Padmini Kolhapure and Ekta Kapoor have done it once again! The actress, who was approached for Ekta's forthcoming show for Sony titled Kuch Is Tarah, has been shown the door. Balaji Telefilms refused to pay the actress an astronomical amount that she was demanding. She has been replaced by Jayati Bhatia.
Although, viewers have been eagerly waiting to see Padmini on the small screen; all the projects have been falling flat at the last moment. First, she was supposed to take over the iconic character of Tulsi in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi after Smriti Irani's exit. But, the role finally went to Gautami Kapoor. Ekta was very keen to take her in Kuch Is Tarah, but things did not work out once again.
Says a source from Balaji, "Padmini always maintained that she is fine with family dramas. As Ekta knows her personally, she was very keen to take her for the mother's role. Despite her busy travel schedules, Ekta also spoke to Padmini personally. But, when it came to finalising the deal, Padmini's sky-rocketing demands did not go down well with Balaji."
The source said that Padmini demanded Rs 2 lakh per day.
"We were shocked to hear the amount. Even Smriti Irani was not paid more than Rs 70,000 per day for Kyunki…. We knew that Padmini will demand a high amount, little did we realise it will be so high. It was beyond our budget. We expected her to have a fair knowledge of the difference between the small and big screen budgets. Finally, we had to drop the idea of taking her since she was not willing to compromise on the amount. Now, Jayati Bhatia is playing her character and she is fabulous," adds the source.
When contacted, Padmini says, "The situation is still premature. I was just not able to do the show."
When asked about the money she demanded, Padmini says, "I think these kinds of stories will keep floating around without any reason. All I have to say is that I just do not have dates for the show and there are many other reasons too, because of which I'm not doing the show. I have just come from Japan and I have committed to several other projects. Moreover, I have been busy with my play Aasmaan Se Gira, Khajoor Pe Atka."
When quizzed about her plans to appear on small screen, Padmini adds, "Well, I am yet to zero down on anything particular. Let us wait and see."
https://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&am p;sectid=12&contentid=2007110620071106031906234a193f2a
