Salman Khan promotes Dabangg through shows

He even dedicated one of these songs to the actor. An emotional Salman handed him a piece of date to break his fast and Khurram gifted him a beautiful ornate prayer-mat as a token of his love and appreciation.

Meanwhile,the actor will also make an appearance in Laagi Tujhse Lagan on September 6 to promote the show’s new timing. The serial which was earlier aired at 9.30 pm on Colors will now be shown at 8.30 pm. Salman will be playing his on-screen Dabangg avatar. He’ll be seen as Chulbul Pandey,a corrupt cop,who guides and consoles Nakusha. Dabangg has already generated a lot of buzz with its racy promos.

Ashutosh returns to TV

Ashutosh Rana,who is best remembered as a cold-blooded murderer and psychopath in Tanuja Chandra’s film Dushman,is making a comeback to television in a serial after a decade. He will be seen as a villain by the name of Thakral in a show that will be aired on Star Plus. The channel is touting his character as the Gabbar of the small screen.

When contacted,Ashutosh confirmed the news but refused to divulge further details. The actor,who started off his career with Mahesh Bhatt’s soap opera Swabhimaan in 1995,followed it up with serials like Farz,Saazish,Kabhi Kabhi and Waris. He also hosted a game show Baazi Kiski and was lately seen as Saarkar in Real channel’s Sarkaar Ki Duniya,a reality show.

It will be interesting to see if the actor,who entertained us with his bad guy act in films,will be able to repeat it on television.

Do Hanson Ka Joda to go off air

With Shubhangi Atre indisposed due to a back injury,buzz is that her show Do Hanson Ka Joda is likely to go off the air. Shubhangi,who dislocated her pelvic bone while shooting a train sequence,has been advised bed-rest till September 15.

Consequently the producers are in a quandary as they don’t have a bank of episodes. Initially,they thought of replacing her but Shaleen Bhanot who played Suryakamal to Shubhangi’s Preeti is shown to be dead. In his new avatar as a thief,who is also Suryakamal’s lookalike,he sports a beefed-up look.

With Shubhangi missing and Shaleen in a different look,the producer Kavita Barjatya and the channel thought of taking the show off air. When contacted,Kavita Barjatya admitted that they will be shutting the show soon. The show is likely to go off air in the second week of September.

Taarak Mehta…in top 10

Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashma produced by Asit Modi and aired on SAB TV has notched a place in the top 10 shows across channels. In the week between August 1 – 7 it was positioned at No 8 and the following week,it was at No 7 across all channels as per the TAM ratings. In the consecutive week it has beaten serials like Balika Vadhu and Bidaai.

Says Asit Modi,“Keeping interest alive in comedy is very difficult,especially if you are making a clean family show. We try to bring in contemporary story ideas all the time. We also make an effort to depict social issues in an entertaining manner. My artistes and technical team are ready to try any new idea and they give their hundred per cent to it. We are all very happy and thank our viewers.”

Small-screen Jab We Met delayed

Buzz is that the TV remake of Imtiaz Ali’s hit film Jab We Met has run into problems as the cast is not yet finalised. Kinshuk Mahajan and Gaurav Choudhary of Do Saheliya were among the actors who were approached for the role played by Shahid Kapoor. Kinshuk had even done a mock shoot.

Apparently,the producer Shreya Films had zeroed in on Anchal Sabharwal and Kinshuk as the lead pair but later were not happy with the choice. Consequently,the serial has not yet gone on the floors.

Gaurav Chopra enters Uttaran

Gaurav Chopra is all set to make a comeback on television with Uttaran. The actor,who was last seen on a reality show taking care of kids with girlfriend Mouni Roy,will make an entry as Raghuvendra Pratap Rathore aka Rocky,a rich,suave businessman. He will be Tapasya (Rashmi Desai)’s confidante and biggest source of strength after she becomes homeless and emotionally shattered.

An excited Gaurav said,“Rocky’s character is extremely intriguing and I’m glad I got the opportunity to portray such a role. I haven’t played this kind of a role before and I couldn’t possibly refuse such an excellent offer when it came along. After all,Uttaran is presently the most watched show on Indian television and Rocky is slated to be a strong and important character on the show. It will play a huge role in defining the turn the story- line will take. The cast of the show is awesome,a great bunch of people to hang out with.” Wonder what interesting twist the show will take now,with Chopra soon to be Tapasya’s knight in shining armour.

Girls Night Out turns creepy

Okay girls,lock the doors,grab some popcorn and switch off the lights. MTV’s new show planned for the GenX is going to make you think twice before you plan an all girls night out again. The channel has come up with a show Girls Night Out,which will go on air from September.

Contrary to what usually happens during an all-girls night-out,this show will tread closely on the lines of a horror reality show,where a bunch of girls will be asked to survive nights in a haunted mansion. Guess we’ll have to wait and watch if the show will be on the same lines as The Chair,a horror reality show on UTV Bindass,hosted by Indian Idol contestant Meiyang Chang. MTV channel heads remained unavailable for any comment on the new show.

Two shows axed on Colors

Ekta Kapoor’s Bairi Piya and Dheeraj Kumar’s Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam that were aired on Colors have been axed to make way for Khatron Ke Khiladi Tiguna from September 6. The adventure reality show that marks Priyanka Chopra’s television debut will be aired from 9 to 10 pm replacing Bairi Piya.

Yeh Pyaar… was aired at 9.00 pm. Laagi Tujhse Lagan,earlier aired at 9.30 pm,has now been shifted to 8.30 pm. The channel informed the makers of the respective serials well in advance so that they could give the shows a logical conclusion.

Yeh Pyaar… was essentially a love story set against the background of caste politics and class differences. Bairi Piya had Sharad Kelkar and Supriya Kumari in the lead roles and dealt with the problems faced by farmers.

Eight year leap in Sarvagunn Sampanna

Sarvagunn Sampanna aired on Imagine TV is going for an eight year leap and the lead character of Aditya played by Mujtaba Ali is being replaced by Chaitanya Choudhary. As for the track,Aditya gets married to somebody else while his love interest Swara leaves the child with Aditya’s parents. A new character played by Yash Tonk enters her life. Let’s wait and watch if the leap works for the serial.

– with Anita Aikara and Rinky Kumar