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'My USP is sincerity'

She is best remembered for playing the no-nonsense character of Bindiya in Chak De India. Even after having delivered strong performances in Khamosh Paani and Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi, it was the SRK film that brought her into the limelight. While cinema is her biggest love, Shilpa Shukla is happy to try out something new on television. She is excited about her debut on TV with two shows — Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and Rajuben.

"I like to go through a process where I pick up new skills. After doing an intense film like Kala Paani I did Chak De where besides acting I learnt hockey. After that I went through a long break because the kind of roles I was offered were not exciting enough till Season's Greetings and Mumbai Mast Kalander came my way. Jhalak is again an interesting show where I am going to learn dance and perform live. Rajuben is an intense underworld drama. Both Jhalak and Rajuben complement each other," she explains.

She admits that Jhalak is a difficult show. "I have been practicing for over a month now and have picked up steps quite well. I think your job becomes easy when you do what you like to do," she adds. Even then Shilpa says Jhalak is a big challenge because every participant has an USP. She elaborates, "I never imagined that Mohinder (Amarnath) and Ugesh (Sorcar) could dance so well. Gauhar is a fabulous dancer." So what's her USP? "My USP is sincerity and hard work," she adds.

"I hope Jhalak and Rajuben will help me get some fan following because I have two very interesting films coming up in October," she says.

If Jhalak is exciting and challenging, so is Rajuben. "I don't have a one line for the show. What I found interesting about it is the protagonist's character sketch — an unusually smart girl who marries an underworld upstart and creates her own world with her husband's gang and goes on to become Rajuben from Rajshree. Even the death of her husband doesn't break her," says Shilpa who, by her own admission, is an intense person and doesn't believe in superficial acting. "It has to come from the heart with full conviction."
She doesn't watch much television and has no clue about what works and what doesn't. "But I hope Jhalak and Rajuben will give me enough exposure and help me get some fan following because I have two very interesting films coming up in October," she says. Will she do more TV shows in future? "You never know what comes next. Films are my first love and most of my friends are into films. But the idea is to keep performing and hence television could be one option too," she admits, adding, "So far it's been a beautiful journey from theatre in Delhi to films in Mumbai. I can fit into any medium."

Karan likes fun & peppy roles
27 Aug 2007, 0000 hrs IST,PRERNA SHAH ,TNN

Karan has a back up plan.


Karan Singh Grover who grew up in Saudi Arabia and Delhi, is a hotel management graduate who found his calling in acting.

"My father always believed in back up plans. And I agreed with him. I worked in the hotel industry for a short while but it was destined that the glamour bug would bite me. I participated in a beauty contest, and won the most popular model tag," says Karan.

After that, there was no looking back — Karan did ramp shows, advertisements, worked with a popular music channel, even hosted a radio show and then landed a role in a Balaji production.

"Apart from Balaji, I worked with other production houses as well and this gave me a fair exposure to different kinds of roles. Now I am going to play this flamboyant fun doctor and you can say that the character comes close to my personality; except for the fact, that I don't have a medical degree!," laughs Karan who feels that every role has an inherent challenge to it, be it a role in a saas-bahu saga or a youth-oriented series.

But Karan does have preferences. "Of course playing a young professional, who is fun and peppy is nice. In these kinds of roles, one thankfully doesn't have to be melodramatic or go overboard. I like that."

And though Karan is enjoying his romance with television, he still hasn't forgotten to keep up a back up plan ready. "I want to do an MBA in marketing. That is a perfect degree to go with my graduation in hotel management and maybe some day, I might want to use that."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/TV_Buzz/Kar an_likes_fun__peppy_roles/articleshow/2312324.cms

"I didn't use any magic tricks," says Sarcar

Magician-turned-dancer Ugesh Sarcar is out of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa after a two week journey. Ugesh put in his best efforts, but alas, even his background in enchantment didn't help the magician trick his way out of an elimination. We spoke to him about his experience on the dance reality show.

How has your two weeks on Jhalak been?
It has been wonderful. I've had loads of fun and have enjoyed myself a lot. Overall, it was very nice.

Do you feel that you didn't get enough time to prove yourself?
Whatever happens, happens for the best! I've no regrets. We probably didn't perform that well. But then, that's fine.

What do you think went wrong?
We were weak in our performance. The problem was that Tina and I concentrated more on our third week's performance rather than this one. I have full faith in the channel and the show, so I am fine with the decision.

Were you expecting your elimination?
Definitely not! Because I know that I was one of the toughest competitors on the show and had we been there for long, it would have been real fun. In fact, I was expecting Anand Raj Anand to be eliminated this week because, compared to all of us, he always scores less and wasn't doing well. At the same time, I definitely feel for Rozita as she is a very good choreographer as well as a very good girl.

Did you get along with your choreographer Tina?
Oh, it has been great and fabulous! Tina is an amazing dancer and a very good choreographer. There was only one problem; she used to get stressed out very quickly. I am the total opposite. She has been very patient with me and I truly respect and admire her for that. Had we been together till the end, we would have rocked!

Did you use any of your magic tricks while on the show?
Absolutely not! Had that been the case, we would have gone really far.

Have you ever broken any rules while at the Jhalak house?
Ya, twice by coming late as I had to go the doctor for my back treatment. I injured my back after my first performance.

Two weeks at Jhalak, how would you now rate yourself as a dancer?
Before the show started, I was a zero but now, after improving with every performance, I would give myself a 2 or a 3.

What all have you learnt dancing-wise?
I couldn't learn any particular forms because there was not enough time. But I did learn the basics. It was a very tedious process but I did manage to learn.

What have you learnt apart from dance?
What I've seen is that people get stressed out very fast. I want to tell them that this is not the end of the world. Things have to be taken more casually.

If given a chance, would you like to come back on Jhalak as a wild card entrant?
Surely! I enjoyed the show throughout and would love to get back if given an opportunity.

Who do you think deserves to win?
Karan amongst the guys and Gauhar amongst the girls. Had I been there, it would have been more fun.

Will we see you participating in any other reality shows in the future?
I really don't know. If I get something like Jhalak, then yes!

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3 airs every Friday and Saturday at 9pm on Sony TV.

Vandana Shukla/Hill Road Media

Monday, March 16, 2009

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/March/News_20090316_79

'Ram is a male version of me,' says Hard Kaur

With every performance, this hot chic from Punjab has left everybody speechless and stunned. We are talking about none other than British rapper Hard Kaur.

THIS Punjabi kudi who was actually been and brought up in the US and UK and is now shaking her leg in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3 (Sony, Friday-Saturday, 9pm) has garnered excellent marks from the judges and numerous votes from the viewers.
How has been the journey so far in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3?
It has been brilliant till now… When I signed Jhalak, I thought aiwee hi thoda bahot bollywood hoga but now I am very happy because I am getting to learn so much. Most importantly, I feel a choreographer is very important. When they gave me Savio, I was more than happy.

How is the co-ordination between the two of you?
Well… there is no ladaai, no kissing (Laughs).We both know that he is there to teach and I am there to learn and we try our best to give in our best to whatever we do. Savio is an amazing choreographer and we both will keep entertaining all of you with our outstanding performances.

You have been brought up in the US. So how did you manage to keep in touch with Bollywood there?
Everyone there had cable television there and all channels used to come there. During my time that is during the early 90's Kishoreji's songs were very popular. Pop wasn't that popular that time. I was in school but then dance was always there in my blood.

How have been the reactions of all your friends from UK after watching you on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa?
They all have loved it especially my brother. He called me immediately after my first performance and said, "I thought all this will be crap but after I saw you, I was shocked… You rocked babes!" But my mom is very critical, rather I would say that she is the best critic and that's what motivates me to perform better. But the sad thing is that my friends in UK can't vote…

Were you interested in dance right from the start?
Right from when I was small, my mom has made me to learn all types of dances. I've learnt Bharatnatyam, Balley, Kathak and many others. In 1995, I started with music.

How did you manage to keep a track of Bollywood in UK?
As I said earlier, I always had craze since I was small. When I shifted to UK initially, there were not many Indians there. But I tell you the truth; today Indians don't lack in anything... in fact wo sabse aage hain. Slowly and gradually I realized that even if you are an Indian and you are staying abroad, you don't need to get scared of anything. Now times have changed completely, Bollywood has westernized a lot now and people there follow it that way and so did I.

Who are your favorite singers with whom you would like to collaborate here in India?
There are many to name… Lata ji, Asaha Bhosle, Sukhwinder, Shaan, Raahat Ali Khan and many others. I would love to work with all of these.

How is the atmosphere in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa House?
It's real fun! Everyone knows that it's a competition and everyone is busy dancing. I enjoy to the fullest as I am the same on and off stage. All of them are good friends but Ram, Anand Raj Anand, Mohinder ji, Bhaichung are great buddies. Ram toh is just like me, he's a male version of me! (Laughs)

Have you broken any of the rules of the Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa house till now?
No, no… we are very honest. We haven't broken any till now and will never break in future too.

Who decides on your costumes?
It is collectively decided by Savio and me. Actually it depends on the song and the theme.

Who do you think is your toughest contender?
Among the girls, it is Shilpa because she is a great dancer and Ram is equally good amongst the guys.

How would you now rate yourself after two performances?
Earlier I was 6/20, now I am 11/20 and I've go till I become 50/20!

Any plans to get into acting?
I've been offered many roles in acting but they weren't my type. I don't want to end up doing rain dance types of roles… I took up Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa because it was a different type of reality show and the same rule applies for acting too.

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/March/News_20090317_83

No politics, no drama just work!'

Mature wooing!

Do we really have to watch this mature flirting on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3? In the latest episode, 60-year-old cricketer Mohinder Amarnath is busy reciting a couplet to a blushing Saroj Khan on the show.

In the last episode, he even threw his lucky red handkerchief in her direction. Later, it was Khan's turn and she gave him her trademark 100-rupee note for his performance.

"I am 'fida' on you!" she said to a blushing Amarnath. We think this show now needs an 'A' rating!