'Bas Kijiye, Jaya Ji': A look at Mrs Bachchan's love-hate relationship with the paps

When the paparazzi are not covering Mallaika Arora’s gym looks or Urfi Javed’s next outlandish outfit, they are usually found chasing veteran actress Jaya Bachchan with the cameras. A veteran actress in her own right, Mrs Bachchan has, on numerous occasions, made it amply clear that she does not like the paparazzi attention. Despite that, the shutterbugs cannot help but track her every move carefully and upload her on their Instagram pages to gain traction.

Last week, an angry Jaya Bachchan had given an earful to fans who had mobbed her son Abhishek Bachchan, during their visit to Bari temple. ‘S_haram nahi aati_ (are you not ashamed)?’ asked Mrs Bachchan to a group of fans - most of them young girls, who were trying to take a picture with her son, Abhishek. Mrs Bachchan’s antics rubbed Twitterati the wrong way. The netizens, who were anyway familiar with her usual temper tantrums both with the paparazzi and at times, in the Rajya Sabha were left fuming at the sheer entitlement with which Mrs Bachchan berated the fans.

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‘Please Respect My Boundaries’

Not just fans, Mrs Bachchan and the paparazzi are not exactly a match made in heaven either. But one cannot help but wonder - is it that hard to be respectful to the members of the media and paparazzi who are trying to take your picture? How is this behaviour any different from celebrities like Taapsee Pannu lambasting media members and journalists for covering them? Shouldn’t Jaya Ji be thankful, at the very least, that the paps still care enough about her to cover her in the first place? It is important to note that several upcoming celebrities often send tip-offs to paps to gain traction on social media but not all of them make it to our Instagram feeds. Given Jaya Ji’s legacy as a veteran actress, the paps are kind enough to click her - that too, from a distance to respect her personal boundaries - which she has communicated earlier many times. Must the paparazzi, most of whom are underpaid, underprivileged men rushing from one spot to another, often risking their lives to cover celebs, be subjected to such disrespectful and distasteful comments?

Can Jaya Ji imagine treating her house help or the staff at Jalsa the same way she treats the paparazzi? In fact, one cannot imagine how cold and angry Jaya ji must be in private if she is lashing out with such anger publicly. Earlier this week, the actress went as far as saying ‘I hope you fall’ to one of the paps who was present at Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai to cover her. It must be noted here that Mrs Bachchan was present at the event with her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda, so the paparazzi weren’t there to cover only her. Still, Mrs Bachchan wished harm for a paparazzo. Does this behaviour not reek of entitlement and privilege? The paparazzi clicking Mrs Bachchan should not and cannot answer back - even if they wish to. Mrs Bachchan is well aware of her star power and continues to abuse it to no end.

This, of course, has left a poor taste among the fans of the Bachchan family.

In Jaya Ji’s Defense

To play the Devil’s Advocate here, it must be noted that Mrs Bachchan is 74-years-old. Unlike an Urfi Javed, who often sends tip-offs to paparazzi to cover her, Mrs Bachchan comes from an entirely different generation of actresses where entertainment journalism was still on the rise and paparazzi culture was non-existent. Mrs Bachchan, who isn’t accustomed to being followed by the shutterbugs, is bound to experience some discomfort while being papped. Is there a better way to communicate this discomfort and respectfully establish boundaries? Most definitely - there is. However, given her age, she is bound to have temperamental issues. We’ve all seen our grandparents act cranky or throw a tantrum at some time of the day. Even Salman Khan, who is 56-years-old is usually in a bad mood around the paparazzi.

Some eagle-eyed Redditors also pointed out that in an old episode of the talk show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, Jaya Bachchan had opened up about her struggle with claustrophobia. It is very likely that the veteran actress continues to struggle with the condition and hence, tries to avoid the paparazzi.

Another question worth asking is - why do the paparazzi even bother to cover Mrs Bachchan despite her making it amply clear multiple times that she doesn’t like being clicked? Some speculate that this could be a tactic used by the paps to get an angry reaction from her which is a sure shot recipe for a viral video.

All in all, in the love-hate relationship that exists between Jaya ji and the paparazzi, both seem to falter a bit and do not stick to their end of the bargain. As a celebrity and a public figure, Jaya Ji must act responsibly around the paps and the paps in return must be respectful of Jaya Ji’s boundaries.

Meanwhile, We cannot help but repeat to Jaya Ji and also the paps, her dialogue from K3G - _‘bas bhi kijiye, bahut ho gaya’.
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Deepansh Duggal is an entertainment, pop-culture and trends writer based in New Delhi. He specializes in op-eds based on the socio-political and gender issues in the world of entertainment and showbiz. He also writes explainers and occasionally reviews shows in the OTT space. He tweets at @Deepansh75. 

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