Gaurav Khanna on Rupali Ganguly being REASON behind him quitting Anupamaa: 'Uski life se ROMANCE chala gaya'

Gaurav Khanna, who recently lifted the trophy of Celebrity Master Chef and is widely known and appreciated for his stint on Star Plus' show Anupamaa, recently opened up on reports of him not being a part of the show owing to his rifts with Rupali Ganguly.

Speaking to Siddharth Kanan about Rupali deciding who will and will not stay in the show, Gaurav states that the end of 'Maan' was her loss. He says, ''Jis paydaan pe ye character tha, koi bhi sane minded person, jisko itna mila hai us show se, wo kisi teesre bande ke wajah se show chhod dega kya? Jab ki producer usko back kar raha hai, producer uskos upport kar raha hai, koi nahi chhodega. Toh ye kehna ke kisi xyz person ke wajah se show chhod diya, it is absolutely bullocks!''

Further stating that the end of Anuj Kapadia has erased 'romance' from Anupamaa's life, Gaurav says, ''Infact, main ye bolunga that the end of 'Maan,' jo Anupamaa aur Anuj ka hashtag tha, agar kisi ko sab se jyda, on the contrary, wo Anupamaa ka character hai because uski life se romance chala gaya, woh next generation mein aagayi, '#Maan' khatam hogaya. Main toh bahar aa ke dusra show kiya, bhagwan ke daya se main jeet bhi gaya, ab mere liye aur avenues khule hai. So for me, I have never seen it that way ke kisi xyz co actor ke wajah se ho raha hai, nahi sir. Wo log ye cheeze bolte hai jinko apne craft par bharosa nahi hai, main ek bahut hi secure actor hoon, infact, main ek bahut hi secure insaan hoon.''

Gaurav states that he knew of Rupali being a fantastic actor and that he had seen her work too. He states that when he entered the show, he found all the actors to be bigger. ''Ek belief tha mere mann mein, action jab main sunta hoon na director ka, toh I am the king of my story.''

The end of 'Maan,' jo Anupamaa aur Anuj ka hashtag tha, agar kisi ko sab se jyda, on the contrary, wo Anupamaa ka character hai because uski life se romance chala gaya, woh next generation mein aagayi, '#Maan' khatam hogaya. Main toh bahar aa ke dusra show kiya, bhagwan ke daya se main jeet bhi gaya, ab mere liye aur avenues khule hai.

- Gaurav Khanna

When asked if he has friends on the show and denying the same, Gaurav states that he has no friends on the show. ''Main sach kahu na toh dost dost koi nahi bana aisa, kisi bhi show mein nahi bana hai. Do hi dost bane hai mere, Hussain and Vivaan, from my first show aur woh dosti hai. I do not meet them very often but whenever we meet we start from where we left.''

Ask the actor how Rupali Ganguly as a costar was to him and he says, ''Fantastic. There is a lot to learn from her. As a costar I believe she is one of my best co actors, bahut seekha. I am very happy for her ki aapko life mein kabhi bhi, kahi bhi aapke level ka role mil sakta hai, at any stage. Aaj se 10 saal pehle agar koi bolta ke ek mother ko, jinko ek bachha hai 3-4 saal ka, out of work hai, aisa comeback, sirf Rajan sir hi soch sakte hai.''

Gaurav further denies speaking to Rupali after the show and says, ''Meri kisi se baat nahi huyi show chhod ne ke baad, meri sirf aur sirf Rajan sir, Romi sir, mere DOP se baat hui hai, they all love me and I love them. Meri spot boy se baat hui hai abhi kuch dino pehle.''

Gaurav was asked if he could call Rupali a friend and he says, ''Friend nahi bolunga, I would say, Rupali is a wonderful human I have learnt a lot from. Friend kya hota hai ke kabho bhi phone karde, I am not on those terms with anyone. Not even Sudhanshu.''

The Anupamaa fame was then asked if things ever went wrong between him and Rupali and he said, ''Things were not sour, but altercations hote thhe scenes ko leke because everybody comes with their own ideas. I respect that because she being a senior actor, the show is riding on her shoulders, she is the face, she is 'The Anupamaa.' When I signed the show, I knew the show was called Anupamaa. Altercations hote thhe ki yaar, isko hum kaise kar lete hai, wo bolegi aise kar lete hai. Aur maximum jo chemistry hit hui, wo Maan ki huyi. Aaj bhi I think it is one of the most cherised chemistries on TV. So kahi na kahi toh we were gelling in the right manner for the camera. She is a professional, I am a professional.''