Jaya Bhattacharya enjoys being hated by fans

It’s been more than a decade since popular TV show, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, ended. But Jaya Bhattacharya (above), best known for the portrayal of Payal Mehra on the show, is still struggling to come out of the shadow of her infamous character. And that’s something that annoys her. “People still call me Payal and I’m thankful to that, but my life didn’t start with it, so it’s not fair to end it at that. Fans have to give you that passage to get you out of a popular character and do bigger stuff,” says Jaya, who was recently seen in the film, The Wishing Tree. She, however, admits that she immensely enjoyed popularity as Payal, when the show was on air and topping TRP charts. Narrating a rather funny incident, Jaya recalls, “Once I and Smriti [Irani; actor-turned-politician] went to a café in Lokhandwala (in Mumbai). She was seven months pregnant, so I was holding her hand and giving her support. Suddenly, a lady pulled my hand away, and told Smriti, ‘Iss aurat ke sath mat jao yeh gandi aurat hai. Chhod do isse. (Don’t go with this woman, she’s a bad person).’ I couldn’t control my laughter. So you see, this hatred is their appreciation of my work. It makes me happy that I did my job well to make them believe I’m bad.” Jaya adds that being hated was a blessing in disguise. “I’m a bit of an introvert. So, since people were scared of me, they didn’t strike random conversations with me.”