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.

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

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.

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.