Actor Mona Singh feels she was a ‘Spiderman’ when she was doing her superhit TV show Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin as she was leading a dual life, one as her character and another, as the real her. The Sony TV show made Mona a household name in the country and also brought her her first big fat pay cheque. She was ‘shocked’ when she was informed about her salary by the channel.
In a recent interaction with Entertainment Live, Mona shared that she bagged Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin after giving several auditions in Mumbai for almost two years. She was hired not by the production house behind the show, but by Sony TV, where people were in awe of her audition tape. The actor was then informed about her remuneration, and she couldn’t believe her ears.
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“For me, it was a shocker because they had not hired me on a per-day basis, they were keeping me on a package basis. They offered me Rs 1.5 lakhs a month. I was like, ‘Kya!’” shared Mona, adding that she straight away went up to an STD booth to inform her parents about her salary.
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“I went to the STD booth since my phone had run out of battery. I called my parents and I was crying inconsolably. I was like, ‘Mumma, guess what? Merko Rs 1.5 lakh mil rahe hain (I am getting Rs 1.5 lakh) My mom was like, ‘What!’ I told her, ‘You go and shop wherever you want to, buy whatever you want to.’ She couldn’t believe it, she was like, ‘Chotuuuu, itna kamayegi.’”
A month later, Mona Singh got an appraisal. She shared, “After the show was released and everything was going well, I got a call that the channel head, Sunil Lulla, wants to meet you at his office. I thought they were firing me. Sometimes you do not realise your worth and even I didn’t know how big a star I have become. So, I went to meet him and he told me, ‘We think we are not paying you enough. Hum tumhaare 2 lakh aur badha rahe hain (We are increasing your salary by Rs 2 lakh). I was like ‘What!!!’ So, I was getting Rs 3.5 lakh per month. After Jassi was over, they signed me for exclusivity.”
While Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin became one of the top-rated shows on Indian television in the early 2000s, people only knew and loved the character Jassi, but never knew who is the actor playing it, until her transformation in the show. But, Mona never felt bad about missing out on the fame.
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The actor said, “I always look for positive in life. I felt I am spiderman, ghar mein kuch aur, bahar kuch aur (living two separate lives). People didn’t recognise me on the streets. But my voice was a giveaway. Every time I opened my mouth in public, be it at the airport or at a shop, people would look at me with suspicion. That was an amazing feeling. Even when I smiled, people would be like, ‘Is she Jassi?’ The channel used to take care of me since it was a tough show and the media had challenged the channel that they were going to find out who is Jassi.”
Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin had a successful run for three years. It also starred actors Apurva Agnihotri, Rakshanda Khan, Parmeet Sethi, and Gaurav Gera. When Mona was informed about her transformation on the show, she was initially worried, but later managed to pull off the look.