Amitabh Bachchan – Gandhi family: How did they turn from friends to foes?

The Bachchan – Gandhi family's friendship has made as much noise as much as their fall-out. From having each other's back to turning a blind eye towards each other, the two powerful families have raised several eyebrows over their changing equation over time. Let's take a look at what went wrong between the two dynasties.

How it all began?

It was Dr. Harivanshrai Bachchan's work in India's foreign ministry as the Hindi Officer under the regime of Congress and Jawahar Lal Nehru that sowed the seeds of their friendship. Nehru was fond of Dr. Bachchan's intellect and slowly became allies. Amitabh's mother, Teji Bachchan, who was working as a social activist, had become close friends with Indira Gandhi.

Friendship in the next generation

The friendship continued with the next generation also as Amitabh Bachchan and Rajiv Gandhi struck a great friendship. So much so that Amitabh had even gone to welcome Sonia, when she came to India for the first time after the engagement abroad. Sonia also stayed with the Bachchans before the marriage and Teji Bachchan helped her understand India's customs and rituals. Few functions of Sonia and Rajiv's wedding took place at the Bachchan's house in Delhi.

The high

It was Rajiv Gandhi who believed that Big B would succeed as a political figure, owing to his mammoth popularity. Amitabh was given a ticket from Allahabad by the Congress for the elections. Amitabh won with a great margin and worked tirelessly for three years before calling it quits.

The lows

It was the report of his involvement in the Bofors scam that made him quit and move back to Bollywood. Though he was given a clean chit, his films failed to garner the same kind of applause as earlier, which even forced Big B to take a sabbatical. It was after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi that the Bachchans and the Gandhis completely fell apart. The cracks were easily visible now.

Left in a lurch

While the Gandhis thought that the Bachchans had left them when they needed their support, the Bachchan thought that the Gandhis didn't help them when they were stuck amid scam allegations. To add to it, Bachchan's company went broke and he was at the stage of bankruptcy but was helped by the Samajwadi party's Amar Singh. And thus began the friendship between Amar Singh and the Bachchans which went on to make news on its own.