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When television painted the town red…
It could have been any other party but the sheer camaraderie that flowed through the evening made the do hosted by Anu and Shashi Ranjan of The Indian Television Academy a memorable one indeed.
In what was the first big bash of the new year, the entire television fraternity came together for dual reasons – first, to celebrate the success of The 8th IDEA ITA Awards 2008-a BIG presentation,
as also to welcome the new year.
A complete winter affair, held by the poolside at the Sun ‘n’ Sand Hotel, the evening witnessed celebrities walking in till way past midnight. They all caught up with one another over starters and drinks before indulging in the sumptuous dinner delicacies like
sarson ka saag and makki di roti.
We certainly hope the great party proves to be a good omen for the year ahead…
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Of kites and laddoos…
‘Til gud ghyaa aani god god bola’…was the Sab TV team’s message on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
To celebrate the festival, the cast and crew of shows such as Jugni Chali Jalandhar, Main Kab Saas Banoongi and Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma, got together and indulged in light-hearted kite-flying and laddoo-making competitions at a club in Mumbai.
If on one hand, Baba Sehgal and Abhishek Awasthi fought a hard pitched battle in the sky, on the ground, the women got busy preparing lip-smacking laddoos. Spotted on the occasion were also Disha Vakani and Muskaan Mihani, among others.
All in all, a ‘different’ do, given the agenda of the celebration, the manner in which it was celebrated, as also the fun had.
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An evening of togetherness
Witty and Rajeev Anand celebrated their 21st anniversary in style at their grand Club Millenium. The well attended do had guests pouring in every now and then. One could see many couples walking hand in hand with their spouses, like Sudhanshu Pandey with wife Mona, Bhagyashree and Himalaya, Anu and Shashi Ranjan, along with many who were happily solo by themselves, including Mona Kapoor, Jaspinder Narula, Ranjeet, and Manish Goswami, among others. The party went on until quite late with sumptuous starters and drinks and everyone present sure seemed to be having a whale of a time.
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Rehab made me a new MAN’
In what is fast turning out to be an year of comebacks, small screen’s leading stars who’ve had us wondering what they’ve been up to, are returning to the arc lights with challenging roles across different genres of serials.
First in line is cricketer-turned-actor Salil Ankola. Salil left many gaping when one fine day, he quit Karam Apna Apna and checked into rehab for alcohol addiction. Six months on, he tells GR8! what makes him a survivor…
“Sir to shooting mein hain.” Now this is a common statement one hears when one calls up any actor. But it certainly piqued our curiosity to hear it on Salil Ankola’s mobile phone. For as a person who’d just come out of rehabilitation for alcohol addiction, we expected him to be resting at home, keeping away from the public eye, lying low… anything, but shooting!
When he unhesitatingly called us over to his place on his day off, we entered his house… and gaped! The pictures that we remembered of him just before he went into rehab were those of someone heavy and puffed up. But the good looking man in front of us was the Salil we remembered from his cricketing days. Thinner, toned and fit, it’s as if the bad years never existed.
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‘Male chauvinism will end when women stop putting up with it’
…says Shweta Tiwari, who returns to the reels of daily soaps as Aradhana, a lonely housewife in Jaane Kya Baat Hui.
Each time one sees Shweta Tiwari, she looks slimmer, younger and prettier than the last time. Similar was the case when GR8! caught up with her recently. Dressed in denims paired with a casual black top, Shweta could give any top model a run for her money.
“Except that I don’t believe in size zero. Actually, I don’t believe in exercise only. I’m very lazy and whenever I get the time, I much prefer sleeping. Dance is my only exercise,” points out Shweta.
Dance. The one passion Shweta truly nurtures. Thankfully for her, television too provides enough opportunities, what with events and reality shows. Soon, you’ll even see her turn host in the popular dance reality show – Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa.
For now however, her primary concern is her new daily – Jaane Kya Baat Hui, on Colors. When Shweta appeared as a discontent wife in the promo of this serial, it gave way to a lot of curiosity. But denying that the show is based on her real life story, she says, “This story is about Aradhana, who’s a housewife. There is nothing else in her life except looking after her home and family, while her husband has no time for her. Frankly, this story could be that of any Indian woman, 90 percent of women would be able to relate to it.”
Then talking about her character in the serial, she adds, “This character is certainly different from those I have played in the past. Mr Bajaj, Anurag and Prerna have died. The only thing similar to Kasautii Zindagi Kay here is that I will put in my 100 percent. Frankly, I waited this long for I was not getting any scripts, which did not resemble Kasautii… It was all the same, so much so that I would have preferred to do a negative role.”
As we get into a deeper discussion about the serial, the subject of man-woman relationship comes up. Stating her views on this, Shweta shares, “In any ideal relationship, love and respect have to be constant factors. Male chauvinism will end only when women stop putting up with it. There’s too much double standard thinking in our society, like while men can have female friends, women can’t have male friends. A modern woman is one who respects herself. Wearing short skirts and having a fast lifestyle doesn’t make one modern.”
Coming back to the serial, we ask her if we’ll see her rona-dhona in this serial too, and she lets out, “Arre, ro ro kar maine ghar bana liya, car kharid li. On a serious note, pain is a very strong emotion, and emotions are important to a story. Why else do you think Kasautii… went on for more than five years? In case of Jaane.., 5-6 saal ko toh pata nahin, par teen saal to kahin nahin gaye!”
Once again, Shweta will sport mostly Indian wear on the show. “I actually feel more comfortable in jeans and tee, but people like me better in traditional wear.” Any beauty secrets, we prompt her? “On my part, I apply malai on my face, drink lots of water, and remove make-up properly.”
As the interview draws to a close, we try and gauge if Shweta is willing to talk about Raja Choudhary. But mention the name and Shweta makes a show of walking off and then stops, signalling her thoughts on the matter in abundance. We get the hint, and bid her a goodbye…
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