Chavi walks off sets of Tumhari Disha

Following the example set by Rohit Roy of Sarrkkar some time ago (Roy had stalled the shoot saying he wasn't convinced by a particular scene), and the trend of 'non-cooperation and disruptive behaviour', Chavi Mittal, who plays the lead character of Disha in Tumhari Disha on Zee TV walked out of the sets today without shooting, even though she was informed in advance about how important and urgent the shoot was.

According to sources present on the sets, Chavi was told beforehand that she would be required to shoot for a vital promo. Vital because Tumhari Disha, which used to be Zee TV's number one show a few months ago, has slipped to fourth position with the entry of Saat Phere and Kasamh Se. The show's producers are trying their best to reclaim their top slot.

The producers requested Chavi to stay back for 15 minutes so that they could wrap up the promo, and since Chavi already had her make-up on, they didn't think it would be much of a problem. But to their surprise, Chavi threw a tantrum and walked out exactly at 12 on the dot, leaving the entire unit high and dry. She was even heard saying, "Promo is their (read producer and channel) problem. My time is up and I am leaving." One could still have dismissed the entire incident had Chavi not refused to take their calls afterwards. Apparently, the producers kept trying her number to find out what went wrong but she didn't bother to answer the calls.

When contacted, the show's producer Pintoo Guha declined to talk about Chavi's behav iour, saying only that the promo shoot had been resched uled and these kinds of things were normal. But the show's other producer and creative director, Rupali Guha, who is incidentally Pintoo's wife, had just the opposite to say. According to Rupali, Chavi is very undisciplined as an actor and has been a source of trou ble to the production house in the past as well.

Meanwhile, Chhavi, has her own take on the entire episode. According to her, Thursday is her official day off and she had made it clear to the production house right from the beginning that she doesn't shoot on those days. "I was requested to come today and I obliged. But then I had some personal work as well. My work could not wait, so I left at 12 sharp. I don't know what the others are talking about." Still, considering that Chavi has only one show at this stage, she may be taking a big risk with her priorities.

Speaking about the incident, a unit member, on the condition of anonymity, said, "Producers don't want to spoil their rapport with the actor, but we are fed up with their daily tantrums. They should concentrate on acting rather than throwing their weight around."