Rakhi Sawant famously said, “Jo Bhagwan nahi deta, Wo Doctor deta Hai”. And she obviously is talking about her plastic surgery (read ‘failed’).

On TV, plastic surgery is a plot that is used commonly and is one of the unreal facets of Indian serials.

How many times have we not seen either the male lead or the female lead get back from the dead, in a new avatar and of course, with a brand new face, courtesy a doctor who does a plastic surgery on the person?

Well, one cannot count the number of times we have seen this twist happening!!

Popularized it the beginning of the 21st century by none other than the small screen czarina, Ekta Kapoor, plastic surgery has been a rage on TV for the past eight to ten years. Brought in either to grab more eyeballs, or to revive a stagnant character, or to create a new intrigue in the plot, the reasons for bringing in a plastic surgery track can be a plenty!! But the result has always been the same – viewers getting kicked about the plot, with the show garnering an impetus in terms of storytelling.

We at Tellychakkar.com thought about listing such characters who have gone under the knife to create a completely new identity for themselves..

Ek Hasina Thi - Aditi Sajwan by Sanjeeda Sheikh

The latest romantic thriller offered by Star Plus has hooked viewers to the screen since its inception. It tells the story of Durga Thakur (Sanjeeda Sheikh) who is out to get justice for the needy. It is shown that Durga is an NRI who has returned from abroad and is settled in Calcutta, to take revenge against the powerful business family of Calcutta, the Goenkas. With the mystery getting opened about Durga’s real identity, the plot has thickened. We now know that Durga is none other than Nitya whose sister Payal was raped by Shaurya Goenka. Ek Hasina Thi is the story of Nitya, who after gaining a new face and a new identity of Durga comes back to seek justice even though that means being evil herself.

Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii - Sakshi Tanwar by Jaya Seal, Unknown by Om

Ekta Kapoor’s second magnum opus show on Star Plus, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki ran for eight long years. There were a lot of twists, turns, drama, deaths, fights, rebirths and of course the plastic surgery. The protagonist Om (Kiran Karmarkar) died once in the show. His face was shown during the cremation scene. But he re-entered the show after many episodes. The reason given to the family members (and to the viewers) was that Om’s younger brother Kamal (Ali Asgar) had got a plastic surgery done on the face of the dead body as it was badly damaged. Yes…plastic surgery on a dead body. Also there was a phase in the show when it was alleged that Sakshi Tanwar and Ekta had a fall out after which Sakshi had walked out of the show. So the protagonist Parvati went through an overnight plastic surgery and was replaced by Jaya Seal. But the fans were in for a shock again with Sakshi Tanwar coming back. And since she was the favorite bahu, the track changed again and Jaya Seal turned out to be an imposter.

Kasamh Se- Prachi Desai by Gurdeep Kohli

Bollywood actor Prachi Desai debuted on the small screen before moving to the 70mm with small screen stalwarts Ekta Kapoor and Ram Kapoor. But later on when Prachi got big-screen offers, she moved out of the show. The track was twisted in such a way that Bani, Prachi’s character was beaten against the rocks and later set on fire by her husband’s second wife Meera. However, Bani had survived the ordeal, after getting under the knife, and re-emerging with a new face. Thus, Bani woke up with a new face aka Gurdeep Kohli.

Kahiin to Hoga- Rajeev Khandelwal replaced by Gurpreet Singh

Kahiin to Hoga on Star Plus had a huge fan following both in India and overseas especially due to the character of Sujal portrayed by none other than the handsome Rajeev Khandelwal. The chemistry of the onscreen pair was a huge hit. Suddenly one day Sujal met with an accident and unlike any other serial his body was never found. The reason for this sudden accident is because the heart throb Rajeev decided to move out of the show. But unknown to all Sujal had survived the accident but had to go through a plastic surgery as well as a memory loss. Later on Sujal came back as Gurpreet Singh. Till the end, Gurpreet stayed and rocked as Sujal although it was a huge shock to the viewers. Apparently model turned actor Gurpreet did a nose job in real life according to the instructions of Ekta Kapoor in order to bring authenticity to Rajeev’s character.

Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bhi Bahu Thi- Smriti Irani by Gautami Kapoor

The small screen’s favorite bahu Tulsi aka Smriti Irani once had a fall out with Ekta Kapoor in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bhi Bahu Thi. And then went out Smriti and in came Gautami Kapoor. Tulsi went in search of Lakshya, her grand nephew. En route she met with an accident and was badly scarred and burnt. So she had to go under the knife and emerged as Gautami Kapoor after that. However after about hundred or more episodes Smriti returned and Gautami turned out to be an imposter. Another popular character to be replaced is the character of Mandira, Mihir’s one time girlfriend. She turned negative eventually against Virani family. Achint Kaur returned as Priyanka after the plastic surgery and created a lot of chaos to the Star Plus’ favorite family.

Kkusum ... Ek Aam Ladki Ki Kahani- Nausheen Sardar Ali by Mansi Joshi Roy

Kkusum ... Ek Aam Ladki Ki Kahani told (again) the story of a middle class girl marrying a rich guy Abhay Kapoor (Anuj Saxena). Abhay married her for she could annul the bad effects due to his horoscope. Nausheen Ali Sardar played the protagonist’s role of Kkusum in Kkusum ... Ek Aam Ladki Ki Kahani elegantly, until one day when she moved out, only to get attacked by bad guys and got badly hurt. Kkusum was later re-introduced through the face of Mansi Joshi Roy.

Amrit Manthan- Dimple Jhangiani by Ankita Sharma

Amrit Manthan told the story of two sisters cum princesses who became enemies due to circumstances. Nimrit, essayed by Dimple returned with the face of Ankita Sharma after a series of twists.

Well, these are some known actors who went through a knife in their shows to keep the viewers entertained.

Feel free to comment and add up names if you have any in mind.