The two have apparently had a showdown leading to the actor quitting Balaji.
Dignified that he is, Iqbal Khan may insist that it is the punishing work hours and ‘saturation’ that did him in, but the real reason why the actor quit the Balaji camp is probably something else.
The trouble started a few days before Id this year. Sources say that Iqbal wanted a holiday during Id, but Balaji Telefilms creative head Ektaa Kapoor refused it, citing that the ‘Karam Apna Apna’ shooting could not be stalled. A miffed Iqbal retaliated by switching off his mobile phone and not reporting for shooting for two days during Id.
This ticked off the production house in a big way, because when Iqbal returned after two days, he was summoned to Ektaa’s office and given a dressing down.
Sources say that Ektaa blamed Iqbal for the all the delays and problems that ‘Karam..’’ is currently facing (a weak plotline and dipping TRPs).
Iqbal did take it for a while, say sources, but after some time he told Ektaa that he was not interested in continuing any further. He is currently serving his notice period and his last date for shooting for ‘Karam..’ is December 25.
Sources say that Star Plus, which airs ‘Karam..’. did try to intervene and resolve matters, but neither Ektaa nor Iqbal would budge. Iqbal, who did a flop feature film before Ektaa spotted him and cast him as the lead of ‘Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai’ (Sony), has come a long way in the industry. While it was Balaji that gave him the lucky break, it seems the good times were not fated to last.
When contacted, however, Iqbal refutes the incident. “Maybe some people in the production team had a problem, but definitely not Ektaa. She encouraged me to take time off on Id. Why would she act this way? I am just tired, and want time off.” But when quizzed whether he would return from his long deserved sabbatical to another Balaji show, he quips, “No, I haven’t decided whether I will work again with a Balaji production.”
