Anupamaa Exclusive Interview: Sudhanshu Pandey On Why He Quit The Show (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Vanraj Shah is back. Whenever Sudhanshu Pandey, with his sly grin, used to announce this dialogue with echoes in the background in the TV show Anupamaa, audiences were thrilled to guess what would happen next. In an exclusive chat with Koimoi, Sudhanshu opened up on the reason he quit the number 1 television show of today’s time.
Sudhanshu played the suave, dapper yet the wrong man in the TV show. However, the actor, model and singer broke many hearts when he decided to quit the show a few days back. A lot of stories surrounding his rift with Rupaly Ganguly and him unfollowing producer Rajan Shahi made rounds but Sudhanshu kept a dignified silence.
While having a long conversation about how the course of television shows change over time Sudhanshu Pandey finally explained why he had to quit Anupamaa despite Vanraj being audience’s favorite and one of the most iconic characters on the Indian Television right now!
Anupamaa’s Story Ended After 1.5 Years – Vanraj Sudhanshu Pandey
The actor narrated how he landed Vanraj’s part and said, “When Anupama began, in fact, when Rajan came to me with the show, the story he told me was, you know, one of its kind, and that is the reason why I said yes to the show. Rajan was convinced that nobody else could play this hero in the show other than me. You know, with the slightly grey shade and very human qualities, it was a very, very realistic character, and the reason why the show really sort of worked with the audiences was because of its nature. The realistic, middle-class setup. Everything in the house was a character like a jhula, a dining table, and a kitchen. Everything was a part of, you know, we were all characters.”
However, Sudhanshu Pandey admits that the story got over after a certain point. He admitted, “After almost a year and a half passed by, the story sort of ended at that point in time. And Rajan agrees with it. Rajan also says the same thing. That it becomes very difficult. But then you have to keep churning out content to keep the audiences going. Because that’s the challenge, once you’re done with the real core story, what do you say? Then you tend to lose quality sometimes.”
Not blaming the writers, the actor says, “Although they have tried their best to maintain the story. The writers are brilliant. The writers have done a fantastic job. But I guess somewhere down the line, it becomes inhuman to keep the quality up. And it tends to start going down. And that’s what happened. And that is true. It happens in television. You can’t keep giving quality and quantity both for, you know, for years at length. It is impossible.”
Sudhanshu Pandey Played Vanraj In Star Plus Show Anupamaa ( Photo Credit – YouTube )
Vanraj Was Anupamaa’s Identity
Talking about preparing himself to face the audience’s shock once he quit the show, Sudhanshu Pandey admitted, “I was actually pleasantly surprised, though, with the audience’s reaction. I mean, the number of reactions that I got. But, obviously, I was a little prepared because I had already sort of decided what I was supposed to do. I knew that the audience was not going to take this emotionally, not very well, because they were all attached to me. Because Vanraj was the identity of Anupama from day one. He was the one who created all the drama. That is how Anupama started getting sympathy in the beginning because of his behavior.”
I Got Tired Beyond A Point
Explaining his side of the story, Sudhanshu reasoned out how playing Vanraj became monotonous and exhausting. The actor said, “Four years is a long time. For four years, I gave a lot of sweat and blood into this character. And when people started calling it iconic, you know, I realized how genuinely iconic it had become. My dialogues, like Vanraj Shah, is back, Vanraj Shah is back, and all those things went viral all across. I also realized that I can only give so much to a character to keep it interesting. Beyond a certain point, you get tired. Then you don’t know how much more can you make or keep this interesting.”
Surprised By The Love For Vanraj
Sudhanshu Pandey is pleasantly surprised that people hate to love him but still love to hate him! He confessed, “I tried my best, throughout. I tried my level best to keep it interesting, to keep it engaging. And then I thought that it was time for me to move on before it started to decline, as in, go down. This was the right time. This was the right moment for me to say goodbye. And it happened. The audience’s reaction from across the globe has been phenomenal. I’ve got love. And I didn’t know that people who hated the character also had so much love for Vanraj.”
Sudhanshu Pandey will next be seen on a reality show hosted by Karan Johar, which is an Indian version of the reality show The Traitors. The actor has also promised that his fans will soon see more of his videos as he collaborates with his Band of Boys!
For more such exclusive stories, stay tuned to Koimoi.
