Rupali Ganguly of 'Anupama' fame has been in the limelight recently. Her stepdaughter Esha Verma has alleged that Rupali separated her parents and abused her mentally, emotionally and physically.
The matter came to light when Isha shared a post on social media in 2020. Now that post has gone viral again.
Rupali Ganguly married businessman Ashwin Verma in 2012. Ashwin was previously married twice. He had a daughter named Isha from his second marriage.
In an exclusive conversation with Frontpage Insights, Isha, who is now 26 years old and lives in New Jersey, USA, expressed her pain. Isha says her aim is only to bring out Rupali's truth. Read some key excerpts from the conversation:
Why have you decided to speak against Rupali and your father now? In fact, I made a post on Facebook in 2020, in which I described Rupali's behavior as cruel. In that post I also wrote that he had an affair for many years and mentally and emotionally harassed my mother. His affair became a source of loneliness for our family.
Now that post is going viral, and it's really shocking. But I am happy that the truth is coming out now. I have now decided to speak out again because it was not worth what I endured in silence for so many years. The time has come when the truth comes out and people realize that what happened was wrong. It was very difficult for me to talk about this, but now I want my experience to come out in front of everyone, so that no one else has to face this.
Now when I expressed my thoughts, Rupali's fans started attacking me. They are judging me based on my Instagram pictures, my bikini pictures. But the truth is that I live in America. Wearing a bikini is common here. People should not believe this. This is not a publicity stunt at all. I just hope for justice for me.
You said about your father that he was your role model. How traumatic the pain of breaking your trust was To be honest, I will probably never be able to explain the pain when your own father betrays you. I considered him as my role model. He was the best in my eyes. When I realized the truth, it was like a stumbling block. It hurts a lot to break the trust a daughter has in her father. It was very deep and painful. It was like love at first, which suddenly turned out to be wrong. Seeing my father go wrong and realizing that he has become a bad person inside and out. This is heart breaking for every daughter.
You have made many serious allegations against Rupali. Did he interfere in your father's married life? The relationship between Rupali and my dad was not just love, but an obsession. When you are in a relationship with a married man, you must understand that he is a part of someone else's life. But what Rupali did was not ideal for the relationship. She would deliberately call my father frequently, send him messages and even interfere with our holidays by coming to our house when he was out. His behavior was not at all appropriate. A woman was very sad to see this extent.
Your father has denied your allegations. Do you think he is responsible for the pain he is causing you? I know my father said something. My father said that Rupali had no hand in this, but this is the biggest lie because Rupali was the one who came to my New Jersey home and slept in my mother's bed. The same bed that my parents used to sleep on. He did so much wrong to me and my mother physically, mentally and emotionally.
So far he has not contacted me. If I had ever received a true apology, I would have felt some relief. But the way they are silent and ignore everything only shows their fear. He never apologized to me or disrespected me in any way. I have only tried to bring out the truth and even today when everything is coming out, their silence is proof that they are ashamed of their actions.
However, Rupali Ganguly's team is pressuring me to remove my post. I am constantly being pressured not to raise my voice and to remain silent.
You were two years old when their affair started. When and how did you find out about this? I was only two years old when this affair started. My father used to go to India to shoot a commercial ad and stay out for three months. He said he was going to work, but my father went to meet the woman he was having an affair with.
At that time Rupali was nothing, she also said that she was from a film background, but did not get any big role. I am not only pointing fingers at Rupali, but also at my father. It is difficult, because a father is a daughter's first love, but my father proved that wrong. He is a bad person inside.
You said about Rupali that she interfered in your father's married life? Yes, the relationship between Rupali and my dad was not love, but an obsession. She kept calling my father, sending messages and spamming his phone. She was so shameless that she used to come to our house and stay in my mother's room. She would also take my mother's jewelery when we went on holidays. She should understand that if a man is married, he should stay away from that family, especially when that man also has children. My mother and I were still a part of his life.
You also accused Rupali of killing your mother in Mumbai. Tell me about that time. I was only eight or nine years old when all this happened. I and my father went to visit my grandparents and Rupali came to our house and scolded my mother. I remember being scared, not knowing what to do. Seeing this ill-treatment of my mother, I wept inside.
At that time I was afraid that something might happen to my mother. I could not understand anything, but I saw that she was not only torturing my mother, but also destroying the peace of our home, putting the honor of our family at stake.
Rupali recently entered politics. What are your thoughts? This will be a big betrayal for women. Because she wears a mask of strength for women. When in fact his work was only against women. While she herself is running away from the truth. They have no right to speak about others. So far she is completely running away from her responsibilities. If he enters politics I will bring out many of his realities.
You decide to go public with your struggle, do you think people will understand you? I just want to get the truth out, I don't want sympathy. Nostalgia annoys me, and I hope people understand why they support celebrities. I don't expect help, just my voice.
Till date you have received no help, is there any hope in your heart? Rupali and my father never helped me. Neither he ever apologized to me, nor could he understand what was in my heart. Now that everything is coming out they are afraid that the truth will come out. I just want whatever happened in my family to be exposed and everyone to know the truth.
We also tried to speak to Rupali about the matter, but she is not available.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).