From rift with Rupali Ganguly to almost being cast as Smriti Irani’s daughter in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi: Anupamaa’s Nidhi Shah gets candid

Nidhi Shah, who’s loved for her role as Kinjal in Anupamaa, took a small break from television and is now all set to make a comeback with an OTT show. The actress gave an interview to India Forums, where she spoke about her rift with Rupali Ganguly, her break from television, and much more. Here’s a look:

The actress shared, “I’ve been a part of TV, and I’m very proud of it. It’s an amazing platform to start with, and it’s doing great because the kind of audience TV gets is huge across tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Everywhere, people watch TV more on a daily basis. People actually know more about TV actors than any other actors. So that medium itself is huge and, respectfully, amazing. But to each their own, I don’t know, there could be any reason. And sometimes, you know what happens, as far as I’ve seen and understood, some OTT production houses or casting people don’t want known faces. Sometimes they want freshers, a fresh face, fresh talent, something that brings something new to the table. So I think that could also be another reason.”

Nidhi shared how she struggles to get work on other platforms due to her popular role as Kinjal in Anupamaa. She said, “Yes, people know me a lot as Kinjal’s character, which became really popular. It was very popular, and it still is. So sometimes it happens that people say, ‘You’ve done television, you’ve played this particular character,’ and it becomes a little difficult for them to see you in a completely different role. People are not able to get you out of that image. So yes, it does have that kind of an impact.”

The actress shared how she often thinks of her past and feels proud of her journey. She said, “Main ek jagah baithti hoon aur apne past ko dekhti hoon, poochti hoon, ‘How did we do?’ I think we did good, we did good. And we are yet to achieve a lot of things. You know, I just have to be patient now and work harder. So it’s been a fantastic journey so far.”

The interviewer asked her if her popularity in Anupamaa ever became a roadblock for her other projects. The actress agreed and said, “Sometimes when you give auditions or even when you’re being considered for a character, they feel that you’re too familiar, too famous for a particular role. They say, ‘She’s been seen a lot on TV as a certain character, so we don’t want to cast her. We want something else, someone experienced, but not too well-known.’ So yes, kahin na kahin woh hota hai.”

“I ended it on a very good note, aur koi regret nahi hai. It’s just that sometimes you feel ki agar aur time hota toh aur bhi maza aata, aur bhi achha lagta. Because I made a family there, and it was just amazing,” she added.

The actress shared, “I was going to play Tulsi ji’s daughter. And somehow it didn’t work out, so we just had to part ways. Obviously, Smriti ji is an icon. When I was a kid, actually a baby I used to watch Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi with my family. I still remember those times. So her coming back again on television is a big thing.”

Nidhi addressed the alleged rift with Rupali Ganguly and spoke about her bond with the actress. She said, “See, jab aap itne saare logon ke saath kaam karte ho, it’s like a family. Toh misunderstandings, miscommunication, apna point of view, kisi aur ka point of view—zaroori nahi hai har baar match kare. Har individual ka apna opinion hota hai, apna perspective hota hai. Toh thodi bahut nok-jhok ho jaati hai.”