Was Paridhi aka Jodha sexually harassed on the sets of Jodha Akbar?  

(credit :Tellynagari.com)

The recent buzz in telly land, of late, has been that Paridhi Sharma (aka Jodha of Jodha Akbar) might quit Jodha Akbar. A few reports have also claimed that this might be a mere publicity stunt and she might stick to her show. However, sources have told Daily Bhaskar that the actress has finally put in her papers and has more reasons than one to call it quits, the strongest one being sexual harrassment that she’s had to put up with on the sets, owing to the show’s director Santram Verma.

Sources from the sets of the show have told us — time and again — that this actress has been facing hell lot of trouble during the shooting due to the serial’s director. Else she wouldn’t have wanted to leave as the show has been ruling the charts (as far as popularity and TRTs are concerned), also adding to the channel’s positioning. Here’s the inside story.

A source reveals, “The director of the show Santram Verma (above in this picture) had been sexually harrassing Paridhi. Tired of this, she had even complained about this to the production team, but nobody could help her. Santram, who’s also directed the film Shh…Koi Hai, is apparently very close to Balaji Productions, and will hardly ever have to face the storm of the production team. Fed up of this, Paridhi has finally has decided to pull back her name from the show.”

Santram Verma, in the past, has had many allegations against him. Another actress from the same show Jodha Akbar, had said on record that the director has affected her mentally as well as financially. “I had to move out because of Santram as he was affecting me mentally and financially. I have been through the worst phase of my life in the past three months where I have suffered badly. My other colleagues too were troubled by him. It’s just that I was his main target and I think this was because I voiced my opinion. However, I never disrespected him. Isn’t it weird to learn that such a big director could spend his energy on troubling a beginner like me?” Ankita Dubey, who was once a part of Jodha Akbar, had claimed in an interview to a website.

A few months ago, around 90 team members from Jodha Akbar’s technical department had resigned, reportedly due to Santram’s intolerable behaviour on the sets of the show.

Adds our source, “Paridhi was also being mentally tortured there. She was aware that it is a daily soap and being the lead, she needs to work 18 hours a day, but still the director of the show would harass her professionally as well.”

Daily Bhaskar has tried to contact Santram to hear his side of the story, but all attempts to reach him have failed so far. When we contacted Paridhi to speak about her issues, she’s said that she does not want to comment on this.

Paridhi does not gel well with the team members and her colleagues from the show. According to our source, “Paridhi does not bond with the starcast and the crew members. She is already married, so she doesn’t interact much with Rajat Tokas and the male crew members there.”