Tanishaa Mukerji urges paparazzi: Don't poke Jaya Bachchan at Durga Puja
Synopsis
At a Durga Puja event in Mumbai, Tanishaa Mukerji called out paparazzi for deliberately provoking Jaya Bachchan at public appearances — and asked them to back off at the family’s celebrations. It’s a rare moment of a fellow actress publicly naming the pattern, spotlighting Bollywood’s unresolved celebrity-media boundary dispute.
Key Takeaways
Tanishaa Mukerji publicly asked paparazzi at a Durga Puja 2026 event to stop troubling Jaya Bachchan .
She alleged that some reporters ‘on purpose poke’ the veteran actress during public appearances.
Tanishaa also urged media and the public to avoid pushing and maintain courtesy amid festival crowds.
The Mukerji family has long-standing ties to the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Mumbai .
Jaya Bachchan has had several high-profile, publicised confrontations with paparazzi over the years.
Actress Tanishaa Mukerji has made a public appeal to the paparazzi covering the ongoing Durga Puja 2026 celebrations in Mumbai, asking them to refrain from deliberately provoking veteran actress Jaya Bachchan at the festive gatherings. The appeal, made at an event connected to the celebrations, has drawn fresh attention to the long-running friction between Jaya Bachchan and the media.
What Tanishaa Said
Addressing photographers and reporters directly, Tanishaa said, “I have been seeing you have been troubling her a lot.” She went further, specifically calling out deliberate provocation: “I see some of your reporters go and on purpose poke her. So I request, don’t do that at our Durga Pooja.” In a lighter moment, she added, “Don’t trouble our Jaya aunty, okay?”
A Broader Appeal for Courtesy
Tanishaa’s remarks were not limited to Jaya Bachchan alone. She also urged both media personnel and the general public to exercise caution during the festival rush — asking people to avoid pushing, look out for one another, and maintain basic courtesy amid the large crowds that gather at pandals. Her comments reflect a wider concern about crowd safety and decorum at high-footfall public celebrations.
The Mukerji Family’s Durga Puja Connect
Durga Puja holds deep significance in the Mukerji family’s festive calendar. Kajol and Tanishaa are regular attendees at the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Mumbai, which shares strong ties with their family. Actress Rani Mukerji, part of the extended Mukerji family, is also a familiar presence at the annual celebrations. Jaya Bachchan has similarly been a frequent face at these festivities, often seen sharing warm moments with Kajol and the family over the years.
Jaya Bachchan and the Paparazzi: A Recurring Flashpoint
Jaya Bachchan’s interactions with the paparazzi have repeatedly drawn public attention. The veteran actress has on several occasions expressed visible annoyance at being photographed or approached without regard for her personal space, at times raising her voice or making pointed remarks at photographers attempting to capture her picture. Critics argue that some media personnel cross clear boundaries of privacy and personal space when covering public figures at events. This is not the first time a fellow industry figure has intervened — verbally or otherwise — on Jaya Bachchan’s behalf in such situations.
What This Signals
Tanishaa’s appeal highlights a broader, unresolved tension in Bollywood between the media’s appetite for celebrity access and public figures’ expectations of basic dignity at personal or religious events. With Durga Puja celebrations drawing massive crowds and significant celebrity presence across Mumbai, the question of responsible media conduct at such occasions is likely to remain in focus through the festive season.
Point of View
At times, adversarial, but the industry rarely confronts it openly. The fact that this intervention happened at a Durga Puja pandal, a space meant for devotion and community, underscores how far the boundary erosion has gone. Without clearer norms — or industry-wide pushback — the cycle is unlikely to change.
NationPress
10 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Tanishaa Mukerji say about Jaya Bachchan at Durga Puja?
Tanishaa Mukerji publicly asked paparazzi not to trouble or provoke Jaya Bachchan at the Durga Puja celebrations, saying she had observed some reporters deliberately poking the veteran actress at public events. She made a light-hearted but pointed appeal: ‘Don’t trouble our Jaya aunty, okay?’
Why does Jaya Bachchan have frequent run-ins with paparazzi?
Jaya Bachchan has repeatedly expressed annoyance at being photographed or approached without regard for her personal space at public events. She has on several occasions raised her voice or made pointed remarks at photographers, making her interactions with the media a recurring topic of discussion in Bollywood circles.
Which Durga Puja pandal does the Mukerji family attend?
The Mukerji family — including Kajol, Tanishaa, and Rani Mukerji — regularly attends the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Mumbai, which has strong historical ties to the family. Jaya Bachchan is also a frequent presence at the same celebrations.
Did Tanishaa Mukerji make any other appeals at the Durga Puja event?
Yes. Beyond her remarks about Jaya Bachchan, Tanishaa also urged both media personnel and the public to avoid pushing, exercise caution in crowds, and treat one another with basic courtesy and humanity during the busy festive gatherings.
Is this the first time a Bollywood figure has spoken up for Jaya Bachchan with the paparazzi?
While fellow industry members have occasionally expressed solidarity with Jaya Bachchan privately, Tanishaa Mukerji’s direct, on-camera appeal to the paparazzi at a public event is among the more explicit instances of a peer openly naming and addressing the pattern of provocation.
