Meanness is in Jaya Bachchan’s DNA, say journalists after her ‘dirty pants’ comment for paps: ‘Paps always address her as Jaya ji’

Jaya Bachchan is no stranger to controversy. Over the years, she has often made headlines for her allegedly “rude” behaviour at public events. However, many felt she crossed a line during a recent event in Mumbai when she commented on the paparazzi’s clothes and background, comparing them to rodents. Her remarks did not go down well, especially with prominent paparazzi figures like Varinder Chawla and Viral Bhayani, who openly expressed their anger and even threatened to “boycott” events involving her and her family.

Amid the backlash, a roundtable discussion hosted by Hindi Rush brought together Vicky Lalwani, Sanjay Mishra, Hina Kumawat, Varinder Chawla, and Ujjwal Trivedi to share their perspectives on the Jaya Bachchan vs paparazzi controversy and her behaviour over the years.

During the discussion, when the interviewer asked, “Do you think the paps wear dirty clothes?”, Varinder Chawla immediately responded, “Do you think I am wearing dirty clothes?” while gesturing towards his outfit.

He went on to say, “It’s her point of view. And if she thinks like this about us, we have given her a befitting reply in the most positive way. I distributed T-shirts among my team so that at events, celebrities can recognise which paparazzi belong to Varinder Chawla’s team. Especially if there are people passing comments, celebs should know they are not from my team.”

Varinder also spoke about the instructions he gives his team. “We have been requesting our team from the beginning to comment as little as possible. We do tell them the basics. But at events, there are several photographers clicking on the red carpet. Everyone wants to deliver their best shot, and to get that, many end up saying, ‘Look here.’”

He added, “And I can vouch for my team when I say that not a single member of the paparazzi has ever addressed her in any way other than ‘Jaya ji.’ Every time they call out to her, they only say ‘Jaya ji.’ The entire industry is aware of her nature—much before the social media culture, she has always been like this.”

Senior journalist Ujjwal Trivedi shared a more balanced view, saying, “Whatever Jaya ji comments about the paparazzi is her choice, and every individual has the freedom to express their thoughts. What she said wasn’t entirely wrong, but the way she said it was not right. She didn’t have to be so mean. She could have politely addressed the issue. Everyone has a right to privacy and can request, ‘Please don’t click my picture,’ but there’s no need to be harsh.”

Journalist Hina Kumawat, who was also part of the discussion, added, “Jaya Bachchan didn’t need to comment on the pants they were wearing. People should be judged by their work and not their appearance. If she doesn’t like being papped, there was a very simple solution. Just like Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli put out a statement requesting the media not to photograph their children, Jaya ji—through Abhishek Bachchan or Aishwarya Rai—could have issued a similar statement. The paparazzi would have respected it. This was not such a big issue to be dragged out.”

Varinder recalled similar instances, saying, “Many celebrities have requested us not to click their kids, and they did so very politely. They even invited us home and spoke to us—be it Anushka, Alia, or Deepika Padukone. Even if we accidentally click a baby’s picture, we make sure to hide the face before sharing it. Similarly, Janhvi Kapoor once requested us not to click her at the gym, and we respected that.”

While most of the panelists and paparazzi criticised Jaya Bachchan’s approach, Vicky Lalwani offered a contrasting perspective.

He said, “Varinder, Viral, and Manav are not the only paparazzi. Today, everyone is a pap. They will never stop clicking celebrities.”

The controversy began after Jaya Bachchan told Barkha Dutt of Mojo Story at an event in Mumbai, “These people who wear drainpipe-tight, dirty pants and hold mobile phones think that because they have a mobile, they can take your picture and say what they want. And the kind of comments they pass—what kind of people are these? Where do they come from? What kind of education do they have? What is their background?”

Her remarks triggered strong reactions from the paparazzi community. In a viral video, a member of Viral Bhayani’s team said, “We have never abused any celebrity. We know what we are doing. We are human beings too.”

Meanwhile, Pallav Paliwal shared, “It’s unfortunate what she said. Amitabh ji comes outside his house every Sunday—no leading media covers it, it’s us paparazzi. Judging people based on their appearance, when they work day and night, is unfair. She might think we aren’t ‘media,’ but we are social media—a medium that spreads faster than print or television. If Jaya ji can promote Agastya’s film on her own social media without paparazzi, then fine. But being such a big celebrity, she shouldn’t have said this.”