Amid rumours of the show getting shutdown, a channel official has confirmed that Alibaba -Dastaan-e-Kabul will continue and there are no plans of pulling it off air. The rumours started doing rounds after lead actor Tunisha Sharma was found dead on the sets of the show and Sheezan Khan, who featured opposite her in the show, was arrested in relation with her death.
Sheezan Khan was arrested a day after Tunisha’s death when her mom Vanita Sharma filed a case of suicide abetment against him. Tunisha and Sheezan dated for some time and his family claims that they had a mutual breakup just days before Tunisha was found dead. The Vasai court on December 31 sent accused Sheezan to 14-day judicial custody after his police custody ended.
An ETimes report said that the show continues to run by focusing on other characters and different tracks. It also quoted a channel official as saying, “The show is definitely not going off-air. It will continue.” It added that Tunisha will not be replaced and a new lead pair of characters will be introduced on Alibaba Dastaan-E-Kabul.
Tunisha’s mother Vanita had levelled allegations against Sheezan claiming that he used to beat Tunisha and was forcing her to adopt Islamic practices. However, addressing a press conference, Sheezan’s sister Falaq Naaz, accused Tunisha’s mother of “neglecting” her and said that the deceased actor’s depression was due to her childhood trauma. Sheezan’s sisters Shafaq Naaz and Falaq, and his mother Kehekshan Faisi, alongwith his lawyer Shailendra Mishra held the press conference.
Earlier this week, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) sent a notice to the producers of the show – Alind Shrivastava and Nissar Parvez, claiming gross negligence. The letter stated, “The cases of suicidal deaths of the young actors and actresses are increasing and such deaths could have been avoided if the producers keep an eye on such things happening on the sites. All the crew members are hired by the producers for his project and hence it is the responsibility of the producers to look after the well-being, safety and security of the crew members.”
It added, “FWICE strongly demands action on the producers of the show Ali Baba- Dastaan-E-Kabul as the liability of the safety, security of all the crew members depends upon them. Any conspiracy against any crew members should have been traced by the producers and taken immediate action against the erring members. However, the producers are only interested in earning good money with the popularity of the show due to the lead actors and actresses who are followed by the public at large.”
