Shweta Tiwari News

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In a candid conversation, Shweta Tiwari (Prerna of Kasautii Zindagii Kay) talks of her definition of love and playing grandmother to seven girls in the serial

By: Kshama Rao

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THE print and the electronic media descended at a suburban studio (at the back of beyond in Saki Naka Andheri) on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon on the sets of Ekta Kapoor’s Kasautii Zindagii Kay.
Prime time prima donna Prerna was expected to meet them. The protagonist of the six year old show has just won yet another long jump television race (the show has leaped by 20 years once again) and Prerna is now grandmom.

Alas, even as the journalists waited patiently munching cold samosas and cups of tea, Madame T (that’s Shweta Tiwari) showed no signs of coming. After over an hour, the channel PROs (now visibly embarrassed) informed that the star is incommunicado. But no sweat, the seven grand daughters of Prerna and old guard Hiten Tejwani who’s just walked in, in bleached hair and golden brown lens, were available for interviews.
Not wanting to give up, we messaged Tiwari later in the evening. We tell her about how everyone waited to meet her and could she at least do a telephonic interview? And surprise, surprise, five minutes later, she calls up and chats right away.

Tiwari’s character post the gen-leap will that be of a tough disciplinarian. Having gone through a lot of heartache and betrayal, Prerna will now be “anti love. She’s not against men. She only wants her girls to be cautious. She doesn’t want them to interact with boys at all. Because if they do, then they will fall in love and love will only get them pain.”

What does Shweta think of love? “Love is selfless. Love is not sex. When attraction comes into play between a man and a woman, then it becomes lust,” she simply says.

The actress, who is married to her childhood sweetheart Raja Chaudhary, says she is in a permanent “state of in love. I keep falling in love all the time.” Before you rub your hands in glee expecting some masala, she says, “I love my unit, I love my friends, my daughter, my dog.”

Er, how about falling in love with a co-actor? “You mean, getting attracted to them? Then that’s not love, that’s lust. I told you in my definition — love is selfless, it’s caring for, getting concerned about the person you care for. It’s much more than being attracted to someone. And for attraction, I am attracted enough to Raja at home,” she chuckles.

But what about childhood crushes? “Yes, I have had those.” Is she demonstrative in love? “You tell me, from the way I am talking to you, what do you think? Yes, I am the demonstrative kind, the huggy-kissy type. I can be very loud in showing my love for my people. But I don’t mwah mwah just anyone. I can’t fake my feelings.”

Serendipity, Notting Hill and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge are her all time favourite romantic/love films. In the new scheme of things, Anurag Basu (Cezanne Khan) and Mr Bajaj (Rohit Roy) will not figure in Prerna’s life. Won’t she miss them? One could sense her facial muscles tighten as she says, “The only thing I would miss in Prerna is the excitement in her role, in her character and Ekta has assured me of that so there is no question of missing anyone else.”

Playing mom to children of her age was alright but a grandmom to seven girls? “I know. I kept asking Ekta how will I pull it off… I didn’t want anyone to call me dadi or nani on screen so she said, ‘Don’t worry, they will simply call you P.’ That’s better, no?”

She signs off on that note. And by the way she neither told us why she didn’t show up at the press conference nor offered an apology. Is that what you call a star?

www.mid-day.com

She smsed and told us that she won Fave Maa by the way. And she also danced to Saiyan re from Salaam e ishq but wasnt too happy with it as she was ill. Do leave get well soon messages for her; and let her know that her dance was terrific; its uploaded in the forums!

This week we try and figure out how Shewta Tiwari-Choudhary is different from Mrs.Prerna Bajaj.

On-Screen: Prerna Bajaj
Prerna Bajaj is the main protagonist of Kasautii Zindagi Kay. Earlier, she was married to her boyfriend Anurag Basu but thanks to the twist and turns, she becomes Mrs. Prerna Bajaj. The story revolves around Prerna and takes Kasauti of her every time. But she is like Tulsi and stands by the truth and fights for it. She has sent her own son-in-law-Sharad (Karan Singh) to jail because he raped her driver’s daughter Mukti (Tina Parekh). She is the ideal woman of Kasauti or as her son Prem calls her “Mother India.”

Off-Screen: Raja Chaudhary speaks on Shewta Tiwari
“She is altogether different. Prerna is more mature whereas Shewta is very childish. Earlier, I was amazed with the role of Prerna and I asked her whether she will be able to do this role properly or not. But I was wrong, she is a great actress. Her off-screen image of a mother is similar to that of Prerna as she is very close to our daughter– Palak. She can’t live without her. For her Palak is her life line.”

Does he watch Kasauti?
“Yes sometimes me and my daughter see the serial and in certain scenes, I even criticised her performance. But she convinced me that it was the requirement of the character and, in the end, she wont the argument.

What about your Bhojpuri film?
“Of course she is acting in it. The movie is called Hamar Saiyan Hindustani , which is ready for release next month. Her character name is Radha and it is completely different to Shewta. In real life, she is more practical and professional.

Not with my husband!

Apparently Shweta Tiwari created a ruckus when she saw her husband do an intimate scene with his heroine

Earlier we had Abhishek Bachchan objecting to his then-fiancee Ash getting into a lip-lock with Hrithik Roshan on screen in Dhoom 2. Now, we have Shweta Tiwari objecting to her husband.

Raja Chaudhary was getting passionate with his heroine Raina Mukherjee during a lovemaking scene for his film Kuch Khel Kuch Masti.

A source from the sets says, “Raja is paired opposite this new girl Raina Mukherjee. His wife Shweta visits the sets whenever possible. Once, during the shooting of an intimate scene between Raja and Raina, she got pretty upset and created a huge scene on the sets. There was chaos after that. She made her displeasure very clear, in loud words, and there was tension all round, on the sets. The shoot was stalled while Raja took her to a corner and tried to convince her about the scene.”

However, when contacted, Raja Chowdhury obviously had a different version of the same story. He said, “Yes there is this one song where I have very intimate scenes with the leading lady Raina. However, I told Shweta about it before, and she understood.”

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Television’s highest-paid actors

Ekta Kapoor’s feud with Smriti Irani has apparently gained momentum. The latest buzz is that Smriti left Balaji Telefilms because she wanted a hike in her salary.
A Mumbai tabloid reported that Smriti demanded Rs 300,000 per day, three times the amount she reportedly gets.

We decided to take a look at the highest-paid television actors today, and Smriti — even with her present pay — topped the list.

Name: Shweta Tiwari
Claim to Fame: Kasautii Zindagi Kay
Character: Prerna
Her fee, industry talk has it, is Rs 35,000 per day
This pretty commerce graduate from Mumbai’s Burhani’s College has won the adoration and applause of critics and fans alike as Prerna in Kasautii Zindagi Kay.

She has always believed in herself and been very vocal. Today, she finds it strange that most people know her more by her screen name than her real name. But after six years of screen time, we are not surprised.

S tar power is fuelling a new trend in the realty sector. Now, construction companies are roping in celebrities to build a strong brand image. And it’s not just filmstars, but cricketers, TV actors and even musicians have joined the “real estate” bandwagon as brand ambassadors. RUNNING CHARM So, if Yuvraj Singh hits it off with LVL City, S. Sreesanth runs ahead for the Kochi-based Mather Builders. The latest firm to take a “distinguished” route is Omaxe Ltd, which has signed up sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Amaan and Ayaan.

“Celebrity endorsements act like a never ending charm. If a celeb’s personality and the positioning of brand blend well, then it definitely creates a trigger point. But a star should not override the product or brand and must never be used as mere gimmick to gain instant publicity,” says Amitabh Bhattacharya, vice-president, Omaxe Limited. BUILDING TRUST In fact, property developers are reaching new heights to drive their growth rapidly. While Bollywood king Shah Rukh Khan dons a new role for DLF, Rahul Dravid bats for Skyline Housing and Construction Pvt. Ltd. Similarly, actress Preeti Jhangiani espouses LVL City and legendary Kapil Dev backs the Chadha Group.

“Shah Rukh suits our brand perfectly. People admire him and, most importantly, he is loved by masses as well as classes,” says Shalini Wadhwa of DLF.

“Celebrities bring a psychological advantage as their trust factor spills onto the company as well,” she adds. The company will soon air its new advertisement featuring SRK once its IPO gets a green signal. SOARING SALES Few months back, even Amitabh Bachchan could be seen inviting people to buy property at the hi-end resi dential township, Amby Valley outside Mumbai, by the Sahara Group. Newly-married actress Perizaad Zorabian too was the face of AEZ Group till recently. Telly star Shweta Tiwari, better-known as Prerna of Kasautii Zindagii Kay, also promoted Gaursons for a long time. But does the star power translate into heavy trade? “If the brand and celeb gel together, it surely augurs sales,” says Bhattacharya. “Our ad film with the Khans was an instant hit not only with the A/A+ target buyers, but also had a strong impact across various groups,” he informs.

CLUTTER BREAKER The perfect ambassador brings in two advantages for a brand. First, a celebrity gives the product greater recognition among the target audience since a large number of people know the person. Secondly, it gives the brand a personality to form a quick connect with the customer. Plus, it increases the brand acceptability in a major way. “Since all real estate ad campaigns look the same, celebrities are the best bet to break clutter. Then, it also helps a brand gain credibility and respect,” says Ashutosh Khanna, chief operating officer, Grey Worldwide. AGGRESSIVE MARKETING In fact, the property sector, largely seen as unprofessional and disorganised, is now trying to build a positive image. According to a study by AdEx India, there has been a rise of 65 per cent in print ad volumes of the sector in 2006.

Similarly, it saw nearly four times growth in ad volumes on television. During the same period, new entrants constituted 45 per cent of the real estate advertisers in print. “Realty sector has become fiercely competitive with its growing economy. And as a product, it also needs aggressive and scientific method of marketing,” says Siddhartha Mukherjee of TAM Media Research.

So, the next time you plan to buy a new home, pay heed to your superstar’s advice. Happy buying.

GLAMOUR QUOTIENT In 2006, superstar Shah Rukh Khan (endorsing DLF Group) had the maximum advertising share (35 per cent) followed by Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai (endorsing Amby Valley City) with 23 per cent and 21 per cent share respectively. And interestingly, Shweta Tiwari (Prerna) gave a tough fight to Bachchan bahu with 17 per cent share while Mona Singh, better-known as Jassi, had a three per cent share.