One of Zee TV’s driver shows, Maayka’s future hangs in balance after lead actress Shilpa Shinde decided to quit the show. Shilpa’s decision comes a few days after her co-actor Vineet Raina’s character was unceremoniously bumped off.

When contacted, Shilpa said, “My contract with Creative Eye, producers of Maayka will end in June and I am not keen on renewing it. I have already put in my papers. Besides, the show’s contract with the channel too, is nearing its end at the same time.”

Adding further she says, “I don’t want to become another Tulsi or Parvati by carrying on with the same show. I am eyeing new shows.”

Apparently confusion reigned over the treatment of Vineet Raina’s character. An actor, on condition of anonymity, says, “The channel forced the production house to bring an end to Vineet’s character as they felt Veer’s death would serve as a shocker to the viewers and thereby attract viewer interest.”

The recent fracas all the more fuels speculation over the show’s future.

Dheeraj Kumar, CMD of Creative Eye, which is producing the show was reticent when asked about the show’s fate. Says Kumar, “Every project has a contract for a specific number of episodes. Every show is initially given a contract to run for one year, after which it is renewed on the basis of the TRPs it garners. Maayka and Betiyaan are two strong pillars of Zee contributing the highest GRPs for the channel and maintaining its position among the top four serials. We wish to run Maayka and Betiyaan for next four to five years.”

When asked for a comment on the developments around Maayka, Zee TV programming head, Ajay Walwankar, said, “Maayka is doing so well for Zee. Why should we take it off.”