Karan Mehra New Interview

Karan Mehra aka Naitik of 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' has finally quit the show after a seven-year stint. Reports of Karan quitting the show owing to issues with co-star Hina Khanhad surfaced in January, along with reports about him not being happy with his character graph in the show. He had dismissed all those reports and had told us then, "This is just speculation and I don't want to comment on it. Every year they say that I am leaving, but I am still here. I am not leaving the show right now."

Karan Mehra aka Naitik leaves Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai

Can't stay till the end of the show
Sources say that there will be a track which will show his character being kidnapped by his step-brother, which will mark his exit. It remains to be seen whether his character will die in the show or if a new actor will replace Karan. His wife, Nisha Rawal, posted a letter on her Facebook page, in which she wrote, "The guy is on immunotherapy shots. He developed HAH (High Altitude Headaches) & Back Spasms. His allergies have boomed & the doc asked him to take it easy or he would collapse n reach the ICU. That's when we decided that it was enough (sic)". When contacted, Karan said, "It's been an emotional journey for eight years now. Unfortunately, I had to leave now. But I want to thank my fans for their support and love. I wanted to be there till the end, but it won't be possible."

'It was a long journey, which took a toll'
Karan had denied quitting the show when reports surfaced in January. When asked about what finally prompted him to leave the show now, he said, "There was nothing true about those reports. I was not keeping well and I had been advised by my doctor to take rest. We were trying permutations and combinations, so that I could get some rest. The channel was very helpful and Rajan sir (Shahi, the producer of the show) was also quite helpful. But it wasn't working out. I thought it's time that I should move on, take a break and then see. There's some fatigue when you do a show for such a long time. It's been a long journey, but it took a toll on me. Everybody was quite emotional - my lightmen, my spotboys. They weren't ready to accept that I'm leaving the show," he said.

No issues with Hina
However, there have been reports talking about him being unhappy with his track in the show. "Mere yeh sab kehne ke baavjood, dus cheezein aur likhi jaayengi. Woh kehte hain na logon ka kaam hai kehna. I've told the truth from my end. People can keep making up stories because that's what they did in January," he said. When we asked him about his equation with Hina, he said, "How were we working for the last seven years if we weren't getting along? We recently won the award for the longest jodi, toh woh mazak mein hi diya hoga kya?"

Just going to travel for a few months
It has also been reported that Karan has been approached for the upcoming season of 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'. "I am just going to be travelling a lot. If I have health issues, how will I do 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'? These are all stories." But will he surprise the audience by making a comeback to the show? "There will be no more surprises. This is the biggest surprise," he said.