Meet the new Jhansi Ki Rani

Environment-friendly
Sudhir Sharma’s 12/24 Karol Bagh on Zee is the only show which is totally produced outside Mumbai and has a permanent set in Chattarpur in Delhi located on a farm house. Only ten percent of the five acre land is used for the set. The remaining area is a proper farm house with orange trees. To protect the environment,the production house spends a lot on the maintenance of the complete set and farm house. There is a strict rule to avoid garbage on the sets. Anybody who throws paper or paper plates is penalised and has to pay by treating the unit members. As a result,everyone is extremely careful on the sets and keeps it neat and clean.

Shilpa Anand back in Dill Mill Gaye
Seems like all the original actors of Star One’s Dill Mill Gaye are coming back to the show. After Karan Grover made a comeback as Dr Armaan,it’s the turn of Shilpa Anand who was one of the three actresses playing Riddhima,to revisit the character. Incidentally,Shilpa and Karan were popular as Riddhima and Armaan till Shilpa decided to leave the show mid-way. Sukriti Khandpal took her place for a while followed by Jennifer Wingetwho is currently playing Riddhima. Wonder what is it with this show that actors exit and re-enter with a remarkable alacrity.

Sarwar’s big outing
Sarwar Ahuja,who plays the title role in Keshav Pandit,recently visited the slums in Dharavi to take stock of the problems faced by the people there. He met a committee called Satark Nagrik Sangh,which is dedicated to help and slove their problems. Says Sarwar,“I got to know of this committee through the channel (Zee) and met them. My character Keshav Pandit encourages people to sit up and fight for their rights. This committee does exactly the same thing for the immigrants of Mumbai’s slum Dharavi.” They had a multitude of problems ranging from water shortage to lack of electricity and ration. “It’s a revelation to see how these people live in such circumstances. It was a grounding event for me,” he confesses. The creatives of Keshav Pandit are now planning to incorporate some of the problems in the serial too.
Meanwhile,his other show Jyoti is having a highpoint this week with Jyoti (Sneha Wagh) having to decide between Sarwar who plays Pankaj,a blind man and Aamir Dalvi who plays Kabir. Sarwar’s character had thrown Jyoti out of the house when they had a conflict,but now he has realised his mistake and wants her back. “I don’t know whether she will come back to me or Kabir or decide to live alone and rear her child. The serial is about Jyoti’s courage,she is a woman of substance,” says Sharwar,who nevertheless has got a role of a lifetime in the serial. For over a year,he has been essaying the blind character and he considers it a lesson in growing as an actor. “Playing a blind man has been an eye-opener for me. I think I have learnt whatever I lacked in acting by doing this serial,” says the actor. It was this confidence that later fetched him the title-role in Keshav Pandit,a serial which revolves around him,a rare thing on television.

Twist in Do Saheliyan
It was a serial launched with a lot of fanfare. It started out well,but couldn’t sustain good TRPs. We are talking about Zee’s Do Saheliyan,which starting this week is undergoing major twists and turns. The serial is about two girls who are best friends and get married on the same day. During an accident,the husbands get exchanged but since neither has seen the other before marriage,they are completely unaware of the mix-up. The latest twist is that Maithali played by Sulagana Panigrahi and Anand played by Raunak Ahuja get remarried though in reality they are getting married to each other the first time as they originally got married to different people. As soon as the wedding happens Bhavri played by Ankita Srivastava re-appears in the story and wants her husband who is now married to her friend. Buzz is that the friends will now turn into foes! Talking about the twist and the low TRPs,producer Ratna Sinha says,“The best episodes of the show were shown when the IPL was at its peak,so I guess we lost viewers then. Now,with the changes,I hope I get many new viewers.”

Woh Rehne… turns five
Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki on Sahara One has completed five years becoming one of the longest-running shows in recent times. “The journey has been as memorable and fruitful as it could get. The cast and crew has become like a family,which keeps growing. We have tried to give the best to our viewers and it has paid off. We are looking forward for many such celebrations.” beams Kavita Barjatya,head of TV Rajshri. Since its inception,the show has incorporated every trick in the trade from generation leaps to coming back from the dead. Umpteen actors have come and gone in the five years but the only constant face has been Reena Kapoor who is the protagonist.