Upasana Singh reflects on her iconic “abba dabba jabba” line from ‘Judaai’: I was not at all convinced that a mute person…. – Exclusive!

The 1997 film ‘

Judaai

’ is one such film of Indian cinema in which not just the leads but even the supporting characters garnered a lot of love and appreciation. Neither can one forget the question mark on Paresh Ravel’s head nor can anyone say that they don’t recall Upasana Singh’s double role and the iconic dialogue “Abba dabba jabba.” Talking about the same in an exclusive conversation with ETimes,

Upasana Singh

shed light on the dialogue’s origins and the impact it had on her career.

“When I met director

Raj Kanwar

, he told me that it was a double role. One would be Paresh Rawal’s wife and the other would be his daughter and Johnny Lever’s love interest,” she said.
Excited about being part of the project, Upasana, a fervent admirer of the film’s lead, Sridevi, inquired about sharing screen space with the iconic actress. “I was a huge fan of

Sridevi

who was the lead in Judaai. I asked the director whether I would have any scenes with Sridevi. He said yes. So, I said okay.” she explained.

It was during this conversation that the “Abba Dabba Jabba” line was introduced to her, and initially, the actress was skeptical about it. “Then he told me about the

Abba Dabba Jabba

line. I was not at all convinced that a mute person could speak only these words. He told me to try it,” she admitted.
Despite her initial reservations, Upasana embraced the role wholeheartedly, she stated, “I told myself to play the character with as many variations of expressions and voice. I have always been experimenting with roles. Also, I found it very weird that in the film the wife sells her husband but I didn’t say anything at that time. I was wondering how would people digest this.”

“But ‘Judaai’ became such a big hit that people started knowing me as ‘Abba Dabba Jabba’ rather than my real name. I did so many live shows where people demanded that I say that dialogue,” concluded the actress.
Looking ahead, Upasana shares insights into her upcoming projects, revealing her ventures into Punjabi cinema as both an actress and a filmmaker. Talking about her plans, Upasana mentioned, “I have made two Punjabi films. I have directed one film too. I am planning to get into production. Four to five of my Punjabi films are gearing up for release. I have done Gippy Grewal’s ‘Carry On Jattiye.’ I am not interested in television serials. I like reality shows. When somebody offers me a role I ask them, I don’t really care much about the pay, I really wish to know if is there actually something worth doing in it. I want creative satisfaction and want to enjoy working.”