Darshan Jariwala Responds to Apara Mehta's Claims, Says 'Nothing Like That Happened'

Darshan Jariwala has addressed the claims made by fellow actor and estranged wife Apara Mehta. She stated last month that he left their house in the early 2000s after admitting that he had "fallen out of love" with her and that she was "the ugliest woman" he had ever seen. Despite being separated for 23 years, Jariwala and Mehta have not yet filed for divorce.

Responding to Apara's claims, Darshan stated,

"Your memory of an event keeps changing over time due to a neurological phenomenon. With great generosity, I may state that it is a case of false recollection."

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Jariwala asserted, "The way it's been told, nothing like that happened."

"I'm not the type of guy who would even call a plain-looking woman ugly. Making such a comment would be highly irrelevant," he said. "If I know myself well, I would talk about how the person is on the inside rather than really from the outside."

Darshan says Apara is free to 'play the victim card'

Declaring that Apara Mehta is "absolutely welcome" to "play the victim card," Darshan Jariwala said that he has moved on and is "extremely happy" with his current situation. Since 2010, the actor has shared a home with architect and interior designer Anahita Italia.

"I can't even fathom why she'd want to talk about these things 23 years after being separated. And never before this! If this is the history, and she's had the opportunity to take this to the media, why now?" he said.

He added that his version of the narrative never changes, so those who truly know him are well-versed in it. He also said that there are no variations in the truth.

Darshan blames changing priorities for breakup with Apara

Darshan attributed his breakup with Apara to their evolving personalities since their 1982 marriage.

"Two people grow to be different. If you plant two saplings together, they'll grow differently. Her priorities are different, mine were different. My circumstances changed because I was involved in an unsuccessful business venture. Even our thinking about how we want to deal with our careers was different. So, we tried to give the best childhood to our daughter. That's where we were very clear. A relationship goes through changes sometimes," said the actor.

Darshan explains why he and Apara never legally divorced

Darshan Jariwala also explained why he and Apara Mehta never divorced legally. He said that he did file divorce papers, but the judge rejected the application. The actor added that Apara did not give her consent. He said she had agreed to the divorce but changed her mind in front of the judge at the last minute. "She's probably playing a character of a nice, wronged victim," said Darshan.

After years of hardship, Darshan Jariwala landed a major cola brand commercial with Aishwarya Rai, followed by his breakthrough role in Feroz Abbas Khan's 2007 historical drama Gandhi, My Father, which won him a National Award.

Darshan recalls meeting Apara during Gujarati play rehearsals

Apara Mehta and Darshan Jariwala first crossed paths during rehearsals for a Gujarati play in which her mother was performing with him. "We became pals. At the time, we were rather young. I was between 20 and 21. She was a few years younger than me," the actor recalled. He added that she was afraid her parents would reject their marriage due to caste concerns, which is why they eloped.

Darshan added that he wasn't as excited about the wedding as she was because he was enrolled in a Chartered Accountancy course at the time. However, after three months, Apara married Darshan and moved in with him and his family because she was afraid her parents would arrange her marriage to someone else. After his parents contacted hers, the couple later remarried with the approval of both families.