Woh Rehne Wali…leaps; cast leaps out!

Rajshri Production's Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki on Sahara One …. is all set to press the fast forward button and take a leap of 20 years later this month. This has made the star cast of the show to follow suit…take a leap…as in leap out of the show. Lataa Sabharwal who plays Shalini in the show has decided to opt out of the show as she doesn't want to go gray so early in her career. "The show is taking a leap which will lead to the track undergoing major changes. I wouldn't call it 'quitting'. Since the show is adapting a new track my presence would merely be a waste of time as I will have nothing to do! Also I wasn't comfortable playing a character that wasn't my age. The production house too understood this and settled the matter amicably," says Lataa who will soon be seen in the Rajshri flick, Vivaah. Our sources tell us that Lataa is not the only actor to have opted out of the show. Ritu Cambow (Rani's sister), Anupam Bhattacharya (Punit), Komal Mahuvakar (Rani's other sister) have also decided to call it quits. The actors are all unanimously against graying. Anupam Bhattacharya feels that enacting the role of an elderly person was not challenging enough. "I don't think that portraying older characters is anymore a challenge. There is nothing new and alluring about it since everyone in tellydom is doing it. I am not keen to join the bandwagon! I had conveyed my decision to the production house quite some time back. This was sensed by my colleagues too, thus they too have fizzled out. Other than a handful of actors such as Nimay Bali, Shagufta, Anand Desai, Kamya Punjabi, Supriya Karnik and of course, Reeena, the rest have all decided not to go with the leap," says Anupam who is looking out for other shows. Rushad Rana too would have joined Anupam and the others, had his track not come to an end. The actor is averse to growing old. "Had my track not been over, then I too would not have liked the idea of enacting an older character," says Rushad, who already has two shows on air, Hare Kannch Ki Choodiyan (Sahara One) and India Calling (Star One). While the actors blamed the leap for their exit, producer Kavita Barjatya offers a different version. "I wouldn't term it as a generation leap…I prefer calling it a fresh season! Besides this, it's not that the actors have quit, we have no need for their services post the leap as a result of which many of them have left the show," points out Barjatya. It's interesting that it's the second time on the channel that such a move has been initiated. Even in Hare Kannch Ki Choodiyan, the track went for a complete makeover with the entire star cast being replaced by new set of actors…Only time will tell if such innovations help the shows or lead to their downfall!