‘Mahi is lot more calmer now’

Jay Bhanushali has his hands full. On the professional front, the actor is anchoring Sony TV’s music reality show Superstar Singer and on the personal front, he is going to be a father soon. Jay and actress Mahi Vij, who married in 2011, are expecting their first child. The actor says that Mahi, who is otherwise a very hyper person, is calm during her pregnancy. “Mahi is a lot more calmer now. In fact, because she is super hyper, I thought she will be the same during her pregnancy but she is so chilled out. She is enjoying the phase,” says the actor. 

Jay is doing everything that he hasn’t done before to make her journey smooth. “It’s women who go through the real challenges during the nine months. As a partner, I am just being helpful. I am pressing her feet, taking care of her needs,” he says. 

Couples are usually superstitious when they are expecting their bundle of joy but the actor says that both he and Mahi are nothing of the sort. “A lot of people have told us that we shouldn’t be sharing too many pictures on social media or pictures of Mahi’s tummy but we are just going with the flow. We are following what we believe in. We strongly believe that when god has given us the gift, nothing can harm it or let anything happen to it,” says Jay. 

The empathetic couple has also adopted their caretaker’s children. Both he and Mahi have decided to fund their education and raise them as their own.  

As far as his professional life is concerned, Jay has completed anchoring 25 reality shows on television. The actor says that he is glad that people are loving him and he is able to entertain them. “I was talking to Sony channel and we were counting the numbers of shows I have anchored and we realised I have completed 25 including Superstar Singer. It’s a nice feeling that the channel has so much trust in me because anchoring is an important job,” he says, adding, “When you make a reality show, anchors are the ones who take the show forward according to the vision of the creators.” 

More importantly, Jay is enjoying his work too. “Till the time you are enjoying your work, it doesn’t matter if it’s your first or 25th show. I enjoy my work so much so that you will see the same kind of passion in my 50th show,” he says. He has anchored most of the shows with children and he says that it’s a different ballgame working with children. “They are so natural and there’s so much purity in the way they talk. They give me so much positivity,” he adds.

The actor says that it’s difficult to get something fresh every time he is on the stage. “No one can teach you anchoring. Either you have it in you or you don’t. It’s a very difficult job. I can make somebody act after one year of training but in case of anchoring, it’s all impromptu. It also depends on the positivity of the people around you,” says the actor who has anchored reality shows like Dance India Dance, The Voice India Kids, Sabse Bada Kalakar, among others. 

The actor believes that to be a successful anchor, one has to be natural, humorous, spontaneous and alert while on the stage. Many believe the reason he isn’t taking up daily soaps is because he is happy anchoring reality shows, which Jay says is untrue. “A lot of people have the misconception that I am just interested in anchoring but that’s not true. I am still meeting a lot of producers and makers. The right script or character is not coming my way. I am an actor first. Acting is still my first love and then comes anchoring,” he says.