Year Ender 2024| Top TV controversies: Anupamaa cast exit to Asim Riaz expelled

The television world provided a lot of drama on and off-screen. Here’s a round-up of what made news in the TV industry

Shocking exits from Anupamaa

After a successful four-year run actor Sudhanshu Pandey, who essayed the role of Vanraj Shah in the superhit show Anupamaa, shocked everyone when he announced quitting the show. There were murmurs of a fall-out with producer Rajan Shahi and discord with co-star Rupali Ganguly but Sudhanshu dismissed the reports. His exit and the show taking a 15-year-leap set the stage for one too many actors leaving the show including Gaurav Khanna, Nidhi Shah, Kunwar Amar Singh, among others with some hinting at theshow’s toxic culture. In the latest twist, actor Alisha Parveen, who wasintroduced in mid-October to play Rahi, is being replaced by actor Adrija Roy for reasons unknown. Nevertheless, the show continues to garner top ratings.

Rupali Ganguly’s personal woes

Meanwhile, Rupali faced shocking allegations from her stepdaughter, Esha Verma, who accused her of accused her of breaking her mother’s marriage. On her social, Esha claimed Rupali had an extramarital affair with her now-husband Ashvin Verma. This was followed by Rupali sending a ₹50 crore defamation notice to Esha stating that her actions have “damaged her (Rupali’s) reputation, violated her dignity, and adversely impacted her career, resulting in substantial financial losses.” Soon after this, Esha deleted all posts on her social media handles related to Rupali and made her Instagram account private.

Dalljiet Kaur’s messy divorce case

Actor Dalljiet Kaur, who married Kenya-based businessman Nikhil Patel in 2023, was involved in a messy divorce case. In February 2024, they unfollowed each other and deleted posts from their Instagram handles. Soon after, they were embroiled in a legal battle as they levelled allegations against each other. Nikhil sent a legal notice to the actor asking her to collect all her belongings from his house in Kenya. Later, Dalljiet got a stay order against Nikhil which put a stay on Nikhil from evicting her and her child Jaydon, along with prohibiting him from throwing any of her belongings away.Dalljiet filed an FIR against Nikhil, accusing him of cruelty and criminal breach of trust and later levelled extra-marital affair allegations.

Asim Riaz expelled from Khatron Ke Khiladi 14

Model turned rapper Asim Riaz walked out of Khatron Ke Khiladi season 14. Asim failed to perform a stunt on the Rohit Shetty-hosted stunt reality show and a video of him throwing a fit on set went viral. After some exchange of words, things got heated and Rohit expelled Asim from the show. The controversy left fans divided over the reality star’s behaviour.

Jennifer Mistry wins sexual harassment case against Asit Modi

Actor Jennifer Mistry Bansiwal, who played Mrs Roshan Sodhi on the popular TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC), accused the show’s producer Asit Modi of sexual harassment and filed an FIR against him last year. In March, the verdict of the case was announced in her favour and Asit was ordered to clear her outstanding dues and also pay ₹5 lakh to her as compensation. Meanwhile, another actor Palak Sindhwani, who played Sonu in TMKOC, quit the show citing mental harassment and mistreatment by the production team.

Shehzada Dhami and Pratiksha Honmukhe ousted from Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai

Actors Shehzada Dhami and Pratiksha Honmukhe made headlines when they were asked to leave their TV show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. Reportedly, producer Rajan Shahi ousted the actors citing allegations of misbehavior, starry tantrums and their inability to meet professional expectations. The unexpected events led to major controversy.

Gurucharan Singh: Lost and Found

Actor Gurucharan Singh went missing from Delhi on April 22 and returned home after 25 days. His disappearance left his co-stars, family and fans worried. He told the police that as he was facing some personal and professional issues due to which he went on a “spiritual journey”. He later said he didn’t disappear because of debt or inability to repay the loan. He added, at the Golden Temple, Amritsar, he experienced a divine intervention which helped him decide to return home.