‘Kahan se aate hain, Kis tarah ka education hai?’: Jaya Bachchan slams paparazzi culture

MUMBAI: Jaya Bachchan, who has often made headlines for her not-too-cool interactions with paparazzi, took a dig at what she calls the increasingly intrusive ‘pap culture’.

In a recent conversation at the We The Women Asia event in Mumbai, the veteran actress described today’s paparazzi scene as “strange” and questioned the ethics and professionalism behind it.

Speaking about how she differentiates between the media and paparazzi, Jaya said she has great respect for journalism but shares a “zero” relationship with the paparazzi. Explaining the contrast, she said her relationship with the media is “fantastic” because she considers herself a “product of the media”, but when it comes to paparazzi, the equation is very different.

“My relationship with the media is fantastic. I’m the product of the media, but my relationship with the paparazzi is zero.”

“Who are these people? Are they trained to represent the people of this country? You call them media? I come from the media. My father was a journalist. I have immense respect for such people.”

She went on to lash out at the paparazzi’s role and credibility, describing them as people who believe that simply having a phone gives them authority. Adding how “strange” she finds their behaviour, Jaya shared, “….Magar ye jo bahar drain-pipe tight gande gande pant pahen ke haath mein mobile leke… they think they have a mobile in their hand so they can take your picture?”

The actress didn’t hold back and went on to slam the way paparazzi make loud verbal comments while clicking photos. “The kind of comments they pass…What kind of people are these? Kahan se aate hain? Kis tarah ka education hai? Kya background hai? (Where do these people come from? What kind of education do they have? What background do they have?) They will represent us? Just because they can get through YouTube or whatever social media.”

Reacting to being labelled one of the most hated celebrities online, Jaya insisted she remains unfazed. She said, “I don’t give a damn… You hate me; it’s your opinion. My opinion is I dislike you immensely because you think you are a chuha (rat) who gets into somebody’s house with a mobile camera.”

Jaya also took a dig at young actors who allegedly inform paparazzi of their whereabouts to gain attention. Calling the practice “embarrassing”, she said, “Agar aapko apna photo nikalne ke liye airport pe camera bulana pade, to phir kya tarah ka celebrity ho aap? (If you need to call a camera at the airport to get your photo taken, then what kind of a celebrity are you?)”

Jaya Bachchan has often been spotted showing her displeasure toward paparazzi behaviour. Time and again, the actress has been seen warning or schooling photographers at public events.

On the work front, Jaya was last seen in Karan Johar’s 2023 film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, featuring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. The film, which recently won a National Award, was released on July 28, 2023. It also starred Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Churni Ganguly, Aamir Bashir, and Kshitee Jog. (ANI)