Shattered dreams, broken lives
TV actors Karan and Nisha’s cracked relationship, and subsequent news of domestic abuse, has shocked everyone
The pandemic has brought a lot of dirty linen out in the open, particularly pertaining to marital relations, infidelity and domestic violence. While these problems have surfaced in ordinary homes across the country, celebrities haven’t been spared either. The latest instance involves Star TV’s favourite husband, Naitik (Karan Mehra) of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.
Karan's role on the show seems to be the complete opposite of his actual home life. He has been accused of domestic violence by his real-life wife Nisha Rawal (Soumya Diwan of Main Lakshmi Tere Aangan Ki). The two had participated in Nach Baliye 5 together and fans considered them a great couple.
But the dream image unravelled when Nisha alleged repeated instances of emotional and physical violence. In the last 48 hours, matters reached the police station, though the couple has been discussing divorce since April this year. Nisha filed a case at the Goregaon Police station in suburban Mumbai against Karan for banging her head against the wall and hurting her. Karan denied that, saying that she had done it herself to get him in trouble.
In a half-hour long interaction with the media, the actress, clad in a simple salwar kameez, alleged that Karan was having an affair with a woman who lives in Delhi, and that, when she found out about the relationship and questioned him about it, he had admitted that he loved the woman. She also accused Karan of transferring all the funds from her account to his, and of body-shaming her, as an excuse for his extra-marital affair.
When a reporter asked the actress why, as an independent working woman, she had put up with so much during her marriage, she said she had held on because she loved Karan, and was even prepared to save the marriage after Karan’s ‘affair’ had come to light. Asked about custody rights of their son Kavish, Nisha claimed that Karan wasn’t interested, and hadn’t even asked for it, and said she would be requesting custody.
Giving a detailed explanation of the incident recorded in the photos of her facial injuries which have taken the Internet by storm, Nisha said “During the night of the incident, our son was sleeping, my mom and my brother Vicky were home. That was the day when we met for the first time after we had decided to get a divorce. That day, I vented out to him, told him what a terrible human being he is, because I had so many emotions bottled up. My outbreak was very natural. As I was telling him everything which I should have told him earlier, he got angry, stood up and tried to walk out the door, then he turned back, pulled my hair and pushed me on the wall, maybe he himself didn't realised this would happen but then he held me by my throat and pinned me on the wall and we could see that my head had already started
bleeding from the bang on the wall.” On Karan’s statement that Nisha has bipolar disease, she said “How many people know what bipolar disease is? I was diagnosed when I lost my first child when I was pregnant for five months in 2014. I went to Dr Kersi Chawda for it. I am under treatment. But what does that imply?”