Gurdip: taking part in NB2... article

Good times: Gurdip Kohli with producers Jay and Kinnari Mehtaa

"Where did she have time for Sinndoor that she wants to take time off?" wonder Jay and Kinnari Mehtaa of Jay Productions, who are also producers of the SaharaOne soap, Solhah Singarr. "She says there was nothing much to do on the show, but when was she there to even do something?"

Adds a Zee spokesperson, "We realised that Gurdip was giving problems and there were complaints from her co-actors. So instead of replacing her we decided to end her track and introduce a new character."

Careless ways
The producers allege that because of Gurdip's stance they were forced to kill her character of Vedika, even though she is the protagonist of the show. "Even if we decide to resurrect Vedika, Gurdip Kohli will not be in it," says Kinnari.

It is learnt that the decision to terminate her character was taken because of her lackadaisical attitude on the sets. Adds Kinnari, "We were willing to give her a break for her marriage. Last year, when she toured the US for shows, her character went missing for a month. We had planned to do something similar this time."

It is learnt that according to her contract, Gurdip was supposed to block 20 days a month for the show, with the rest of the days on adjustments. But in the past couple of months, it became 12-15 days and later it was barely five days a month. Sometimes, it was barely for one hour a day for the daily.

Rumourmonger
Says a unit member, "Gurdip was barely there on the sets. She would come for a few hours and then take off. The rest of the cast had to wait for hours for her. They were so irritated that they even voiced their despair to the channel. Taking part in Nach Baliye 2 only made matters worse. She claimed that she had to go for rehearsals, but several times she was spotted elsewhere. Sharad and Keerti, who were also part of Nach Baliye, took time out for Sinndoor but she didn't."

The unit member adds, "Every few months, Gurdip would say that she's been offered a new show but nothing materialised. Then she said that her previous show, Sanjeevani, was coming back. Her hairdresser would go around the sets at her behest telling unit members that Sinndoor is winding up. The unit hands had to be pacified that this was untrue."

Gurdip's departure has made way for Aashka Goradia enter Sinndoor as a village belle, Arpita, who will later emerge as the protagonist.