Bollywood actors Darshan Jariwala and Apara Mehta have been living separately for 23 years but have not officially divorced. Their relationship grabbed headlines earlier this year when Apara revealed the reason behind their separation and claimed that Darshan had called her an “ugly woman”. Now, in a chat with Siddharth Kannan on his podcast, Darshan has refuted Apara’s claims and revealed why they never got divorced.
Darshan Jariwala calls Apara Mehta’s claims ‘false memory’
Darshan Jariwala said there were no limits to lies and explained that there is a neurological phenomenon in which a person’s memory of an event can change over time. He added that, being generous, he could call it a case of “false memory”.
He added, “The way it’s been narrated, nothing like that happened. I’m not that kind of a guy who would even tell, let’s say a plain-looking woman, that she’s ugly. It would be a very irrelevant remark to make. If I know myself well, I’d talk about how the person is inside, and not really from outside. If she wants to play a victim card, she’s welcome to do that, I have moved on.”
Darshan added that Apara may have felt threatened by the possibility of being replaced in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and that this could be why she returned to India, rather than simply to speak to him. He added that he is happy with his life. The actor has been living with interior designer and architect Anahita Italia since 2010.
Darshan said that one could not sit inside Apara’s mind and judge her, but maintained that he knew his truth. He said there were no limits to lies and that he could not gauge her motivation. He questioned why she would want to discuss these matters 23 years after they had separated, particularly when she had never spoken about them before. He also questioned why she had chosen to bring them up now, saying that if this was indeed the history, she had had opportunities to take it to the media earlier.
Darshan attributed his separation from Apara to the fact that they had grown differently over the years since getting married in 1982. Talking about the divorce, he said, “I did file divorce papers, but the judge rejected the application. She didn’t give her consent. She’d agreed for divorce, but she changed her mind in front of the judge at the last minute. She’s probably playing a character of a nice, wronged victim. I left with just one bag and I gave her and my daughter my house in Santa Cruz. That’s all I had to give to her. If someone had to ask for alimony, it should’ve been me because I was under those circumstances. But nothing like that happened.”
What did Apara Mehta say about her separation from Darshan Jariwala?
In a conversation with Hauterrfly, Apara recalled calling Darshan on their wedding anniversary and sharing details of their last conversation before their separation. She said, “And he just said, ‘You know, Apara, we need to separate because I’ve fallen out of love with you. I do not like you anymore, and you are the ugliest woman I’ve come across in my life.’ He was sitting on the swing with a cup of tea in the morning, and I simply left for my shoot. I had three major scenes to film that day. I had returned from the USA at 5 in the morning, so in between takes I kept dozing off. Later that afternoon, when I was fully conscious again, I thought, ‘What did Darshan just say? He couldn’t have meant it.’”
About Darshan Jariwala and Apara Mehta’s marriage
Veteran actors Darshan Jariwala and Apara Mehta got married in 1982 and have a daughter, Khushali Jariwala. After more than two decades of marriage, the couple began living separately in 2003. Apara has previously described their equation as cordial, saying that the doors of their home have always remained open for Darshan and that they can still “complete each other’s sentences.”