Manjiri Pupala who was in the centre of storm with respect to her short stint in replacing Surbhi Chandna as lead in the STAR Plus, now rechristened show as Ishqbaaz – Pyaar Ki Ek Dhinchaak Kahani has quit this 4 Lions Films presentation.
Readers will remember that Manjiri ‘s ACP Aditi Deskhmukh lead billing did not last long and turned negative due to alleged low ratings. Subsequently Niti Taylor entered as the new lead Mannat Kaur Khurana. But ironically the numbers post Niti’s entry remains the same as Manjiri’s stint.
When we touched base with Manjiri, apart from confirming that she had quit some days back,
She refused to say more. “Right now I am travelling and rejuvenating myself. Playing Aditi was a challenge and I really immersed myself in the character.”
When asked whether the channel should have waited longer before pulling the plug on her lead track she says, “You also need to factor in the business of numbers which have cores riding on it. Also these calls are beyond my remit to comment. The creative team understood my concerns when I spoke to them and they agreed to ease me out. I wish Gul Mam and the entire team all the best.”
Sources say this was always on cards, for Manjiri was certainly given a short shrift after being promised and promoted as a lead, who was quickly reduced to being a negative character with not much to do.
Any talented artist worth his/her salt will not want to be part of a project which kinda ends up wasting their talent. Also our khabroo added that Manjiri who has done good Marathi work did not want to be part of a project which she was not 100 % committed to, as that would be doing disservice to her craft.
We buzzed Producer Gul Khan to know her thoughts on Manjiri’s exit but did not get through to her.
We also reached out to the channel spokesperson but did not get revert.
Watch this space for more updates.