Being skeptical

The man behind the hilarious acts of Krushna-Sudesh from Comedy Circus has found his way to films. Raaj Shaandilyaa,the man who invested four to five years of his life writing scripts for the jodis of Comedy Circus,is all set to venture into movies with Mr. Money that he wrote with Krushna Abhishek in the lead. Surprisingly,Raaj will also be seen acting in his debut film. “I am really happy that finally I got to work in a film. It is every writer’s dream to write for movies. This project is really special for me as this is not only my first as a writer,but also as an actor,” says Raaj. The writer-actor,who is an electronic engineer,never thought of getting into writing professionally. It was only when he saw the first few episodes of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge that he thought of e-mailing a couple of scripts to the makers. Destiny played its cards and he got to write for the show. Though he ventures into films,he will not be quitting TV,specially Comedy Circus,as he enjoys comedy and loves being with the team. Mr. Money also stars Vrajesh Hirjee and Rajpal Yadav.

Back to square one

It was in 1995 that we used to see a young Vishal Malhotra anchoring Disney Club every Sunday where he entertained kids between the episodes of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. After that,he went ahead to do a lot of youth shows on the small-screen and a couple of films. Now after a gap of 15 years,the actor is back to entertain kids. He will be seen supporting,bonding and cheering kids on the season three of Chhote Miyan. The show,which has kids performing stand up comedy,will have participants coming from across India and beating each other in the task of doing some hilarious acts. The season one of the show as hosted by Juhi Parmar and Kapil Sharma,later the next season was anchored by Saloni Daini. The current season,which will be hosted by Vishal will also have a co-host. Reportedly it is Manasi Parekh,the winner of Zee TV’s singing reality show,Star Ya Rockstar,who will share the centre stage along with Vishal.

Love story with a twist

Producer Sudhir Sharma who has produced two hit shows 12/24 Karol Bagh on Zee and Miley Jab Hum Tum on Star One in the past is coming up with a new show Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuuch Kaha. To be aired on Colors,the serial has Kunal Karan Kapoor who was last seen in an important negative role as Angad Yadav in Pratigya as the male lead in this serial. He will be paired with a new girl. It’s about a married woman with two kids and her love story. The promos of the show, which is expected to be aired in the second week of January are already on air. The serial is also said to have Anjan Shrivastava and Rinku Karmarkar acting in it. Incidentally,the title is inspired from a song from Baaton Baaton Mein starring Amol Palekar and Tina Munim.

Gauahar fears being stalked

Gauahar Khan,currently seen in UTV Bindass’ The Khan Sisters,feels she is being stalked. Gauahar,who stays in Delhi,had a feeling that she was being followed by someone. To make matters worse,she started getting calls repeatedly from a private number. A source from the Khan Sisters team says the caller started making obscene comments and also kept a tab on her. The model-turned-actress immediately went to the Fatehpur Beri police station and spoke to a senior officer,who she knew well and asked him for advice as she did not even have the number. The cop told her to lodge a complaint and said that the culprit can be traced even if his number is not flashing on her cell phone. Gauahar,however,is yet to file a complaint.

All in the family

So far,we have seen many mother-daughter pairs acting on the small screen either in the same or different serials. There’s Sushma Seth and her daughter Divya and Sarita Joshi who paved the way for the entry of her daughter Ketaki Dave,to name a few. The latest pair however,is that of a mother and son,Vibha and Puru Chibber who are currently seen on two Zee TV shows Mrs Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein and Pavitra Rishta respectively. While Vibha plays the title role of Mrs Kaushik,Puru has been roped in to play the grown-up son of Manav-Archana,Sachin Deshmukh. Proud about her son’s acting foray,Vibha says,“I always thought my son would grow up to be a cricketer as he played the game exceptionally well. However,when he was in the 10th grade,he suddenly declared that he wanted to be an actor. That’s when I took an initiative to come to Mumbai from Delhi where I was doing theatre. When I came to Mumbai,I started acting in serials too. So,in a way,his ambitions fuelled mine.” Puru,on his part,credits his mother for the passion he developed for acting. “Watching maa make a mark for herself on the theatre circuit proved to be an inspiration . I started off by assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Saawariya,after which I completed a course from Anupam Kher’s acting academy. Then,I got a break in Khotey Sikkey. And now with Pavitra Rishta,I am hoping for more good things,” smiles the newbie.

Rannjivay at Screen office

Actor Rannvijay,who has done films like Action Replayy and Mod,visited the Screen office last week. The actor has been associated with MTV’s Roadies for a long time. The latest version of the reality show will be shot in the US soon,the auditions for which were held recently in different cities. Rannvijay came on behalf of the show and its shoe partner Mochi saying,“We have designed some extra tough shoes that help you perform different tasks from climbing a mountain to simply walking on Mumbai’s roads.” The actor,in the spirit of Christmas,also gave away vouchers from the shoe brand and interacted with the Screen team,even making a few of them perform tasks as is the norm on Roadies,during his brief visit.

Bhajji’s new sport

After his stint at dancing with the reality show Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena,cricketer Harbhajan Singh is all set to showcase his skills in wrestling. No,he will not actually throw punches or fight,he will be the goodwill ambassador for a sports entertainment show Ring Ka King on Colors. Harbhajan is said to be a passionate wrestling enthusiast and as a kid spent hours in front of the television watching international stars wrestle. He was also a District level Judo Champion. Incidentally Judo/Wrestling was the first sport Harbhajan started playing. The show,which is slated to air early next year,will see 30 international level wrestlers fighting it out with apne desh ke pehelwan to win the coveted title of ‘Ring ka King’. Vinod Tharani who is based in Pune will coach the contestants in dramatics as it’s pitched as a sports-drama show.

Celeb watch

Raqesh Vashisth

TLC is my favourite channel

I don’t get much time to watch TV because I am busy shooting for my show Maryada but whenever I manage to find time I love watching any adventurous show on Nat Geo,Animal Planet and Discovery. However,my favourite channel is TLC. I love to learn about new places and travelling is my hobby. These channels give me a lot of insight into such places,their food and lifestyle.

I do catch my show Maryada also but since I tend to be overly critical avoid watching it.