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Cold war - Ekta v/s Star Plus
Looks like our queen bee has made a resolution of hitting the headlines every second day. From her production unit's 'salt over snow' episode, to Pulkit Samat's legal battle, our queen of the telly duniya just hasn't had a moment's respite. And just when we thought her quota for the month is over and done with, she' splashed all over the papers with diktat's to her coterie of stars to not be part of Star Plus's Valentine Day show - Saalam E Ishq.
The channel wanted most of the actors to be part of their Valentine's Special, but when the queen bee passes a diktat - her coterie's left to follow the rule. Star plus was in a jam! They had to do the show minus the lead actors belonging to the Balaji family. And, the concept, that went for a toss! Gautami, Mouni Roy, Jay Bhanushali...to drop a few names, backed out.
The channel approached Zee actors - Husain Kuwarjerwala, Juhi Parmar, and the kid who dared, Pulkit Samrat to salvage the show. Our sources says that what would ideally be a 2-day affair was stretched to a week co-ordinating with the stars and working on their act, the budget hit a skyrocket. There is beyond any doubt, that the equations are not hunky dory between the channel and Ekta, but the final nail in the coffin was the last minute 'no-deal' on airing Ekta's TV awards! This sure, looks like the makings of a cold war. Ekta Kapoor's unavailable for comment and barring a few sources at Star, the programming team is pretty hush hush about the whole affair.
Does the queen bee realise that burning too many bridges can prove to be damaging to her? Finally, it's the channels that are airing her serials and not the other way around...food for thought!
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