Jayati Bhatia (born July 28, 1970) is an Indian actress. She is best known for her role as Nirmala "Mataji" Bharadwaj in ''

Sasural Simar Ka ''Sasural Simar Ka'' () is an Indian Hindi-language television soap opera produced by Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, that aired from 25 April 2011 to 2 March 2018 on Colors TV. The show starred Dipika Kakar, Keerti Gaekwad Kelkar, Avika Gor, Dheeraj ...

'' (2011–18), one of the most longest-running TV shows that aired on

Colors TV Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment broadcast network owned by Viacom18. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, youth-oriented reality shows, shows on crime and television films. History It was launched on 2 ...

. Currently she's essaying the role of Geetanjali Devi Oswal in Sasural Simar Ka Season - 2.

Personal life

Originally a Bengali, Bhatia was born in

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

, India but moved to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

when she was a month old. As a child, she was trained in classical

Odissi Odissi (), also referred to as Orissi in old literature, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern coastal state of India. 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. Bhatia has expressed that she was supported by her mother-in-law and owes much of her success to her. Bhatia is a supporter of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

rights.

Career

Television debut and initial days (1996–2007)

Bhatia debuted into Hindi television industry in 1995 with ''Challenge'' as Khushnuma. In the sitcom ''

Tu Tu Main Main ''Tu Tu Main Main'' (English: ''Squabble'') is an Indian sitcom television sitcom which originally aired on DD Metro and later STAR Plus directed by Sachin Pilgaonkar. The series first premiered on DD Metro in 1994 till 1996 before it moved to ...

'' on

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...

, she essayed Kumud. For the first of many collaborations, she teamed up with producer

Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television producer, film producer and director who works in Hindi cinema and soap opera. She is the joint managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited, which was founded in 1994. ...

in '' Kanyadaan'' and had a small role in her production '' Itihaas''. Bhatia began the next century and decade as the wife of

Arun Govil Arun Govil ( ; born 12 January 1958) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and television. He is best known for portraying the role of Lord Rama in Ramanand Sagar's epic Television Series '' Ramayan'' and King Vikramāditya in ''Vikram ...

's character in ''

Kaise Kahoon ''Kaise Kahoon'' is an Indian soap opera telecast on the Hindi general entertainment channel, Zee TV in 2001. The series is produced by Mona Shourie Kapoor who is known from her earlier projects on DD National channel, and stars the Bollywood ac ...

'' on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...

. Her next three projects were produced by Kapoor; the first being comedy-drama ''

Kitne Kool Hai Hum ''Kitne Kool Hai Hum'' is an Indian comedy drama series created and co-produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor under their banner Balaji Telefilms. The series premiered on 15 April 2002 on Zee TV. Plot The series revolves around the Chapanaria ...

''. The second one was

Sony TV Sony Television, Sony TV, or Sony HD may refer to any of the following television-related products from Japanese conglomerate Sony: * Television sets designed and manufactured by Sony Corporation in Japan ** Trinitron, television hardware brand (196 ...

's ''

Kutumb The Kutumb Foundation is a New Delhibased NGO. It was founded in 2002. The NGO works in Khan Market, Ali Vihar, Nizamuddin Sunder Nursery Slum and Savda-Ghevra Jhuggi Jhopri Resettlement Colony. Kutumb works in the field of education through its ...

'' where she played the male lead's aunt Kavita Mittal. In their third consecutive collaboration, she portrayed Geetu Basu in the

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a 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 ''Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin'' () is an Indian soap opera which aired on Sony Entertainment Television from 1 September 2003 to 4 May 2006. The series was an Indian-themed version of the Colombian drama ''Yo soy Betty, la fea''. Plot Based large ...

'' on Sony TV. In 2005, she was roped in as Titli in ''

Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka Sindoor Tere Naam Ka is an Indian television series that aired on Zee TV at 7:30pm from 21 March 2005 to 6 April 2007 completing 521 episodes. Plot The story is based on the lives of two sisters, Niharika (Keerti Gaekwad Kelkar) and Vedika ( ...

'' on Zee TV. 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)

By foraying into

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

, Bhatia begun her film career with the

Sridhar Rangayan Sridhar Rangayan (also spelt Sridhar Rangaihn or Sridhar Rangayyan; born 2 April 1962) is an Indian filmmaker who has made films with special focus on queer subjects. His queer films, '' The Pink Mirror'' and '' Yours Emotionally'', have been ...

-directed drama ''

68 Pages ''68 Pages'' is a 2007 Indian film about an HIV/ AIDS counselor and five of her clients who are from marginalized communities. The film is directed by Sridhar Rangayan and produced by Humsafar Trust in association with Solaris Pictures. It had i ...

'' where she starred as commercial

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is d ...

Payal. It premiered worldwide at the

International Film Festival of Kerala The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...

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 Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

Kuchh Is Tara ''Kuchh Is Tara'' is an Indian television series that aired on Sony TV from November 2007 to August 2008. Plot Kanya Godbole, who hails from a middle-class family, tries to help her hotel employer by pretending to be her daughter and sign a c ...

'' from 2007 to 2008. For the first time in her career, she signed as a contestant in

Sahara One Sahara One is an Indian Hindi general entertainment channel based in New Delhi. It is operated by Sahara India Pariwar. History Sahara One was launched as Sahara TV on 28 March 2000, which later in April 2003 was renamed as Sahara Manoranjan. ...

's dance television series ''

Saas v/s Bahu ''Saas v/s Bahu'' is an Indian dance television series that aired on Sahara One channel in 2008. Concept ''Saas v/s Bahu'' is a dance competition between the Saases (mothers-in-law) and the Bahus (daughters-in-law) from some of the most popular I ...

'' and survived till the finale before winning it. In 2009, Bhatia enacted the role of Gursheel Malhotra in Star Plus's ''

Sabki Laadli Bebo ''Sabki Laadli Bebo'' was a Popular Indian television drama-series that aired on STAR Plus. The series premiered on 11 March 2009 and was produced by Endemol, Endemol India and Sachidanand Productions. It was concluded on 25 March 2011. ''Sabki ...

''. Her second film,

Raja Krishna Menon Raja Krishna Menon is an Indian film writer, director and producer. He started as an advertisement director and later moved to feature films. He has directed three Bollywood films. His most recent film Chef was released on 7 October 2017. Ea ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

'' Barah Aana'', released that year. From 2010 to 2011 she portrayed Manju, a loud neighbour in Star Plus's ''

Sasural Genda Phool ''Sasural Genda Phool'' is an Indian television drama series that aired on StarPlus starring Ragini Khanna and Jay Soni. It aired during weekday evenings from 1 March 2010 to 21 April 2012. Its plot was written at the same time as Star Jalsha ...

''. 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 Ronit Bose Roy (born 11 October 1965) is an Indian actor, known for his works primarily in Hindi television and films alongside Tamil and Telugu cinema. Roy has earned numerous accolades in his career including a Filmfare Award, two Screen Awa ...

and

Smita Singh Smita Singh (born 16 December 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in the television show ''Bhagyavidhaata'' and is known for her portrayal of leading vamp character Punpunwali. She has also acted in the TV serial '' Kkusum'' and in Zee TV's ...

; she was declared as winner of the show in finale and thus won a show for the second time, after ''Saas v/s Bahu''.

''Sasural Simar Ka'' and beyond (2011–present)

In April 2011, Bhatia achieved the biggest (in terms of success) and immensely praised opportunity of her career in

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' where she acted as Nirmala Devi Bhardwaj aka Mataji, the matriarch of the male lead's family. 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 ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'' is an Indian Hindi-language reality television show and the Indian version of BBC's '' Strictly Come Dancing'' and '' Dancing with the Stars''. The show pairs celebrities with professional dancers. Each couple performs pr ...

'' in June 2012 but was eliminated from it the very next month. That year she voiced for actress

Ileana D'Cruz Ileana D'Cruz (born 1 November 1987) is an Indian-born Portuguese actress and model who predominantly appears in Telugu and Hindi language films. D'Cruz was born in Mumbai and spent most of her childhood in Goa. D'Cruz made her screen debut in ...

's character in

Anurag Basu Anurag Basu (born 8 May 1974) is an Indian director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He began his directing career in television, moving to feature films in 2002. Basu achieved initial success with his films tackling the themes of passion and ...

's comedy-drama ''

Barfi! ''Barfi!'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under UTV Motion Pictures. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as the eponymous lead, alongside P ...

'' 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 Anant Mahadevan (born 28 August 1950), also credited as Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, is an Indian screenwriter, actor, and film director of Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi language, Marathi, Tamil language, Tamil films and television shows. Having been ...

's feature film ''

Rough Book ''Rough Book'' is a feature film directed by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan for Aerika Cineworks. It features Tannishtha Chatterjee and Amaan Khan in lead roles with Joy Sengupta, Jayati Bhatia, Deepika Amin and Vinay Jain in supporting roles. Televi ...

'' and the reality comedy series ''

Comedy Nights Bachao ''Comedy Nights Bachao'' (English: ''Comedy Nights, Help!'') was an Indian Hindi-language comedy television series which premiered on 5 September 2015. The series used to air on Sunday nights on Colors TV. The series was a reality show with a ...

''. In 2017, she was seen in the film ''The Wishing Tree''. Right after the end of ''Sasural Simar Ka'' in March 2018, Bhatia joined Star Plus's ''

Naamkarann ''Naamkarann'' () is an Indian drama television series which premiered 12 September 2016 on Star Plus. Inspired by the 1998 Bollywood film '' Zakhm'', it was based on the life of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. The show initially starred child actor A ...

'' as antagonist Kamini Kapoor. The show culminated two months later, in May 2018. In August 2018, she began playing another antagonistic part of Roopa Mittal in Colors TV's ''

Internet Wala Love ''Internet Wala Love'' ( Love via Internet) is an Indian Hindi-language television drama show which aired on Colors TV from 27 August 2018 to 8 March 2019 before shifting to Colors Rishtey and concluding there on 29 March 2019. Produced by Sunjo ...

'' until its wrap up in March 2019. By venturing into OTT, she made her digital debut in 2019 with the horror-comedy ''Bhoot Purva'' which streamed on OTT platform

ZEE5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Androi ...

. In 2020, Bhatia's first web series project ''

Tansener Tanpura ''Tansener Tanpura'' is a musical mystery Bengali web series. The series is about the notes and melodies of music through the traditional Indian classical music. Directed by Soumik Chattopadhyay and developed in Anandagarh. Pushpita Mukherjee a ...

'' premiered on OTT platform

Hoichoi Hoichoi is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned and maintained by SVF Entertainment Pvt Ltd with headquarters in Kolkata, India. It was launched on 20 September 2017. Hoichoi is currently available fo ...

. From August 2020 to January 2021 she worked as Nutan Jaiswal in Star Plus's rom-com ''

Lockdown Ki Love Story ''Lockdown Ki Love Story'' ( ''A Lockdown Love Story'') is an Indian television drama series that aired from 31 August 2020 to 23 January 2021 on Star Plus. Produced by Rashmi Sharma under Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, it starred Sana Sayyad and Moh ...

''. In the second season of web series ''Girls Hostel'' that streamed digitally on OTT platform

SonyLIV SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, includi ...

, she starred as a dean. Bhatia is currently reprising her role as Gitanjali Devi Oswal, a new character, in the second season of ''Sasural Simar Ka'' entitled ''

Sasural Simar Ka 2 ''Sasural Simar Ka 2'' () is an Indian Hindi-language Supernatural television series that premiered on 26 April 2021 on Colors TV. It is a spiritual sequel to the 2011 long-running soap opera ''Sasural Simar Ka''. Produced by Rashmi Sharma Tele ...

'', which premiered on

and

Voot Voot is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Viacom18. Launched in March 2016, it is Viacom18's advertising-led video-on-demand platform that is available as an app for iOS, KaiOS ( JioPhone) an ...

on 26 April 2021.

Filmography

Television

Films

Web series

Plays

* ''Going Solo Part 1'' * ''Mahatma Vs Gandhi'' * ''Mad About Money'' * ''Acid'' * ''Khatijabai of Karmali Terrace'' * ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...

'' * ''Amavas ke Amaltas'' * ''Salaam, Noni Apa''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatia, Jayati Living people Indian soap opera actresses 1970 births