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Rajan Shahi recently revealed Karan Mehra was not the first choice to play Naitik. Instead, Karan Tacker was supposed to act opposite Hina Khan.
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai has been airing for 16 years. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai has been one of the longest-running shows on Indian television. The daily soap has managed to entertain viewers for 16 years. The show began with Hina Khan and Karan Mehra leading as Akshara and Naitik, immediately winning over the audience. However, the show’s producer Rajan Shahi recently revealed Karan Mehra was not the first choice to play Naitik. Instead, Karan Tacker was supposed to act opposite Hina Khan.
During a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, Rajan Shahi shared what went wrong with Karan Tacker’s casting and how Karan Mehra bagged the part. Rajan noted that Tacker was finalised to play Naitik. He said, “I had signed Karan Tacker in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai opposite Hina Khan. His costumes and trials were done. Karan’s agreement was done.”
Rajan Shahi explained that the first trailer of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai was deemed to feature the leading pair as married, even though the wedding was planned to take place around episode 40. They wanted to tell the audience that the show would highlight a married couple’s journey.
As a result, makers reached out to Karan Tacker and Hina Khan. On the shoot day, Karan Tacker did not receive the crew’ calls. He said, “Karan Tacker was not answering anyone’s call. Everyone was calling, and then I called. I told him that he had to come for the promo. He told me, ‘Sir, I don’t want to shoot.’ I asked him, ‘Why?’ He replied, ‘Sir, I think TV will slot my image. My father also feels.’” Shahi noted that Karan was very scared and he still finds the incident funny.
Although he was surprised, Shahi noted that he was not angry and praised the actor for being ‘honest’. He then explained how Karan Mehra was finalised as the lead. The producer mentioned that he had to delay the promo shoot for 2 days and flew back to Mumbai to find the male lead.
He learned from Star Plus that an aspiring actor had been waiting for a break for 2 years. Shahi arranged a meeting with Karan Mehra and finalised him for the part.
Talking about Karan Mehra, he said, “We needed a sweet, nice mother’s boy for the role, and we found these traits in Mehra.” He recalled how the actor was in tears by the casting since he had been looking for a break for 2 years.
Currently, Samirdhii Shukla and Rohit Purohit play the lead roles in the show.