STAR blacklists Iqbal, Ekta refuses to take responsibility
Iqbal Khan, who returned after a long break to grace the small screen as an air force officer in a new soap to be aired on STAR One from July, has been dropped from the show. Insiders say Ekta Kapoor is instrumental in showing him the door. But the TV tycoon denies the charges.
Ekta told IANS: “Please let me clarify I’ve not asked STAR to drop Iqbal. I got to know of this only last night. I love Iqbal. He’s a terrific guy.
“But there’s an official policy in all dealings between my company Balaji Telefilms and STAR. According to that policy, it would be tough, if not impossible, for Iqbal to work with me if he decides to leave a STAR-Balaji show.
“It’s a very common policy in a lot of business places including airlines. This is done to retain an exclusive hold over human talent,” she added.
Personally, Ekta says she has no issues about working with the actor who starred in two of her shows – “Kaisa Yeh Pyaar Hai” and “Karam Apna Apna”.
“I’d never harm Iqbal’s career. But I hear that our lawyers let STAR TV know of this policy. Because when the policy was decided there were different people at the helm at STAR.
“If out of fondness for Iqbal we make an exception to the policy, what happens to the other actors who are caught in a similar situation?”
Iqbal is of course shocked.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s now up to the software company that’s producing my first post-Balaji serial to decide on the future course of action. If they want me to leave the show, I will. But I’m a firm believer in god. And I’ll continue doing my work.”
— IANS
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