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Sudhanshu Pandey's sudden exit from Rupali Ganguly starrer Anupamaa has sparked a lot of speculations in Telly town. While a few media reports suggest that the reason behind Sudhanshu's exit was his fallout with Rupali Ganguly, a few other reports suggest that the actor's relationship with Rajan Shahi had soured. However, Sudhanshu, broke silence on the said reports and denied any truth about the same. In an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal, the Anupamaa actor has now opened his heart out and has broken silence on various aspects of his stint in the show.
You have said this a couple of times and people now know the reason behind your exit, but tell us what drove you to take this decision all of a sudden?
See, nobody can quit a show all of a sudden. There had been some discussions about the same for quite some time now. And to be honest, in my mind, I did start feeling that the time to call it quits has been nearing. As an actor, I did not have much left and I felt it was the time to move on. You know your personal growth as an actor is important too. For four years, I did my best and gave Vanraj Shah my all. But I did feel that my growth was stunted and when I reached that stage, I decided to call it quits. I got some signs, so yes.
What are the kind of signs that you are talking about here?
Umm, I have said this before as well, aapko life mein kahi bar sanket milte hai. Mujhe wo sanket mil gaye thhe jis se mujhe laga ke mujhe ab ye decision le lena chaiye.
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Do you think there was not much left for Vanraj Shah and that the character was losing its importance in the show?
Nahi, aisa nahi hai. Aisa hota toh aap ne dekha hai audience reaction, they would not want me back. My character was strong no doubts about that. See, in a daily soap. your character can not always be the most important one, there are ups and downs. The story will shift to other characters too. Sometimes it will be shift on the kids, sometimes on Maa bapuji and so much more. And ek hi character par story rakhenge toh audience also will get bored. As for Vanraj Shah, the strength of his character cannot be taken away. His positioning can never be taken.
Did Gaurav Khanna's entry in the show change things for you? You started off as a lead and with his entry, you were suddenly the parallel lead.
Nahi, I do not believe on this. My character was always the one who created drama. Vanraj was the conflict on the show. And even after his entry, my positioning was the same. Yes, after he came, there was a romantic angle that got introduced but for a show to run succesfully, it can not only run on romance. It needs drama. Vanraj's character was a very strong pillar of Anupamaa and he could not be played with.
There have been various theories cropping up on your exit. Some say that you have quit the show after a fight with Rupali Ganguly, some say it was a fallout with Rajan Shahi and some others say it was after Muskaan Bamne came on sets. What is the truth behind all these theories?
The truth is the one that I have already told. Quitting Anupamaa was purely my call and my decision. No body else has taken this decision for me. As for these rumours, we all know they are cropping from various ends. But they are meant to be just rumours. I think we all should just believe on what I have said. I have already very clearly given my perspectives and reasons on quitting the show. Reasons can be 100. But why do we give importance to them? I know what is good for me.
There have also been rumours about you have creative differences with Rupali and the same has been confirmed in various interviews too. Your comments on the same?
I do not know where it comes from. Rupali as an actor and so am I. We are not creatives of the show to have creative differences. There are creatives on the show. Rupali is playing a different role and I too am playing a different role. We execute our characters accordingly.
In that case, where there any other differences?
No No, we have always been friends. For those who have seen us on the sets of the shows, know that we share an amazing camraderie. We would always crack jokes and laugh like mads.
Anupamaa has been on top of the TRP charts for the past 4 years. If there would have been a controversy chart, we are sure the show would have topped that too. Since you have worked on the sets of the show, what exactly goes behind? Why is the show always surrounded by controversies?
(Giggles) I have no idea about this. Even when I was on the sets of the show, I would keep to myself. I have kept myself away from everything on the show, Have never indulged into any kind of gossip. Apart from the creative differences bit with Rupali, I have never heard anything about me on the sets of the show and the reason is that I maintain a distance from such things. My only motto is to spready love and positivity. So, honestly, no idea about the controversies.
Where do we see you next? There are reports around your participation in Bigg Boss this year and there is also a news about your upcoming web show. What is the truth?
The Bigg Boss rumour is absolutely wrong and there is no truth to it. An actor like me can never be a part of a show like that. But yes, something is happening other than that and I cannot reveal much right now because I am not allowed to. Hoping to speak about the same soon.
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