I'll be back in a modern role: Pratyusha Banerjee

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prabha

@prabha.abha

Voyager

Posted: 12 years ago

Balika Vadhu took Indian television by storm in 2008 and has managed to stay at the top with several twists in the storyline. But here's the biggest twist yet: lead actor Pratyusha Banerjee has just quit. "Everyone I've spoken to is shocked," says Pratyusha Banerjee, who played the now-iconic Anandi in the Colors show for almost three years. The 21-year-old was cast after a massive talent hunt. She will be on air as Anandi till March 4.

What's the reason behind your exit?
It was getting stressful. I couldn't shoot for long hours as my mother was unwell and just had surgery. Though the unit was very supportive, I can't compromise with my mom's health. It was a mutual decision with the channel to quit. They were finding an actor to fit the role.

Are you sad about leaving?
I am not, as we (the team) will all meet again, if not in a show then at some event. Nothing can go on forever and my journey in Balika Vadhu ends here. Whatever I am today is because of this show. Now I want to use my experience for other things.

How did the cast react?
Many people in the cast didn't know. Only Siddharth Shukla (Shiv) and Smita Bansal (Sumitra) did. Shashanak Vyas (Jagya) was in Bangkok, so I haven't been able to tell him. He will be shocked.

What will you remember about your time in Balika Vadhu?
I remember the first day of shoot when I gave 25 retakes and the last day when I gave a perfect take in one shot. That will be memorable.

What's next?
A vacation to Ladakh, and then to Goa with my girl gang.

How did your family and boyfriend Makrand Malhotra react to this news?
My family supports me since they trust me not to do anything wrong. Makrand was more than cool as now he knows I will be able to spend more time with him.

When will you be back on TV?
Wait for a bit, let people miss me. I'll be back soon... in a modern role, without a ghunghat (veil).

The new Anandi
With Pratyusha Banerjee exiting Balika Vadhu, makers of the show and the channel have finalised Toral Rasputra for the popular role of Anandi. Toral has appeared in several shows, including Dhoom Machaao Dhoom (Disney), Rishton Ki Dor (Sony) and Chhoti Si Zindagi (Zee). Her most prominent role so far has been as Rasal in Kesariya Balam Aavo Hamare Des (Sahara One).

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Frequent Posters

mandy001

@mandy001

Inactive

+ 2

Posted: 12 years ago

tfs...m hpy dt she z nt blaming ph nd channel bt these ppls r ruining her image...vry bad.

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Suchi-

@Suchi-

Sparkler

+ 3

Posted: 12 years ago

The reason why PH is blaming her or actually just stating the facts that she did done late etc which effected their shoot.,..is because more than pratyusha the production house has suffered. They have now the enormous track and risk of training the new anandi and then belong her help the show maintain its trp.

What did pratyusha loose?..

It's the balika vadhu team that's suffering and not to mention that has to adjust along with the viewers.

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jiji22

@jiji22

Explorer

Posted: 12 years ago

she quit due to her mom yet the first this she is going to do it take a few vacations? 😕

if she isnt sad about leaving the show, perhaps I will rethink being sad about her leaving as well. Why dwell on someone who isnt worried about her fans? she wants people to miss her...well people have been following her on balika for years faithfully, maybe she didnt realize this?
I wonder if she realizes how lucky she is to be a part of such a good show and a good role.

all the best in the future prats

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Smiely

@Smiely

Explorer

Posted: 12 years ago

She is 21! Got fame at this age now wants to enjoy and have free time do to whatever she wants. Can not blame her.

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Sanaa

@sweet_chilly

Rocker

Posted: 12 years ago

wow...she doesnt miss bv...i dont see any hint of sadness in her interview...and ansh fans hv been reacting like sum1has died...i feel as if i am dumped by someone...

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paradigm

@paradigm

Dazzler

+ 3

Posted: 12 years ago

Hmm.. This doesnt really add up. She says that she is leaving the show because of her mother's ill health. Yet the first thing she does is go on a holiday 😕

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Pragya

@Siya_

Dazzler

Posted: 12 years ago

First of all, this should be in the official discussion thread. https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/balika-vadhu/3457398/pratyusha-leaving-new-replacement-discuss-here-p41

As Illyria says in the post, all articles to be posted there.

Second, I'm tired of reading posts blaming Prats for the whole thing. I'm just going to copy-paste from a place where this has already been discussed:

Originally posted by: Shivandi
Exactly. And he's still not the main lead - everyone else can get away with some off time, but can you imagine how hard it is for the main lead who has to be in the most frames?? I thought even when they announced that it was going to be Mon-Sat instead of Mon-Fri, that it was a bad bad bad idea. She probably got one or two days off in a year, max, and she worked for three years! And she's only 21! Rather than pretending this is all her fault, maybe people should step back and take a look at the structure and try re-imagining some things. Also, this isn't a simple corporate firm or a typical marketplace, where the dysfunctional cog is just replaced. This is an industry that rests on emotional connections, especially between the audience and the fiction, and every last thing should be done to protect that connection.

I'm prone to not believe the ill health thing because that's the standard excuse, and it was probably just her being tired of work. But even if that is the case, if she was fired and she sounds happy in interviews about it, it's likely a pride issue. Why would you want to sound sad and allow people to deduce that you were fired?

And if she wasn't fired and left by herself (and this also applies to her creating problems in the first place), people need to look at the larger picture and wonder why that happened in the first place too. It's easy to blame one person, but that doesn't make it right.

Also, didn't mention up there, but did somewhere else: there is such a thing as terms of contract. Abroad, when actors have grueling schedules, they still come to work because the contract demands it - they will get sued if they don't. They also come to work because they know how long they have to put up with the grueling schedule - a definite amount of time, unlike Indian TV shows which are indefinite.

So instead of only blaming her, people should also acknowledge that the PH/Colors was mad disorganized about the whole thing, and they shouldn't have been.

Edited by Shivandi - 12 years ago