Jay Bhanushali "doesn't mind being the butt of jokes"

Jay Bhanushali is back doing fiction after a long time with Colors’ Kairi (Shashi-Sumeet Mittal Productions Pvt Ltd). He shares, “My character Anuj is no superman but just an ordinary guy who loves his mother very much. The drama will now start once my independent and self-thinking wife Ambi (Preeti Chaudhary) comes into the picture and I will be torn between both.” Since this is a light-hearted show, Jay says, “Although my emotions will be real the public will enjoy my discomfitures and many men will relate to it.” Jay is also greatly impressed by the acting ability of the talented NSD (National School of Drama) teacher Hema Singh, who plays his shrewd on screen mom, Imarti Devi. “She is like a walking talking acting school and we are learning a lot from her every day.” Before Kairi, Jay’s other major daily show had been Kayamath. “Since then I wanted to play something different from the rich man and most of the characters I was getting were college kids which did not impress me so I took a break from daily drama. On the other hand, reality shows (Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa, Comedy Circus and DID) kept me busy.” Remind him that Kairi is not really doing great in terms of numbers, and the talented actor states, “This is early evening and Shashi Sumeet Productions needs some time to stabilize. Many other shows which are rocking now in terms of TRPs also did not have a good start.” However, an honest Jay does not want to blame the ongoing IPL season for the low initial. “We just need to pull up our socks. I agree cricket is a religion in India but good content always rocks. No wonder DID Lil Master 2 opened with the rocking number of 5.5 which was even greater than top ranking fiction shows.” Unlike DID 3, in Li’l Masters Jay is solo hosting. “There is more pressure in the sense that I have more lines to say but I love my job, so no issues.” Furthermore, he is greatly impressed by the sheer talent of these kids. So will he shake a leg again after Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa? “I am too causal a guy who does not believe in really pushing himself. I am happy just beading the whole thing together.” Jay also has no problems with being the butt of jokes. “Actually in DID season one and two, the judges (Geeta Kapur, Terence Lewis and Remo) and grand master (Mithun Chakraborty) would really take my case, but in the last season things were a bit different where I was giving as good as I got. Having said that, we don’t really take it personally as we know this is just to entertain the audiences,” he ends.