Mumbai: Amid talk over being overshadowed by wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s stardom, Abhishek Bachchan has said he never felt insecure, crediting his upbringing and the example set by his parents, Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan.
In a recent conversation with Lilly Singh, Abhishek said he has believed in equality in relationships since childhood, having grown up around strong and successful individuals.
Recalling the time when his mother Jaya had a bigger fan following than his father Amitabh, Abhishek shared, “I had that at home as well, to get that out of the way. When my parents got married, my mother was the much bigger star than my father was. So it was not an unnatural thing. I wasn’t brought up to think that you have to be the dominant one; it was always about partnership.”
The actor revealed he and Aishwarya never had conversations about being “the man of the family.”
Stating that he and Ash were friends long before they decided to tie the knot, Abhishek said: “I have known Aishwarya from
the start of my career. The second film I did was with her, and she is the one actress I have worked with the most. We weren’t in a relationship then, we were buddies, we were always friends. When we finally did come together, and throughout our courtship, engagement, and marriage, it was always about partnership. It was never, ‘I am going to bring the food and you take care of the house.’ It’s not even discussed; it flows very naturally.”
Speaking about their parenting style for daughter Aaradhya, Abhishek said: “In my home, as parents, both of us try to be the best example for Aaradhya instead of telling her what is right and what is wrong. We believe in showing what to do by being that ourselves. It’s never been like, ‘Okay, I’ll teach her self-defence.’ If you’ve seen my wife, she can take care of herself. It’s never been divided like, ‘I’ll teach her self-defence, you teach her to be empathetic.’ No, it’s not that.”
Abhishek and Aishwarya got married in 2007, and became parents to Aaradhya in November 2011.
Rumours of trouble in their marriage started after the couple arrived separately at a wedding.
Later, Aishwarya shared photos from Aaradhya’s birthday celebrations, which did not feature the Bachchan family members, including Abhishek, thereby fuelling divorce speculation.
However, the couple later dismissed these claims by making several public appearances together.