Festivities are round the corner and Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hai is celebrating it with its funny storylines. But in the absence of Anita, played by Saumya Tandon, makers tell Sangeeta Yadav how the show will continue to spread laughter

Watching comedy shows after a hectic day’s work is a great way to unwind and when that show happens to be Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hai (BGPH), one doesn’t mind watching even a repeat and look forward to new episodes with anticipation.

Be it Dussehra special where the characters tickled the funny bone by giving a twist to Ramleela or the upcoming Diwali special which will bring back Angoori’s younger brother and thief Puttan played by Sandeep Anand. The show is coming up with funny takes on situations which are beautifully weaved around the festivities.

“Puttan is coming back on the show to create a lot of dhamaal and chaos on BGPH.  He is not a hard core criminal but a petty thief who with his mischief and harmless acts make people laugh. He spends most of his time in jail and when he comes out and goes to meet his sister. This annoys Tiwari and Vibhuti since Puttan  continues to steal things  in their house and neighbourhood. This time, instead of bursting crackers, burst into laughter with Bhabhiji...,” Anand says.

While there is an addition in the form of Anand, the sad part is the Anita played by Saumya Tandon will be missing in these festival special episodes. She is enjoying a break away from the sets with her family.

Grapevine has it that Tandon had put in her papers long back in March 2018 and served her notice period of six months. Keeping things under wraps, Tandon, says: “I share a good rapport with the entire cast and crew of the show. Whether I have quit the show or have taken a break from it for some time till I come back, only time will tell. At present, I don’t want to comment on this. For now, I am enjoying my break.”

Hence, the makers are not looking for any replacement as they feel no other actor can do justice to Anita’s role other than Tandon. She last shot for BGPH in August and the makers have created a bank of episodes that can run till March 2019.

“We have her footage till February-March 2019 with 15 episodes. We look forward to work with her again next year. For festival special, we have to script the episodes without her and made it look like she is around. We will not make the audience feel her absence till the time she is back,” Manoj Santoshi, scriptwriter of BGPH, tells you.

Talking about how she has contributed to the character, Tandon says: “Women, who have done comedy on TV, have done either caricaturish comedy where they have to create laughter through their voice or by playing the character loud. Whereas, Anita does spontaneous, real and subtle slice of life comedy which we got to see in Friends. I consciously made it a point to not do loud and caricaturish comedy. I prefer to do Bareilly Ki Barfi kind of acting than Housefull acting or to the acting which was happening in the 90s.”

Whether it is the monotonous feeling that seeps in the actor who essay the role for so many years or travelling 70 km to and fro everyday for work or having family commitments. The reason to take this break could be many but only time will tell.

Till then, let’s continue to cherish watching Anita and the entire star cast unfold many such interesting situational comedy.