Ekta Kapoor sues actress Barkha Bisht!
The producer takes legal action after the actress defects to the Rajshri camp
Reena Thapar Kapoor
Actors falling out with their directors and producers is not new in the industry. The two have always had a love-hate relationship. The best example of this is Balaji head honcho Ekta Kapoor's friendships and tiffs with the various actors of her shows. Despite parting ways with actors Rajeev Khandelwal and Amar Upadhayay, producer Ekta Kapoor's angst never reached a point where she had to seek legal help.
But this time actress Barkha Bisht managed to upset television industry's most influential woman. It all started when Barkha walked out of Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka at the eleventh hour. The actress was to play the second lead in the show and had even shot for six episodes till she chanced upon an offer that she thought was better than any other role she had played in the past.
"I launched that girl in the MTV show Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi; later she even did Kasauti Zindagi Kay and Kavyanjali. Since she insisted that I give her an important role, I gave her a good role in Nimmo…," Ekta defends her stance. But Barkha deserted her mentor and fled for greener pastures at the first opportunity. "After having shot for a few episodes, the girl called to inform me that she would not be shooting for Nimmo… anymore. She quit the show without giving any prior notice."
Apparently, Barkha failed to mention to Ekta that she had been offered the lead role in Rajshri's show for Star Plus's Pyar Ke Do Naam, Ek Radha Ek Shyaam. "Replacing actors is something I am used to. In a daily soap, it happens all the time. But in this case I lost a lot of money because of that girl's unprofessional behaviour. I decided to sue her because I didn't want her to set a bad example for other actors. My lawyers are looking into the matter very seriously," says the miffed Ekta.
We spoke to Barkha, who sounded reluctant to talk about the incident. "Look, I was getting to play the lead in a Rajshri show and I did not want to miss out on the opportunity. In the past I was only doing two-bit roles but this was my big chance. Contrary to Ekta's allegation, I did speak to her about this. I could've continued to do Kavyanjali and Kasauti… along with Pyar Ke… But I guess, like other Balaji actors Ekta didn't want me to work with a different production house. She told me that I could either do the K-shows or the Rajshri show. It was my call and I decided to go by my instincts. I believe Ekta is upset but she has to understand that she can't stop people from growing professionally," insists Barkha.
About being sued by Balaji she says, "My production house (Rajshri) and my lawyers are helping me out with this. I'm not completely aware of the nuances of the matter. Also I don't know what to say. Is Ekta too upset?" she asks. Due to Barkha's unprofessional attitude, Nimmo… got delayed by three months. Above all the production house had to re-shoot certain portions that earlier had Barkha in them. The Kapoor camp claim that the actress's defection has cost Balaji lakhs of rupees.
• After having shot for a few episodes, the girl (Barkha) called to inform me that she would not be shooting for Nimmo… anymore. She quit the show without giving any prior notice – Ekta Kapoor
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