shows how she is made to turn to reality and not live in her dream world of wanting a man like Dharmendra, when it comes to the man in her life. True to her candid nature, Jaya has never shied away from speaking her mind. She once admitted her crush on Dharmendra even in real life, not just in ‘Guddi’, even in front of his wife, Hema Malini. She had said on ‘Koffee With Karan’, “I should have played Basanti because I loved Dharmendra. When I saw him for the first time, I got so nervous, I didn’t know what to do. There was this fantastic looking man. He was wearing this white pants and shoes, looking like a Greek god.In 1971, a 22-year-old Jaya brought to life the character of a 16-year-old, naive, starstruck girl, ‘Guddi’, who falls in love with her screen idol — played by Dharmendra himself. Life imitated art: just like her character, Jaya was completely awestruck by Dharmendra in real life.Decades later, the two reunited for Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, rekindling their professional camaraderie. On Instagram, Dharmendra shared a picture with Jaya and wrote, “Barson baadh… Apni Guddi ke saath… Guddi… jo kabhi badi fan thi meri… A happy news.”In a throwback interview, Dharmendra reflected on their special bond, revealing how he still sees Jaya as his beloved ‘Guddi’, even if she playfully protests. “For me, she is still Guddi, with that same lovely smile. The years have flown by, but she hasn’t changed, not one bit. Of course, when I tell her this, Jaya protests, saying, ‘Main ab Guddi nahin rahi’, but as I tell her, ‘Mere liye to tum hamesha Guddi rahogi.’ She’s family and will always remain a little baby for us,” he said. Go to Source
