Jayati Bhatia (born 28 July 1970) is an Indian actress.[1] She is best known for her role as Nirmala "Mataji" Bharadwaj in Sasural Simar Ka (2011–2018), one of the longest-running Indian television series ever, that aired on Colors TV.[2] She also played Geetanjali Gopichand Oswal in Sasural Simar Ka 2 (2021–2023).

Jayati Bhatia
Bhatia in 2013
Born
Jayati Chatterjee

(1970-07-28) 28 July 1970 (age 54)
OccupationActress
Known forSasural Simar Ka
SpouseKiran Bhatia
MotherChhoba Chatterjee
RelativesSurajeet Chatterjee (brother)
Mitul Chatterjee (sister)

Personal life

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Bhatia was born as Jayati Chatterjee into a Bengali household in Odisha, India but moved to Delhi when she was a month old.[3] As a child, she was trained in classical Odissi but has admitted that she finds western dance forms difficult.[4]

Bhatia has two siblings: a brother named Surajeet Chatterjee and a sister named Mitul Chatterjee.

Bhatia met her husband Kiran Bhatia, during her first play and was encouraged by him to be more active on the theatre circuit. In April 2017, on her way to the sets of 'Sasural Simar Ka', Kiran was involved in an argument after which he was beaten up.[5] Bhatia has expressed that she was supported by her mother-in-law and owes much of her success to her.[6]

Bhatia is a supporter of LGBT rights.[7]

Career

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Television debut and initial days (1996–2007)

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Bhatia debuted into Hindi television industry in 1995 with Challenge as Khushnuma.[3] In the sitcom Tu Tu Main Main on Star Plus, she essayed Kumud.[4] For the first of many collaborations, she teamed up with producer Ekta Kapoor in Kanyadaan and had a small role in her production Itihaas.[5]

Bhatia began the next century and decade as the wife of Arun Govil's character in Kaise Kahoon on Zee TV.[6] Her next three projects were produced by Kapoor; the first being comedy-drama Kitne Kool Hai Hum.[7] The second one was Sony TV's Kutumb where she played the male lead's aunt Kavita Mittal.[8] In their third consecutive collaboration, she portrayed Geetu Basu in the cult classic daily soap Kasautii Zindagii Kay from 2003 to 2006 for continuously three years.

In 2003, Bhatia was also seen as the titular lead's friend Bindiya in Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin on Sony TV. In 2005, she was roped in as Titli in Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka on Zee TV.[9] In Zee TV's another venture Mamta, she was cast as Mishti from 2006 to 2007.

Film debut, Saas v/s Bahu and Kitchen Champion (2007–2011)

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By foraying into Bollywood, Bhatia begun her film career with the Sridhar Rangayan-directed drama 68 Pages where she starred as commercial sex worker Payal.[10] It premiered worldwide at the International Film Festival of Kerala and was screened at several international film festivals. For returning to television, she reunited with Kapoor to play Pammi Godbole in Sony TV's rom-com Kuchh Is Tara from 2007 to 2008. For the first time in her career, she signed as a contestant in Sahara One's dance television series Saas v/s Bahu and survived till the finale before winning it.[11]

In 2009, Bhatia enacted the role of Gursheel Malhotra in Star Plus's Sabki Laadli Bebo.[12] Her second film, Raja Krishna Menon's black comedy Barah Aana, released that year.[13] From 2010 to 2011 she portrayed Manju, a loud neighbour in Star Plus's Sasural Genda Phool.[14] Her first project of 2011 turned out as a contestant in the fourth season of cooking based reality show Kitchen Champion hosted by Ronit Roy and Smita Singh; she was declared as winner of the show in finale and thus won a show for the second time, after Saas v/s Bahu.[15]

Sasural Simar Ka and beyond (2011–present)

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In April 2011, Bhatia achieved the biggest (in terms of success) and immensely praised opportunity of her career in Colors TV's soap opera Sasural Simar Ka where she acted as Nirmala "Mataji" Bharadwaj, the matriarch of the Bharadwaj family.[2] The show became one of the most highest-rated television shows on TRP charts and made its position among the most longest-running Indian television series, before ending in March 2018 post a successful run of seven years continuously.

Simultaneously along with Sasural Simar Ka shoot, she participated in the fifth season of reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa in June 2012 but was eliminated from it the very next month.[16][17] That year she voiced for actress Ileana D'Cruz's character in Anurag Basu's comedy-drama Barfi! which was a major financial hit with global earnings of over 175 crores. Her next simultaneous appearances with Sasural Simar Ka shoot were in Ananth Narayan Mahadevan's feature film Rough Book and the reality comedy series Comedy Nights Bachao.[18] In 2017, she was seen in the film The Wishing Tree.[19]

Right after the end of Sasural Simar Ka in March 2018, Bhatia joined Star Plus's Naamkarann as antagonist Kamini Kapoor. The show culminated two months later, in May 2018.[20] In August 2018, she began playing another antagonistic part of Roopa Mittal in Colors TV's Internet Wala Love until its wrap up in March 2019.[1] By venturing into OTT, she made her digital debut in 2019 with the horror-comedy Bhoot Purva which streamed on OTT platform ZEE5.[21]

In 2020, Bhatia's first web series project Tansener Tanpura premiered on OTT platform Hoichoi.[22] From August 2020 to January 2021 she worked as Nutan Jaiswal in Star Plus's rom-com Lockdown Ki Love Story. In the second season of web series Girls Hostel that streamed digitally on OTT platform SonyLIV, she starred as a dean.

Bhatia played Geetanjali Gopichand Oswal, a new character in Sasural Simar Ka 2, which premiered on Colors TV and Voot on 26 April 2021 and ended on 7 April 2023.[23]


Filmography

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Films

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Year Film Role Notes
2007 68 Pages Paayal
2009 Barah Aana Simone A. Mehta
2012 Barfi! Old Shruti Sengupta Voice over[24]
2015 Rough Book Rukhsana Ali
2017 The Wishing Tree Guriqbal's Mother [19]

Television

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Year Serial Role Notes
1995 Challenge Khushnuma
1996 Tu Tu Main Main Kumud [8]
1999 Kanyadaan Kavita
2000 Itihaas
CID Nupur Episodes 113-114
2001 Kaise Kahoon Nasreen
Kutumb Kavita Ajay Mittal
2002 Kitne Kool Hai Hum
2003–2006 Kasautii Zindagii Kay Geeta Sanjay Basu
2003 Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin Bindiya
2005 Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka Titli Mami
2006–2007 Mamta Mishti
2007–2008 Kuchh Is Tara Pammi Godbole
2008 Saas v/s Bahu Contestant Winner
2009 Sabki Laadli Bebo Gursheel Malhotra
Jo Ishq Ki Marzi Woh Rab Ki Marzi
2010 Baat Hamari Pakki Hai
2010–2011 Sasural Genda Phool Manju
2011 Kitchen Champion Herself Winner of Season 4
2011–2018 Sasural Simar Ka Nirmala "Mataji" Bharadwaj [9]
2012 Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5 Contestant 12th place[16]
2016 Comedy Nights Bachao Herself
2018 Naamkarann Kamini Sharad Kapoor [10]
2018–2019 Internet Wala Love Roopa Purushottam Mittal
2020–2021 Lockdown Ki Love Story Nutan Jaiswal [11]
2021 Sasural Simar Ka 2 Nirmala Bharadwaj "Mataji" Supporting role
2021–2023 Geetanjali Gopichand Oswal
2021 Girls Hostel Dr. Sarla "Dean" Desai Season 2
2022 Sirf Tum Geetanjali Devi Guest
2023 Dil Diyaan Gallaan Tavleen Bhinder
2023–2024 Do Chutki Sindoor Dhanlakshmi Pandey "Dadiya"
2023 Dahaad Devaki Bhatti
2024 Heeramandi Phatto
2024–present Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile Sharada Suryavanshi
Year Show Role
2019 Punnch Beat Miss Gayatri Bose
2019 Bhoot Purva Unknown
2020 Tansener Tanpura Madhubanti Mishra

Plays

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Jayati Bhatia On Her New Glamorous & Fashionable Character In 'Internet Wala Love'". Times Now News. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Sasural Simar Ka going off-air; actors who were a part of it". The Times of India. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Jayati Bhatia: The Glistening Star of Indian Television". Darpan Magazine. 31 July 2013.
  4. ^ a b "All Western dances are difficult for me: Jayati Bhatia". Times of India. 15 June 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Sasural Simar Ka's Mataji aka Jayati Bhatia's husband gets beaten up". Pinkvilla. 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Jayati Bhatia owes her success to real life mom-in-law". Zee News India. 10 May 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Annual LGBTQ film festival kick-starts in Mumbai". Times of India. 24 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Tu Tu Main Main: The sitcom about love and hate between saas-bahu". Hindustan Times. 11 November 2016.
  9. ^ a b "Sasural Simar Ka going off-air; actors who were a part of it". Times of India. 3 September 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Sasural Simar Ka's Jayati Bhatia aka Mataji to enter Naamkarann". Times of India. 19 March 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Mohit Malik on working with 'inspiration' Jayati Bhatia: I had ..." The Times of India. 19 August 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace". The Hindu. 21 July 2010.
  13. ^ a b "Jayati Bhatia performs mono-acting at its best". Times of India. 11 November 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Theatre Review: The Vagina Monologues". Times of India. 18 May 2012.
  15. ^ a b "This play addresses pressing issues with a hint of humour". Hindustan Times. 30 January 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Jayati Bhatia eliminated from 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5'". DNA India. 28 July 2012.
  17. ^ "Jayati Bhatia out of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5". Hindustan Times. 29 July 2012.
  18. ^ a b "Theatre Review: Mughal-e-Azam". Times of India. 13 January 2017.
  19. ^ a b "'The Wishing Tree': Good intention bad execution (IANS Review, Rating: *1/2)". Business Standard. 9 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Naamkarann: Sasural Simar Ka's Mataji aka Jayati Bhatia enters the show". India Today. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Lillete Dubey: A lukewarm greeting". Livemint. 3 November 2017.
  22. ^ a b "Lillette Dubey and Jayati Bhatia perform their play Salaam Noni Appa in Delhi". Times of India. 30 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Television helps me do theatre: Jayati Bhatia". Times of India. 7 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Jayati Bhatia brings voice to Barfi!". ColorsTv.
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