Showing posts with label Ashwin Verma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashwin Verma. Show all posts
Rupali Ganguly on stepdaughter’s claims: "It affects me"
8:21 AM
HINDUSTAN TIMES (December 11, 2024)
Actor Rupali Ganguly has broken her silence on the recent controversy involving her and stepdaughter Esha Verma after the latter called her “toxic” and “abusive”. An old post by Esha, Rupali’s husband Ashwin K Verma’s daughter with his second wife Sapna, claiming that Rupali and Ashwin got into a relationship while he was still married to Sapna went viral.
At a recent event, the actor was asked about how the entire ordeal affected her. “Agar main kahun ki (main) nahin affect hoti toh main jhooth kahungi. Of course, affect hota hai. Hum insaan hain, agar humare baare mein koi peeth peeche thodi si burai bhi kar de toh bura lagta hai,” she told Instant Bollywood, adding, “Bura samay kabhi kabhi aata hai, buri cheezein hoti hain, lekin acchai hamesha jeetti hai.”
Following one of Esha’s interviews claiming Rupali and Ashwin’s 11-year-old son was illegitimate, the actor filed a Rs. 50 crore defamation suit against her. Esha later issued an apology for dragging her stepbrother into the matter, adding “misinformation was thrown into some articles”. She also deleted the post and made her Instagram account private.
Rupali Ganguly files Rs. 50cr defamation suit against stepdaughter Esha Verma
3:43 PM
Yashika Mathur (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 6, 2024)
Actor Rupali Ganguly has followed up on a legal notice sent to her stepdaughter, Esha Verma, by filing a defamation suit for Rs. 50 crore in damages. Confirming the same, her lawyer, Sana Raees Khan, tells us, “We have filed a defamation suit in the Bombay High Court today to protect Rupali’s integrity and reputation against baseless and malicious attacks.” Khan further emphasised that the lawsuit is a reminder that no one, regardless of citizenship or location, has the right to defame others without facing consequences.
This legal step follows a prior notice sent by Ganguly, requesting an apology and monetary compensation from Verma, along with the removal of negative social media posts about her. The suit was initiated after Verma failed to meet these demands. The matter is now subjudice and expected to be listed in court soon.
The legal conflict between Ganguly and Verma arose after the latter publicly shared her personal experiences related to her father and her upbringing, which included claims that drew negative attention and criticism on social media.
What Esha said after the legal notice was issued to her
Esha addressed her decision to share her personal story involving her father, stating, “Speaking up was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it also became a turning point in my life.”
Rupali Ganguly’s stepdaughter Esha Verma releases ‘final’ statement after defamation suit
8:53 AM
HINDUSTAN TIMES (November 30, 2024)
Esha Verma, stepdaughter of actor Rupali Ganguly, has recently shared a statement addressing the public reaction to her previous social media posts and videos. In her recent Instagram Stories, Esha responded to the Rs. 50 crore defamation notice she received from Ganguly, calling it “disturbing, cruel, and displayed their true character.” She also spoke critically about her father, businessman Ashwin K Verma, asserting that despite being an adult, she is still his child, and that sharing her experiences should not have led to punishment.
Esha, 26, explained that her decision to open up about her past and difficult experiences was driven not by malice but by a desire for “freedom and justice.” “For 24 years, I felt trapped in a reality I couldn’t escape. Sharing my experiences was my way of finding freedom and justice. My intention was never to cause harm but to shed light on experiences that shaped me,” she shared.
Addressing accusations regarding her half-brother, Rudransh, Esha added, “I never involved a minor in my statements. What I shared was factual: I learned of a marriage that took place on February 6, 2013, and later discovered on August 25th of the same year that they had a child.”
She concluded her statement by adding, “This will be my final statement on this matter,” confirming that she would not be taking part in any further interviews.
The feud between Ganguly and Esha began earlier this year when the latter’s 2020 post, accusing Ganguly of inflicting physical, mental, verbal and emotional abuse on both her and her mum, went viral.
Rupali Ganguly sends a Rs 50-crore defamation notice to stepdaughter Esha Verma
8:30 AM
BOMBAY TIMES (November 13, 2024)
Rupali Ganguly has sent a Rs. 50-crore defamation notice to her stepdaughter, Esha Verma, following a series of allegations the latter made against her and her husband, Ashwin Verma, over the past week.
Esha accused Rupali of interfering in her parents’ marriage and claimed the actress had physically assaulted her mother. She also alleged her father had been physically and emotionally abusive. In her latest Instagram video, Esha accused Rupali and Ashwin of bullying her and revealed that her father had asked her to take down her previous posts.
Elaborating on the defamation notice sent to Esha on Monday night, Rupali’s lawyer, Sana Raees Khan said, “We have issued a defamation notice to Esha in response to her false and damaging statements. Rupali is taking a firm stance against defamatory tactics and has decided to protect her reputation against unfounded claims. These baseless allegations were clearly aimed at harming Rupali’s reputation and exploiting her public standing. The accusations have caused significant emotional distress and unfairly tarnished her personal and professional image. If Esha does not issue a public apology and retract her posts immediately, we will proceed with legal action.”
Rupali married Ashwin in 2013, and they have a son, Rudransh. Ashwin has two daughters from his previous marriage, including 26-year-old Esha, who resides in New Jersey, USA, and claims her mother and Ashwin married in 1997 and separated in 2008.
Esha deletes her X account
On Tuesday afternoon, Rupali’s lawyer confirmed that Esha has taken down the defamatory posts following legal notice and deleted her X account. Sana said, “We see this as a meaningful step toward justice. This outcome reflects our victory for truth and accountability, reaffirming that reckless and harmful statements have no place in the public sphere. This sets a strong precedent on importance of responsible communication, especially when it concerns the reputation and dignity of others. However, we are awaiting her apology.”
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Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 13, 2024)
In the latest twist in the controversy between actor Rupali Ganguly and her stepdaughter Esha Verma, we have learnt that Rupali has sent a defamation notice to Esha. She is seeking a compensation of Rs. 50 crore. US-based Esha, via social media posts and interviews, had accused Rupali of having an affair with her father, businessperson Ashwin K Verma, while he was still married to her mother Sapna, and even administering substances to him. She has now made her Instagram account private.
Sana Raees Khan, Rupali’s lawyer, tells us, “We have issued a defamation notice to her stepdaughter in response to her false and damaging statements. Rupali firmly stands against the use of defamatory tactics for publicity and she has taken this legal step to protect her reputation from unfounded claims.”
The legal notice, a copy of which is in possession of HT City, states, among other things, that Rupali “always treated you well during your visits to India” and also “extended opportunities for you to break into the Indian entertainment industry.”
After breaking the news, we reached out to Esha. She chose not to reply, but put up an Instagram story soon afterwards — only to delete it later.
Rupali Ganguly’s husband defends her after an old post by his daughter resurfaces online
8:06 AM
BOMBAY TIMES (November 5, 2024)
A 2020 Facebook post by Rupali Ganguly’s step-daughter, Esha Verma, resurfaced online two days ago, sparking a controversy. In the post, Esha had alleged that Rupali had an affair with her father, Ashwin K Verma (who the actress is currently married to) for 12 years, leading to his separation from her mother. The Anupamaa actress & Ashwin tied the knot in 2013 and have a son together.
Esha’s 2020 post read: “Does anyone know the real story of Rupali Ganguly? She has had an affair with Ashwin K Verma for 12 years while he was in his second marriage. Ashwin has two daughters from his previous marriages. She is nothing but a cruel-hearted woman who has done nothing but tried to separate me and my sister, his own daughters from their father.”
Reacting to the post which resurfaced, Ashwin put out a statement on X, which read, “I understand that my younger daughter still holds a lot of hurt about the dissolution of her parent’s relationship, as divorce is a difficult experience that can greatly affect and harm the children of that marriage.”
In his post, Ashwin added, “Marriages end for many reasons, and my relationship with my second wife had multiple challenges that led to our separation — challenges that were between she and I and that had nothing to do with any other person.”
Soon after this, on Monday, Esha, who is based in New Jersey, put out a statement saying that she stands by the claims she made in 2020. Excerpts from the post read, “This isn’t just a headline; it’s my life, my childhood, and the pain I endured then and still feel today. I’m choosing to stand by my experiences, because some truths need to be heard. Although I first spoke out about this four years ago, I’ve grown, matured and healed a lot since then.”
She added, “My father and his wife may deny these claims, but I believe their response is rooted in fear of the truth finally surfacing. I love my father deeply and idolized him, but he chose to exclude me from his life. Watching her rise in the entertainment world with a public image so far from reality has added to the hurt, especially as she plays a character who champions the values she disregarded in real life.”
When we reached out to Ashwin, he said that he has nothing more to say on the subject. Rupali did not comment till the time of going to press.
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Esha Verma’s old post calling Rupali Ganguly ‘psychotic’ went viral, prompting her father to negate the claims. But Esha says it’s her truth
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 5, 2024)
On Sunday, a Reddit post went viral after a user shared snippets of an old Facebook comment made by Esha Verma, the daughter of businessman Ashwin K Verma. In the comment, Esha accused actor Rupali Ganguly of having an affair with her father while he was still married to her mother, describing Rupali as “cruel-hearted”. The post quickly made waves online, leading Ashwin to issue a statement on X denying the claims. In response, Esha posted on Instagram (see top right), saying, “There’s a darker side to this story... All I ask for is compassion as it unfolds.”
As we reach out to her, Esha reiterates, “My parents got married in 1997 and didn’t divorce till 2008. We have documentation to show that... Rupali has posed as if they (she and Ashwin) were friends and in love earlier than that. There are pictures of (Rupali) as an actor in the commercials my father directed. That’s where the affair began; he would film for three months at a time and come home (to New Jersey) for a short time. We didn’t know about it then, but Rupali pretty much knew about all of us.”
Ashwin and Rupali got married in 2013.
Esha’s post from 2021 with Rupali and Ashwin has also raised questions. The 26-year-old explains, “I posted that picture because I wanted to show he is my dad. He doesn’t acknowledge it; there are only pics of him with Rupali and their son on his account, but nowhere is a picture of me and my sister. They say they are a happy family, it’s like we are non existent.”
Esha wanted to keep contact with her father, but says, “Rupali threatened my mother. If I spoke to him on call, she’d scream in the background. She even cornered me when I went to visit him in Mumbai. She told me, ‘You will regret if you ever do this again or say you want your parents to meet’. I was always afraid to go to India and couldn’t stay longer than two days with him.”
The last message she got from her dad was a WhatsApp text telling her to take down the 2020 post, after which she deleted the app. She adds, “Rupali has no contact with me. The biggest risk is my father wouldn’t want me in his life at all, so it’s not much of a difference. I’m going to lose more than I gain from this. But this is my truth.”
We reached out to Rupali and her team for a reaction, but didn’t get a response till the time of going to press.
Like FRIENDS, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai should have a special one off episode-Rupali Ganguly
8:15 AM
Soumitra Das (BOMBAY TIMES; August 27, 2023)
Rupali Ganguly, who is currently riding high on the success of her ongoing TV show Anupamaa, was in Gujarat recently for a quick trip.
She tells us, “I visited Mehsana for an event and it felt special because during the first episode of our show, we had Anupamaa (her character) going to the Modhera Sun Temple. I also wanted to visit Ambaji Temple for a long time and I am glad that I could do that on this visit.”
She adds, “I love coming to Gujarat and I have grown up with Gujarati neighbours. I have an insane obsession with Gujarati food, and I love dal dhokli, Gujarati dal, undhiyu, lapsi and churma ladoo. In fact, there are days when I crave Gujarati food in Mumbai and travel to Borivali to have Gujarati thali. I have also picked up the language quite well and playing a Gujarati character in Anupamaa has been a wonderful experience.”
‘I took a seven-year sabbatical because I wanted to be a hands-on mother’
Rupali, who took a seven-year break from showbiz before making a comeback with her current show, says that it was “much needed”. She shares, “I wanted to be a hands-on mother to Rudransh (her son) and it was a very conscious decision to give priority to enjoying my son’s childhood. When Anupamaa was offered, I accepted it because the role was fantastic. It was the first show to have a female protagonist in her 40s and I am delighted that it resonated with the audience. A mother’s emotion is universal, and the makers deserve credit for creating an iconic show. The fact that there have been people who have copied it is a compliment.”
‘I have my guilt trips for not spending enough time with my son’
Rupali, who says that her husband Ashwin K Verma “took a back seat” so that she could pursue her dreams, says that she often has “guilt trips for not spending enough time with my son.” She shares, “Including travel, I have 14-hour days every day and like any mother who steps out of the house for work, I sometimes feel guilty. But my only solace is that Rudransh has one parent to look after him and I feel proud when I say that my son is more attached to his father. We speak over video calls throughout the day and my production house has been very supportive.”
She adds, “We have set roles for everybody-the man has to be the breadwinner, while the woman is supposed to be the homemaker and take care of the kids. In our case, there has been a role reversal. My husband wanted me to achieve my dream and get my due as an actor. I am proud and blessed to have a supportive husband like him. He is my agony aunt, cushion, and my biggest critic. He pans me completely if I perform badly. When I had apprehensions about doing Sarabhai vs Sarabhai because I felt that I would make a fool of myself, he said I must try to do something different.”
On her husband’s role in her professional journey
I met my husband in 2000, the year when I made my TV debut. We were just friends then and while everybody looked down upon TV, he said that the medium has a great future. After I played a negative role in Sanjivani, he said I should wait for something different. When I was offered Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, I was scared about sharing screen space with Ratna Pathak Shah and Satish Shah. But he convinced me to take it up.
On why she feels Sarabhai vs Sarabhai should have a special one-off episode
The Sarabhai vs Sarabhai cast is like family. We have a Sarabhai group, and everybody knows what’s going on in each other’s life. Like all viewers, I would also love to have another season. When we did season 2 in 2017 (Sarabhai vs Sarabhai: Take 2), Monisha (her character) Sahil (played by Sumeet Raghavan) ko chhod ke chali gayi thi. So, I feel there has to be a closure. Just like FRIENDS, we can have a special one-off episode; itna toh banta hai!
Unlike my screen wedding, my real life wedding was a superfast one-Rupali Ganguly
8:19 AM
Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; May 21, 2022)
The focus in Anupamaa right now is on Rupali Ganguly’s wedding to Gaurav Khanna. It’s a high point on the show. Rupali has become a bride on TV for the third time. Earlier, she dressed as a bride when she celebrated 25 years of marriage with her first husband Vanraj (Sudhanshu Pandey) in the show and a few years ago, when she acted in Sanjivani.
She says, “Both the times, I became a bride for a brief while and it was not so elaborate as the current wedding is. Personally, I believe in small and simple weddings and my own wedding was a quick and simple one many years ago.”
Rupali married Ashwin K Verma, a corporate professional, in February 2013 at her parents’ home in Worli. She says, “Ashwin and I had decided to get married just two days in advance and I had announced it to my parents. My brother (Bollywood choreographer Vijay Ganguly) was taking a flight out of Mumbai and I had to ask him to stay back. We fixed a date and I was hoping that Ashwin would show up on time. We were planning to do a registered wedding, but then my father (director Anil Ganguly) decided to do the kanyadaan and we called a pandit. That day, Ashwin entered a ‘no entry’ lane and was fined by the police. It was hilarious how he finally landed at my home and the pandit started chanting the mantras from the ground floor till he came to my flat. I had around 99 people at my wedding and it was over in a few minutes. We had a party on the same day at an eatery in Versova for our friends. Ours was a fast, hilarious and super quick wedding. I feel that instead of spending money on big, fat weddings, you should share your happiness by helping the less privileged.”
It was when women visit the set, and hug me, breaking down, that I realised how popular Anupamaa had become-Rupali Ganguly
8:26 AM
Not just a thick Gujarati accent, Rupali Ganguly is getting every nuance of a spurned woman right as she sashays into the anals of the TRP hall of fame with Anupamaa
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; April 10, 2022)
How does it feel to inspire someone to walk out of a bad marriage? Rupali Ganguly takes a deep breath, soaking in the responsibility that sits on her shoulders, as she continues to drive Indian women to reclaim their space in the sun, every week night at 10 pm.
One of Indian television’s biggest stars currently, Ganguly, who some reports claimed commands a Rs. 3 lakh per day fee, says that the daily soap life doesn’t give her the time to even realise the enormous presence she holds among viewers. It’s 14 hours straight of shooting on set, returning to her home only to sleep. “On most days, I can’t find the time to check social media. It was when I had women visit the set, and hug me, breaking down, that I realised how popular the show had become,” Ganguly, 45.
We are in her room at Set No. 17 at Goregaon’s Film City, where she spends more than half the day, every day, playing Anupamaa Shah, now Joshi. The saree is yellow, the blouse pink, in her characteristic contrasting style. The hair is done up in a braid that she brings to the front over her right shoulder, giving it a symbolic tug each time she makes a win of some sort.
Ganguly is sipping on Thumbs Up, while a stray nuzzles up to her. He is one of the several she has informally adopted around the set. It’s lunch time and she has a few minutes off before she’s back to being the servile homemaker who finds the strength to live life on her own terms when her masochistic husband marries another woman.
Minutes before, she was sharing a laugh with her prickly former husband, Vanraj Shah, played by Sudhanshu Pandey, as the two took pictures for an online teaser. They are hardly the enemies they must play on screen. And it’s this simple reality that viewers, she says, taken in by the power of entertainment, tend to forget. For them, she is Anupamaa, the woman they can’t be, but secretly hope to emulate—the one who finds love after she is abandoned; the one who returns to her passion for dancing, and turns entrepreneur.
“I was in Gujarat, acting in a play when they [the show’s creators] called me. I was a last minute casting choice. They asked me to send a video test, and overnight, I was in,” she recalls. The show’s top boss, veteran producer Rajan Shahi, last directed her in 1999 for her first television stint, Dil Hai ki Manta Nahin.
Ganguly isn’t a stranger to fandom. Her last hit show, the comedy Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, catapulted her and much of the cast, including Ratna Pathak Shah, Satish Shah and Sumeet Raghavan, to stardom. After Parvarrish–Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi in 2011, she took a seven-year-long break. Until 2020, when this role landed in her lap. “I told Ashwin [husband Ashwin K Verma], this is a good character. He asked me, ‘So, do you play the hero’s mother’. I said, ‘no, I am the protagonist, and she is as old as me, 42’. In the years before that, I got offered to play women younger than me or way older. Here, I would play my age. My husband thought I hadn’t got my due as an actor, and said he’d take care of the house.”
Verma seemed to have had the right hunch. In fact, Ganguly says that Shahi wasn’t sure if the idea would work and had planned to give it three months. “I was chubby when the show launched, and wanted to lose weight before we shot, but he said, ‘there’s no time!’”
The show that began to air at the start of the lockdown is now a top ranker. The Broadcast Audience Research Council India, which releases TRPs every week, placed Anupamaa at the top with a TRP of 3.5 as recently as last week (the closest second was Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin). It was the week when Anupamaa decided she would marry her college friend Anuj Kapadia, played by Gaaurav Khanna. It was also the week she uttered the now iconic monologue on marriage. “Yeh dadi ab shaadi karegi!” It’s no wonder that the show is set to make its way to the OTT platforms with a prequel titled Anupama-Namaste America, where the early life of its protagonist will play out.
Ask Ganguly if she is anything like her character and she says, “The only thing we have in common is our love for loving everyone. For me, like her, it doesn’t take much to be nice to someone, but it means a lot for the other person.” That her character is an under-the-radar feminist was always the point of the show. “It’s not about waving a flag. It’s about changing how people think. It’s about asking them to think in the first place. It’s also the story of every household in some way. All of us know an Anupamaa somewhere,” she says trying to put her finger on the reason for its humungous popularity.
The scriptwriters are clear that they will put Bharatiya sanskar front and centre in every episode, but Anupamaa’s new avatar allows her to be progressive in thought. The show tackles gender stereotypes using its only daily soap language, with Anupamaa always clad in cotton sarees, her nemesis, Kavya in Western wear. ‘Will you wear tracks to the office?’ she asks Kavya in one scene. “It’s [the debate] not about the clothes. That’s not being modern. It’s about how you think and react,” she says alluding to a scene where her daughter-in-law says despite her plain Jane lifestyle, Anupamaa is the only one in the house to have told her that the decision to have a child can only be the mother’s.
“My nani was Muslim and she married a Marathi man. She embraced his culture. We grew up seeing this. My father was a feminist. He never distinguished between my brother and I. He encouraged us to think and set our own standards for morals. I am married to someone who is looking after the home and my six-year-old son. He doesn’t need my money, he wants me to enjoy the recognition. And then there is a man like Rajan, who created Anupamaa. I am surrounded by the right people.”
Does she then have any say in how her character behaves? Can she, on a given day, not agree with what the writers have planned for Anupamaa to say or do? “No. The actor never knows the character the way the writers do; they bring in the twists. I don’t interfere,” she says. During the monologue that she performed last week, stretching over 32 pages, she says they granted her the freedom to do it as she deemed fit.
She is called in for the next shot. We return to what she said at the start of the interview, about her responsibility towards the audience. “It’s huge. The messages I get... women have walked out of bad marriages, they tell me [after watching the show]; they realise their self-worth, and want to be independent. It gives me hope that somehow I may be touching lives. I was at Vaishno Devi recently, and even though there was a film star next to me who had also arrived for darshan, people were crowding up to me—not Rupali, Anupamaa.”
Whenever I watch my scenes with Gaurav Khanna, I get butterflies in my stomach-Rupali Ganguly
8:19 AM
Akash Wadhwa (BOMBAY TIMES; March 7, 2022)
Getting a chance to romance on screen in her 40s, actress Rupali Ganguly, who has a romantic track going on currently with actor Gaurav Khanna in the show Anupamaa, says she is loving the experience. “It feels wonderful. The track has been so organic and my character’s transformation is so heart-warming. Whenever I watch my scenes with Gaurav, I get butterflies in my stomach. Iss umar mein bhi Rajan Shahi (producer) ne meri heroine banne ki saari muradein poori kar di hain. I had never thought I would get to romance on screen at this age, especially the one which I am doing right now that makes your heart race and without any physical contact between the characters.”
Mature love stories will always have their fanbase, says Rupali. “It’s always wonderful to see young people romancing, but for us women, who are above 40, characters like Anupamaa and Anuj come along, who make us believe that there can be a Prince Charming in our lives, too,” she says.
Ask her about her husband Ashwin K Verma’s reaction to her romantic track and she says, “My husband loves the track. We both watch the show together. He is my biggest critic as well as my biggest supporter.”
Unfortunately, I can’t be there for my son. I feel like a failure-Rupali Ganguly
8:15 AM
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 20, 2022)
Actor Rupali Ganguly claims she had no plans to return to work after becoming a mum. “When my son was born in 2015, I didn’t want anything else,” she shares, adding, “I just wanted to focus on him and enjoy every millisecond of motherhood. Because I became a mother late in life, those moments were especially precious to me.”
However, she did return to the screen and her current show Anupamaa is quite popular. The 44-year-old admits that she only agreed to it because it was time for her son to start school and she assumed he would be in school. But things turned out differently due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
“I thought it was the right time to begin working, not realising that Covid ka lockdown ho jaayega [and schools will be shut]. When a show was offered to me, my husband (Ashwin K Verma, businessman) said it was high time I got my due as an actor. He has been managing everything since, single-handedly. Unfortunately, I can’t be there [for my son]. I feel like a failure.”
Ganguly says she is at the shoot all day, away from her son, considering she is the show’s lead. “I am there all the time. There is a standing joke, ki set ka gate main kholti hoon aur main hi band karti hoon. You kind of sacrifice your family time, health, sleep, and a lot of other things to follow a dream... It does get extremely difficult at times,” she ends.
To be 40 plus and not have a 26-inch waist when you’re playing the lead can be challenging-Rupali Ganguly
8:00 AM
Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; July 5, 2021)
While she has been a part of many successful shows in the past, all that Rupali Ganguly craved was recognition as a versatile actress. So, she is understandably elated about finally getting her due with the TV show, Anupamaa, in which she plays the title role. The family drama marked her return to the small screen seven years after she took a break to embrace motherhood.
She says, “After I quit Parvarrish due to my pregnancy, I was busy with my home and my child. I enjoyed every moment of it. However, when Rajan Shahi approached me for this show, the actor in me got greedy. What further piqued my interest was the fact that the concept of the show was in the zone of my father’s (Anil Ganguly) films, like Kora Kagaz, Humkadam and Tapasya. The women in these films were strong and empowered, just like Anupamaa. When I spoke to my husband (Ashwin Verma) about it, he told me that I hadn’t got my due as an artiste and said, ‘You should take it up and make us proud’. He took a break from his work so that I could get back to acting. In short, he gave me the wings to fly.”
The show with a protagonist in her 40s struck a chord with the audience. Rupali says, “To be 40 plus and not have a 26-inch waist when you’re playing the lead can be challenging at times. I always wondered if it would work. You can’t predict the fate of a show. I still can’t believe it’s happening to me and hope the bubble doesn’t burst.”
Rupali further adds, “I feel blessed and am filled with gratitude for this opportunity to return to TV after seven years with a role like this and getting a chance to prove myself. I have been part of some fantastic shows and played great characters, including a double role in Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi and a negative one in Sanjivani because I was bored of playing positive characters. Then I was inundated with negative characters, but I didn’t want to repeat myself. Every artiste vies for that one role, which takes her a level up, where people start recognising your work and acknowledging the fact that you are a good actor.”
Talking about the way her career has shaped up over the years, she shares, “There were some people who thought that I was just a fluke. But with Anupamaa, they sat up, took notice, and admitted that there is somebody called Rupali Ganguly, who acts well. While Monisha in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai got me noticed, Anupamaa has given me the platform I’ve always craved. I am glad that I have left a mark. My epitaph will perhaps read — here lies Monisha Sarabhai and Anupamaa. Despite not being conventionally good-looking, I have finally been recognised for my talent.”
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