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Though she's been in this industry for quite some time, Pooja Ghai has been discussed more for the controversies hounding her. First it was her split with hubby Niraj Rawal, then her alleged affair with Vikas Kalantri and now it's her ouster from Star One's, Viraasat (wherein she essays Aman Verma's wife).

To clear the air, Prashant Golecha meets up with this actor and what came across was a forthright lady who didn't mince words.

The buzz is that you wont be a part of Viraasat anymore?
Yes, I have quit Virasaat. There were dates issues. I have an event coming up on 24th March backed by my production house, White Leaf. I need to now focus on my new venture, so I wanted to leave the show. But the production house couldn't accommodate my dates,so I have conveyed it to them to hunt for a replacement.

So post Viraasat, it'll be just one show, Jeete Hain Jis Ke Liye (Sony) in your kitty?
Currently I'm some how managing both my shows. As far as Jeete Hain goes, my role will eventually end.

What about the future plans of your production house which you have started with Vikas Kalantri?
I always keen about getting into production and Vikas had similar plans. That's how the partnership happened. Right now we have launched a national hunt for the lead girl of Nayee Padosan 2 (sequel to Kalantri's original film). We'll groom ten short listed girls for the grand finale, which is on the 24th march. Top names from the industry will judge them and the winner will star in the film. Our company has done the entire conceptualization and execution of the event.

Will you act in your own production?
No as of now but I am open to the idea if a good role comes across.

Does this mean that acting on TV takes a backseat?
It all depends upon the work and involvement required in the project our production house under takes.

Talking about your personal life, is your divorce through?
No the proceedings are on.

Aren't you seeing Vikas Kalantri?
It is definitely not true, It's up to people to think what they want to, I am not bothered. We are just good friends and that's how we have come together professionally for our production house.

Who takes care of your son?
My mother Veena Ghai is taking best care of my son Raaj, whose six years old.

http://www.tellychakkar.com/y2k7/mar/20mar/interview_pooja.p hp

Tomorrow (22nd March) is actor Maninee De's birthday. This spunky actor is not known to throw parties or celebrate it on the sets as she believes, "Birthdays no longer have the charm they used to earlier. Or probably I have grown too old to celebrate them," rues this Arian.

So, what are her plans for tomorrow? "I have taken an off from shooting and will go to Shirdi with my husband and daughter. I want to be with Baba and seek his blessings," says Maninee.

It is learnt that every year on her birthday she feeds the orphans and the aged
from an old age home, to which she reluctantly admits, "I don't want to speak about it. On my daughter Dianoor's and my birthday, it has been our tradition to feed the needy. I would rather give the money to the poor than waste it on parties." That's what she intends to do this year too but at Shirdi.

She is presently acting in Sony's Jeete Hain Jiske Liye as the youngest daughter of Dhanrajgir family, a social butterfly with dual sexuality. Another show which she is thrilled about is Dhano Bole Tho because it appears on the news channel, Aaj Tak, and she gets to play herself, which according to her is, "a very tongue-in-cheek show where I interview celebs - it's a take-off on everyone, in jest of course. It's totally irreverent and fun." Has any actor taken offence? "Not so far," says Maninee impishly, "though I ask embarrassing questions sometimes."

She has not been seen in any movie after the supet hit Krrish where she was the heroine Priyanka Chopra's best friend. "There is something in the pipeline, but let me sign on the dotted lines before I speak on it," says the vivacious Maninee.

We wish Maninee, 'A happy and wish-fulfilling birthday!'

http://www.tellychakkar.com/y2k7/mar/21mar/news_mani.php

The Deeya-Tony Singh serial Jeete Hain Jiske Liye on Sony TV is slated for an interesting track change. Probably this is where the story of orphan Anjali (Renuka Shahane) begins.

Anjali realizes that her cocooned and blissfully happy existence is slowly and steadily being intruded by a stranger. There is someone trying to take Aman (Ayub Khan) away from her. A scared and depressed Anjali finds herself in the most unusual situation. Anjali, who believed that she would live happily ever after with her husband Aman and his family, finds out that there is another woman in Aman's life.

Meanwhile there is a grand wedding anniversary party being organized for Aman and Anjali. The entire Dhanrajgir family leaves for an exotic island far, far from the hustle bustle of the city and their busy lives. It is here that she decides to confront Aman in a last ditch effort to save her marriage. The entire Dhanrajgir family reach Marovi all set to celebrate the wedding anniversary. It is here that Anjali finds out that the other woman is none other than her sister-in-law Avni (Pooja Ghai) and she realizes that it was she who was threatening her all along.

In a blind fury Anjali confronts Avni and threatens her with dire consequences in the presence of the entire family. That same night Avni invites Anjali to her room. She tells Anjali that she has a special gift for her -- that is Aman's illegitimate child. A devastated Anjali rushes to find out the truth from Avni … only to find Avni in a pool of blood … Dead!

In the commotion that follows, the entire family rushes in to see Anjali standing over Avni's limp body with the murder weapon in her hand. They cannot believe that Anjali could carry out her threat. Anjali, on her part, is equally devastated that the family she so dearly loved and nurtured could without even giving a thought accuse her of the heinous crime… the murder of her own pregnant sister-in-law.

The police arrive and Anjali is arrested. The trial begins in court and Anjali witnesses' one of the worst betrayals of her life. The only family, the orphan Anjali has ever known turns against her in a shocking turn of events. Anjali's pleas of innocence are drowned in the din of lies, intrigue and family politics. She is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. But Destiny has other plans for her. Anjali discovers she is pregnant.

Looks like the story is going to be interesting to watch as the suspense mounts about Avni's the real murderer..

Murder and Mayhem on Jeete Hain Jiske Liiye

MUMBAI: Anjali realizes that her cocooned and blissfully happy existence is slowly and steadily being intruded by a stranger. There is someone trying to take Aman away from her. A scared and depressed Anjali finds herself in the most unusual situation. Anjali, who believed that she would live happily ever after with her husband Aman and his family, finds out that there is another woman in Aman's life.

Meanwhile there is a grand wedding anniversary party being organized for Aman & Anjali. The entire Dhanrajgir family leaves for an exotic island far, far from the hustle bustle of the city and their busy lives. It is here that she decides to confront Aman in a last ditch effort to save her marriage. The entire Dhanrajgir family reach Marovi all set to celebrate the wedding anniversary. It is here that Anjali finds out that the other woman is none other than her sister-in-law Avni and she realizes that it was she who was threatening her all along.

In a blind fury Anjali confronts Avni and threatens her with dire consequences in the presence of the entire family. That same night Avni invites Anjali to her room. She tells Anjali that she has a special gift for her -- that is Aman's illegitimate child. A devastated Anjali rushes to find out the truth from Avni … only to find Avni in a pool of blood … Dead!

In the commotion that follows, the entire family rushes in to see Anjali standing over Avni's limp body with the murder weapon in her hand. They cannot believe that Anjali could carry out her threat. Anjali, on her part, is equally devastated that the family she so dearly loved and nurtured could without even giving a thought accuse her of the heinous crime… the murder of her own pregnant sister-in-law.

The police arrive and Anjali is arrested. The trial begins in court and Anjali witnesses' one of the worst betrayals of her life. The only family, the orphan Anjali has ever known turns against her in a shocking turn of events. Anjali's pleas of innocence are drowned in the din of lies, intrigue and family politics. She is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. But Destiny has other plans for her. Anjali discovers she is pregnant.

Shock, drama, confrontation, murder and trial. All that and more from Monday 26th March to April 2nd, at 10.30 p.m, on Jeete Hain Jiske Liiye only on Sony Entertainment Television.

http://www.indiantelevision.com/release/y2k7/mar/marrel50.ph p

He started his career a decade and half ago with Dekh Bhai Dekh, one of the best sitcoms ever made on Indian television till date. No wonder his debut show is his favourite among all the shows Vishal Singh has done during his 15-year-long career on television. His second favourite is Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin that featured him as a romantic hero of a mushy love story. Incidentally both the shows were weeklies. However, with weeklies having been replaced by dailies on weekday prime time the actor, though not too happy with the pace and working conditions of dailies, has decided to go with the flow.

"I prefer doing weeklies because the pace and manner of story telling is better with only a few main characters minus the myriad sub-plots and too many supporting characters," says Vishal, adding, "though there is not much difference between the plots of weeklies and dailies, the narration is quite different. Also you tend to work more in less time in dailies that affects the performance somewhere." He feels an actor has no choice but to work in dailies because viewers and channels want them. "It is stressful but I am going with the flow," says Vishal who has never taken a long break from television.

"I have not done too many serials. But I have been selective and have done some good shows like Lipstick, Astitva, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na, Kashmeer and Ek Ladki Anjani Si."

Between drama and comedy, Vishal's personal favourite is the comedy genre. "I enjoy doing comedy. But there is no comparison between drama and comedy because both are different genres and have their own demands. Most actors find comedy difficult because it demands great sense of timing and energy. But I don't think crying is easy too, despite the glycerin. It is not easy to do intense emotional and highly dramatic scenes. They drain you off completely at the end of the day," says Vishal who is currently doing two dailies which require him to do highly emotional and dramatic scenes on a daily basis 25 days in a month.

In Jeete Hain Jiske Liye he plays Aman's younger sibling Ashmit who had a strained relationship with his brother because of their aunt Adira. "Adira kept the two brothers at a distance because she wanted to claim the family business and property," he says. With Anjali having brokered truce between the two estranged brothers Ashmit's return is all set to cause mayhem in the Dhanraj family, thanks to Ashmit's wife Avni who had an affair with Aman before she married Ashmit. "The story is set for an interesting take off. Of course the serial is essentially Anjali's story but all the characters are interrelated to the main drama," he elaborates.

Bhabhi is the other daily he is occupied with. "It's again an interesting role and currently the character I am playing is locked in a love triangle involving Suhana and Nihaal," says Vishaal who plays Dr. Dev in the show. "The character has an interesting past and currently the story is exploring his past conflict with his mother."

Though he finds dailies stressful he has a way of distressing himself. "I hang out with friends. Go for movies and short holidays," says Vishal who loves sea and beaches. "Sea and beaches help me come out of stress and emotional fatigue."

http://www.deccan.com/TV%20Guide/TV%20GuideDescription.asp#S ea,%20beaches%20help%20me%20deal%20with%20stress

Tagline: Let's catch some funsters from Tellywood who have fooled others or have been fooled!

April 1st is also known as All Fool's Day in the west. Shenanigans performed on April Fool's Day vary from the plain, (such as saying, "there's a fly in your teacup!"), to the highly schemed pranks. Setting a roommate's alarm clock back an hour is a common gag. Whatever the tomfoolery, the prankster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, "April Fool!"

It's common to play practical jokes on April Fool's Day. Sometimes, detailed matter-of-fact jokes are played on friends or relatives that last the whole day. One must remember that April Fool's Day is a 'for-fun-only' celebration with no offence meant.

Gita Hari catches some funsters from Tellywood who have had a good laugh at other's cost. And not to forget, at times they too have been the butt of jokes.

Mrinal Kulkarni In my college days in Pune, we friends were in the habit of going trekking in the hills nearby. During the time I had fallen in love with the man whom I eventually married, we wanted to be left to ourselves. On April Fool's Day, we (my husband asked the boys and I asked the girls) asked the rest of the gang to meet us at Sinhagad Fort. They landed up there but both of us went to a secluded place elsewhere.

On me being fooled, I think I am too smart to be fooled. It's all in good humour as one of our friends' birthday falls on April 1st and either we play a prank on him or sometimes he does the same with us by inviting us for a party at some restaurant and not turning up.

Suresh Menon I think the biggest April Fool's joke is on us, played by Team India not even making it to the first eight series. Next is Abhishek Bachchan and Ash's wedding, wasting reems of column space in the media.

When I was in school, my brother fooled me by telling me that the report was due that day (April 1st) and that I had failed in 4 subjects. I was scared out of my wits and sat waiting for the postman when he said that results were still a week ahead.

As for me, it happened recently on the sets of Kaun Banega Champu for Sahara One. I was having Thums Up from a glass and the assistant director thought I was boozing. I went with the flow and pretended to be drunk. It was fun to see his expressions. Even otherwise, it's a fool's day almost everyday on the sets.

Sushmita Daan My co-stars in the CID Special Bureau on Sony all teamed up against me when I was new to the show. Sachin Sharma made calls to me and said he was an ardent fan of mine (Mithi of Saans) and that wanted to marry me, blah…blah. He kept sending me sms and I told everyone in the cast without knowing they were the ones who planned it. I was about to complain when they revealed and I was on the verge of tears.

The reverse happened when Sharad Kelkar joined our show. He did not have my cell number, so we decided to fool him by saying I was in love with him, etc. etc. and he said he was already seeing someone (Keerti) and that I should not call him up. Later when he came to know, we all had a good laugh.

Anoop Soni I have learnt to be a prankster from Ajay Devgan when I worked with him in Gangaajal. When I was shooting for Remix, my present house at Oshiwara was being done up and I stayed at Yari Raod. The cast knew about it and on Food's Day, I invited them over for a house-warming party to the new house, when actually it was in the renovation stage. All the young kids of Remix had great regards for me and they promised to be there after their shoot, even if it was late. My wife Ritu was against this prank.

But around 10.30pm, Shweta Gulati called me up and said she had just returned from her shoot and was it ok if she came in a bit late. Then Ritu got upset with me and I called up everyone and said it was just an April Fool's joke.

No, fortunately, I have not been the victim of anyone's fooling so far.

Shilpa Shinde When I was in college, a friend we knew was going around with someone invited us for her wedding on that day. She even went to the extent of printing a dozen invitation cards. We landed at the venue all decked up only to find nothing was happening there. Of course we were all very angry but then we realized it was done masti mein because it April 1st.

This year I am planning to do something but I will reveal after it's over with.

Ashiesh Roy This year I have been fooled in advance - Munisha Khatwani smsed me yesterday saying that the Indian cricket team has been qualified for Super 8 of the World Cup, since another country's players have failed the doping test and that I should tune in to a particular channel. I was so excited that I didn't scroll down to the bottom of the sms, dropped everything and spent two foolish hours surfing every news channel.

And of all the Fools' Day gags I have played over the years, my favourite ones remain substituting vinegar for water, white glue for milk and dog pee for perfumes.

http://us.tellychakkar.com/y2k7/mar/31mar/feature_fool.php