Yesterday the streaming platform ALTBalaji, a subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms Ltd founded by the Indian television producer Ekta Kapoor, took to social media to announce the second season of its superhit 2009 Hindi daily soap Pavitra Rishta. The show ‘Pavitra Rishta 2.0’ will feature Shaheer Sheikh in the role of protagonist Manav Deshmukh, originally essayed by late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
As soon as ALTBalaji announced the second season of Pavitra Rishta, featuring actors Ankita Lokhande and Shaheer Sheikh, fans of actor Sushant Singh Rajput started opposing it. #BoycottPavitraRishta2 started trending on social media. At the time of writing this report, #BoycottPavitraRishta2 was trending on the social media platform with 13.2k Tweets.
It appears that all the Sushant Singh Rajput loyalists have taken it upon themselves to boycott the new season of the 2009 Hindi TV serial in which the lead role of Manav, a garage owner, was originally played by the late actor. The SSR fans are visibly miffed with the makers of the serial who have cast actor Shaheer Sheikh for the role of Manav in Pavitra Rishta’s season 2.
No one can replace this gem
— 🌙 💕Yashi019 💕🌙 (@Yashi0011) July 12, 2021
No one has the guts to replace his character or him
He is with us
He is alive in our hearts
We will keep fighting for his honor
OUR MANAV ONLY SUSHANT #BoycottPavitraRishta2 pic.twitter.com/1xsoYchRiK
Besides trending the hashtag BoycottPavitraRishta2, the SSR fans also trended ‘Our Manav Only Sushant’ hashtag on social media.
Manav is not a name. It is a emotion of millions…That emotion which directly connects to Sushant..
— Afrin Neha🦋 SSRF/SSRian🦋 (@imNehaa_) July 12, 2021
So we can’t accept this Manav 2…
Let’s Boycott..
OUR MANAV ONLY SUSHANT#BoycottPavitraRishta2
I am going to tell my family members and others not to watch Pavitra Rishta 2
— 🦋🦋🦋 ANGRY BOT MUTED PPL WITH EGO 🇮🇳 🇮🇳 (@United4_SSR) July 12, 2021
And I thing you guys should also spread the awareness #BoycottPavitraRishta2
OUR MANAV ONLY SUSHANT
Many netizens trolled Ankita Lokhande, also the former girlfriend of the late actor, for agreeing to be part of the show. Calling her fake, a Twitter user slammed the actor for taking up the role. “If this lady really loved our SSR then she would never take part in this serial again. Such a fake lady. Thank god SSR was break-up with her”, he wrote.
It is notable here that Ankita Lokhande and Sushant Singh Rajput were the lead pair in the Pavitra Rishta serial and had soon started dating.
If this lady really loved our SSR then she would never take part in this serial again . Such a fake lady😠🤒. Thank god SSR was break-up with her.#BoycottPavitraRishta2
— Scarcastic memer (@scarcasticmemer) July 13, 2021
Eyes On Law Minister 4 SSR#SSRians pic.twitter.com/vFVKYuaIR0
Sushant Singh Rajput had left Pavitra Rishta midway to focus on his Bollywood career
While the Netizens continue to rage over the reviving of the Hindi daily soap Pavitra Rishta that was aired on Zee television channel from 2009 to 2014 going on to become one of the most popular shows back in its time, the fact is that Sushant had left the show in 2011 to pursue his career in Bollywood. He made his debut in the Hindi film industry in 2013 with Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che. Soon after Sushant’s exit from Pavitra Rishta, actor Hiten Tejwani was roped in to fill in Sushant’s shoes as Manav in the show.
On June 14 last year, the 34-year-old actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his apartment in Bandra in Mumbai. He had acted in a total of 12 films, with critically acclaimed performances in Kai Po Che, Kedarnath, and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. Sushant Singh Rajput’s death opened a can of worms and the tragedy gave rise to bizarre events that nobody could have foreseen at all. Following the actor’s untimely demise, his family alleged foul play. A CBI inquiry has been initiated to investigate his death.
Meanwhile, actor-turned-producer Bhairavi Raichura’s 24 Frames Production will make the digital series Pavitra Rishta 2 which will be exclusively available on ZEE5 for 55 days following which, it will also be available on ALTBalaji. The series will be directed by Nandita Mehra and written by Nikita Dhond, Gautam Hegde and Ritu Bhatia.
Ankita Lokhande, the leading lady of Pavitra Rishta and now Pavitra Rishta 2, is one of the most successful actresses in TV. Actor Shaheer Sheikh also enjoys immense popularity for his role as Arjun in Mahabharat that was aired in Star Plus. Sheikh is currently one of the most successful actors in Hindi TV channels.
