It was an evening that everyone thought would pass off peacefully.
Amitabh Bachchan and wife Jaya were some of the celebrities invited for the launch of the book, The Making of Samovar by Usha R Khanna.
When Jaya took to the mike to speak about the book and the author, she let out a secret. "My first date with Amitabh was in Café Samovar, in the early 1970s," she said, in a rare statement about her love life.
For those who don't know, Café Samovar is a small restaurant adjacent to Mumbai's Jehangir Art Gallery in Kala Ghoda, South Mumbai.
The cafe was a popular haunt for artists from various walks of life like M F Husain, Anjolie Ela Menon, Kabir Bedi, R K Lakshman, Anil Dharkar, Jatin Das, and several others.
In early 1970s, Amitabh Bachchan was still trying to make a mark in Bollywood after doing films like Reshma Aur Shera and Anand whereas Jaya Bahaduri had already established herself as an actress. A little known fact is that director Prakash Mehra had decided to make Zanjeer with Mumtaz in the female lead. But at the last moment, she opted out from the film to got married.
No heroine was willing to work with Bachchan, as 12 of his films had flopped. But it was because of Prakash Mehra's request that Jaya stepped in. And history was created, as Zanjeer was Amitabh's first hit.
When Bachchan's turn came to speak at the book launch, he seemed embarrassed initially to talk about the days when he dated Jaya. "Our dating place was supposed to be a secret," he said. "Now, thanks to Jaya, everyone knows it."
He added, "This place was meant for strugglers in Mumbai. I paid regular visits to Samovar in those days. It was a refreshing place, which acted like a soothing balm for people like me who were trying to gain a foothold in the film industry."
Amitabh Bachchan got married to Jaya on June 3, 1973.
Text: Girish Rao
Also Read: Flashback: When Amitabh wed Jaya
