Articles / News / Interviews - KYPH - Page 2

After Rajiv Khandelwal left Balajee Telefilms' Kahiin To Hoga the late-night daily on Star Plus faced the same identity crisis as Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi after 'Mihir' Amarr Upadhyay's departure.

Says producer Ekta Kapoor, "The new Sujal is played by Gurdip. And he seems to have found acceptance as Sujal. My grandmother called me to ask if she could meet Sujal. When I told her he (Rajiv Khandelwal) was no longer part of Kahiin To Hoga, she corrected me. She wanted to meet Gurdip."

However there's a need in this popular soap to supplement the new Sujal with a fake serial. Iqbal Khan who plays Angad in the popular Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai is now part of Kahiin To Hoga. He plays an impostor masquerading as the hero Sujal.

Iqbal Khan who's up to his neck in his daily Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai has unquestioningly taken on the added responsibility at Balajee Telefilms. "I had decided I wouldn't be able to do anything more at this time. But when Ekta asked me to join Kahiin To Hoga there was no way I could say no. She's my saviors and bread-giver."

How's Iqbal managing? "I get up at 7 am, leave home by 9 pm and shoot the entire day for Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai. And then I proceed to shoot for Kahiin To Hoga till 10.30 in the night. After which I used to go for my dance rehearsals for my solo act in the Indian Telly Awards. It's a hectic dog's life. Only Allah gives me the strength to somehow manage."

Iqbal seems somewhat confused about how long he's expected to stay on Kahiin To Hoga with his rogue's act. But Ekta is more time-specific. "Iqbal is required for just 4-5 episodes. Yes, we do want to use his popularity on his other serial for Kahiin To Hoga."

Ekta reveals Iqbal is one of the most popular actors from her serials. "The other is Mohnish Behl. His entrance into Kahaanii Ghar Ghar Kii has done wonders for the serial's ratings and his popularity."

Mega wedding for Angad-Kripa

Sudipto Chattopadhyay
Friday, December 09, 2005 17:50 IST

Balaji's 'Kaisa Yeh Pyaar Hai' will be shooting a starry wedding for its reel couple

It seems to be wedding season in telly land too. Glamour queen Ektaa Kapoor is sparing no effort to shoot another memorable marriage celebration for her production.

Iqbal Khan (Angad) and Neha Bamb (Kripa), the hot couple of 'Kaisa Yeh Pyaar Hai' will be tying the nuptial knot soon in the show. The shooting of the celebration will begin on December 10 with a sangeet ceremony. This will be a star-studded event with live performances by Indian Idol Abhijit Sawant, and singers Rahul Vaidya, Prajakta Shukre and Arpita Mukherjee. Actors Aamna Shariff, Hiten Tejwani and Gurpreet Singh will be performing to a 'ladkewale ladkiwale' number.

Producer Shobha Kapoor says, "It's great to unite the love birds. We will shoot for two hours and the rest of the time we will party. Iqbal and Neha and the other artists have done a fabulous job to make the show a great success. We at Balaji are proud to present a show like this." Designer Nim Sood is planning the wedding trousseau for the bride and the bridegroom.

afterhours@dnaindia.net

Kashmir Rocks Indian Television This Year On Sony

(Saturday, Dec 31, 2005 - 06:00 am)

Televisionpoint. com Special - Welcome 2006 | Kishore Sharma is a Senior Reporter at Television Point Kashmir is in the news for a whole new reason. Two young sons of the silent valley, television actor Iqbal Khan of Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai fame and Fame Gurukul winner Qazi Tauqeer have emerged from tough circumstances to become the latest rage with teenyboppers.

Iqbal Khan
Self reliance is a positive word. It helps boys evolve into men of character. Television heartthrob Iqbal Khan who has the nation gripped with his role as Angad in Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai, has struggled hard to get where he is. So what's the big deal you may ask? This 25 year old Kashmiri lad was determined not to burden his retired bureaucrat father and decided to fend for himself. "My father was surviving on a pension. He's an honest man and even if I become half the person he is I would be happy. So while doing my English Literature honours at the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, I took to modeling to earn money. Things just fell into place. I remember getting paid RS 2,500 for a day's work, and it seemed like a good option," he recollects.

But life in Delhi was not all hunky-dory. "I struggled to get accommodation for nearly six months. I was a Kashmiri and a Muslim and this was enough to make prospective landlords wary. I lived with my relatives before getting my own pad." Undeterred, fired by ambition and fueled by his brief success, Iqbal dropped out of college in his final year and chose to move to Mumbai to give acting a shot. "I was working out at a gym when director Anubhav Sinha's executive producer spotted me and asked me to come over to his office. I did my first music video, Dil Ne Kaha with Nandini Singh and Raima Sen and this was followed by six other music videos. And then began my days of struggle. I had to do the rounds of producers' offices. There were days when I had no money to eat or take a cab," he says solemnly.

What sustained him during this phase? "When you have no money, you learn to travel by bus. But it is important to struggle in life. It always keeps you grounded and you never get carried away when you achieve fame," says the wise young man. Somewhere in between all this he met his sweetheart, Sneha, who he has been going steady with for the past six years. "I met her at a music video shoot in Hyderabad. We lost touch, met up again in Mumbai and over time realized we were in love."

Sneha has stood by him through all his struggles where he even did stints as a production guy before signing two films Fun2ssh and Bullet, both of which didn't do too well at the box office. And it was back to square one. But not once did he think of packing his bags, "I knew I just had to make it. Soon I got a call from Sony who offered me Kaisa Yeh Pyar. Initially I was very hesitant about doing television but when I realized that it was a lead role for Balaji films, I decided to accept the offer and have been with the serial from eight months," he says.

Ask him how he feels about being called the new face of Kashmir, and he's utterly delighted though his childhood memories of his hometown are hazy. "I was nine years old when I was sent to boarding school first in Shimla and then to Lawrence school in Sanawar. What I do remember of Kashmir is growing up in a huge home with a long driveway. I enjoyed winters because it would snow heavily. During my early childhood, the situation was very normal in Kashmir. Militancy came much later," he says. Iqbal always went back to Srinagar for all his holidays and during the later years it was very normal for him to hear a bomb blast outside his house. "We had become so desensitized to the situation that every time we heard a blast, we'd be like 'oh, another one'. The situation just became a part of our lives. I was lucky I got out but when I go back and meet my old friends I feel bad for them. Their education got disrupted thanks to the constant conflict. As children, whenever there is a holiday from school, it is always fun but as one grows older one realises how important education is. These guys have got into a routine, but their minds have stopped evolving. I just feel they could have done so much better if they had better opportunities," he says.

Iqbal is also dismissive of the inter-religious conflicts that these problems were supposed to have created. "Look, all these issues are only in the minds of politicians. Every religion has its share of fanatics and there is a Taliban in every religion. On a personal level, we have never encountered any negative feelings with our Hindu neighbors. All of us have always bonded well," he says.

Thank u Sakshi, u r awesome...

Originally posted by: aries_sakshi

Mohammad Iqbal Khan, better known as Angad, in Sony's Kaisa Ye Pyaar Hai, is the current heartthrob on TV. Just about every teeny bopper is fida over him. We unravel the real man behind the Angad persona. You've come from nowhere, and today you are a rage. Tell us about yourself. I was born and brought up in Kashmir. My dad is a retired government servant and my mom is a homemaker. I studied in a boarding school in Shimla and was in my third year of college in Delhi pursuing English (Hons) when I dropped out to try my luck in showbiz. Your first brush with acting? I did a couple of music videos including one with Rakesh Bapat and Raima Sen and another one for Falguni Pathak with Sneha Chabbria, my real life girlfriend. I then dabbled a bit in film production when I got my first film Fun2ssh. I also did another movie called Bullet that was shot in Bulgaria. It was after Bullet that I got a call from Sony asking me to work with Balaji Telefilms for a new show called Kaisa Ye Pyaar Hai where I had to play the lead role of a rock star. Being an Ekta show, on Sony prime time, it was a big opportunity. There were no auditions as such but Ekta wanted to see me on tape. She had this whole idea of Angad having long hair and coloured lenses but that didn't happen! How is Iqbal, the person? Not showy or loud, I think I'm just a normal person. I'm the complete opposite of Angad in real life. I don't wear all those flashy earrings and lockets. I'm a very simple 'jeans and shirt' guy. If KYPH wouldn't have happened where do you think you would be? Did you have any other profession in mind? I would still be looking for the right break in films. Frankly speaking, I've stopped making plans, as I had never planned to work in TV either. But I would surely be somewhere in the glamour world. I can't think of any other profession. In fact I even dropped out of college for this industry! You have so many fans now. Which is your craziest fan memory? My fans are mostly young girls, kids and homely aunties (laughs), who watch my show. I remember one 50-year-old lady from Punjab who used to call me and message me. She would say my face reminded her of her boyfriend in college! She would actually keep track of where I was at any given time. If I would be in my make-up van while shooting, she would call and say "I know you are in Madh Island in your van." It really spooked me! How were you as a kid? Not naughty, but I was bad kid. I used to scream and shout and trouble everyone. In fact, a point had come where the neighbours would say 'It's ok, it's only Iqbal." I was really bad. (laughs) Would you go back to films now if you get good offers? As I've said, I don't make plans anymore. I'm not going to leave Angad so easily! But yes, if I get a good offer then I'll tell the producer that I'll be able to give him seven days in a month. You had shot Falguni Pathak's music video in Hyderabad. Any special memories of the city? I can never forget the biryani. I think we had eaten at Shadaab and I had really enjoyed it. I used to roam around the market. Hyderabad is a nice city, very lively and colourful.

i already posted this one