4 min readMumbaiFeb 19, 2026 09:21 AM IST
Jaya Bachchan has maintained her stance of not cooperating with the paparazzi, more so after she lashed out at them and their hygiene in an interview last year. Initially miffed by her remarks, the paparazzi are now back to photographing her. At an awards show on Wednesday evening, Jaya was seen exiting the venue with her friends. The paparazzi, present outside, began clicking them and requested Jaya Bachchan to pose for pictures. But the veteran actor, who had skipped the red carpet, continued to avoid the cameras. Until Karan Johar walked out.
Karan greeted the ladies and smiled as Jaya further avoided the cameras. The paparazzi requested the two to pose together, but Jaya refused to entertain them. As they kept insisting, Jaya pointed a finger at them, sporting a stern expression, as she hugged Karan goodbye. While Karan headed towards his car, the paparazzi thanked him.
“Meri wajah se mila photo (You got her picture because of me),” Karan told the paparazzi, grinning. He then went back to Jaya Bachchan and her friends, and told them the same, as Jaya smiled mildly. Karan shares a friendly rapport with the actor, having directed her in two films — Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023).
At the Express Adda in 2023, Karan said Jaya is nothing like her stern character in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. “It was actually to cast against type. She has such a wonderful image on and off the screen. She is a mother figure to me. So, when I wanted to cast against type, I thought it would be a great role for her to go against what she has done. She is like Guddi (1971). That was her personality on celluloid. So, sometimes it is nice to shake things up,” said Karan.
“If you ask my crew, ‘Who is their favourite person on set?’ They would say Jaya Bachchan. She is not this persona at all. She is not Dhanlakshmi,” Karan told Mid-Day in an interview in the same year. He claimed that she knew each of the 12 Assistant Directors by their name and was like a mother to them on set.
Last year, in an interview with Mojo Story, Jaya explained her issue with the paparazzi chasing her for pictures. “My relationship with paparazzi is zero. Who are these people? Are they trained to be representing the people of this country? You call them media? I come from media, my father was a journalist,” said Jaya.
“Yeh jo bahar gande, tight pant pehnke, hath mein mobile leke (they wear cheap tight pants and have a mobile in their hand). They think just 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 people? Kahan se aate hain, kis tarah ka education hai? Kya background hai? They will represent us? Just because they can get through to YouTube or whatever social platform?,” she added.
