'Aayushman' to go off-air in May

The recent poor run of Cinevistaas on Indian television continues. Not so long ago, Sanjivani- A Medical Boon (Star

Sudeep Sahir

Plus) went haywire and had to be withdrawn. Saaksshi (Sony) and Saathiya (Sahara) were pulled off midway. Now, it's Aayushman.

The daily show starring Sudeep Sahir on Sony will come to a premature end in May. On date, 160 episodes of the show have been telecast. The contract was for 194 episodes, and obviously, Cinevistaas were hoping for an extension.

When contacted, Sudeep Sahir who plays the title role said, "I would not like to comment until I hear it officially from either Cinevistaas or Sony," but added, "No matter what, Aayushman has given me a big platform to showcase my talent. I have learnt many aspects of acting. It has been a wonderful experience."

Cinevistaas' Creative Director Siddharth Malhotra was far more forthcoming, "The show is going off air. We are disappointed. We would have loved if this hadn't happened. But what to do? The channel has taken a call," he said, adding, "Sony officials have informed us about the termination but the official letter is still to come."

What could have gone wrong? Does he feel that Sony did not market the serial well, like frankly, nowhere near how much they did for Jaasi..., Indian Idol and to an extent even Ye Meri Life Hai? Evading the question, Malhotra says, "No comments. There are many reasons why a serial does not do well. We have no problems with Sony. There is another daily on Sony which we shall be launching in near future. We will be back on the small screen in a big way."

Cinevistaas' next offering on tube is Palki on Zee TV. The serial will see the light of day almost at the same time when Aayushman ends.

Rucha Gujrathi (Kali of Ekta Kapoor and Sony's Kkusum) will not play the lead role in Palki. The petite Rucha was the front runner in the contenders' race. Says Malhotra, "We have boiled down to three other names. Rucha is blocked with Kkusum on the first fifteen days of every month. We wanted the same days from her. So, it did not work out. The final choice shall soon be announced."

Meanwhile, Sahir, who has done a few ads as well, is meeting up with producers and channel officials. "There are a few things in the pipeline. Hopefully, something good should soon materialise," he signs off on an optimistic note.

No prizes for guessing that Vinod Singh (the original lead actor who was kicked out after he beat up a painter who seemingly had bumped into one of his female co-actors Neha) is chuckling away. Or is he partying?