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Bored with being Om

Not a publicity stunt

Apparently a mutual consensus was reached between Ekta Kapoor and Karmarkar, after he conveyed his decision to leave the show a few weeks back. "Kiran has always been looked up to in the industry.

He has always been a man of his conscience, and when he realised he could not do Kahaani anymore, he told Ekta about it," says a friend on condition of anonymity.

As per the understanding it was decided that keeping in mind the popularity of the character, a logical end would be given to Om. According to reports, Om will be killed on Kahaani around the same time the show completes its 1000th episode.

Karmarkar was apprehensive about his decision to leave the show being leaked to the media since he thought it would be considered to be a publicity stunt.

"He has always maintained a low profile when it comes to being in the news. He lets his work talk for him, and never tries to milk attention by creating news around himself," said his friend.

Karmarkar was unavailable for comment.

Double Eid delight
"After all those rona-dhona scenes in the recent episodes of Kahaani following the exit of Om's character, I was dying to do a wacko comedy and Hum Paanch came as a welcome relief.

This time for Eid it will be a double delight, since both Hum Paanch and David Dhawan's movie, Shaadi No. 1(where he plays a fake boyfriend of Soha Ali Khan) are coming this week," enthuses Asgar.

Here, the Chachu of Kahaani who will shortly be shifting to his new high-rise sea-facing apartment at Yari Road, talks about his comic roles

Will you quit Kahaani, now that you've grabbed a good role in the revamped Hum Paanch?
No, that's a wrong impression. My character, Kamal, who looks helpless caught between his attachment to Parvati bhabhi and the opposition of the rest of the Agarwal parivaar, will continue with the Kahaani track as usual.

Honestly speaking, I was thrilled when I was singled out by Ekta Kapoor to play this bumbling ghar-jamai, Purshottam, who is a henpecked husband married to Meenakshi (Vandana Pathak of Instant Khichdi).

After so much of rona-dhona and heavy-duty emotional scenes in Kahaani after the death of Om bhaiyya's character, I was dying to play a funny, wacko role.

Acting funny has been my forte and I've done several comedy serials before, like Dil Vil Pyar Vyar. In fact, I have also featured in David Dhawan's latest comedy flick, Shaadi No 1, where heroine Soha Ali Khan pretends to flirt with me in a fake fling.

Do you feel like an outsider on the Hum Paanch set?
Yes, initially I had this mental apprehension, since I was working with all of them individually for the first time. Also, my character did not exist in the original batch of Hum Paanch episodes. But to my startling surprise they welcomed me so warmly and gelled with me as if I had always been part of the Mathur parivaar.

Once we were ignited we all would burst into our punchlines like a long necklace of crackers… our comic timing is that good. Since I play a henpecked hubby, my four saalis fondly call me 'ghulam'.

As Kamal, there is a glaring absence of a romantic track for you. Comment.
I totally agree! My non-romantic character is more like a budnaseeb widower, but I have my share of intense dramatic scenes within the Agarwal family. There are talks going on among the team of Kahaani writers; and Kamal may get emotionally closer to Trishna (Mita Vashist), who realizes that she was never formally married to Om's character.

How about sharing the untold kahani of your Asgar 'ghar'?
(Sorry, all you nubile girls) Well, I am already married to this pretty girl called Siddiqueh from Pune. Although I have a so-called romantic image, this was an arranged marriage, which took place three years ago. We have an 18-month old son, Akbar, a little terror I have nicknamed 'Tiger'. Every time I reach home, he is there to fondly attack me like a tiger cub.

Your general knowledge seems good, considering your performance on KBC.
Not at all, my general knowledge is no great shakes. But my awareness relating to showbiz gyaan is excellent. That's how I won the 'fastest finger first' round and correctly answered the Bollywood-related sawaal. And since I had worked with Bachchan saab earlier as a co-star in this David Dhawan movie, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, I wasn't nervous while settling on the KBC 'hot seat'.

Gender bender

In a daring role, Sikcand will be seen as a eunuch who is part of a child prostitution racket.

"This is indeed a different role for me," says Sikcand, who plays the sari-clad eunuch, Raju. "The film was shot on the streets of Mumbai and I was hoping I would not bump into any Balaji people!" he laughs.

Character progression

Sikcand was approached for Sanna by Prachi Thadani, who worked with Shrivastava on the film.

"Prachi had seen me in my play, Champagne on the House, in which I played a gay character. She thought I fit the role of Raju in Sanna. When she approached me, she had doubts about whether I would do the role. But to her great surprise, I agreed."

The film portrays the dark underbelly of Mumbai. "It was quite an experience shooting for Sanna. It looks at the dark, grim side of life in the city. It is about something that is real, that happens on the city's streets, with poor girls as victims. In fact, Aadesh was inspired to make Sanna after a real incident which moved him," says Sikcand. The role of the brothel owner is played by Biswas.

Fit hai to hit hai!

Sikcand had to contend with sari blouse fittings, make-up, long hair and eyelashes while shooting for the film.

"What I have realised after wearing a sari for this role is how important it is to have a proper fit for a sari blouse. Most of our serial's actresses always tell Balaji designer Nim Sood to provide proper fittings for their blouse. I used to wonder why they fussed about such a small thing so much — now I know!" he grins.

Sanna has been on the international film festival circuit and will be seen in India as well. "It is a film which will move you," says Sikcand.

Platonic friendship

In her late twenties, Meetu has previously worked on Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Sarrkkar. "Deepak is very fond of Meetu. They meet often.

Everyone who knows Deepak is aware of his special friendship with her."

Deepak defends friend

We asked Deepak about this "dosti". "We are very good friends," he said, referring to Meetu. "I call her almost everyday. She has an amazing sense of humour and I love her jokes. But beyond that, there is nothing." What about the buzz that the two friends spend long hours together? "That is silly. She is a young woman, and such talk could damage her reputation," cautions the actor.

It's my life, Meetu

When questioned about her friendship with the older man, Meetu initially refused to comment.

"Who's interested in what's going on with Deepak Qazir and my life?" After much prodding, she said, "For the last five years, no one has written about the fact that I have worked on so many big shows. I don't want to comment about this issue at all."

However, just when we thought the lady wouldn't break her silence, she blurts out, "Whatever is between Deepak Qazir and me, only we know. I do not think anyone else needs to be told. People will anyway say what they have to, irrespective of what my opinion is. I would rather talk about my work — I have worked on shows like Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Sarrkar, and now Saat Phere."

Mahek: We had no scene

When contacted, Mahek, who made her film debut in Nayi Padosan and danced to Sajna Ve Sajna in Chameli, was cool. "I did have a boyfriend sometime back, but we parted ways. I wouldn't like to name him, but let me clarify that he was not from the industry."

Was Aamir Ali part of her life when they shot for Anjaan? "I've known Aamir Ali for six years, when he used to fly with Sahara. I am not seeing him. We had no scene in Alibagh. At the moment, I am single."

Says another source, "Aamir is becoming quite a ladies' man these days. He came with Pooja Kanwal for the premiere of Monster-In-Law. Soon after, I spotted him with Minissha."

Minissha, who debuted with Yahaan, was unavailable for comment.

vickey.lalwani@mid-day.com