Earshot — Cup of woes

Jai Mehta must be a very sad man. Being the son of the illustrious Pranlal Mehta, it was a shock to see him flop as an actor. Jai turned producer with the serial Jung, but this serial has failed to figure in the top 10. This despite the impressive star cast of Reena Roy, Mukesh Khanna, Kiran Kumar and Sharad Saxena.

Sun and sand

But for the serial Sea Hawks, things seem to be looking up at last. After all the talk about the shooting in Mauritius that did not seem to be materialising, one had concluded that it was just another gimmick.

But this time the crew has actually gone to the breathtakingly beautiful island nation, and that too for a whole of 40 days. Now Niki Aneja and company can come back all tanned and fit.

The winner is…For some, acting become a part of life and life becomes a part of acting. Take the case of Meenakshi Gupta.

This cute actress from Simla plays the role of Vaishali, a star-struck lass who wants to take part in a beauty contest, in Itihaas. She is all set to essay this role in real life too as she sashays her way through this year’s Femina Look Of The Year contest. Now one has to wait and watch for the results–both on-screen and off-screen.

For a change

Ajay Sinha is tired of dealing with serious topics in his serial Hasratein. Now the man wants a break with a raunchy sitcom called Shararate, which will star Himani Shivpuri.

But he should pay heed to what happened to his colleague Ravi Rai when he tried a similiar experiment. After Sailaab, Rai tried his hand at Gopaljee, only to end up with a full-scale flop.

Back (2)gether

Come September, and viewers will see a serial called Jagaran on Star TV, made by none other than Kalpana Lajmi. The serial is an adaptation of the Soviet classic Resurrection.

“Though it is an adaptation, it will be placed in the context of Indian reality,” says Lajmi. And guess who will score the music for the 52-episode serial? Bhupen Hazarika, of course.

Matter of voice

Moonmoon Sen’s broken Bengali accent has landed her an unusual role–that of sister Nivedita in the teleserial Lokmata Nivedita.

Directed by newcomer Anjan Gupta, this DD-commissioned serial is being made in 26 episodes.

“There is a foreign inflection in her English. And she has a touch of foreign glow in her character. She suits the role to a T",” asserts Gupta.

Moonmoon, however, admits: “It is very difficult to fathom a personality like Vivekananda. It is equally hard to dig into the character of Nivedita. Right now I am absorbed in reading the character, which means broadening one’s mind and enlarging one’s viewpoint.”

Rewind rage

God knows what other channels have thought of for August 15, but BBC World with it’s usual panache is bringing us a series to mark the significant events since 1947.

The BBC material will be supported by footage from ANI which was founded by Prem Prakash, who as one of India’s leading cameramen had shot many of the key events in the subcontinent over the last 50 years. Should be interesting to watch what the Brits are putting together.

Sweet success

There is good news for Ekta Kapoor as well. Her serial Ithihaas has reached the number three position in the DART ratings, right after Swabhimaan. Ekta had once said that if Ithihaas failed, her company, Balaji Films, will also be itihaas. Now there is no need for the lady to worry her pretty head on that score. But one wonders–is Itihaas’ good fortunes connected with the fact that Gogi Anand, who directed 400 episodes of Swabhimaan, is also on this project?

(Contributions by Deepak Karambelkar, Pradip Biswas, Murli Sharma and Lata Khubchandani)