Navya can have child without marriage: Jaya Bachchan advises guilt-free physical relationships

It appears that veteran actor Jaya Bachchan is not a traditional conservative grandmother forcing marriage onto their grandchildren as soon as they turn 25. In fact, she believes that “experimentation” while choosing a partner and “physical attraction” are important aspects for a relationship to last longer. The 74-year-old actor also stated that she wouldn’t mind if her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda has a “child without marriage.”

Appearing on Navya’s podcast What The Hell Navya, Jaya spoke about how relationships at her time were more superficially guided and were based on just “love, fresh air and adjustment” but the generation nowadays has more freedom and she advocates for using it in the best ways.

"People will find it objectionable coming from me but physical attraction and compatibility are also significant. In our times, we couldn't experiment but today the generation does and why shouldn't they? Because that also is responsible for a long-lasting relationship,” said Jaya. “If there isn't a physical relationship it's not going to last very long. You can't be lasting on love and fresh air and adjustment, I feel.”

The Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham actor went on to highlight the generation gaps between her, her daughter Shweta and her granddaughter Navya. "Sometimes it's a pity but a lot of the younger lot, of course, we never could, we couldn't even think about it but the younger generation even after me, Shweta's generation, Navya's is a different ballgame, but they would feel guilty going through that experience and I think it's very wrong. It's okay and then you do things on the sly. If you had a physical relationship and you feel that still, my relationship otherwise not worked out you can be nice about it," the veteran actor added.

Concluding, she had a piece of advice for all the younger ones listening to her. "I'm looking at it very clinically. Since there's a lack of that emotion, the romance today, I think you should marry your best friend. You should have a good friend, you should discuss and say, ‘Maybe I'd like to have a child with you because I like you, I think you're nice, so let's get married because that's what society's saying'. I have no problem if you have a child without a marriage also, I really don't have a problem."

On the work front, Jaya will be seen next in Karan Johar's directorial Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. The film also stars Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi and will release in 2023.