Dearest Miss Singh,
I have always been an ardent fan of yours and will remain so. Forgive me but I am afraid what I have to now say to you may not exactly find favor with you.
But, if you expect accolades from your fan, you must be also be prepared to endure censure and a good actress, a good human being, will only be eager for any scope for improvement, be it in any sphere.
Mona Singh or Jassi?
I always saw you as Jassi, even after your real identity was disclosed. Even now, as far as I am concerned, there is no difference between Mona and Jassi.
Jassi is Mona.
Jassi came like a fresh breath of air in my life; very refreshing and she was all that I was not or could ever hope to be…She was my alter ego…Through her I started living out my fantasy…
She taught me so many things. Most importantly, she taught me the importance of self-worth and the fact that inner beauty always triumphs over outer beauty.
That you are what you are and the world treats you the way you want to be.
I admired Jassi. I admired everything about her. Her innocence, gullibility, goodness, values, morals, her iron-will….
And I admired you Mona, for your guts to take up a role that was unprecedented. The role that could make you or break you…I admired your boldness, your down to earth nature, your simplicity; your ambition…everything about you was admirable.
What was most admirable was that from what you said, 'Jassi' was not merely a character you were portraying. 'JJKN' was not a mere serial.
BUT that Jassi was you and you were Jassi.
You put your 'everything' in to the role and the rest was history.
I was enamored by your love and passion for your role and was mighty glad that here was one actress who was giving back to her role as much as she received from it.
This is how I am in real life and it was very pleasant that my role model was just like I had imagined; somebody who wouldn't compromise with her principles and feelings, for the sake of fame or name or money.
You were o longer an actress. Jassi was no longer a character. As far as I was concerned, both of you were different shades of my character. I was proud of both of you as much as I was proud of myself.
But as days progressed and the serial received extension after extension and new character after new character was introduced, Jassi's character suffered a slow, irreparable degradation.
Jassi somehow lost her appeal as she became the victim of the cheap rated TRP's game.
There came a point of time when Jassi's mass appeal was overtaken by the male protagonists. She was no longer the object of the viewers' love and attention.
People were more interested in how the other secondary characters were being treated and in fact people were highly unhappy with the actions of Jassi herself.
But, I still dutifully supported and defended my little Jassi as best as I could as I was in defending her, defending myself. Her deviations from her normal characteristics, I attributed to the eccentricities, most of us are subjected to, under conditions of extreme stress and shocks.
The came the much talked about make-over. I was not sure if I was willing to see my little Jassi without her so called ugliness. I always thought her very pretty, that was due to the inner beauty and integrity that made her face shine like diamonds.
I am an enlightened and liberated girl and I was not averse to the physical transformation. But I was shocked at Jassi's conversion from our petite Jassi to the super mod Jessica Bedi. I thought she had become callous, rude and just 'one of them'!
But I kept chiding myself that I was mistaken that my Jassi is still the same. She was just putting on a mask to avenge her tormentors. And the day, she completed her mission, my sweet, little, innocent Jassi will be back.
I am still waiting for my Jassi to return, in vain….
Miss Singh, I thought the role was so close to your heart that you will not allow Jassi's character to be butchered.
But, you did.
Maybe you didn't realize that they were finishing off our Jassi, slowly…deliberately…maybe it didn't matter to you because you thought that we will always be with her.
We were always going to be with her….if only she had not failed us so badly…
Then came the inevitable. Jassi did the unthinkable, like she did it every day of her life. She didn't shudder…she didn't even flinch….I am not a hypocrite. I agree that it is natural but Indian society is unfortunately hypocritical and it was shocking that a dutiful girl like Jassi, for whom her principles and family honor was foremost, didn't even consider her parents' even once, before she plunged in to deep waters.
That was shocking Miss Singh and unacceptable. I thought you could have put your foot down. Because Jassi is not the one to accept defeat in front of feminine passions.
And Miss Singh, don't tell me you were bound by contract. You were but you could have at least objected to the 360 degree turn that Jassi's character was being subjected to.
You would have if you really felt the way you said you felt, about your role as Jassi.
Apparently, you didn't.
And don't tell me hat you are only an actor and yours is not to question why or what. Mr.Rajeev Khandelwal walked out of his role, at the peak of his success, when he felt that the role that had given him an identity, the role that was close to heart was being insulted.
I admire his passion and commitment to his role. And you all along saying that you are Jasmeet, that Jassi and you are no different, blah blah blah!
Miss Singh, I was seriously disappointed with you. I started having doubts about my role model. I started wondering if she was also not one of them?
I allowed myself to overlook what I thought was a mistake the channel had committed, in their zeal to up the TRP's. I was also willing to give my role models another chance.
Then came the fatal day, when my deep seated, most passionate feelings and desires were trampled upon, made a mockery of…
I died….
My little Jassi died…
Instead of facing her problems, she chose to run away like a criminal…she chose to change her name and identity like she one of the 'Wanted'…
I died….
My little Jassi died…
And to add insult to injury, my litte Jassi wanted my support in justifying her cowardly actions…
I knew then that this was not…cannot be my Jassi.
She died…long long back…
And you are responsible for her death, Miss Singh!
You could have prevented the character assassination of Jassi, by putting your foot down.
You owed that to Jassi, to us…..most importantly…to yourself!
But you didn't. You could have…you should have put your foot down. They would not have dared replace you. Because everyone knows that there is no Jassi without Mona Singh.
But you chose to play along and actually aid them in making fun of our feelings.
You lied on SBS, without even batting an eyelid.
It hurts. Hurts that my role model is after all just one of them…
Miss Singh, perhaps you don't realize that Jassi is just not a character. She has become our national icon. She was…Miss Singh, I cannot explain what she had become to us…Never thought I would have to explain 'You' of all people, as to what impact Jassi had on us and how she has let us down, irrevocably…
Miss Singh, if you had after a lot of thought and deliberation, taken this bold step, I would have admired your audacity. I am in awe of people who make conscious choices. They may be wrong but at least they don't gamble away something they pretend is close to them.
But you…the pity is…the ironical thing is you don't even know what's happening with the script…you didn't even now the fury, the disappointment, the disgust that Jassi's cowardly fleeing away excited…you didn't even realize how let down Jassi's ex-loyal supporters and admirers would feel…
Because you don't care about Jassi anymore…you don't care about us any more…
Jassi was just a step towards another that would take you up the ladder…
Bollywood is again another step that would take you another step ahead…towards your cherished pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…
Miss Singh, whatever I do I give it my 100%...My love is 100%...my hatred is 00%...my disgust is 100%...
I wish you gave Jassi your 100 % too…I am not denying you are a great actress. You are. You did full justice t the role of Jassi so much so that you managed to convert Jassi; the character to Jassi; the woman in every Indian woman…Wish you had given your 100% in sustaining this myth…
You owed this to Jassi…to us...most importantly…to yourself…
I am sorry Miss Singh but you are just one of them…so is Jassi (Thanks to you)…Just one of them…
I don't ahte you! No! I don't hate the imposter who calls herself Jassi.
I am still proud of you but you are no longer anything unique or special…just one of them…
Jassi still makes me proud but only as a character that could have been the greatest on the Indian telly but the affinity, the admiration I felt for her is gone…she is no longer anything special or unique…just one of them…
Miss Singh, I am too overwhelmed to say anything further..I think I have failed miserably in putting across my feelings…forgive my incoherence…will say nothing more… only that…you are just one of them…
Miss Singh,
I died….
My little Jassi died…
Will only add
You are a very talented actress and a good human being, from what I can make out from your interviews…
May God bless you with peace, happiness, prosperity and all the success that you may deserve!
Amen
Yours sincerely
Deepa Iyer
Shiv Shakti
Cricket
