Actor Rupali Ganguly admitted that she was a little taken aback when she was told that Anupamaa, the hit show that she currently stars on, was produced by Rajan Shahi. Rupali said in a new interview that Rajan was also the director of her first-ever show, and that she wasn't the most professional person to work with at the time. She said that her first thought when she was told that he'd be producing Anupamaa was, "arey, baap re (oh dear)'." In an appearance on The Ranveer Show podcast, Rupali recalled how she bagged the role on the massively popular show. She said that she received a call about it when she was out of town, and was summoned for a meeting the next day, after she'd sent in her taped audition. She said in Hindi, "I respect Rajan ji a lot, but the first ever show that I did was Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahi, it was telecast in the year 2000. Rajan ji was the director. He was a first-time director, and back then, I was very misbehaved. I was very unprofessional. I didn't know how TV functioned, and there was a lot of learning to do. As it is, you're looked down upon for doing TV because people assumed you'd 'flopped in films'." Rupali said that she 'immediately connected' with the role of Anupamaa when Rajan told her about it. But he had his concerns. "I wasn't sure if he'd cast me, because I'd troubled him a lot on the first show. The first thing that he asked me was, 'Have you grown up?' And I said, 'Yes, I have a child now'. And Rajan ji decided to cast me. I didn't know the show was called Anupamaa, till the trailer came in," she said. Rupali said that she wasn't the top choice for the role. She wasn't even in the top five list. But she has made the role her own, and Anupamaa remains one of the most popular shows on television.
