Frumpy jaisi koi nahin
Jassi ditches the city to go to the village in her original look of salwar-kameez and spectacles (no rim glasses and braces though)
Subhash K Jha
Having changed from a frump to glam doll, television's favourite middle-class icon Jasmeet Walia of the Sony series Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, is now ready for yet another makeover. She's all set to slip back into her old natural homely, bespectacled self. In a startling, though not entirely unexpected move, Sony Entertainment has decided to again deglamorise Jassi and take the character back to its roots.
Apparently the new look has displeased hardcore Jassi fans and in turn caused the viewership ratings to plummet. The final straw for disgruntled Jassi fans was when the promised Jassi wedding on August 5 never took place. This is now being seen as a publicity gimmick meant to deflect attention from the return of Kaun Banega Crorepati run on the rival channel.
Explains Tarun Katiyal, business head of Sony, "If we meant it to be a publicity gimmick we'd have shown the wedding and not risked the wrath of Jassi viewers. The reason why Jassi cannot marry Armaan is because he isn't worthy of her. Yes, she was meant to marry him but stopped herself in time because she's no longer interested in being a walk-over. Through her we want to sound out a wake-up call to all timid, middleclass girls who are caught in oppressive relationships it could be with a parent or a boyfriend. Our message is: don't let anyone mess without your dignity and self-worth. Jassi has learnt the lesson the hard way. Marrying Armaan would have been a mistake. And we don't want her slipping up in her iconic role at this point of her life. In fact in the episode to be aired shortly, Jassi explains her viewpoint as a woman in a patriarchal society to her father through a letter that she has written. It's a turning-point in her relationship with all the men in her life and with the viewers too."
Elaborating further on the pitfalls and perils of her glamorous avatar, Katiyal says, "The new-look Jassi hasn't really been beneficial either for Jassi or her fans. She seems to have landed herself in a soup. Now she'll go back to her roots and walk away from the oppressive men in her life. Yes, we will conclude the soap soon. We don't want it to end up as yet another never-ending saga."
So, its make-over time for Jassi again. Though nothing as drastic as braces and horn-rimmed spectacles, but she will sport spectacles and the simple salwaar-kameez look. The soap will end with Jassi leaving Mumbai and heading for a small town to be a school teacher. With that ends the story on the deglamorisation of Jasmeet Walia. "Jassi ki shaadi pe kissiki nazar lag gayi (There was a jinx on Jassi's wedding)," laughs Katyal. Jassi's writes to her fans.
From Mumbai Mirror
