Ekta Kapoor
- failures notwithstanding, she's ready with nine more shows |
The Ekta Kapoor propelled production house has dished out three
shows in 2004 -Kesar on Star Plus and, Kkehna Hai Kuch
Mujhko and King Aasman Ka Raja on Sony Entertainment
Television India (SET). The last two have been withdrawn and the
first has been nothing to rave about, but Balaji is gung ho about
the eight shows commissioned and ready to go on air in the next
few months.
Kapoor spoke at length exclusively to indiantelevision.com about
some of the new shows, four of which are slotted for three still
to launch channels and four on Star Plus (two), SET and MTV.
As regards in-the-pipeline channels: Two shows have been commissioned
for Times Group's soon to launch non-fiction entertainment channel
Zoom, one for P2 (or maybe Star One, the name of Star's metro-based
Hindi entertainment channel is still to be decided) and one on UTV's
kids channel Hungama,
For Zoom:
As for the proposed talk shows which Kapoor had spoken to indiantelevision.com
in March 2004, the first one - Kosmic Chat is scheduled to
go on air almost as soon as the channel launches.
Stylish
and confident - Simone Singh will anchor Balaji's Kosmic Chat
on Zoom |
Says Kapoor, "Simone Singh (last seen as Henna in Sony's Henna)
will share the platform with Sunita Menon (a tarot card reader),
the former will ask the questions and the latter will provide the
answers."
However, another show for which Kapoor had Sushmita Sen in mind,
has been put on the backburner. "I decided not to do it for
some time at least, when Sen refused the offer. It was an Oprah
Winfrey kind of talk show. When I get a celebrity of that stature,
I will definitely go ahead with it."
Explaining why she chose Singh over other actors, Kapoor says,
"The channel wanted her. And I think Singh speaks very clearly.
I quite like her style. She makes her presence felt on screen. I
wanted someone confident and stylish at the same time," adding,
"I like Gurdeep Kohli a lot. I want to work with her. In fact,
I recently offered her Kasautii Zindagii Kay for the role
of a new character who will soon make her appearance but due to
her Sanjivani- A Medical Boon commitments, she could not
accommodate it."
Four episodes of Kosmic Chat are ready.
Kapoor has substituted the proposed Sushmita Sen show with a reality
based show titled Kya Kahen which will also see the light of
day around the same time as Kosmic Chat.
Irrfan Khan (who started as a TV actor with Zee's Banegi Apni
Baat but has now shifted focus to films) will host the show,
based on real life incidents plagued by supernatural
Irrfan
Khan will move back to the small screen to host Kya Kahen for
Zoom |
elements. It would be something like Missing on SET two
years ago, hosted by film star Jackie Shroff. "You will see
true life stories which have been dug out by my research team. They
won't be fictional stories that we transfer on to the tube. We have
even gone and met the people concerned but of course, we cannot
tell you their real identities and whereabouts."
Three episodes of Kya Kahen are ready.
Both the shows for Zoom will be half-hour weeklies.
For P 2 (Star One?):
Ekta is playing on her strength - a true blue soap. The show in
question has been titled Kannu Ki Kismat Mein Kya Hai. "It's
about a girl and what happens in her life. It's pretty much in the
nascent stages and will go on air mostly from October," she
tells us.
For Hungama:
Ekta is creating a daily titled Kartika. As the channel
is supposed to be meant for the young, Kartika will deal
with a 15-year old girl who goes to a boarding academy to pursue
her singing and dancing interests.
"There's a lot of St Clare's and Malory Towers kind of atmosphere
from Enid Blyton's books in this serial. The girl meets a hi fi
socialite who runs the academy and a guy who teaches her dancing
- someone like Shiamak Davar. Including this guy, three men come
into her life - a friend, an inspiration and a childhood crush.
You may call this guy her childhood crush," reveals Ekta.
Jenifer Vinget (who stars in the Sony-Balaji creation Kkusum)
will play the 15-year old girl. "She looks very young for her
age, has worked with me very respectfully and effectively and hence
was the automatic choice." Ajay Balhara (who has also been cast
in Balaji's K Nights for Star) will play Jenifer's childhood
crush, while the hi-fi socialite will be played by Sonali. The other
two main protagonists have not yet been cast, since their track does
not come so early in the serial.
Kartika is expected by October.
For Sony:
There has been a lot of talk doing the rounds that friction has
developed between Sony and Balaji.
Kkehna
Hai Kucch Mujhko - failed effort |
Kkoi Dil Mein Hai, though still on air, has proved to be
a damp squib, and Kapoor blames the channel's constant shuffling
with the day and time for its poor performance. Kkehna Hai Kucch
Mujhko which marked Pallavi Joshi's return to television proved
to be a cold turkey and was withdrawn. King Aasman Ka Raja had
neither a media launch nor any promotional push and understandably
sank without a trace. To this, Kapoor had remarked earlier, that
she had made only about 12 episodes of this show on a trial and
error basis.
In an interview in March 2004, Kapoor had categorically told us
that she had no plans for Sony this year. But now, the production
house is making a show (untitled as yet) for Sony which would go
on air mostly by the end of this month or early next month. "It
is a story of three sisters having different ambitions in life.
It will be a peppy, colourful, youth-centric, up-market show. I
would describe it as Kahiin To Hoga meets Sound of Music.
However, there is still a lot of work to be put in for this one,
including figuring out whether the elder or the younger sister would
be the chief protagonist. "The entire screenplay takes a new
look if you change the protagonist," she explains.
For Star Plus:
As reported by indiantelevision.com early this month, K Nights
will replace Kaahin Kissii Roz (KKR) at the 11.30 pm slot
from 7 September, marking the end of the long-winding social thriller
which morphed into a supernatural drama somewhere along the way.
Six days of shooting has been completed so far.
Kaahin
Kissi Roz- end finally in sight |
KKR is heading towards a sensible end. It had gone completely
haywire ever since Kapoor and Star Plus decided to reincarnate Shaina
and Kunal (played by Yash Tonk) and allow Ramola Sikand (played
by Sudha Chandran) to go over the top with her devious ways. But
Kapoor defends, "The TRPs were pretty good if you consider
the fact that after Kahiin To Hoga started, it was pushed
to the 11:30 pm slot which is quite late."
K Nights will be a social suspense thriller (similar to
KKR) starring newcomer Jasmeet Kaur. The other members of
the cast are Alok and two twins Ajay and Vijay Balhara, Iravati
Harshe, Aly Khan, Rituu Raaj (Sanjay Doshi of Kahaani Ghar Ghat
Kii), Ashwini (C.I.D), Vikram Kapadia (Banegi Apni
Baat) and Vaishnavi (Chotti Maa), among others.
Another one from the leading production house for the leading entertainment
channel is Karma- Koi Aa Raha Hai Waqt Badalne (which underwent
a change in name, time and again) which was scheduled for a November
2002 launch to begin with. Recently, it was all set to be aired
from early August but for some reason has again been pushed back
and is now expected by the end of this month. Targeted at the 5-17
age bracket and based on a superhuman, somewhat on the lines of
Batman or Superman, Karma stars Sudha Chandran in a pivotal
role as a Feng Shui expert, and has been mostly shot outdoors.
For MTV:
An innovative project up Ekta's sleeve is the tie-up with MTV India
to produce a youth based Hindi serial Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi-
a story about a small town girl's (Ananya) belief evolving in the
pursuit of her dreams - to be aired from September end in three
half-hour episodes per week.
Ekta Kapoor
at the Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi launch in Mumbai |
This serial has involved a nationwide star hunt to select the cast.
For the first time ever, Ekta was in front of the camera as well,
as the face of the campaign. Auditions were conducted in Mumbai,
Delhi, Lucknow, Pune and Chandigarh. More than 3,000 people showed
up for the Mumbai leg of the auditions, not a patch on the record
number of 8,000 in Delhi. This fiction serial is being planned for
39 episodes to start with, but if all goes well, promises to be
a longer version. Six people will be selected at the end of the
auditions and they will go for an intensive training programme that
would involve acting, dancing, action, voice projection and camera
moves. They will be under a contract with Balaji for one year. The
six who get filtered out are likely to be absorbed in other Balaji
shows.
For Zee:
According to our sources, the Queen of Soaps is doing something
for Zee TV as well. The show promises to be thriller on the lines
of Kaahin Kissii Roz. But she refuses to confirm and simply
smiles.
Cut to the present:
As for the ongoing series Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and
Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, they will continue to rock on the
Star Plus horizon, says Kapoor. "There's lots of Mahabharat
(read epic family battles) coming up in KGGK. Three boys
and a girl will make a dramatic entry and soon lay claim to a part
in the Aggarwal empire," she reveals, adding, "KSBKBT
will take another 20 years fast forward in February 2005. Sudha
Shivpuri (who plays the matriarch, Ba) will obviously have to go,
but I will fit her into some other serials. She is my dad's friend's
(Om Shivpuri) wife and I have great respect for her."
Will Smriti Z Iraani don whiteners? She is just 28! "She may
have to. She will be shown as a 60-year old woman. But let's see.
I have not taken a call on that as yet. Today, so many elderly ladies
colour their hair. Think of it, Savita (Apara Mehta) is not donning
whiteners, though she is exactly where Smriti will reach in the
next six months."
But hasn't the Kasautii Zindagi Kay story come to almost
a deadlock? Without denying or confirming that Cezanne Khan (who
was pushed off the cliff a few days back) will return, Kapoor is
emphatic, "There's another huge shock coming up in KZK
in two weeks. Plus the serial is ready for a fast forward which
will take place in October, which in turn, will involve the entry
of a new generation marked by new characters, something like we
did in Kkusum sometime ago."
Not again! "Why not?", she retorts, "In all my shows,
it has worked so far. A serial is mostly like a story whose book
has tons of pages. These pages have acts, don't they? Abroad, almost
all shows which do well go ahead by a few years every now and then.
So why not here? That's exactly why filmmakers have started thinking
of sequels these days if and when their film has been successful."
No grey
hair for Prerna after the fast forward in Kasautii Zindagi Kay
|
If Smriti at 60 may not don whiteners, would Shweta Tiwari (Prerna
of KZK) do so? "Not at all. Prena will be shown in the
40-45 bracket. Gone are the days when people didn't maintain themselves.
When 40 or so, people don't look their age these days. Look at Salman
Khan! Look at Anil Kapoor! Have you seen my dad's photographs when
he was 50?" she asks.
Have Rajeev Khandelwal (Sujal) and Aamna Shariff (Kashish)'s problems
been sorted out? Buzz was the two had decided to opt out of the
late night blockbuster Kahiin To Hoga. All Ekta says is,
"Was it? I don't think so," adding, "I am so glad
that Sujal's character has clicked with the viewers in such a big
way. When I was conceiving the character I was confident that it
will stand out. Taking all my serials into account so far, I don't
think that I have made a more interesting man than Sujal."
"Watch out for Raunak played by Alok in K Nights,"
she continues in the same vein, "I have a gut feeling that
Raunak's character will click in a major way; people are going to
love him, there's something very attractive about an anti-social
man, he does not fit in, so he stands out. You know what I mean?"
Goes without saying that all the new shows will have their numerological
share of 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o' , 'u' as well as the ubiquitous 'k'
before they go on air, but knowing Ekta, even the names of the titles
are susceptible to change till the last minute.
The less said about the number of changes which Karma has had,
the better. In fact, K Nights has already fallen prey to
the K factor. "K Nights is likely to undergo a change
in name," she informs.
On the film front:
Kapoor's Koi Aap Sa starring Aftab Shivdasani, Natassha
and Dipannita Sharma is almost ready, while Kya Kool Hain Hum,
a sex comedy starring Tusshar Kapoor, Ishaa Koppikar and Ritesh
Deshmukh is fast nearing completion. "I have realized that
the audience is not willing to see thrillers like Krishna Cottage
and Kucch To Hai. So I thought of making a film of completely
different genre," she admits.
Post Mitra's flick, Kapoor is likely to make films with Satish
Kaushik, Rajkumar Santoshi and Vikram Bhatt, though not necessarily
in that order.
As a parting shot, we quiz her on her marriage plans. "For
the next two years, it's going to be only work. But you'll definitely
see me married and my kids in my parents' (Jeetendra and Shobha
Kapoor) laps in about three years' time," she concludes with
a big smile.
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