It was in July 2008 that the TV show, Balika Vadhu, first aired. With the sensitive subject of child marriage at its centre, the show became a huge success in no time. As it clocks 15 years, actor Anup Soni, who played the supportive father-in-law of the young bride (played by actor Avika Gor) for six years, reveals that the he had turned down the show twice before finally accepting it.

He recalls, “I had taken a break from acting during that period and I told them (the makers) that. Then, they approached me again saying, ‘Ek baar story sunn lo’. I did, and I found it interesting. But, this show was going to air on a new channel and I thought itne channels toh already hain. So I rejected it again!”

It was when he was approached for a third time that Soni took it as a “sign” and said yes to the show that ended in 2016. “Plus, my dear friend Smita Bansal, who played my wife in the show, also said, ‘Yaar kar le show’,” he recounts.

The 48-year-old shares that the show has a fanbase even in countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam, where it was dubbed and aired.

He says, “My scientist friend in Vietnam [still] tells me, I will have to have my arm around you when we go out on the streets or else we will get mobbed!’ People there are crazy about Balika Vadhu.”