I love my actors: Ekta Kapoor

By Subhash K Jha

This Ganapati festival is very special for Ekta Kapoor. "It's my first Ganpati in my new home. I can't have as much celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi as I'd like. I'd just have a pooja in the morning, dinner with close friends and then I'll go to Tirupathi the next day to pray for my new serial Karam Apna Apna."

As for Ekta's new serial Karam Apna Apna which goes on air next week, Ekta says it's a full-on Balajee brand of entertainment. "Karam … is a simple identifiable story. We wanted viewers to get something to chew on. I won't call this show different or out of this world.

I'm accused of becoming distanced from reality in my recent shows. Well, Karam ….is real. But I can't move too far away from my style. Finally my sensibilities will show on my shows. People say they find Kkasam Se very relatable. I think they'll say the same about KAA."

And why Iqbal Khan as the main lead? "Well KAA will have its hero in an extra-marital affair. My hero should look like someone two women, best friends would be fighting over. Iqbal fits the bill. It's a very sweet innocent story."

Iqbal's other daily Kaissa Yeh Pyarr Hai for Ekta on Sony will go off air in a couple of months.

Ekta says she hardly has anything to do with the new Smriti vehicle. "Thodisi Zameen Thodasa Aasman which went on Star earlier this month is very unlike what I do.

Full credit to the writer Kamlesh Pandey and Smriti Irani plus the Star executives like Shailja Kejriwal for this authentic serial. As for me, I've just lent my name to Thodisi Zameen…."

Karam Apna Apna (KAA) on the other hand is entirely Ekta's baby. "First Krishna Tusli in Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, now Karam….You've no idea how many auditions I've conducted until we found the right girl for KAA.

We hunted in places as distant as Simla, Jaipur, Surat, Pune and Delhi and finally we found Pallavi Joshi in Mumbai. We wanted a face that was pretty and yet nextdoor-like. Then one day I happened to see a show called Tumhari Disha in Zee.

Pallavi came on for maybe thirty seconds. And I said, 'This is the girl I want for KAA'. My mom nearly threw a fit. Can you imagine?We hunt high and low and finally we find her in Mumbai on television."

Tumhari Disha where Pallavi played a minor role has ended. "And a new chapter has started for Pallavi Subhash. She's a complete Balajee kid. We're shooting with her now."

Smiles Ekta, "She's Marathi. But she's playing a Bengali girl from Kolkata. Pallavi does lapse into a Marathi accent. But we control her. We'll manage in the dubbing."

So is Pallavi another Balajee actor who'll soon start throwing her weight around? Ekta shakes her head. "I hope not! See, the stress of suddenly shooting night and day takes its toll on the actors."

Sighs Ekta, "I love my actors and my shows. I hope I never lose my energy level about them."

Source:santabanta.com

I'm not leaveing Ekta Kapoor

The decision to break away from Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms has left Iqbal Khan depressed, but determined.

"I guess it had to happen. But I can never forget what Ekta and Balaji have done for me. I'd have been just another struggler in Bollywood. Ekta's 'Kaisa Yeh Pyarr Hai' gave me status and fan following. And I'll always remain grateful for that," Iqbal told.

"If she asks me to work for her again, I would do so without a second thought. But for now Dec 25 is my last day at Balaji," said Iqbal, who can also be seen in Ekta's "Karam Apna Apna".

But for now Iqbal is taking a much-needed break and is making plans for his wedding in January.

"For two months I'll concentrate on getting my act together. I've been working unearthly hours. Now I need time to get married. I need to spend time with fiancée Sneha. My parents are in town. I haven't been able to spend a moment with them.

"When I get married and have children I don't want them to look at me as if I'm a stranger in the house. I need to balance my working hours and a family life, which I haven't been able to do so far."

"It's in January. And then Sneha and I will go on our long honeymoon. I'm not thinking about the future right now. Whatever has to happen will happen. But I want to make it clear I won't run to any rival company just to keep myself busy. What kind of a light would that show me in?"

Source:santabanta.com

I don't play such dirty games: Ekta Kapoor

Reacting to Shashi Ranjan's allegations about not allowing her actors to participate in Ranjan's Indian Television Awards last weekend, Ekta Kapoor expresses hurt and anger in no uncertain terms.

"I had made it clear that, since my flagship show Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi wasn't nominated I never wanted to go for the Awards or make the effort to write the script for my soap in a way that would free my actors to attend the Awards.

They had to shoot and naturally that was top priority for us. Someone from the Awards committee called and requested us to adjust our schedules so the actors could attend. I told them I'd try.

Not once did I ask for the winners' list, as alleged by them, nor did I mention the absolute blacking-out of Kyunkii from their nominations. I was told by a Zee authority that my serial Kkasam Se and its leading man Ram Kumar will win."

She can't get over the way her most popular serials were ignored. "Since Star Plus didn't sponsor the Indian Television Awards they didn't want to give Kyunkii any nominations. In fact the only Star serial nominated in the popular categories is off air now!"

Ekta pauses for breath and declares, "That's when we decided we at Balajee Telefilms wanted to be no part of this blatant charade. In two days before the awards I told Ram Kumar on the sets in front of everyone that he'll win. He graciously replied he'd rather complete the episode than attend the Awards. The whole unit of Kkkasm Se witnessed what Ram said."

As for asking for the winners' list, Ekta smirks, "I knew the winners from before, I didn't need a list. When they got to know I was upset they offered to 'adjust' whatever show I wanted. I refused to accept this candy offering.

Still I sent the actors for the Awards. But I repeat I never asked for a winners' list, and never mentioned any such thing to Shashi Ranjan or his wife Anu. God is my witness."

Ekta gets emotional. "It's not in my breeding to play such dirty games. I'm too dignified to stoop to such levels. And yes, just to let the actors of Kkasam Se attend the Indian Television Awards I reluctantly altered my script. The Ranjans are lying if they say I asked for a list of winners."

But most in the entertainment industry are shocked and appalled by Ekta's such comment. Seniors from the industry attended the press conference to vindicate the selection process of the Hero Honda Indian Television Academy (HHITA) award.

“I challenge Ektaa to show proof of her receiving even one phone call from Shashi in the last six years and any calls post 7.30 pm on November 23 from me and if she can’t, then, I demand a public apology from her,” says Anu on Ektaa’s claims that the duo kept calling her when six actors expressed their inability to perform at the HHITA award night.

“We immediately replaced them with Mandira Bedi, Rohit Roy, Karan Wahi, Jasweer Kaur, Aman Verma and Karishma Tanna and frankly, these celebs only enhanced our show,” adds Anu.

On Star TV refusing to be the telecast partner if their shows weren’t picked as winners, Anu rubbishes it saying, “Over the years we have rotated our telecast partners from Sony, Doordarshan, Star and now Zee, for the simple reason of not succumbing to any pressure in the jury deciding the winners. We have a no-objection from Star in September so there are no issues with them.”

‘We never expected Ektaa to attend because she had informed us 25 days in advance that she would be in Delhi. And we don’t change the date of our event for any one individual. When she slaps a case against Salil Ankola on the basis of a contract, then it is legitimate but when we do the same, we become liars.

She says the actors had urgent scenes to shoot but all the actors were seen for hours at an event the day before HHITA.” says Anu.

Source:santabanta.com

'Ekta Kapoor is not my rival...'

Television producer, director and actor Aroona Irani has now joined hands with Ekta Kapoor and denies rumours that the young entrepreneur is her archrival.

"Who said that? She is not my rival," said Aroona, who has earlier played myriad roles in Bollywood films.

"As far as rivalry is concerned, I am in this business and I think everybody who is into serial making is my rival. But that doesn't mean I can't work with them," Aroona told via phone from Mumbai.

"First, I am an actor and I can choose to act with anybody. And I think working with Balaji Telefilms is going to be a great experience for me," she said.

The senior actress forays into Ekta's "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki" as Kalyani Devi who comes to Parvati's (the protagonist) rescue at a time when she is helpless and without any support from her family.

"I play the same role in Parvati's life that Lord Krishna played in Arjun's life," she enthused.

Aroona, who has made serials like "Mehndi Tere Naam Ki", "Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand" and "Vaidehi", says TV is a very competent medium. "It is no less than film. Look at the presentation, the look of the stars, costumes - everything is so up to the mark."

But she has no plans to direct or act in films.

"Where are the good roles for aging actresses? There are roles for actors like Paresh Rawal or Boman Irani, not for us. Since Jayaji's (Jaya Bachchan) role in 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' I haven't seen any senior actress playing a substantial role," she rued.

"I don't think I'll direct a film in the near future because nothing is clear in my mind. Only big budget films are made and they need big stars who are associated with either big banners or corporate houses."

When asked about the unrealistic portrayal of joint families in Ekta's soaps, she said: "Watch it just as a drama. If we start showing authentic stories, it'll become boring and nobody will watch it. We have to throw plenty of drama in soaps to make them interesting. Just see the stars, the story. Don't relate it to real life."

Source:santabanta.com

No one can take over my show: Ekta Kapoor

by Subhash K Jha

The ever-forthright Ekta Kapoor has no qualms about admitting that she had a minor scuffle with Sony Entertainment, its head honcho Tarun Katial to be precise.

"I was rather annoyed with Tarun. They had left out my soap Kksum from the inivitation card of their party celebrating their successful soaps. Though Tarun said it was an oversight I thought it was a deliberate attempt to push our Kkusum hastily out of sight. Come on! Just because the soap was winding up it didn't mean it shouldn't have got a decent send -off."

The minor fracas is now forgotten. And the workaholic tv tycoon is now working on her new show—a tv gossip magazine called Kandy Floss for Sony.

Giving the details of the format for the first time Ekta says, "We've never really had a gossip-and-information show about tv on tv before. Also Balajee Telefilms hasn't really done much non-fiction…though we did do the Sunita Menon Show on Zoom which was very successful. But yes Kandyfloss is a first for us. And we're excited."

Besides a regular female anchor, Kandyfloss will have an animation creature called Kandy who'll take viewers through the party-gossip-info circuit on television. "It would be my tribute to Madame M, the fictional gossip writer whom I grew up reading in the magazine Cine Blitz."

The anchor, though is not confirmed. Isn't Archana Puransingh talking about anchoring the show? "We're in negotiations. But some nitty-gritty needs to be worked out," says Ekta.

Besides Kandyfloss on Sony, Ekta has two new fiction programmes coming up …Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka on Star One and Kasam Se on Zee. "We've already started casting for Nimmo . Though it will have a new face in the central role the supporting cast will comprise some very well- known veterans from stage and movies, never seen in my serials," promises Ekta.

Ekta is also thrilled with the remarkable recovery of ratings for Star's Kavyanjali. "From being written off—almost—to now being our fourth -most popular soap on Star after Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kasauti Zindagi Kay (just ahead of Kahiin To Hoga) we're very proud of Kavyanjali and the support that Star offered. Star's COO Samir Nair assured me he wouldn't close down the show, come what may. That gave me the courage to go on."

As for the revival of Hum Paanch on Zee, Ekta says it's still not certain how successful it would prove to be.

"The first few weekends were overshadowed by other events on rival channels. But I had no choice. The channel told me either I bring Hum Paanch back, or they'd do it themselves. How could I let someone else take over my show? I've revived two of my shows Mano Ya No Mano and Koi Haadsa Koi Haqeeqat successfully. Why not Hum Paanch?"

Source:santabanta.com