Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan have been married for more than five decades, but before meeting Jaya on the sets of Guddi in 1971, Bachchan had fallen in love with someone else. Big B and Jaya Bachchan tied the knot in 1973 and then had two children – Shweta Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. But before he became an actor, Bachchan was in love with a girl named Maya. But those around the actor, advised him that she would not fit into the Bachchan family, considering how his parents Harivanshrai Bachchan, Teji Bachchan were. Author and journalist Hanif Zaveri, who is a celebrity biographer, revealed details about Amitabh Bachchan’s first romance and how it eventually ended. Speaking to the YouTube channel Meri Saheli, Hanif said that Amitabh’s relationship with a woman named Maya began during his time in Calcutta (now Kolkata), when he was earning around ₹250–300 a month. “She was working at British Airways at the time. Amitabh Bachchan really loved her, and she did too,” he shared.
After leaving his Kolkata job, Big B moved to Mumbai to pursue a film career and initially stayed at a Juhu bungalow owned by a friend of his mother, Teji Bachchan. Since Maya visited him frequently and the house owner lived there too, Amitabh worried his mother might find out. “So he decided to move out of the house,” Hanif said.Around this time, he was shooting for his debut film Saat Hindustani alongside Anwar Ali, the brother of Mehmood. Hanif recalled, “He told Anwar about his worries and Anwar understood his concerns. So Anwar gave him a place to stay at his house,” adding that the apartment belonged to Mehmood and Amitabh stayed there for a while.The relationship with Maya continued, and marriage could have been on the cards, but his career was still uncertain. Hanif described him as “a very shy man” in those days, while Maya was “quite cunning.” He explained, “Sometimes, she wouldn’t even bother who was sitting with him and would speak with him as she wanted, she would scold him too.” According to Hanif, Anwar Ali and Amitabh’s other friends didn’t appreciate this behaviour, and it made Amitabh uneasy as well.Hanif recounted that during a shoot in Goa for Saat Hindustani, Anwar advised him to end the relationship, saying Maya might not fit into the Bachchan family and could create problems in his career. Amitabh, feeling something was missing, began distancing himself from Maya. Eventually, the two broke up and went their separate ways.