Jade Goody

Voice of India Debojit Saha writes about Bigg Boss housemate Jade Goody

When the news of the death of British celebrity Jade Goody came in a few days ago, I was pained. No, I will not claim to be among her friends as I had met her only for a few days but yes, I can say with certainty that she was not the “monster” she was made out to be.

My meeting with Jade was during my stint in Bigg Boss, the reality TV show. One fine morning we were told that a big name was coming to join us. The name aroused interest immediately, as I had read and heard a lot about her, most of it not too flattering.

She arrived at night, the last of the contestants. Most of us were not too comfortable about having her among us. Maybe, her “reputation” had clouded our vision. Only Rahul Mahajan struck an instant friendship with her and both of them chatted for a long time.

I remember Rahul coming to me next morning and saying, “Well...she may not be the person we think she is...” I asked him what he meant and Rahul said Jade was “a nice person”.

After a few days, I discovered that she was indeed quite different from the image she had. First of all, she was a very jolly girl, always smiling.

As she opened up, we learnt about her troubled childhood. Her parents separated when she was young and her mother had a tough time in running the family. But she had put all that behind her and learnt to live with a smile on her face.

The most interesting moments with her came when she tried to learn Hindi and Payal Rohatgi became her teacher. Jade did learn a few words and could say one sentence, “Mere do bachche hain (I have two children)”.

It was inevitable that the “ugly spat” involving Shilpa Shetty in the British TV reality show Big Brother would come up. Jade vehemently denied that she had abused Shilpa and added that her conversations were misinterpreted.

We did not bring up the subject any more and tried to make her comfortable. I do remember Jade getting irritated when I used to do my daily rewaj (practice). “What are you doing?” she would ask me one day. But she did like when I sang one or two songs and once told me, “I like your singing”.

As you are aware, Jade’s departure from the Bigg Boss house was as dramatic as it was tragic. One day we found her crying just after returning from the confession room. She had just been given the news that tests have confirmed that she was suffering from cervical cancer.

Believe me, we all thought that it was just a publicity stunt. It was only later that we came to realise that it was true. She left for Britain soon after, but the memories of her smiling face stayed with us.

If there is anything I would like to remember about her, it is her fighting spirit and the glorious way in which she went down.