In 2010, a tabloid in Mumbai claimed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was unable to conceive due to stomach tuberculosis. This invasion of privacy led to Amitabh Bachchan expressing his anger on his blog, where he defended Aishwarya and asserted the Bachchan family’s right to privacy.
The tabloid was strongly criticized for spreading false and insensitive information about his daughter-in-law. It was highlighted that such reports were not only intrusive but also deeply hurtful, particularly concerning personal and sensitive matters like health.
“I write to you today in deep anguish, pain and disgust. This article is completely false, completely fabricated, unsubstantiated, insensitive and of the lowest quality of journalism there ever was,” Amitabh Bachchan had written on his blog, as quoted by PTI.
Amitabh expressed that Aishwarya is like a daughter to him, rather than just his daughter-in-law. He stated his commitment to defend her against any disrespect, declaring, “I am the head of my family. Aishwarya is not my daughter-in-law, she is my daughter, a woman, a lady in my house and home. If anyone will speak derogatorily about her, I shall fight for her till my last breath. If you have something to say to the men in the house, Abhishek or me, I shall bear it. BUT…if you shall make injudicious remarks on the women in my home, I shall not tolerate it!!!.”
This was not the first instance of Amitabh Bachchan defending Aishwarya Rai. In 2003, while filming ‘Khakee’ near Nashik, Aishwarya experienced a serious accident that required her to be rushed to the hospital.
The media’s portrayal of Aishwarya Rai’s accident upset Amitabh, who would later become her father-in-law after she married his son Abhishek Bachchan. “For two nights I couldn’t sleep. To see this happen in front of my eyes! Her back was lacerated with cactus thorns. The bone in the rear portion of her feet is broken. She suffered severe cuts. And her injury was reported as trivial,” Big B had said.
On April 20, 2007, Aishwarya Rai married Abhishek Bachchan in a grand ceremony. The couple welcomed a daughter named Aaradhya Bachchan in 2011.
