Manav Gohil, Sachin Sharma, Pallavi Kulkarni and Aruna Irani at The Park on Friday. Picture by Aranya Sen

Vaidehi ? Ek Aur Agni Pareeksha is going through an agni pareeksha of its own. The Aruna Irani serial that was launched in grand style on Sony a couple of months ago hasn?t had the best of starts and the panic buttons are being pressed. For a TV show, that means the introduction of a new character.

Monday onwards, the serial starring Pallavi Kulkarni and Sachin Sharma will have Manav Gohil appearing as Neel, the nephew of Sitadevi, in a desperate bid to salvage dipping TRPs.

Producer Irani, who was in Calcutta with her Vaidehi team on Friday, doesn?t buy the desperation line. ?We couldn?t gauge why the serial wasn?t doing well ? was it because of the World Cup or was it too bold,? she wonders.

She also refuses to admit that Manav has been brought in to stop the serial from sinking. ?He was always a part of the story, laate laate time lag gaya,? smiles the former sizzler. ?The show is based on a true story, so I couldn?t possibly cook up the character. People will definitely love Neel and will get some much-needed breathing space.?

Manav, last seen compering Fame Gurukul on Sony, is confident about his Vaidehi connection. ?My character has a lot of charm, sensitivity and earnestness,? he says. ?He is not full of life, but life itself. He is that sort of a guy who can look into a girl?s eyes and say, ?You mean everything to me?.?

So does that mean that Neel will now get romantically involved with Vaidehi, who has been completely shunned by her husband? ?What do you do when you are royally ditched by your hero?? asks Irani.

?When I went to Delhi recently and I asked women out there whether Vaidehi should divorce her husband, I got a resounding response from young and old alike. They all feel that there should be an outburst from Vaidehi. However, we are yet to decide how that will come about.?

While Manav too doesn?t believe that he has been called upon to rescue Vaidehi the serial ? ?it?s too early for a show to be rescued? ? he knows that he is there to support the lost cause of Vaidehi the character. ?I am an anchor to her sinking ship,? he declares. ?So I have been positioned in such a way that audiences want me to be by her and help her out of the mess.?

But Irani is yet to decide whether she would resort to an extra-marital relationship to resolve the problem. ?I am planning to have an audience poll to find out what exactly our viewers want to see. Vaidehi treads on grounds which have not been seen on Indian television before and so it is very important that we are sure about what message we are sending out to the people,? says the actress-turned-producer.

Vaidehi comes on Sony, Mondays at 10 pm.