ITV

Tag: Smita Jayakar

  • Slew of new soaps on DD Metro from today

    MUMBAI: It’s raining soaps on Doordarshan Metro. Four new shows -Deewar , Aane Wala Pal, Papa and Kinare Milte Nahin from the IPTV (Indraprastha Television Network) – Unitech Cinevista Limited stable will be launching on the channel over the next two days. 


    While Deewar and Aane Wala Pal debut in the afternoon slot today , Papa and Kinare Milte Nahin will air in the primetime slot, with the latter starting tomorrow at 9:30 pm.
    Deewar is a family saga which centers around a family feud and how it ultimately leads to a break up of family ties. The soap boasts of an impressive star cast with some well known actors like Alok Nath, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Mukesh Khanna , (late) Dilip Dhawan , Anju Mahendroo, Smita Jayakar and Archana Puran Singh to name a few. The soap has been written by Vinta Nanda of Tara fame , directed by Raman Kumar and produced by Vikas Jain and Sushant Chhabra. It airs Monday to Friday at 3:00 pm.


    Papa , another soap penned by Nanda, is based on the story of Vishal, a businessman who lives in a joint family where traditional values and customs reign high. However, everything goes awry when the family realises that he has an illegitimate 12 year old daughter. The series stars Kiran Kumar, Farha, Avtar Gill, Pankaj Berry and Suchitra Pillai among others. The series has been directed by Raman Kumar and airs from Monday to Friday at 9:00 pm.


    Aane Wala Pal, another daily soap begins with a murder mystery and centers around legal battles and relationships. It airs weekdays at 3:30 pm.
    Kinare Milte Nahin, a family drama with a romantic twist , is about two lovers, individuals who have distinct points of view. They choose to follow different paths, as a result of which their lives run on parallel tracks. The soap stars Shahbaaz Khan, Sudha Chandran, Bhairavi Raichuria and Nishigandha Wad, to name a few. It airs Tuesdays to Thursdays at 9:30 pm.

  • ‘Kashmeer’ to wind up earlier than scheduled

    MUMBAI: Kashmeer, the serial, which brought a whiff of fresh air into soap laden Star Plus is winding up in 17 episodes (on 8 May) instead of the scheduled 26. 
    A love story with militancy and terrorism as the backdrop, Kashmeer was launched with a lot of fanfare on 16 January at 9 pm. One of the mega shows launched by Star Plus at the beginning of this year, it has some well known Bollywood names like Farooq Shaikh, Suresh Oberoi, Salim Shah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Nirmal Pandey, Smita Jayakar, Lushin Dubey, Neelima Azim, Vineet Kumar, Vishal Singh, Ankur Nayar and Gul Panag among the cast.


    “We cut down on the number of episodes because we realised that the story could be wound up in 17 episodes. It is a start to finish series and since there was no story line or characters that we could work on, we reduced the series to 17 instead of the scheduled 26. It is primarily a tale of time, hence we didn’t want to stretch the series needlessly,” says Contiloe Films producer Abhimanyu Singh.
    The artistes, some of whom were apparently caught unawares by the announcement, have a different story to narrate though. Well known actor Smita Jayakar has lashed out saying, “I am really disappointed that the episodes have been cut down. We were told that the decision was taken because the channel felt that it was not getting the desired ratings.The serial has got rave reviews and a good response from the audience. If one remembers the so called saas bahu sagas on air also started out with modest TRPs, Kashmeer has definitely fared better. There should be a limit to channel interference….,” she said.
    Acclaimed actor Farooq Shaikh agrees. “We all put in our efforts to be part of something different, something significant and of value to our country instead of the same old dreary soaps and we are told that because it didn’t get the expected ratings its being cut down by nine episodes. It is indeed unfortunate,” says Shaikh.
    Gul Panag, however, doesn’t see it like that. “While signing the contract, we were told that the series could finish anywhere between 13 to 26 episodes. The serial has Bollywood greats like Suresh Oberoi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Nirmal Pandey to name a few, who cannot shell out time for a soap that would go on for two to three years. It is a call that the channel and production house have taken.”


    Thus, the bottom line is that like all good things, Kashmeer too, will come to an end. The only difference is that the end will come sooner than expected.

    Also read: 
    Star Plus unveils ‘Kashmeer’ next week 
    ‘Kashmeer’ – Guns and Roses 
    Big money riding on shows launching this month

  • Star cooks up new fare for January; revamps some existing shows

    Star cooks up new fare for January; revamps some existing shows

    MUMBAI : It’s turning over a new leaf with the new year and almost going against the grain. While some channels would prefer to tread cautiously and hold back launches until the World Cup ends, Star Plus is all geared up to launch at least six new shows. And to add to that it is also revamping some of its existing shows, throwing in some fizz into them.

    The new fare is a mixed bag and covers the genres of soaps, game shows, music shows and afternoon shows.

    Star’s reasoning it appears to be is that the channel has enough of cachet with audiences; cricket or no cricket they will tune into the leading satellite entertainment channel. And once they sample the new programming they are likely to like the taste and keep dropping by on the channel. Yes, they will view what the men on the field are doing for a large part of the day, but the housewife will not give up her daily fix of entertainment. This will work additionally in its favour for, as and when the cricket fever subsides, they will return and stay glued to Star, which will appear fresh and not stale. 

    Interestingly, four of Star’s new shows are slated for Fridays. Optimystix’s Kuch Kar Dikhana Hai, to be hosted by Hussain and Shonali Malhotra, will showcase ‘electrifying performances of newly discovered talent’ that could include acrobats and fire-eaters along with singers and dancers. 

    A weekly half hour show, Shararat, a UTV production, is a comedy that tracks the antics of three witches who are caught up in the tricky business of ordinary life. 

    Karishma ka Karishma, inspired by Small Wonder the Metromedia Producers Corp and 20th Century Fox Television production, has been made by Sunil Doshi Productions and will launch on 24 January, say sources. 

    Two mega scale one hour shows also take their bow on Star Plus shortly. Kashmeer, a Contiloe creation, is a saga of ‘love and hatred set in breathtakingly beautiful locales with the backdrop of militancy.’ Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Farouque Shaikh, Gul Panag and Smita Jayakar star in this one. 

    A Miditech production, Saara Akash is also set to debut shortly on Star Plus. The story revolves around a young flight lieutenant and three other officers in the Indian Air Force, two of whom fall in love with the same girl. 

    Dipti Bhatnagar, thus far restricted to making travel shows for the channel, has ventured into a daily afternoon soap, Kabhi Aaye Na Judai, that debuts on 27 January. It is the story of a happy united family that succumbs to the temptation that money brings and the disruption of the delicate balance of the family. Bhatnagar has preferred to stay behind the camera for this venture. 

    BAG Films’ that will end its Chalti Ka Naam Antakshari run on Star Plus come January, has readied another Sunday morning music show with Nausheen ‘Kkusum’ Aly Sardar as co-anchor. Hai Na Bolo Bolo, to premiere on 19 January will be an energetic Hindi film song-based game show, that will feature ‘never seen before sophisticated software that will be used to play rounds based on popular household games like rummy, antakshari, snakes and ladders and noughts and crosses’, says the channel. Karan Oberoi, part of A Band of Boys, co-hosts the show with Nausheen.

    The new year will also see the telecast of two recent Hindi films – the blockbuster hit Raaz and Love ke Liye Kucch bhi karega both of which will air in January 2003. Khullja Sim Sim, the Aman Verma hosted game show, has also received a shot in the arm with a revamped format, a bigger jackpot and rejigged rules. 

    The fare looks interesting, the menu well designed, now what’s left to be seen is if the dish turns out to be what the viewer has ordered.