Hiten Tejwani to replace Sushant Singh Rajput as Manav in Pavitra Rishta

The hunt has finally and officially ended. The replacement of Sushant Singh Rajput, who so very successfully played the part of Manav in the long running Zee TV drama Pavitra Rishta, is going to be a long term Balaji Telefilms loyalist: Hiten Tejwani. The decision was not easy a-coming. Many actors were approached to play the part of an older Manav as the storyline of Pavitra scurries forward a few years. Among these: Mrunal Jain, Sharad Kelkar, Aamir Dalvi, Yash Tonk and Hiten Tejwani. Mrunal, who was a very strong contender to play Manav, opted out because he was waiting to hear news about his playing the lead in a Star Plus show. This apart, he did not want to be seen playing a much older character when he is pretty young himself. Even the creative of Balaji and the channel seemed to be in agreement. Sushant Singh Rajput stopped filming for the show on 23 October. Hiten is expected to start shooting in the coming week.