Shweta Tiwari News

‘Kasauti…’ on Star takes another generation leap

New Delhi, May 6: Generation leaps seem to be the ”in thing” in television soaps, specially those from the stable of Balaji Telefilms.

Close on the heels of its contemporaries ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’ undergoing generation leaps for the second time ‘Kasauti Zindagi Kay’ is not far behind in trailing them.

The serial will take a 20-year leap with the tranformation of protagonist Prerna Bajaj, played by Shweta Tiwari, from an affectionate mother to a stern head of the Bajaj family.

In keeping with Prerna’s status as the stern matriarch of the Bajaj household, the producers have designed a unique look for her character.

In her new ‘avataar’, she will be seen sporting a ‘’simple but elegant look”, sources in the Star Plus revealed, adding that as a widow in the show, she will be seen draped in chiffon sarees with parsi work on it.

Keeping in line with her character, designer Nim Sood has used only pastel colours for her wardrobe which has been accentuated with bare minimum jewellery, they added.

”There is a very exclusive, but at the same time serene look given to her. Instead of the dangling earrings and colorful bangles, she will now be seen wearing antique jewellery studded with different kinds of semi-precious stones like emeralds and rubies along with a simple bangle,” the soucers said.

Overall, in this segment of the show, Prerna will be seen in a simple, refined yet elegant look,” they added.

Like all the previous shows undergoing generation leaps, the latest 20-year leap for ‘Kasauti…’, its second since the show began, is being seen as an attempt to add freshness to the show.

In this context, those in the Star Plus and Balaji Telefilms feel that aging of Prerna and going forward 20 years will bring in a breeze of newness to the show.

”In the West, weekly shows get seasonal breaks. But the commercial aspect here does not allow us to do the same. So, in order to keep a long drawn show interesting, we have to refurbish it from time to time,” producers of the serial said.

”We cover the entire cycle of a protagonist’s life, youth, middle age and old age, by adding newer dimensions to it from time to time. Also, the younger generation after a leap adds a new freshness and spice to the show,” the producers added.

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.

Shweta is eager to turn 60!

Tiwari has no qualms about playing the aging Prerna in the generation leap of the show ‘Kasautii Zindagii Kay’.

The show ‘Kasautii Zindagii Kay’ (Star Plus) is taking a generation leap soon and its protagonist Prerna, played by Shweta Tiwari, will age into a 60-year-old character. Interestingly, Shweta who has played Prerna for more than five years looks forward to her daily shoots.

She says, “Prerna’s character has had so many shades. There is so much to portray at every turn of events that I don’t feel bored.”

But now that ‘Kasautii’ is taking a leap; what is her take? “Generation leaps are a normal thing. We have taken one earlier too. It is essential for the story to move forward.

And no matter how much generation leaps may be criticised, people are watching it,” she asserts.

Talking about how much she relates to the character, Shweta says, “Only Ektaa (Kapoor, producer) and I understand Prerna well. Ektaa created the character and I have lived it. I know Prerna more than myself.” So has Prerna invaded Shweta’s personal space? “I don’t let that happen. As long as my make-up is on, I live Prerna’s life,” Shweta says.

Shweta hasn’t been taking up any other show. To that she says, “There is nothing new being offered on television. All serials look the same. I like to do different things.
Hence I did a few advertisements and did radio jockeying for some time. It was fun being an RJ. It’s amazing how you connect with people while you are being yourself.” She adds, “For now, apart from the leap in ‘Kasautii’ it’s the Bhojpuri film (produced by husband Raja Chaudhary) that I am looking forward to.”

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.”

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.

Actors of Kasautii Zindagi Kay are upset with Balaji Telefilms for being excluded from Ekta’s special three-in-one episode KAVITA SHYAM Kasautii Zindagii Kay, which is one of Balaji’s longest running show, has been left out of the 100-minute special show to be aired on March 26- 27. The special, which includes shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and the newly- launched Kayamath, will see all the characters from the respective shows interact with each other. The cast members of Kasautii… are upset about not being a part of the celebrations as the three shows are being promoted in a big way. Moonmoon, aka Sampada, says, “I cannot comment on what the channel and the production house have decided about the special episode. But, I am upset that Kasautii… is not a part of the special show. I would have obviously liked Kasautii… to be included in the celebrations as I believe that Kasautii… is Balaji’s best show.” A source from the unit of Kasautii… informs, “Shweta Tiwari aka Prerna is upset about not being a part of the special show despite being a Balaji loyalist for over five years. She is no less popular than Smriti Irani (Tulsi from Kyunki… ) or Sakshi Tanwar (Parvati from Kahaani…). So, why is the show or the actors not a part of the celebrations? It’s very natural that the Kasauti… actors are dejected.” Shweta Tiwari was unavailable for comment. Commenting on why Kasauti… was not included in the special show, Nivedita Basu, Deputy senior creative director of Balaji says, “Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kayamath are from the same time slot. These shows run back-to-back on the channel. We only select shows that belong to the same time slot for special episodes. Also Kasautii Zindagi Kay and Karam Apna Apna had a similar special show few months back. So there is no reason why Kasautii Zindagi Kay’s actors should feel bad about not being a part of the recent special show.”

Late latif Shweta.

The buzz goes that apni Shweta Tiwari aka Prerna Bajaj of Kasauti Zindagi kay has got into a habit of always reporting late on the sets. A colleague on condition of anonymity says, ” the day I have to shoot with Shweta, I purposely come in late. There’s no point reporting early and I’ve to sit twiddling my thumb there.”

But then doesn’t Balaji have a policy of punishing late comers with a fee cut? It seems Shweta plays smart and refuses to shoot until her cut is restored and the production people give in to her demands. Looks like Balaji does not want to antagonize Shweta for her character is too deeply etched in public mind.

Well, well Kasauti has just lost Cezanne, and now they cannot afford to lose Shweta too.

Shweta Tiwari, who has become synonymous with the name Prerna post her association with super successful soap opera KASAUTI ZINDAGI KAY, will soon be making her Bhojpuri debut.

Titled ‘Saiyyan Hamar Hindustani’, the film stars Shweta opposite Ravi Kissen. Her real life husband Raja Chaudhary plays the main villain in the film.

In ‘Saiyyan Hamar Hindustani’, Shweta plays Radha, who falls in love with Suraj [Ravi Kissen], a poor musician who loves to play guitar. Raja is the negative character who tries to create problems between Radha and Suraj and creates a havoc in their life. The film would be releasing this March.