Earshot

No more

Pushpa Verma has had enough of Raju Kher. Verma has acted in over 125 serials and 40 films, mostly as the stereotype dominating mother-in-law. She recently turned producer with a film commissioned by DD. It turned out to be a disaster when the lead actor, Raju Kher, started reaching late and leaving early. Apparently on one occasion, for a 9 am shift, he arrived only at 1 p.m. and left three hours later. The film could not be completed in the slated six shifts and paltry Rs five lakh. 8220;Kher himself is a producer and should understand the problems we face,8221; she says. She has replaced him with Mohan Joshi.

Doggy luck

Another producer whose year started on a bad note was Nitin Mawani. His serial, Bullet was to go on air on DD from last Wednesday. But it was postponed because of a live telecast. To make matters worse, Mawani was cheesed-off with tantrums thrown by lead actor Sudhir Matto who plays a detective. The trouble started when in addition to one canine, Mawani decided to beef up the investigating team with another dog. That drove Matoo up the wall, who felt that one smart alec dog was bad enough, but two are bound to hog all the limelight, leaving him little to do. It8217;s a dog8217;s world after all!

Old flame!

On the affairs front, certain gossip magazines are going to town by linking Pinky Singh Swabhimaan and Desh Pardesh with the producer of Desh Pardesh, Harish Shah. What has offended Singh are not the rumours, but that, of all the people, she has been linked to a 60-plus year old man. 8220;Why Harishji, when there are so many younger actors with whom I am working!8221; says the exasperated Singh. One wonders what she has to say about her relation with Rohit Roy. They have been spotted together, hand in hand and involved in intimate discussions.

Two good

But if anyone8217;s New Year started on a good note, it was Ravi Rai8217;s. He is quite thrilled these days as his Sony serial, Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai, will be shifted to another time slot from January 19. That means, it will no longer compete with his other serial, Teacher on Zee TV. Rai claims that even he was not aware of the change. 8220;It is the best shock that I have got in a long time,8221; he says. To add icing on the cake, he got a call from S S Gill, asking him to make a serial for DD. Also he is eagerly looking forward to the Screen Awards. Last year, his serial Sailaab was nominated won three awards. This time, with two serials, he is hoping to sweep the awards.