Debutante diaries

 

Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Daisy Irani and Mohnish Behl are not new to the arclights.

But the four young doctors who stare at passersby from every hoarding in the city are. Behind the confidence and the enthusiasm they emit from every pore, the 20 something lead actors who make up the core acting team of Sanjivani are fresh, raw and waiting to be discovered. They were hand picked by creative director Siddharth Malhotra after screening hundreds of portfolios along with the Star team. Not surprisingly, all four jumped at the opportunity. Even though there's no contract binding them, all four are categorical that they will not be interested in other serials as long as Sanjivani is on air. No, they have not been frequenting hospitals to absorb a doctor's life, but have instead been hobnobbing with doctor friends to get a feel of what it is to be a medic in real life. The rest, they have left to the director.

Gaurav Chanana
Attitude is something that is common to 23-year-old Gaurav and Rahul Mehra, the character he portrays. Like Rahul, Gaurav oozes confidence and a style that's calculated to impress. But his unaffected zeal for the project gives him away. "If you are a sensitive human being, you can be a good actor," he says candidly of his lack of experience in the television world. Gaurav is not a complete novice though. He travelled to Mumbai from Delhi two years ago, giving up a chartered accountancy course midway, intent on making it big in acting.

Backed by a year of theatre in the capital, he has notched up nearly 40 ad films to his credit, as also a Sabe TV serial Love mein Kabhi Kabhi. He has also shot for music videos for Yesudas and Lata Mangeshkar. In Sanjivani, he plays a brash attitude-laden intern, who evolves into a mature doctor as the serial unwinds.

Shilpa Kadam
Another fresh face from the world of commercials, Shilpa has been interacting with her doctor friends to pick up the finer nuances of acting like a medic. She's shorn her long tresses short to fit into the character of Simran Chopra, a naïve yet vain intern, who spends more time looking at her own reflection than at her patients. She has dabbled in television before - a few roles as anchor for Zee TV shows and appearances on Sabe TV's Dulhan and B4U's Club 10. An ex Ms Maharashtra, Shilpa too makes her major foray into the world of TV acting with Sanjivani. "I am not a bitch, but not a bimbo either", she says of her role.



Sanjeet Bedi
As Sanjeet Bedi, he is the hot-n-happening veejay of B4U. As Dr Omi Joshi in Sanjivani, he is the maverick medic, the square peg in the round hole. This actor who started out in theatre nearly six years ago with Lillette Dubey's group, loves to experiment with his looks to identify with the character he is playing. Apart from plays like On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, he has serials like Hip Hip Hurray and Maan on Channel Nine to his credit, making him the most experienced actor of the team. He does not follow any particular school of acting, follows his gut feel most of the time. Sanjeet has no plans of quitting B4U currently. "It's home to me", he says.




Gurdeep Kohli
She's not new to the small screen, having been the face of ICICI and Nivea soap in commercials. A commercial artist to boot, Gurdeep too has a theatre background - she has attended Nadira Babbar's acting workshops with Ekjute. Music videos like Pankaj Udhas' Kya Mujhse Dosti Karoge and several print media ads complete her portfolio thus far. Gurdeep plays Juhi Singh, a simple girl from Shimla determined to make it in the field of medicine in Mumbai. She has already crossed swords with the brash Rahul in the first episode, but her character, she promises, will bloom as the plot unfolds. Sanjivani is her debut serial too.


Mohnish Behl
He is the cohesive force binding the often wayward, impulsive interns together. Sanjivani is Mohnish Behl's debut on the small screen. Behl has been roped in to provide the star appeal, as the lead actors are novices. Sanjivani may just be the right vehicle for the actor as he gets to portray Dr Shashank Gupta, a senior doctor who goes around doing good even as his personal life lies in a shambles.