Jayati Bhatia: In 2024, I feel OTT viewers have dwindled

Jayati Bhatia

Jayati Bhatia has a simple thumb rule: when approaching a character, find something novel about it. Her latest show, Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile, offered her just that. The actor portrays Sharda Suryavanshi, a woman whose love for her family is conditional. After building a career playing the quintessential saas and a vamp in television shows since 1995, Bhatia says it was a departure to play a character that isn't "straight-forward". In a chat with mid-day, the actor talks about tackling roles, feeling as nervous as any newcomer on the set and why she believes the OTT boom is a myth.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

Over the years, what has been the one role that has satisfied the actor in you?
It's a clichéd answer, but it is true. A role that I've already done becomes a tale of the past. The new characters that come my way excite me. For instance, now as I play Sharda Suryavanshi in Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile, I am nervous. I've played the matriarch of a family who controls everyone [before]. Here, I am not like that. Sharda shows that she has a big heart, but in reality is hiding her true self. My characters have all been straight-forward before; Sharda loves her family, but her love is conditional and selfish. She loves Raghav [the protagonist] and has invested emotionally in him so that she can revel in the returns after 15 years.

You are a veteran on set. How do you manage with relatively newer actors who are learning the craft?
At the beginning of any show, I am as nervous as any newbie. It's just that people don't see my nervousness. They believe that with my experience, I will deliver the best in one take. I may be more experienced as per my craft, but I am as new to the show as anyone else on set. I will know the tricks to do a scene and they may not - that probably is the only difference. Here, Bharat [Ahlawat] and Ayushi [Khurana] came prepared on set. Sehaj [Rajput], who plays Unnati, and Dhruv [Rohit Kumar] are wet behind the ears. But while shooting a wedding sequence, the way Sehaj performed her scene made me so proud of her. I have a lot of respect for actors, unless they are terrible. Then I get exasperated.

Were you nervous when you were a newbie?
Back then, our seniors were in the same position as I am now. They never told us to shut up, or learn our lines and come back. I've worked with Kirron [Kher], and some prolific actors in my career. Sudha Chandran-ji taught me how to face the light and camera. She said, ‘You are not doing theatre; you're working for the camera. So, you have to learn where the light is.' Since they taught me, it is now my responsibility to be patient with the newbies.

The concept of aata saata has been explored in Bade Acche Lagte Hai and Kutumb. What is novel about this show?
The word ‘aata saata' is new. When I heard the narration, I was puzzled with the term. In fact, I wanted the show to be called Aata Saata [laughs]. I was staying in Karol Bagh in Delhi, where I saw the Rajasthani community practice this exchange. Back then, as a kid, I was just thrilled about two weddings happening together. Now, I realise what it meant.

As society is changing, people are choosing not to marry. So, how is the story of a couple, who is entering a marriage that is all about compromise, relevant?
[Choosing to not marry] is an urban concept. In tier II and III cities, it is still not popular. Ultimately, we are telling a story, and we've been telling stories since ages. We cannot know how it will end. If we know how it begins and ends, it's not fun. Twists and turns keep the audience hooked. Gabriel García Márquez's book Love in the Time of Cholera [showed] that love can bloom in the most horrible places. This is not even as complicated.

There has been a shift in audience's taste since the OTT boom. Do you feel the TV audience is dwindling?
No. In 2024, I feel OTT viewers have dwindled. Not every show coming out is fantastic. People watch two out of eight episodes and leave the show. I feel it's not a boom. Television is still going strong. Five years ago, it was predicted that the television industry would shut down, but it didn't happen. People have changed their viewing patterns. Now that we are on the phone and on apps, it's not fixed that at 7pm everyone will be watching the same show. The idea of family viewing and primetime is gone. No one will stop watching TV shows.