Ekta Kapoor’s trade tricks

The kasauti for Kasautii Zindagii Kay

Ekta Kapoor may be hoping that Urvashi Dholakia’s Komolika character will help boost the TRPs of Kasautii Zindagii Kay . Komolika is back on the show after one year.
The issue is not the women but men. Audiences want the men – Ronit Roy and Cezanne Khan back on the show. Ronit, Ekta may still be able to bring back through some bizzare twist, but Cezanne won’t be back, considering he was the one to opt out of the show.

31 August

Prerna, Bajaj and Anurag are Bhutanese heart-throbs

Prerna, Bajaj of ‘Kasautii…’ are Bhutanese heartthrobs

Syed Zarir Hussain, Namseling (Bhutan), June 17: The skyline was afire with tints of red and gold with the sun beginning to set over the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Middle-aged Lily Tashi and her two sisters-in-law were busy, their hands in full flow, sowing paddy in this village on the outskirts of capital Thimphu.

The clock was ticking and the three women were getting restless to get back home.

“What will happen to Ap Baja?” asked one. “Will Am Pena and Anura come together as a couple again?” wondered another before the three hurried back home with bamboo baskets slung over their backs.

Guess who Ap Baja, Am Pena and Anura are? Ap Baja (Ap means Mr in Bhutan) is none other than Mr Bajaj (Ronit Roy) of the popular Indian soap “Kasautii Zindagii Kay” telecast on Star TV, Am Pena (Am means Ms in Bhutan) is Prerna (Shweta Tiwari), and Anura is Anurag (Cezanne Khan).

Speaking just a smattering of Hindi, the three Bhutanese women – their national language is Dzongkha – pronounce Prerna as Pena and Bajaj as Baja – but that doesn’t deter them from following the serial.

“For us, ‘Kasautii…’ is almost a religion – we have been following the serial for years and have never missed it,” Tashi said.

“I have just about two hours to complete all my household chores – freshening up, cooking and other things – before I get to be in front of the TV.”

Such is the craze for Prerna and Bajaj that any Hollywood or Bollywood actor would be put to shame in this Land of the Thunder Dragon of 700,000 people.

“Demi Moore, Cameron Diaz, Priyanka Chopra, or even John Abraham would go unnoticed, but if Prerna or Bajaj or Anurag happen to come to Bhutan they would surely be mobbed!” said Pema Rinzin, a well-known Bhutanese filmmaker.

The popularity of the Hindi soaps has its flipside – the timings of the serials have led to several family discords, even triggering a divorce.

“I have two TV sets at home and by 9 p.m. (Bhutan time is half-an-hour ahead of the Indian Standard Time) both the sets are blocked – my wife watches ‘Kasautii Zindagii Kay’ and my teenaged daughter loves watching ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV,” Rinzin said.

“I catch up with world news on TV only in the mornings and often have to miss football matches at night.”

In 2002, a couple in Mongar village fought over a World Cup soccer match and a Hindi soap as there was only one TV set at home and different tastes to cater to.

“The fight reached such a stage that the husband in a rage pushed his wife, leading to a fractured arm. The two later got divorced,” Sherub Gyaltshen, general secretary of the Motion Picture Association of Bhutan, told IANS.

It’s not just the women who are crazy about Hindi TV soaps – a village council meeting that was to discuss urgent local issues was adjourned because many of the male members pleaded with the headman to stop the proceedings when it was time for “Kasautii Zindagii Kay”.

“If someone casts Prerna in one of the Bhutanese language movies it would surely be a hit because she is so popular in the towns and suburbs of Bhutan,” said Dorji Wangchuk, an award winning documentary filmmaker and vice president of the association.

(Syed Zarir Hussain can be contacted at zarirhussain@yahoo.com)

— IANS

18 June

shweta rubbishes rumours of secret marriage to cezanne

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Shweta Tiwari Article

7 May

Cezanne Out at Last – the hunt is on for a new Prerna

Out… at last!

Cezanne Khan is finally out of Kasautii Zindagii Kay.Men will be marginalised in the show now. And yes, Sweta Tiwari will play a character similar to Big B’s in Mohabbatein!

SUBHASH K JHA

Last Monday Cezanne Khan’s character was finally bumped off on the long-running Kasautii Zindagii Kay, after weeks of dilly-dallying. Says a source at Balaji, “Like Iqbal Khan, Cezanne is hoping for better prospects. He thinks he has a movie career waiting for him. So, without a single offer from films Cezanne decided to quit.” Without commenting on reasons for Cezanne’s departure from Kasautii…, Ekta Kapoor says, “I didn’t really need him on the show any more. Ronit Roy too will take a break. The men will now be marginalised on Kasautii… Prerna (Shweta Tiwari) will be setting up a gurukul. After Anurag’s death Prerna will now be up against men.”
Prerna’s character will replicate Amitabh Bachchan in Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein. Reveals Ekta, “Prerna has seven grand-daughters and she runs a gurukul where men aren’t allowed. And the girls aren’t allowed to meets boys. Prerna has brought them up without the presence of the opposite sex.”
The hunt is on for a new Prerna. “She’ll be the eldest grand daughter. We’re casting for Kasautii Ki Nayi Prerna.”
Ekta is all praise for Sweta Tiwari. “She’s so young and she looks like a Vogue model. She’s drop-dead gorgeous. And she isn’t afraid of playing a grandmother.”

24 April

Kasauti Leaps Yet Again!

NO grey matter: Prerna (Shweta Tiwari) as she will be seen post Kasautii’s leap
On April 30, Balaji’s long-running Kasautii Zindagii Kay on Star Plus will take yet another generation leap.

We bring you some exclusive snippets on what to expect in the coming days.

Storyline

The episode begins with Prerna’s introduction at the Kumbh Mela.

After 20 years, Prerna has changed completely. She does not believe in love anymore because love has only caused her pain.

So she has set up a Gurukul college where, along with other students, her eight grandchildren study.

Her eight grandchildren consist of seven girls and one boy.
The eldest grandchild is Sneha and Omy’s child.

She will play a very important character in the show and will take on the mantle from Prerna.

Prerna does not want the concept of love to enter her Gurukul ever. The walls of the college are high for them so that nobody can interact with the outside world.

Hiten Tejwani makes his entry into Kasautii post the generation leap. His character’s name is Abhishek Bhattacharya.

Pre-gen leap

On April 19, the shootout sequence of Anurag Basu (Cezanne Khan) was shot with snowfall at a place in Panchmeshwar.

This episode went on air on Akshay Tritiya, which according to astrology is the beginning of a yug.

When anything that begins on this day does not end, this becomes the catalyst for the generation leap. Incidentally, Cezanne will no longer feature in the soap.

It is learnt that he will soon be taking up a Pakistani serial.

22 April

Kasautii UNO ki

Sanjit Bedi, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Shweta Tiwari and Ronit Roy have found a unique way to spend time in between shooting on the sets of Kasautii Zindagi Kay.

The actors have become hooked to the game of UNO. Sources report these actors have become addicted and they all look forward to the game, between shots.

UNO is one of the world’s most popular family card games, with rules easy enough for kids, but challenges and excitement enough for all ages.The custom deck consists of cards of 4 suits (colours): red, green, blue, and yellow.

The ranks in each suit are 0-9. There are 3 “honor” cards in each suit, labelled “skip”, “draw two”, and “reverse”.

There are special black cards, “wild” and “wild draw four”. Each player is dealt 7 cards with the remaining ones placed face down to form a “draw” pile.

The top card of the draw pile is turned over to begin a “discard” pile. The first player has to match the card in the discard pile either by number, colour or word.

For example, if the card is a red 7, player must throw down a red card or any colour 7. Or the player can throw down a Wild Card. If the player doesn’t have anything to match, he must pick a card from the draw pile.

If he can’t play what is drawn, play moves to the next person. When you have one card left, you must yell “UNO” (meaning one).

Failure to do this results in you having to pick two cards from the draw pile. That is, of course, if you get caught by the other players. The first player who has no cards left is the winner.

3 March

A revamped Kasauti…

Now it’s time for Prerna and Mr. Bajaj’s makeover.

Kasauti Zindagi Kay is taking a leap of 20 years once again. This will be the fourth leap of the show. The buzz is that Prerna (Shweta Tiwari) and Mr Bajaj (Ronit Roy)’s makeover will happen soon. The serial will take a leap after a month. Right now the story’s focus is on Sneha (Jennifer Winset) and Omi’s (Shabbir Ahluwalia) marriage which is happening in the palace of Jaipur. Here, Prerna’s past is going to catch up on her as Omi’s masi (Navnit Nishan) who knows everything about Prerna’s past and that includes Rana Pratap Singh (Vinay Jain), has deliberately taken Basu and Bajaj families to Jaipur to witness the drama unfolding.

Once this storm blows over though, Prerna and Bajaj will go through a makeover, informs a Balaji source. Neither of the two actors have been officially told about this though.

Shweta says: “We have also heard about it. But Balaji people have not yet informed us yet as they want to maintain secrecy. First we’ll have a meeting with our creative head and then with the costume designer and with the hair stylist. I think at least for a month this track of Prerna’s past will continue. Maybe by March end or in April we’ll take a leap. My Bhojpuri film shooting finishes in 20 days so if my look changes after that, no issues. There will not be any problem with my other assignments. Before the makeover a major drama is going to happen in the show. But in Kasauti, frankly speaking, nobody knows what is going to happen next. Normally we come here and shoot according to what the director and scriptwriter tells us. ”

Ronit Roy, whose film career got a major resurrection thanks to his super portrayal of Mr Bajaj, says: “I have also heard about the makeover and we’ll soon have a meeting on this very soon. Apart from this I don’t know anything. Once I know what I look like after the makeover, I’ll see how I’m going to handle my other projects.”

Kasauti’ first leap: 5 years. A young college-going Prerna must have reached her early twenties with this leap.

Kasauti’ second leap: 8 years: Prerna touches 30 at least with this leap.

Kasauti’s third leap: 20 years: Prerna should be in her 50s…this is where the serial is now and has been for the last one and a half years.

Kasauti’s fourth leap: 20 years. With this leap, Prerna’s age would roughly be around 60 years and Bajaj, even older. So will we see a graying, toothless Prerna and a bald Bajaj?

Not a chance, we’re sure.

What is Shweta Tiwari’s real age?
When Sweta started the serial, she was already married and a mother. Five years on, she has hardly aged. Maybe real and reel life are not too different after all.

27 February

Ronit-Shweta- Love’s labour lost

Valentine’s Day is a day of and for lovers – an occasion when affection, love, care, fondness….is openly exhibited. But what about those individuals who harbour reverse feelings for someone, who just can’t get along with each other?Let’s have look at those television celebs who simply aren’t eligible to go on a date on V-Day!
Shweta Tiwari – Ronit Roy:

This hit on screen jodi, in spite of being associated with each other since donkey’s years for Kasautii…., have mostly made news for their squabbles off screen. Shweta and Ronit have locked horns on many an issues. For instance, during a holi scene Roy stuffed her mouth and ears with gulal and a vexed Shweta pushed him. There have also been times when she was made to wait for hours till Ronit rehearsed. And so all the credit goes to their acting skills due to which this duo can conceal their real life not-so-happening chemistry.
Rajeev Khandelwal – Ekta Kapoor

He was the best thing to have happened to Balaji Telefilms almost three years back. And the effect was vice-versa. Overnight Rajeev became a sensation and his show Kahin To Hoga enjoyed a good spell at the TRPs. But then, started the constant clashes due to his interference with the script, especially the way his character was shaping up. But Ekta being Ekta, did not budge and showed Rajeev the door. Result: Casualty to his stardom and the show’s ratings! Now with Rajeev trying to get into her camp by giving statements, “I don’t mind working with Ekta”, you never know if his status of being Ekta’s blue-eyed-boy will be retrieved.
Eijaz Khan – Sanjeeda

Known for his reserved temperament, Eijaz shared cold vibes with his co-actor Sanjeeda during the days of Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka. He’s even stormed out of the sets when Sanjeeda got officious during his rehearsals. In fact, Khan went on record to quote, “I wouldn’t like to comment on unimportant people and unimportant issues.” But now as the only link (Nimmo) that bonded them is no longer in being, Eijaz and Sanjeeda are breathing easy.

Aamna Shariff – Gurpreet Singh

Imagine being accused of ruining someone’s career! Yes, gossip mills have been churning tales that Gurpreet (Sujal – Part 2 of Kahin To Hoga) impeached his co-star Aamna with this blame. On the other hand, insiders believe that Aamna couldn’t stand him for replacing Rajeev (her original Sujal). So fireworks were bound to happen. But now as its curtains for this long running show, we doubt if we’ll ever get to see this pairing on screen again!

Bobby Darling – Salil Ankola

Now this is a casting coup of sorts. If one has been following Sony’s Bigg Boss, it can be recalled how Bobby was snubbed by the handsome Ankola for his gender. Not only was this ‘woman trapped in the man’s body’ royally ignored by Salil, Bobby was also hurled with sarcastic remarks! And what happened next was the very obvious melodrama by Bobby which didn’t last long as Salil soon had to leave BB due to his contractual commitments. One wonders, if his stay had been prolonged, this friction would have definitely set the BB’s house on fire!

Posted by anishma24 in Co-Stars, Ronit Roy - Comments (4)
13 February

shweta-most promising actor of 2007


2 January

Five years on, Cezanne and Shweta still aren’t talking!

Five years on, Cezanne and Shweta still aren’t talking!

So how do they manage to romance on screen? BT asks Shweta Tiwari

SUBHASH K JHA

Shweta Tiwari stunned the nation by announcing that her husband
had taken ill and that she’d be dancing alone on Star One Nach
Baliye. “I don’t even want to remember the nightmare of the past
week. It was a hard decision,” she says after the brave and enforced
solo performance. “But I had no choice.”
Reliving the nightmare of suddenly going solo, Shweta says, “When
my husband was detected with a lever abcess, we were shattered. It
started suddenly with a back pain. He couldn’t stand properly. No
medication worked. Our shoot was on Wednesday. On Monday morning he
was in acute pain. That’s when he was diagnosed with a liver abcess.
We kept hoping he’d okay by Wednesday. But it was impossible… It was
very upsetting. Though my choreographer danced instead of my
husband, we both missed him. It was upsetting, but when everyone
said I had won the contest by going there and dancing on behalf of
both me and my husband, I felt better.”
She recalls the gruelling hours of rehearsal for Nach
Baliye. “I’d shoot for my serial
Kasauti Zindagi Kay on Star Plus, from 9 am to 9 pm and from 9 pm to
4 am, I’d rehearse for Nach Baliye. Though I am not a trained
dancer, I love dancing. Until Nach Baliye, I never knew my husband
liked dancing. Poor guy! He worked so hard to keep up with me. He
rehearsed so hard for this week’s episode. And then he couldn’t
perform.”
Shweta’s five-year-old innings on Kasauti… shows no sign of
waning although she doesn’t get along with her co-star Cezanne Khan.
About her mythic animosity with Cezanne, Shweta says, “We don’t get
along, that’s it. It often happens in work places. We’d argue and
fight. I thought it better to keep away completely. We don’t talk to
each other at all. But on camera we’re professional.”

24 November