KSBKBT Actress Jaya Bhattacharya Had A Traumatic Childhood, Was Forced To Act, Beaten With A Hunter

'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' fame, Jaya Bhattacharya, detailed having a traumatic childhood where her mother was abusive. Her parents also forced her into acting, which led to a bad experience.

There's barely anyone in India who doesn't know actress, Jaya Bhattacharya, especially after she became a household name for her work in TV serials. She is widely known for playing antagonist roles, such as 'Payal,' in Ekta Kapoor's soap opera, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Additionally, she also played the roles of 'Jigyasa Bali' in Kasamh Se, 'Sakku Bai' in Jhansi Ki Rani, and 'Sudha Buaa' in Gangaa. While she was making a name for herself in front of the cameras, not many people know that her life behind the scenes, especially her childhood, has been a source of trauma for her. In real life, she was a victim of a bad marriage, which majorly affected her as she grew up. 

Jaya Bhattacharya opened up about her traumatic childhood  

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame, Jaya Bhattacharya, is known to have come from a humble background. Born into a humble Bengali family in the 70s, Jaya claimed to have no happy memories from her childhood, especially for being born as a girl child, as a major reason behind this. In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, the actress detailed her traumatic childhood, stating: 

“Both my parents never wanted to marry each other; they didn’t get along, and that trickled down to the child. My mother wasn’t happy; her dreams never got fulfilled, so whatever she could give me was incomplete… I have been beaten with a hunter, rolling pin, tong, shoes, and whatnot. I have been beaten a lot, and that made me stubborn. In the bargain, I have damaged myself a lot.” 

Recalling her humble background, Jaya shared that she lived with her family in a small room from the time she was in the third standard and up until she moved to Mumbai. Between her parents, the actress revealed that while she loved her father dearly growing up, her relationship with her mother was sour to the point that Jaya held a grudge against her even as an adult. In fact, she claimed that instead of good lessons, she learned everything that one shouldn't do in life, like making relationships for benefit and then discarding them, not valuing people, judging people, and most importantly, not supporting your child in front of others, from her mother.  

Jaya Bhattacharya recalled how she was pushed into acting by her parents  

While Jaya Bhattacharya has built a pretty successful acting career for herself. In a shocking revelation, she claimed that she never wanted to act in the first place. Despite her reluctance to act, it was her parents who pushed her in front of the cameras. She stated: 

“I was pushed towards acting. I used to dance, and was training in music. Once I got a chance to do a telefilm, the director spoke to my father and first made me dance as a woman, and then also asked me to enact the male part. The shoot was supposed to happen after three days, but my father woke me up the next day at 5 am and took me. I didn’t want to do it, but he took me there. That’s how it started…” 

The actress was not spared from facing exploitation either, especially when it came to film castings. She recalled a casting-couch incident that made her uncomfortable when she was around 18 years old. She stated: 

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“After the telefilm, the director came with one of his friends, saying he wanted to take me out, but my mother kept dodging him. But he was adamant, so they gave in. He took me to a restaurant, and I was 17-18 at that time. Later, we came home, and the director disappeared after that, but his friend started coming home every day. He taught me how to drive. Later, we got to know he was involved with the mafia. One day, that guy offered to take me to Mumbai, but I said no.” 

Jaya Bhattacharya on how she got a lot of hate playing the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi character 

While she shot to fame in 2000 for playing the character ‘Payel’ in Ekta Kapoor's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, her experience on the show was far from ideal. Initially, Jaya was only supposed to make a month-long cameo on the hit television serial; however, it soon turned into a 7-year association. Since then, Jaya has been pretty vocal about not feeling respected on the show and about facing tons of abuse from fans due to the antagonistic nature of her character. She claimed: 

“I faced a lot of abuse for Kyunki; that was my success. I never got an award for that iconic character; no acceptance or acknowledgement was given, even though I deserved it. I enjoyed the abuses. It was supposed to be a month-long cameo, and I worked on the show for 7 and a half years without signing a contract. I was the most underpaid actor, never got a raise until I asked for it. I was given a 50 percent lesser raise than others, and that hurt my ego. I was not respected.”

What are your thoughts on Jaya Bhattacharya's traumatic childhood? Let us know. 

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