Indian TV star Karan Mehra was arrested this week for allegedly assaulting his wife, fellow actor Nisha Rawal. The two are both well-known in India for starring in melodramas, reality shows and Bollywood productions, and after 14 years of marriage, are a prominent celebrity couple. On the night of Monday, May 31 Rawal filed a complaint against Mehra for domestic violence.
Rawal addressed the media on Tuesday evening after news of the arrest broke, according to a report by Bollywood Hungama. She said that it was “extremely embarrassing” to face this scandal so publicly, but she shared her story anyway. She claimed that Mehra had been openly unfaithful to her, had often physically assaulted her and that in general, his “goody-two-shoes” reputation in the entertainment industry was a farce.
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“It has been 14 years since our relationship and 9 years to the wedding and a lot has happened during this period,” she said. “The talks of our divorce started a month back when Karan was in Chandigarh. Unfortunately, Karan has been having an affair with another woman which I didn’t know. When I came to know, I confronted him and he admitted to it. He also said that it is serious and that he loves someone else and that their relationship was also physical. The woman is from Delhi and whenever he has been to Chandigarh for the shoot of his new show they would meet and that’s how it started.”
“When I got to know about the affair, I did not react in anger but instead asked Karan to sit and talk about it,” she continued. “That’s when he opened up. The next day, I visited my parents and revealed everything. My mother asked me to work on the relationship. I said that if Karan apologizes and expresses interest in working on this relationship then I am okay. I came back from my parents’ house, but there was no change in Karan’s attitude which hinted at him being remorseful of what he did. I put in efforts from my side and even made a group on Whatsapp with me and Karan called the Love Project.”
“Considering Karan’s behavior in the past 14 years, this is not new,” Rawal went on. “I have been trying to keep his image of goody-two-shoes intact that he has earned with his body of work. We are all actors and this affects careers and we have a baby together as well. Every time Karan used to behave in such a manner he would apologize and promise to not repeat and deep down I wanted to believe him.”
“It’s very common of him to hit me. My face would become black and blue and he would punch me as well,” Rawal recounted. She said that she tolerated these attacks out of a confusing sense of love and obligation, but no longer wants to subject her child to a violent person. She also said that she feels she now has a responsibility to speak out against domestic violence.
As for the night of the arrest, Rawal said: “I lashed out on him about all the feelings that I had bottled up. We spoke and he was visibly upset. When I got up to leave the room, he held my hair and pushed me against the wall. He also held my neck while pinning me against the wall.” She shared photos of the bruises as proof for the media.
