Earshot

Too much

Shekhar Suman has set a record of sorts. He appears in 11 serials in a week, seven of which are on Wednesday itself. But Suman is unconcerned by over-exposure. Says he, "There are 40 different channels and a remote in your hand. I am not telling anyone at gunpoint to watch my serial!" He further claims that those who crib about over exposure are precisely those who do not have enough work in their hands.

Prize catch

Filmstars are making a beeline for television. Waheeda Rehman will star in Girish Karnad’shistorical for DD1, Swaraj Namah. But the biggest catch is none other than Salman Khan, whom Johnny Walker’s son Nazim has roped in for the serial Lage Raho. Mind you, Salman will be playing himself.

Shanti, shanti

There is a lot of ashanti surrounding the serial Shanti. It went off air after 780 episodes. While rumours have it that DD1 took if off because of low TRPs, Zarina Mehta, head of programming at UTV, insists that they took of the serial — despite getting an extension because it wasn’t commercially viable.

Girl talk

If Hollywood’s Mrs Doubtfire inspired Bollywood’s Chachi 420, then the Hindi film has inspired scores of serials. First Ekta Kapoor of Hum Paanch had Ashok Saraf impersonate a woman with the bizarre name of Gangubai 840. Then Jaaved Jaffrey did one whole episode of Chitrahaar dressed as a woman. Not to be left behind, Punnet Issar had two actors in his serial Hindustani, dress up as girls who set out to fight criminals.

Long wait

Even big names don’thave it easy. Rumour is that Ajay Sinha of Hasratein desperately wants to make a programme for STAR Plus. But he is disgusted that even after six months of calling up, he still hasn’t been granted an appointment by the channel’s programming department.

Campus note

More and more producers and directors are making serials for Sony. After Tony Singh made Just Mohabaat and Ravi Rai made Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zarurat Hai, it is Sanjeev Bhattacharya (Campus) turn to come up with Challenge. This serial, too, is set on a college campus but here, the story starts on the last day at college. Like Campus however, this could be a never-ending tale. Says Bhattacharya, "If I get ad support, I will run it for at least four years."

Speechless

On the campaign trail for BJP were Mukesh Khanna and Surendra Pal. They toured UP, Gujarat, Delhi and other places. But their speeches drew mostly kids, who came to see Shaktimaan. An amusing incident happened in Bhadoi, UP, when Surendra Pal was making ahyper-charged speech, "Bhadoi ke vasio, Archarya Drona ka aap ko namaskar…" Unfortunately for him, the mike conked out just then. But Pal was quick on the uptake. He went in front of the stage and shouted. "Mujhe lagta hai ki mike jaane ke peeche Shakuni mama ki chaal hai!" This brought him a standing ovation. Wonder if it also brought any extra votes for BJP.