Rajan Shahi, Producer and maker of Star Plus’ extremely popular show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain has maintained a dignified silence ever since Karan ‘Naitik’ Mehra quit the show few months back. 

Today is the D-day when Yeh Rishta gets back its popular character of Naitik back. And as reported by Tellychakkar.com, popular actor Vishal Singh will from now live the character of Naitik to the ‘T’. 

Tellychakkar.com has been trying to get talking with Rajan Shahi for quite some time now. And today, we felt happy as we finally got into a detailed and elaborate conversation with the popular Producer. 

Here is the Producer expressing his views of Karan Mehra’s exit, Vishal Singh’s entry, the acceptance of the new generation romance in the show, and much more. 

On the timing of bringing in the ‘new’ Naitik: 

Contrary to all rumours, we were definitely not in a hurry to cast Naitik till it deemed fit in our story. Only in the last two weeks, we decided to take this angle ahead. The best part of Yeh Rishta is that we have maintained the inherent core intact, even as we evolved with time. With the new generation coming in, we have moved and have never felt stuck with respect to the story line. The story telling today has to move with time and also with everybody together. The younger generation romance is also working, and we are happy about it. 

Now we really thought this is the time to get in yet another beautiful angle into the show, that of the father angle. So it was a conscious effort to bring in Naitik at this point of time. If we had got him back at any other point in the story line, it would have looked gimmicky. But now, it is the correct time for him to come, as the viewers will now be more centric on the story, than on who the new Naitik is. 

On casting Vishal Singh as Naitik         

The plus point in Vishal Singh is that he has somewhere down the line kept his exclusiveness on TV intact. Even though he has done a lot in his career, he has not done so much to over-expose himself. With what I have observed in him is that in his whole career, he has always maintained a level of dignity and has maintained an aura around himself which still remains private. For me today as Producer and for the entire unit, it is very critical for the sake of Yeh Rishta, to work with actors who are committed to the show. We have been experiencing working with actors who want to be in the show, but prioritize everything other than the show. So my first priority was to work with an actor for whom Yeh Rishta is important. Let me tell you, with all due respect to the fans, we are all here only because of them. But somewhere, they do not know what exactly goes behind the scenes. They will be shocked to know how their actors behave and what they do, and in being part of the show, they put the entire team to problem. So this time I wanted a person who will feel Yeh Rishta as important. I have nothing against actors who want to leave with time. If they want to gracefully move out, I am fine with it. It has happened recently with Karan Mehra’s exit. See, there are so many livelihoods based on the show’s future. So I wanted an actor who would be able to take it forward with his enthusiasm and energy. 

Also, it is very important for me to cast an actor who would evolve with time. The beauty of Yeh Rishta and the reason why we have survived for 8 years is because we have evolved with time. We have never got stuck in one particular phase. The only time we got stuck was with respect to Naksh and Tara track. 

Naksh – Tara romance never worked 

I am being very upfront and as a producer and maker, admit that the Naksh – Tara romance never worked for us. We tried our best, and I pulled out every trick possible, but the chemistry just did not happen. I am not saying that the actors did not do their best. It is nothing to do with that. But some tracks never work, and this is one of them. Later, when we intermixed it with a family drama, it worked as our story telling was very nice. I am a person known for making the romance of a couple work. But even after trying a lot, it just did not happen with Naksh and Tara. So we were always at a back foot when it came to the romance of the younger generation in the show. 

On the fresh romance of Naira – Karthik - Gayu 

We have been really fortunate that Karthik, Naira and Gayu have managed to make a place for themselves in the audiences’ hearts. There is a lot to look forward to. 

Akshara and Naitik angle                          

Akshara and Naitik’s chemistry has always been beautiful. The show has always been based on this couple who have been evolving with time. And now, with Naitik back, we will see the beautiful chemistry between them getting moulded according to the circumstances they are in. 

Similarity between Karan Mehra and Vishal Singh

I have worked with Vishal before. I know certain instincts, behaviour and the class in which he conducts himself. In that way, he is pretty similar to Karan Mehra. 

Karan Mehra’s association will never end

Karan Mehra was a brilliant person to work with. He will always be very close to my heart. In fact, we have planned something together in the future too. My association with Karan Mehra for life will never end. I have always liked him as a human being. I respect the thought that he had when he wanted to seek a time out. It is not the production house which wanted him to go. It was his decision to go out. 

Message to the fans of Yeh Rishta   

It is fine if you people do not accept Naitik immediately. But look at him and give it some time before drawing conclusions. Don’t hate him just for the sake of doing so. Yes, it took me time for me to accept that there can be another Naitik, primarily because Karan was very close to me. So I really understand the viewers’ thought process. I have told all on the set that there is another human being coming on the show. To the fans of the show, I will say please do not criticize the actor on a personal level and pull him down. That way, Yeh Rishta fans have been really good as they have accepted Karthik, Naira and Gayu in their lives.