Sayantani Ghosh on Maya in Jagadhatri: 'Justice and revenge are two sides of the same coin'
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Actress Sayantani Ghosh, currently seen as Maya Deshmukh in the Bengali romantic thriller series 'Jagadhatri', says the boundary between justice and revenge is far thinner than it appears — and that her character lives precisely in that grey zone.
The Justice-Revenge Dilemma
Speaking about Maya's moral complexity, Sayantani said: 'Justice and revenge are two sides of the same coin in many ways, but the line between them is very thin. From a legal point of view, if you look at a situation, a person may have been punished, and justice may be done in a legal way. The victim may still think that justice has not been done properly. This is where it gets complicated now.'
She elaborated further: 'If someone feels that the punishment is not enough for the injustice they have suffered, the desire for revenge can take over. And so I think it's a very gray area, and it's sometimes hard to tell where justice ends and revenge begins.'
Balancing Rules and Individual Conscience
Sayantani also reflected on the broader theme of social conditioning versus personal judgment. She said she personally believes in a balance between rules and one's heart and mind — acknowledging that while certain structures are essential for society to function, not every social expectation is necessarily right for every individual.
She stressed that questioning certain norms was healthy, but cautioned against rebellion for its own sake, urging viewers — and herself — to look at the bigger picture and trust their own judgment rather than blindly conforming.
When Actor and Character Blur
One of the more striking observations Sayantani shared was about the two-way exchange that occurs between an actor and a long-played character. 'When you play a character for so long, sometimes the lines can get blurred between the real person and the character,' she said.
'I like to think that there are certain shades of Sayantani in Maya, and there are ways in which Maya inspires Sayantani. As an actor you always take something with you from the characters you play. They make you look at certain situations in a different way and allow you to explore perspectives you might not have thought of otherwise.'
About the Show
'Jagadhatri' is a Bengali romantic thriller drama series featuring Ankita Mallick and Soumyadeep Mukherjee in lead roles. Sayantani portrays Maya Deshmukh, described as a powerful, fearless, and influential media and business tycoon — a character whose moral compass constantly oscillates between the personal and the principled.
As the show progresses, audiences will watch closely to see whether Maya's drive for justice tips over into something more personal — and whether the show's writers allow the two to remain as indistinguishable as Sayantani herself suggests they often are in real life.