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The 'Screen Test' and the serial are presented by Rai University
in association with Cadburys' Perk, LG GSM, Santro Xing and Fa.
The entire project will carry on for 30 weeks with 12 weeks dedicated
to the hunt, including pre-promotion. Also notable is the fact that
a whole lot of actors from the Balaji stable will be present during
the auditions. For example - Ronit Roy in Chandigarh, Smriti Z Iraani
in Delhi (where else?), Urvashi Dholakia in Bangalore and Rajeev
Khandelwal - Aamna Shariff in Mumbai.
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(L
to R): MTV Vjs Cyrus Sahukar, Sophiya, Rai University president
Vinay Rai, Balaji's Ektaa Kapoor, MTV Networks India Managing
Director Alex Kuruvilla
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Speaking on the occasion, MTV Networks India managing director
Alex Kuruvilla said, "When the 'King Of Cool' meets the 'Queen
of Fiction', the baby is bound to be very exciting."
On being asked whether this marked the entry of MTV into the arena
of serials, he replied, "We at MTV have always believed in
delivering the unexpected in a great way. Many eyebrows were raised
when we introduced humour (Bakra) and romance (Love Line
), but those things caught on within no time. We are optimistic
that this will pave the way for MTV to think about more tele-serials."
He added that the present fiction series was being planned for
39 episodes at this stage but "it could be long."
It would be interesting to see if this Kapoor serial is pitched
against her more popular sitcoms like Kyunki..., Kahaani...
and Kaahin... Asked about the time slot, Kuruvilla was again
non-committal, "We may be thinking of pre or post prime time."
Up to the selection of the cast, 'Screen Test' will be shown as
a 'reality' show. Towards the end of July, 12 aspirants would be
shortlisted and who would then go through a grooming session. The
number would be further crunched to six.
Said Kapoor, "We will be hitting the smaller town as well.
Even those towns where we have less number of Hindi speaking people.
I have a role of a Shetty in my serial who doesn't really need to
speak Hindi very well."
Kapoor informed that KMHZ is a story about a small town
girl's (Ananya) belief evolving in the pursuit of her dreams. "The
show will be youth centric, there will be drama but mellowed drama
and no melodrama," she laughed, adding, "And no 20 year
leaps too."
Six people who will be selected at the end of the auditions will
go through a rigorous training process 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. "My advise
to aspirants is: just be yourself. Even that tinge of nervousness
is considered natural," concluded Kapoor.
Also notable is the fact that for the past few weeks, MTV has been
airing promos in which Kapoor has been urging youngsters to participate
in her company's first major
attempt at throwing up a show that would be something different
from what she has been doing till now --- that is make sitcoms,
thrillers and soaps with loads of mush.
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