Jaya Bachchan gets angry often, hit me with a stick 2-3 times, claims Bhojpuri actor Nirahua. What was the reason?

Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan have appeared in several films together, and one such film was Gangadevi in 2012. In the movie, the duo portrayed the parents of Bhojpuri star Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua, who played a major role. Recently, the actor opened up about his experience working with the iconic couple, and how each interaction felt vastly different.

Nirahua on working with Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan

Dinesh was recently seen in Ajey: The Untold Story Of Yogi. He is not only an actor and singer but also a producer and politician, and among the most successful Bhojpuri stars, with five back-to-back box office hits in 2015. While promoting Ajey, he talked about working with Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan in Gangadevi. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Nirahua shared how Amitabh made him feel comfortable on set, while his experience with Jaya was far more intense.


Nirahua recalled that he had grown up watching the Bachchans and never imagined he would one day share screen space with them. He described them as “gods” in his eyes. Seeing them in person on set left him overwhelmed and unsure of how to react. While shooting for Gangadevi, he shared a surprising incident with Jaya Bachchan during a scene. In one sequence, his character had to slap his on-screen wife, after which Jaya Bachchan’s character, his mother, was supposed to hit him with a stick. Instead of pretending, she actually struck him, and quite hard.

"She actually hit me with the stick… and not just once. It was 2–3 times," Nirahua said. “I told her she was really hitting me, and she replied, ‘Well, you hit my daughter-in-law first!’ I said it was just acting.”

Although it hurt, Nirahua took it in good humour and even described it as prasad, a blessing. After all, he added, very few get the chance to share screen space with both Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.

However, Amitabh Bachchan quickly sensed his nervousness and made efforts to put him at ease. Nirahua shared that Big B cracked jokes, spoke about his Bhojpuri songs, and generally lightened the atmosphere, making the set far more relaxed.

During their conversations, Amitabh also offered some candid advice about politics. Referring to Nirahua’s energetic singing style, he jokingly remarked that it looked like he was ready for campaigning. He then shared a personal story about how he once told his father about wanting to enter politics, only to be strongly advised against it. Ignoring that advice, he said, turned out to be one of his "biggest regrets", a warning he now shares with others, including Nirahua.

About Gangadevi

For those unaware, Gangadevi was directed by Deepak Sawant, Amitabh Bachchan’s long-time make-up artist. The film marked a rare on-screen appearance of the Bachchans together after Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001. Looking at the decade-long bond with Deepak Sawant, the veteran actor once mentioned that Deepak had been by his side for over 35 years, never missing a single day of work on set. Bachchan noted that Deepak had started his career with a B.R. Chopra film and had remained a constant in his professional life ever since.