Senior actress Manasi Salvi has found herself at the centre of the raging dispute over her unceremonious exit from the Colors TV show, Mahadev & Sons, produced by Saurabh Tewari’s Parin Multimedia. As we know, she played the main antagonist, Bhanu Bajpayee, in the show, and her character clicked with the audience. However, since she did not belong to Mahadev’s main family, her scenes and shooting requirements remained limited. She apparently decided to quit the show, which meant a breach of contract from her end.
However, since she was legally bound to the show and had to honour her exclusive contract, the production house stated that it would take legal action for the breach of contract, in earlier media reports.
The latest in the issue is that Manasi Salvi talked to The Free Press Journal that she is taking a legal route and is filing a defamation case against the Producer.
Now, we at IWMBuzz.com have heard of a new angle to this growing dispute. We have heard from inside sources that Manasi was apparently in talks for an upcoming show, even when she was shooting for Mahadev & Sons.
A little birdie tells us, “Manasi has gotten on board the cast of the upcoming show on Zee TV, produced by Cockrow and Shaika Entertainment. She is presently citing that she has got a new show, and that she needs to exit Mahadev & Sons.”
We further hear that Producer Saurabh Tewari has written to IFTPC and CINTAA regarding the issue. An industry source talked to us about the content of the mail dated 2 May 2026, which stated that Manasi knew very well that her character of Bhanu had limited screen presence, as this show is a remake, and the character arc was known to all the artists. Despite being contractually bound, Manasi decided to breach the contract.”
Also, the industry source talked about Manasi Salvi creating an apparent similar tense situation when she was working in Junooniyatt, which led to her being replaced.
The source further explained, “Colors TV has invested a lot in the character of Bhanu Bajpayee, and will certainly not accept any actor breaking the exclusivity contract, especially when it involves taking up a new offer on another channel.”
We buzzed Manasi Salvi, Producer Saurabh Tewari, Producers of Cockrow and Shaika Entertainment, the channel spokespersons at Colors TV and Zee TV, to know their sides of the story.
Manasi Salvi replied to us via a text message, which read, “My lawyers have specifically released all material to debunk the info on any breach in contract. We have released the exit approval mail as well. Once a production house gives out an exit mail, the said contract is terminated on mutual agreement, and discussions end. Apart from this, what happened in any timeline mentioned on hearsay is irrelevant. As of now, I am still available for Mahadev & Sons show till 15th May as per the exit mail. Any other opinions on this issue are just a waste of time.”
Our source from the production house told us, “She negotiated and locked another show on 18th April, when we told her that she is exclusive with us and we need to go the legal route. So she sent an email on 20th April to let her go by 15th May, giving a notice. Next, she refused to come on the shoot till we gave her in writing with the confirmation. We finished our shoot on priority till the 29th and sent her an email by 1st May that she needs to stick to the contract. She has to serve a legal notice of 6 months. The moment she starts shooting for another show, we will have all legal options available. She has clearly breached the contract.”
We could not get timely replies from the Producers at Cockrow and Shaika Entertainment, and from the channels Colors TV and Zee TV.
Watch this space at IWMBuzz.com for exclusive updates.
