- Darshan Jariwala denied calling Apara Mehta the "ugliest woman" in an interview last month
- Apara Mehta claimed Darshan said he fell out of love and insulted her during a conversation
- The couple married in 1982 and have lived separately for 23 years without divorcing legally
Senior actor Darshan Jariwala has responded to estranged wife Apara Mehta's claims that he called her the “ugliest woman” during an interview last month. The Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi actor also claimed that Darshan Jariwala left home after saying he had “fallen out of love” with her. Reluctant to talk about his personal life, Darshan Jariwala said that Apara plays the “victim” card, adding that her claims are a case of “false memory”.
“There's a neurological phenomenon that with time, your memory of an event keeps changing. I can say very generously that it's a case of false memory. The way it's been narrated, nothing like that happened,” Jariwala claimed in a conversation with Siddharth Kannan.
“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,” he added.
Speaking in an interview with Hauterrfly, Apara Mehta said that she was in the USA on one of their wedding anniversaries.
“I was in the USA. It was our wedding anniversary, and I called him from there. He said, ‘We really need to talk.' I thought, ‘What does he want to talk about?'”
After returning to India, Darshan said that he didn't want to continue their marriage.
“So I came back from the USA after doing my shows. I landed at 3 o'clock, reached home by 5, and I had a 7 o'clock shift in the morning. 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," said Apara Mehta.
Why Darshan And Apara Didn't Divorce Legally
The couple got married back in 1982. They have been living separately for the last 23 years without opting for a divorce.
Darshan Jariwala also explained why he and Apara Mehta never divorced legally. “I did file divorce papers, but the judge rejected the application. She didn't give her consent,” said the actor, adding, “She'd agreed to a divorce, but she changed her mind in front of the judge at the last minute. She's probably playing the character of a nice, wronged victim.”
Darshan also said he gave his “very good house” in Santacruz West to his wife and their daughter before walking out, though he claimed he didn't have a proper house to live in at the time.
Darshan Jariwala first met Apara Mehta during rehearsals for a Gujarati play in which her mother was also performing alongside him. “We developed a friendship. We were very young at the time. I was 20–21. She was a couple of years younger than me,” recalled the actor. He further revealed that they eloped because she was scared her parents would turn down their marriage due to caste issues.
Darshan Jariwala is known for his performances in films such as Gandhi, My Father, Guru, and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.