Kevin Rego
In a shocking disclosure, celebrity solicitor Sarosh Zaiwalla accuses Ajitabh Bachchan, the very man who made him famous in India, of breaking up his marriage.
It took one widely-reported, sensational case for Sarosh Zaiwalla to burst upon the Indian firmament, bringing him recognition in his home country that years of distinguished work in England hadn’t been able to. Ironically, that is probably the one case that Zaiwalla today wishes had never come his way.
In 1990, at the height of the Bofors scandal, Dagens Nyheter, a Swedish newspaper, alleged that Ajitabh Bachchan was the holder of the infamous ‘sixth account’. Ajitabh Bachchan promptly sued the newspaper, with Sarosh Zaiwalla acting as his solicitor. The newspaper issued an apology; the Bachchan name was cleared. And Sarosh Zaiwalla became famous in India. For the millions of people following the case with bated breath, Zaiwalla’s legal wizardry made him a hero. Not to mention, saved the skin of one of India’s most famous families.
It is not unnatural perhaps that a grateful Ajitabh Bachchan and his solicitor went on to become close friends. Admits Zaiwalla, “That’s the only time in my professional life when I treated a client as a friend. I always professed he was like my brother.” When Ajitabh and Ramola Bachchan had earlier immigrated to the U.K. from Switzerland, it was Zaiwalla who had handled the legalities. In time the two families got closer, and Zaiwalla claims that when Ramola completed her law studies, the first person she worked for was him.
Meanwhile, Zaiwalla continued to make a name for himself in England. His firm, Zaiwalla & Co., started in 1982, is the only one of Indian origin in Chancery Lane, London’s most prestigious legal address. It is also the first international law firm of Indian origin in Europe. “I run the firm on the principle of one world, one mankind,” he says proudly. Only three of the 27 lawyers in the firm are Indian, the rest are English. In British legal circles, Zaiwalla & Co. is right up there with the best.
Specialising in marine and admiralty matters, the firm also successfully represents overseas governments and companies who choose London as an international base. Over 20 of the firm’s cases have been reported in English law reports, a clear indication of contribution to the development of commercial law. Zaiwalla’s greatest triumph came when the Lord Chancellor (Britain’s premier legal authority) visited his offices on Christmas, the first solicitor’s firm to ever be so honoured. As far as London was concerned, Zaiwalla had arrived!
There was no question of acceptance anymore, he was one of them. Evidence was in his growing connections with political bigwigs and people of consequence in the government. He was invited to accompany high level delegations of British ministers to countries like South Africa, China and India, where his mediation skills were much appreciated. He has a personal rapport with Prime Minister John Major, whom he first met when asked to co-organise a dinner for Indian businessmen at 10, Downing Street. “I have never taken advantage of my contacts with the Prime Minister. I have never asked for favours and consequently he trusts me,” affirms Zaiwalla.
Trust is a quality that Zaiwalla is probably very wary of. He’s had a bitter experience of how easily misplaced it can be. And the person to teach him this lesson is, amazingly, Ajitabh Bachchan. In a shocking disclosure to Society, Zaiwalla reveals for the first time what went wrong with his 14-year-old marriage to Renoo, mother of his two lovely children.
“I had absolutely no idea there was a problem. One day my wife came to me and said that she was leading an independent life and that I must find myself a girlfriend. She said she would come out in public with me as a wife. When I tried to find out what was wrong she just wouldn’t talk to me anymore. She just started going out on her own, all of a sudden. She told me I won’t tell you what I’m doing or where I’m going. If you do not like it, go for a divorce.” It was only much later the truth started coming out.”
And what was the truth? Zaiwalla believed that his wife was having an affair with Ajitabh Bachchan; that a man he considered a brother was responsible for the breakdown of his marriage. A shattered Zaiwalla is believed to have cited Ajitabh’s name in the divorce petition. Was that true?
“I can answer the question but I’m not sure I want to get into a controversy,” he hedges. “An honest answer is that I had so alleged in the divorce proceedings and Ajitabh has not denied it. I don’t want to say anything further.”
However something that he does admit freely is that he believed Ajitabh was also having an affair with a clerk at Zaiwalla & Co. “I feel terribly let down by Ajitabh because I knew he had an affair with a clerk of mine. I didn’t know about it till she quit. But she was giving a lot of trouble to the others. She was sleeping with the boss’ best friend and she was throwing her weight around. I don’t know what she was telling Ajitabh. It was professionally improper for a client to get information like that.”
He admits defeatedly, “I feel terribly let down by both Ajitabh and Ramola whom I’ve helped enormously for years when they were in difficulty.”
Zaiwalla’s revelations are even more shocking coming as they do in the wake of recent interviews given by Ramola Bachchan where she scoffed at the rumours linking her husband to the wife of a high-flying lawyer. She even claimed to have given the lady in question a job. And all along, it appears, she knew her husband had been named in the divorce proceedings and that he hadn’t denied it. Claims Zaiwalla, “In fact it was Ramola who first told me in ’94. She and Ajitabh had a very big problem and Ajitabh sought my help on a personal level because Ramola considered me a mentor. She told me about it in a moment of temper, I had no idea till then. When I asked Ajitabh, he denied it and I accepted it then, but later certain situations came to light.” He also claims that it was Ajitabh who gave his wife a job, not Ramola.
It is believed that Zaiwalla actually wrote a letter to Ajitabh before filing for the divorce, asking him to confirm or deny that he had had physical relations with his (Zaiwalla’s) wife. He is said to have agreed to accept a denial as an oath, further to which he was willing to drop the matter. Ajitabh was reportedly given a week’s time to reply, failure of which would result in his being named in the divorce proceedings.
The divorce is through. Zaiwalla has lost not only a wife, but a friend. And while he is understandably bitter, he is not allowing the divorce to cloud his life. “It’s the best thing that has happened to me. I feel very light. I’m an optimist. I’m doing well, I’m very happy now. On the whole, things have worked out for me — it may have been a favour for me, although the way it came about was very distasteful.”
He admits he made a bad error of judgement when it came to his former friend but he’s willing to learn from experience. “I continue to trust people, it’s been the secret of my success,” he says surprisingly. And he’s determined to spur Zaiwalla & Co. to greater successes. Just for the record, he adds, “The Bachchan case made a big splash in India because of his political connections, but for us it was just another case. We were already very well established as a law firm before that but because of them people in India got to know of us.”
It obviously rankles that the very person who was responsible for putting his professional name in lights, was the one who ushered the darkness into his personal life. But Sarosh Zaiwalla believes in justice. Universal justice.
— Kevin Rego
Society, August 1996
