It has been a puzzling wait for fans of actor Priya Ahuja Rajda, who portrayed the character of Rita Reporter in the popular TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC). After being absent for several months at a stretch, speculations arose regarding her future with the show.

Rajda shares her ordeal: “It’s been eight months and I’ve not heard from the makers or been informed whether or not I am part of the show. I have tried to contact (producer) Asit Kumarr Modi and operations head Sohil Ramani, but they don’t bother to reply to my messages.”

This lack of courtesy, coupled with unresponsive attempts to reach out to the concerned parties, led Priya to take the difficult decision of “officially resigning from the show a week ago”. “They didn’t even reply to that [my resignation]. I think they were waiting for me to get tired and take a step like this,” says the actor. The 38-year-old rues that “there must have been a lot of opportunities” she has lost during this time despite not “having any exclusive contract with TMKOC”.

The situation became particularly challenging when her husband, Malav Rajde, who served as the show’s director for 14 years, decided to part ways with the production team. “Malav had been a part of TMKOC since its inception. While he had a month-long notice period, to his surprise, just after 15 days, Asit asked him through Sohil not to return to the set the next day.”

In response to queries about Modi possibly holding any grudge against her husband, Priya remarks, “Nobody leaves TMKOC on a good note.”