Cyrus Broacha and Jose visit Screen

Mini in the hot seat
Mini Mathur is back on the small screen as the host of Siddharth Basu’s Sports Ka Superstar – Khel Quiz (SKS) on Doordarshan. The show is a precursor to the Commonwealth games. This is the first time that Mini is hosting a quiz-show. She says,“I was looking out for a challenging project that could utilise my 12 years of anchoring experience and give me an opportunity to provide some value addition. I took up SKS as firstly,it was a quiz-show for sports lovers. Of late,there have been a lot of general entertainment shows but nothing in particular for sports aficionados. Secondly,I ‘m not a sports freak. So it was a challenge for me to read up and be informed about the subject to pose questions to the contestants.”
Mini had to attend intense sessions with the show’s research team to learn about the Olympic games,Commonwealth Games and India’s performance at the international level. She also had to understand the show’s format and understand the answer’s interpretation while explaining it to the contestants. The former veejay confesses that SKS was a tough and exhausting show to host. “Apart from rehearsing and practising to speak in three tones,I had to be the quiz-master,answer-provider and energy-booster for the contestants. After shooting,I had to get into meditation mode to clear my mind and provide some much-needed relief to my aching jaws,” laughs out Mini. Apart from SKS,Mini is presenting Dynasty ( a show that takes a look at the biggest Bollywood families) on Zoom. She is also producing and hosting a parenting show on Zee TV that will be aired in August.

Lali’s Swiss vacation
Ratan Rajput aka Lali of Zee TV’s Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo took a much-needed break. She flew to the Swiss Alps for five days and had the time of her life. “Switzerland was heaven and I am thoroughly charmed by its enchanting beauty. I had a whale of a time. I did a whole lot of things that probably I’ll never get to do again. I made chocolates in the chocolate factory; I taught the phirang girls how to give a thumka,” she smiles. But the thing that excited her the most was the Indian tourists recognising her and her happily posing for pictures with them. Having savoured her Swiss experience,Ratan is now back to the grind as Lali crying for her child who has been forcibly taken away by Loha Singh,hell-bent on proving that she is insane. We think,Lali will need another vacation.

Angad Hasija’s good turn
Angad Hasija,who has recently been eliminated from Zara Nach Ke Dikha,would love to be part of other dance reality shows like Jhalak Dikhhla Ja and Nach Baliye. A big time devotee of Lord Ganesh,Angad goes to Siddhivinayak Temple almost every week. Before Bidaai happened to him,he used to stand in a long queue and dream that one day he will be famous and get special privileges. Sure enough now when he goes to the temple he is recognised as Alekh and given direct entry. However,Angad prefers to wait for his turn for darshan standing in the queue.

Riddhi Dogra in a new Star Plus show
Riddhi Dogra,who is currently seen in Sony’s Seven,is in talks with Deeya and Tony Singh for a new show that is slated to air on Star Plus. Though she is unwilling to divulge details about the show,Riddhi says that she will be playing a character called Ria around whom the show will revolve. And contrary to rumours,it is not based on the Shahid-Kareena Kapoor starrer Jab We Met. Riddhi was also recently seen in a Star One show Horror Nights,on the sets of which she herself had a scary experience. She was shooting for this particular sequence where she was crying over a dead body. In the middle of the sequence the ‘dead body’ sneezed so loudly that Riddhi got scared and jumped back. Says Riddhi,“It definitely was scary at that time as when you’re shooting an intense scene you do tend to get involved,so something like this takes you by surprise. I can laugh over it now but then I did skip a heartbeat.”

Chitrapamaa in Bollywood
Television actress Chitrapamaa will be seen in a Hindi movie,Agni,with Raveena Tandon. “I am playing the parallel lead in the movie that is based on a true story in Rajasthan. I have a performance- oriented role. The film chronicles my life from 16 to 34 years,” she says.
This is Chitrapamaa’s second Hindi film. She had earlier starred in Deewanapan along with Arjun Rampal and Dia Mirza. The actress also can’t stop raving about her co-star Raveena. She says,“It was a wonderful experience working with her. My three-year-old daughter plays her daughter in the film. Raveena handled her beautifully.”
Apart from Agni,Chitrapamaa is happy to portray diverse roles on the small screen. She says,“In Devi,I have a positive role. I play the protagonist’s mother while in Kesariya Balam,I play a negative character. I’m glad that I’ve got an opportunity to portray different shades in various serials simultaneously.”