Yeh Hai Mohabbatein's Shahnaz Rizwan on quitting the show: Divyanka is a sweetheart; Karan too loves me lot

Yeh Hai Mohabbatein is one of the popular shows and fans love the characters in the show. Karan Patel and Divyanka Tripathi went on to become a sensation and the viewers love their chemistry. Shahnaz Rizwan, who plays the character of Toshi, Ishita's mother-in-law, has also made her presence felt, all thanks to 'bindaas' attitude. 

Shahnaz is now all set to bid adieu to the show. When she was asked by a leading daily, she confirmed and said, "Yes, I am all set to quit the show. There is no such reason professionally. It's just that I am really missing my family who is settled in London and eagerly waiting to go back to them. Actually not many know that I flew down to India just for Yeh Hai Mohabbatein. My son had produced a movie in which I had acted. The makers of YHM saw my performance and wanted me to be a part of the show. Initially, I was reluctant but I decided to go for it. My family also pushed me into taking up YHM. But now after 5 years after staying alone in Mumbai, I am missing my sons who are settled in London. I want to stay amidst my loved ones now."

While talking about her entire YHM journey, the actress said, "I can never forget Yeh Hai Mohabbatein. It's been a terrific experience altogether. Though like in a family, we too have had our share of arguments and issues but we are still one big happy family."

Talking about her equation with her on-screen BFF Mrs. Iyer aka Neena Kulkarni, Shahnaz said, "Not everybody gets along well and a few are extremely professional, we are one of them. But she is a fine artist. When I entered the show, she thought that I wouldn't be able to live up to audiences expectations since I was put opposite to her character. She considered that I was a newcomer as compared to her since she has been in the industry for 40 years and has given some impeccable performances. But not many were aware of the fact that I was no newcomer and have a history of the same business. I have won a lot of accolades that I can proudly boast of. But when she saw that I was getting a lot of appreciation from viewers and the response to my character was terrific, a little insecurity grew within her mind. But I won't absolutely blame her for that because she has a wide range of work in her success book and has also worked opposite a few stalwarts of the Bollywood industry. So this feeling of insecurity is natural. In fact, she herself had admitted to me of how she never expected such fine acting skills out of me. I have been a part of the Pakistani film industry since a toddler age, but a few did not know about this here and were shocked when they learned of it. But I hold no grudges. There is absolutely no ill feeling."

She said that she is going to miss Divyanka and Karan terribly. "Divyanka and Karan are the two people whom I am going to miss dearly. I have loved them with all my heart and the two have equally loved me. Divyanka is a sweetheart and loves me a lot, I can feel it. Karan is otherwise touted to be moody and has tempers, but I know he too loves me a lot and I can't tell you how much I am going to miss him. There was a time on sets when Neena somewhere had created a kind of a divide between the two of us and many actors were in her favour but both Divyanka and Karan were impartial and did what they felt was right. Also, Divyanka and Karan weren't happy with me quitting and I too melted seeing them each time but then some decisions need to be taken," the actor added. 

Asking about the twist and how the makers plan to end her character's journey, she said, "Well, now whether they kill my character or send me on a pilgrimage forever is something I don't know. But Yes, Ekta who wasn't too happy with me quitting the show, stated that she felt I was irreplaceable and that means a lot to me," said Shehzan.

"You won't believe that when I stepped onto the Indian soil for the first time, I could feel the warmth and love in the air,. I could sense as if this was my own country. And why not?! My ancestors belonged to this country and are buried in the same soil so of course, I felt at home in India," Shahnaz ended the conversation and signed off.