Jayati Bhatia says she was 'reluctant' to go to Heeramandi's premiere; recalls Rekha giving her a kiss

Actress Jayati Bhatia, is currently reeling the love that her recent work Heeramandi has got on her doors. Her character Phatto in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s directorial has unanimously been lauded. “I am overwhelmed with the response. I didn't expect her to shine so much,” Bhatia confesses.
While she is overwhelmed post the release, Bhatia during the conversation reveals how she was worried about her character.She wondered that Phatto – despite being a series regular – would not get enough prominence in the show. To add to that, the platform not promoting Bhatia and other supporting characters, added much to her dilemma. “We thought we were primary characters so they would also promote us. For instance, I had shot for five days for Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. But eventually only one scene came out. I was nowhere to be seen in the first and second promotions. But we thought after the show release, we might be promoted. We expected a bit. So, I very reluctantly walked into the premier, because I was wondering if it would be worthwhile. There was fear. However, when I watched the first and the second episode I was calmer. When I walked out of the room, I met Rekha ji and she said, 'Hum toh aapke fan hogaye, Can I get a hug from you?' I almost fainted after hearing that one line. I have been doing Salaame Ishq, (song from Muqaddar ka Sikander starring Rekha) since I was a child. She gave me a peck on my cheeks. I didn't want to wash my face. I got such lovely compliments from Ali Fazal and Sidharth at the premiere,” Bhatia recalls.

Talking about working with Bhansali, Bhatia, adds, “He never made me feel that there are other big actors on set. My chemistry with him was quite great. The day one was a little shaky. I forgot my lines in my first shot and Mr Bhansali remarked, ‘You are from theatre and you forgot the lines’. But that was it. It was like Murphy’s law, what was meant to go wrong went wrong. But after that when we redid the scenes, there was no looking back.”