| | Yeh tera track ya mera track? Mohnish Behl with Kanchi Kaul
in Ek Ladki Anjaani Si | Mohnish Behl's entry in Ek Ladki Anjaani Si, has irked several cast members of the Sony daily. As Veerendra Pratap Singh, he arrives on the scene as a saviour for the main protagonist, Anu (Kanchi Kaul).
Others sidelined
His presence in the drama opposite Anu, means several actors will be sidelined. It is reliably learnt that Mohnish's track was initially to be opposite Anu's mother, Meera (played by actress Vaishnavi).
The drama, inspired by the Venezuelan soap Juana La Virgen, has had Meera as a single mother. It was to provide a major twist and add to the melodrama quotient of the show to have a man back in the lives of the mother and daughter.
But just a day before Behl started shooting, the cast realised that his track as Veerendra was to be opposite Anu, not Meera. For weeks, the production team (Shreya Creations) and the channel had been in talks with the cast, about a new arrival (Behl), and what his track would be vis--vis their roles.
When asked, Vaishnavi is honest and forthcoming, "Yes, this is what I was told two months ago by both the producers and the channel, but I don't know what happened later and the reason for the change."
It is learnt that she was not informed about the change in track till the last minute. She was unaware till a co-actor told her about the altered plan — this was just a day before Behl was to begin shoot.
Vaishnavi adds, "Yes, I am hurt about the episode. But I would have felt really bad if there was someone like Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan coming to the show."
Granny's man?
Himani Shivpuri, who plays Anu's grandmother, Biji, was equally forthcoming. "In the original Venezuelan show, each and every member of the family had an important role to play. We were told about our characters based on that drama and we agreed on the basis of that script.
In fact, in the original, the man enters the grandmother's life. But in Ek Ladki, they preferred to introduce the track opposite Meera. We were all told about it. So when we realised that Mohnish was to be cast opposite Kanchi, it came as a big shock to us all."
Adds Vaishnavi, "I had agreed to play a mother to a grown-up daughter in Ek Ladki, primarily because of what was told to me. The show was earlier produced by Prime Channel and even after signing for the show, twice I had given the slip.
They were the ones who had convinced me to do the role." Vaishnavi had earlier insisted that she would not play a mother's role outside Balaji as she had done in Kasautii Zindagii Kay and K Street Pali Hill.
According to the producer Sheel Kumar, "There was no change in Mohnish's track. It was as discussed." |
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