Akashdeep Saigal as Uncle

By Subhash K Jha

Ekta Kapoor spent a quiet Diwali at home with her family. "It's been a hectic time, putting a new show together for Sony,overseeing our forthcoming awards.I've forgotten what my mom dad and brother look like….Dad I've been seeing as a judge on Jhalak Diklha Jaa. Isn't he adorable?"

Sudha Chandran was last seen in an Ekta Kapoor serial Kahin Kissi Roz five years ago.

"She's so talented. And I'm so happy to have her back in our company..We need all the acting talent we can get."

While Ekta Kapoor breaks her cold war with Sony Entertainment, actress Sudha Chandran who was recently ousted from Jhalak Dikhla Jaa is back in Ekta Kapoor's serial after a gap of five years.

The show entitled Kuch Iss Terah also marks Ekta K's return to Sony Entertainment a channel which she had abandoned.

Ekta pooh-poohs the allegation. "Abandoned? Not at all! It's just that we were busy providing lots of software to Star. Now I'm happy to be back on Sony with a daily and and also a reality show that goes on air in Feb 2008. The guys out there Kunal Dasgupta and Albert Almeida, are among the best I've ever worked with."

The reality show tentatively entitled Ticket To Bollywood promises to be unlike anything seen on Indian television.

Ekta would rather talk about Kuch Iss Terah which she says is unlike anything she has done on the soapy stratosphere.

"It's a mixture of Cinderella and Maid In Manhattan. A 19 year-old debutante (Dimple) from a very ordinary middleclass household, say from the Byculla area of Mumbai meets her prince charming.

It's like Jennifer Lopez in Maid In Manhattan meeting up with Ralph Fiennes. The only problem is, there's a disapproving uncle, played by Akashdeep Saigal, on the scene."

Ekta says she has never produced a serial that is so rooted to the middleclass. "This is my youngest most realistic soap ever. It captures the dreams and yearnings of every middleclass girl in India.

The heroine's family has characters straight out of real life. There's the heroine's sister played by Tarana.We've cast the character as someone who works as an EP at Balajee."

In the meanwhile Ekta has decided to not produce software of NDTV's ready-to-launch entertainment channel.

"Not right away," she clarifies. "My hands are full. But Samir Nair and I are collaborating on something big for 2008."