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Rupali Ganguly’s daily soap Anupamaa witnessed the back-to-back exits of Nidhi Shah, Paras Kalnawat and Sudhanshu Pandey. Although Nidhi and Sudhanshu haven’t blamed any co-actor, Paras Kalnawat has not denied having issues with Rupali who plays the titular role in the series. In a recent podcast with Bhaktiyar Irani and Ali Asgar, for their YouTube channel Chuddy Buddy, Nidhi and Paras spoke about the toxic work culture on Anupamaa. (Also read: Anupamaa’s Madalsa Sharma says she was ‘hurt’ during rift with co-star Rupali Ganguli: ‘Don’t talk behind my back’)
Nidhi Shah on hectic working conditions
Sudhanshu, who also accompanied his former co-stars on the podcast stated that the reason he quit the show was that he feared his character would become repetitive and eventually boring to the audience. While speaking about the hectic working conditions, Nidhi pointed out, “We used to cry during scenes. He (Sudhanshu) was under such strain—his health was compromised. There were days he’d need to rest, leaving everyone waiting. At his worst, he’d rely on 5-6 painkillers daily to get through 15-page solo scenes. There was a trigger point, a person, who made scenes challenging. Our interactions became so repetitive and emotionally exhausting that we no longer wanted to share the screen. Eventually, even being near each other on set felt uncomfortable.”
Nidhi Shah, Paras Kalnawat on their roles being chopped
While denying any issues with Rupali, Nidhi called her a good actor and told that out of ‘10 core actors’, only 2-3 created issues. Paras, however, revealed that his scenes from the show were cut without any explanation. While agreeing with Paras, Nidhi said, “I noticed changes in my role too. My scenes were cut, and there were even disputes over wardrobe and styling. I was given nicer clothes, which led to problems.”
Paras Kalnawat hints at having issues with co-star
“It’s been two and a half years since I left, and it was sudden. I didn’t know if I was quitting or being fired. I wanted to leave, but there’s no policy to allow actors to quit—they prefer firing you. If you try to leave, things turn sour. I wanted more development for my character, but someone ended my track abruptly. Because it’s the top show, the channel didn’t intervene. If someone complained about me, no one questioned it. We all knew who had issues.”
Previously in an interview with ETimes, Paras had said, “My scenes were cut. I was put in a bad light; people started falsely gossiping about me that I had threatened them and spoken certain things about them. As I said, I had not done that. And if a senior is going to talk against you, the makers are going to believe the senior only.” In the same interview he said that Rupali did not contact him after he left the show. He stated that he still respects her as he feels she has a bit of love left for him.
