Shilpa Shinde calls it “destiny” that she is reprising her role in Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai 2.0, nine years after she had an acrimonious split with the channel, &TV, and left the show. But in the interim, the actor was a regular viewer of the comedy that saw Shubhangi Atre step into her role of Angoori Bhabhi alongside Aasif Sheikh, and Rohitashv Gour.

“I never felt any jealousy or drew any comparisons between her [Atre] and myself. I always thought to myself, ‘Bhabhi ji toh main hi hoon. Chalo, aap kar lo.’ It’s been almost 10 years but wherever I go, I am still called Bhabhi ji,” says Shinde.

Even as she looks forward to replicating the show’s success with the 2.0 version, the actor reflects on the bitterness that had marked her exit in 2016. She had accused the makers of mentally torturing her, while the production house, Edit II Productions, had sent her a legal notice accusing her of breach of contract. 

Shinde recalls that “some people” in the channel tried cashing in on her character’s success. “At that time, every show except ours had flopped. So, these people wanted to exert control on our show. They tried to gain publicity for the channel through me. They sent me to a TV award ceremony in my character’s outfit! Whether from the channel or other authorities, the bottomline was to control me.”

To Shinde, the episode taught her an  important life lesson. She recounts, “Even after giving everything to the show for a year, I was completely sidelined. A lot of misunderstandings were created. I took this experience as a lesson, it showed me the real [nature] of people. I didn’t have any complaints with my co-stars. There were people claiming that I had left Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hai for another show. No one knew the reality.”