A lot had been said and written about the exit of Nirbhay Wadhwa from popular Star Plus show, Qayamat Ki Raat, where he played the ugly-looking demon, Kalaasur. It was alleged that Nirbhay, who had earlier played the role of Hanuman in Sony show, Sankatmochan Mahabali Hanuman, was ejected for tantrum throwing. He was subsequently replaced by Saurish Singh Athwal.
Conspicuous in all this has been the complete silence on the part of Nirbhaya, on what really happened.
However, finally, today he gave his side of the story, in an exclusive interview to IWMBuzz.com.
“To start with, I was not removed; I quit the show. The main reason was that my eyes were getting hurt due to long hours of the Kalaasur lens usage. Such lenses are meant to be worn for four or five hours in one go, but in my case it was going up to twelve hours at a stretch,” says Nirbhay, who has also been part of other fantasy mytho shows such as Mahakali– Anth hi Aarambh, Karmphal DaataShani, etc.
“I spoke to the production house (Balaji Telefilms), and when they did not listen, I asked my ophthalmologist (eye specialist) to talk to them. Eventually, I decided to quit, for my vision is more valuable than anything else.”
He further continues: “One other major issue I had was that, to start with, I was not being used for more than four days a month. It is not possible to run your life in Mumbai with such little work. I have an expenditure of four to five lakh a month (have a good bike, fancy car, 3 BHK, with dogs); so I had to do outside work alongside Qayamat, to make ends meet. I repeatedly requested them for advance shoot dates, so that I could coordinate stuff, which never happened. I don’t blame them as well, for TV work always happens at the last moment. As a result, I could not make it to shoots a few times, not being in the city at that moment.”
Point taken.
He goes on: “My point was clear–if you want me at your beck and call, bind me in an exclusive contract, like in Hanuman, so that even if you use me for a few days, I am still assured of a fixed sum. Had that been granted, I would have had no qualms and would have even slept on set. Eventually, the production house got my drift, and we both decided to part ways amicably. I really don’t know who is spreading these tantrum rumours. I am still on good terms with Balaji there’s no bad blood.”
In closing, Nirbhay says, “In the eventual schemes of things, it was my eyes that were the tipping point, for, by the time I quit, my days had increased due to the character getting popular. We would thus have reached some middle ground on moolah.”
We wish him luck and success.