Actor Ali Mercchant returns to acting after a hiatus of nearly one and half years with a challenging role in Yeh Hai Aashiqui, the popular Disney Bindass show which tells the story of unusual yet scintillating love tales. As for Ali, this portrayal of a grief-stricken Rudra, who loses his family in a major outbreak of floods in this show, produced by BBC Worldwide Productions has to be his best ever role in his 7-8 year long career. Says Ali, “I was out of acting for the last one and half years. I had been busy setting up my business unit. And trust me, I was happy working in the corporate line for a change. Of late, I have been flooded with really interesting offers, and that is when I bagged this role in Yeh Hai Aashiqui. This is a very sweet love tale of a boy and a girl stuck in a grievous situation amidst floods. And the realistic feel in the role and story prompted me to take it up.” Ali Mercchant and Palki Malhotra, the Creative Producer of Yeh Hai Aashiqui (BBC Worldwide) go a long way in their association. In fact, it was Palki who gave Ali his first break as an actor in TV. Talking about it, Ali states, “I never knew Palki was in charge of Yeh Hai Aashiqui. The minute I landed on the set and saw Palki there, I had this feeling of déj? vu. I was very sure that I will be given a very good script to act on. I know Palki for a long time now. Actually, it was through Palki that I got selected to essay a role in Ssssh… Phir Koi Hai many years back. This was my very first appearance on screen as an actor (smiles). Post this, came all the work that I have done. It is a privilege to work with her again. And this role has to be the best of mine so far.” Speaking about the story in Yeh Hai Aashiqui, Ali explains, “Ruchi Savarn is the lead opposite me. She is a very good actor, and it was nice working with her. Though it was tough for me to shoot, given that I have been away from the rigorous shoot schedules for a long time now, I thoroughly enjoyed shooting for the story. The sequences have been shot in a very realistic manner, and I hope the viewers will like the offering. The story deals with the boy and a girl who meet in the refugee camp after the outbreak of floods. They both are devastated as they have lost their near and dear ones in the flood. How they get into a sweet and emotional relationship forms the crux of the story.” Ask Ali whether this means that he is back to the grind, and is open to doing daily shows too, and he avers, “If I get something similar to what I have portrayed in Yeh Hai Aashiqui, in terms of the quality of the character, then I am open to doing it. I deliberately stayed away from the limelight after all the controversies I got into, post my Bigg Boss stint. I enjoyed a great corporate life for the last one year, wherein I worked only for 8-9 hours (smiles). Guess it is now time to get back to the grind.” This story on floods will be the third story in the ‘Disaster’ mini-series in Yeh Hai Aashiqui, and will be aired on 29 June.