when actors turn pranksters

Working 12 hour shifts may be taking a toll on their physical and emotional selves, but that ain't stopping our telly stars from playing the occasional gag on their colleagues.

We scoured the sets to find a smattering of them giggling into their cuffs while remembering the odd incident where they played harmless practical jokes on co-artistes; and found some still smarting from the effects of a prank played on them, but smiling nevertheless.

Director's cut

It was Rucha Gujarati (aka Kali in Kkusum) who's had the latest and most rocking surprise on Christmas Eve. "I had to shoot a suicide scene and my director, Jassi asked me to lie unconscious with my eyes shut. As usual he was calling the shots, 'zoom, close up, lights' and I was giving my best. It was a 10 minute shot, but even after that, my director wasn't giving a cut signal. I was lying tranquil as if unconscious for quite a while, and only then realised that the entire unit was laughing into their hankies. I was taken aback but burst out laughing subsequently. It was just so hilarious and funny. And then we wished one another Merry Christmas."

Ghost on the run
"We had gone to the Mukesh mills compound at Colaba to shoot for Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, a spot that's believed to be haunted,"reminisces Chetan Hansraj aka Sasha. "While shooting we suddenly heard some creepy and unusual noises that made us all sweat through our nerves. Suddenly, there was an image of a ghost in front of us and everyone was petrified and holding onto one another. At last, the cameraman started laughing. He had tricked us into believing the existence of the ghost with the help of his camera. Eventually, all had a hearty laugh….."

Letting the dog out of the bag
"My Saara Aakash co star Shakti Anand (aka Vikram) and me went to meet his friend at his residence as we were shooting in his neighbourhood," remembers Sai Deodhar. "On the way, Shakti warned me that his friend had three ferocious dogs at his place. I was so scared; I just wanted to back out. But he convinced me saying they would be tied up and I need not worry. When we reached the house, I started looking for the dogs. I kept mum as Shakti, prompted me not to mention the dogs. I was at my weirdest behaviour, sitting still without a word on the edge of my seta, and keeping an eye for the dogs.

At last, my host asked me, "Is there a problem?" I lost my patience and asked, "Where are the dogs? I am too scared, are they tied? The lady, herself amazed, said, "But we don't have any dogs!" That's when Shakti split up into laughter. I wasn't very amused at that time, though!

Snaking up
One guy who loves playing pranks on his co-stars is Anuj Saxena, the savvy doctor turned actor. "I am too smart to be fooled," he says laughingly. "I keep playing pranks on my co-stars every day, like screaming in their ears or shocking them by jumping in front of them."

Recollecting one such incident, Anuj says, "We were shooting for Prratima for Sahara One at Madh Island recently. One of the helpers was carrying a wooden snake. I used the snake to scare my co-star and producer Jyoti Mukerjee and another colleague, Rekha. Both were so shocked and shaken, that Rekha ended up crying and Jyoti was too scared to even speak. It was a blast," he grins. Well, we are yet to get Jyoti's and Rekha's version of the incident, but can be sure they won't be laughing as much over it!