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Rajeev's tall claims

Whatever's happened to the 'reclusive' Rajeev Khandelwal? The actor was supposedly off press since he wanted to let his work do the talking. But we'd rather hear him speak now, especially since everything he's touched post Kahiin To Hoga has turned out to be a disaster.
So now we hear that the actor is going around town claiming to have adopted a girl child, who he loves dearly. It's sad to see him try to get publicity out of a sensitive issue like adoption, especially when there are so many actors who have done the same by keeping things dignified. Raveena Tandon, for instance, adopted two girls years ago but we never heard her hog the limelight over it.
We suggest Rajeev get a reality check on his failing career instead of bragging about his kind deeds.

Birthday wisdom

Deepraz Rana, who played Tatya Tope in Ketan Mehta's The Rising, is seen as a harsh army major in the SAB show Left Right Left. He also features as Jackie Shroff's brother in Naksha. He turned a year older last week, and it was a working birthday for him. "Normally, my friends come home every year and we chill out, but this time I was shooting," says Deepraz. So how old is he? "Age is just a number. It's all in the mind. One is as old or young as one thinks oneself to be. Turning a year older also means growing in experience with each passing year and it adds to a person's maturity," says Rana, who has done serials like Tara, Umeed, Chanakya, Chandrakanta, Udaan, Tipu Sultan and films like LOC, The Rising and Jungle, besides theatre.

Sameer's tribute to his buddies

Sameer Sharma has only two serials Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii (as Krishna) and Left Right Left (as Navin Singh Ahluwalia) but this doesn't stop the actor from working for the welfare of the actor community. The actor along with his starbuddies is all set to open a forum for actors, writers and directors, who can attend workshops and training sessions during their leisure hours.

"Actors generally have a lot of time on hand when they aren't shooting. I've been talking to my friends who have shown interest in starting a forum. Most of the actors aren't trained and could do with some classes to improvise their skills. So, we plan to have workshops by trained and veteran actors and if all goes well, we might also start a production house too. At the end of it, it's about having fun and also learning from it. We will make small beginnings, and meet at someone's house or a hall or wherever suitable," says the Delhi-born actor who began his career with Star One's Dil Kya Chahta Hai..

Sameer currently plays a sutradhar (Navin Singh Ahluwalia) in Left Right Left and his character is yet to go on air in the coming episodes. As of now, he's extremely fond of the title track of Left Right Left and has gone ahead to put that as his caller tune. "I think it's a very nice and catchy song and by far it's the best I've heard for a television show," smiles Sameer.

Left Right Left sets on fire

An electrical overload caused blaze; shooting was halted for the day
Shaheen Parkar
shaheen@mid-day.com

Panic engulfed the sets of the SAB show Left Right Left on Friday evening. A short circuit on the sets at Chitrath Studios, Powai, led to a blaze causing chaos. The shoot eventually had to be called off for the day.
Minor fire
The daily, produced by Tony and Deeya Singh, is currently canning a freshers' ball sequence that requires elaborate sets and lights. It is learnt that the short circuit was caused due to an electric overload. The entire cast, including Rajeev Khandelwal, Puneet Issar, Priyanka Bassi, Ghazal Rai, Aparna Tilak and Vikas Manaktala, were present during the incident.
The fire began around 6.30 pm when the unit had stopped for a break. It was contained immediately with the fire-fighting equipment available on the sets.
Says director Anshuman Singh, "As we were taking a break, there was no shot being canned when the fire broke out. The actors were therefore scattered all over the sets. But the exact spot where the fire erupted had a few actors in the vicinity. There was panic and people began running. Ghazal was panic-stricken, but Puneet came to her rescue immediately. It was a minor fire that was brought under control immediately. No one was injured. Only the electrical installations were damaged."
Puneet, the hero
It is believed that as fire-fighting equipment was kept handy on the sets it could be contained immediately. "It is just that due to the commotion and panic people started running; I was worried that this could cause injuries but luckily everyone was safe," adds Singh, who earlier directed the SaharaOne daily, Kituu Sabb Jaantii Hai.
Adds Aparna Tilak, who was also present on the sets, "We were having tea when suddenly we heard people yelling. At first we thought some unit hands were squabbling, but suddenly we saw smoke and the entire place was engulfed in darkness. It was very scary. Everyone started running helter-skelter. Puneetji kept us calm and was the real hero. He took control of the situation and told everyone not to panic. All of us just bolted out of the door."
Shocked
Apparently the fire exits of the studios are via small doors that caused great panic among the unit folks as everyone rushed towards the door. Besides the electrical equipment, some parts of the sets were also destroyed.
"We all packed off for home immediately, as the place was full of smoke. Moreover, we were all in a state of shock," adds Tilak.

Priya Arya taken to court

The actress stopped payment for her mobile bill when her disconnected line wasn't restored
Vickey Lalwani
vickey.lalwani@mid-day.com

BPL Mobile has sued TV actress Priya Arya, who plays Lolita Sen in Left Right Right. On Tuesday, Priya had to sign a bond of Rs 5,000 at the Kurla Court. "Technically, I was under arrest for half an hour," she says.
Lost out on work
Priya says that she will fight the case because she has been falsely implicated. According to Priya, this is thanks to her bill for the month of March 2006. Says Priya, "I had some very erratic shooting schedules that time, and I had received two messages asking me to pay my dues. I made the payment by cheque. That same evening, they disconnected my line."
When Priya enquired, she was told that her line would be reconnected within two hours. "Nothing of that sort happened. When I called again at 9.30 pm, I was told that it will take four days to restore the connection back. I was flabbergasted. How would my contacts get in touch with me for those days? Believe me, I lost out on some good offers because of that."
Will fight
An infuriated Priya then asked her bank to stop the payment she had made to BPL. In this regard, BPL sent her a summons to appear in the court on September 5. Says Priya, "BPL claims that they sent me a notice warning me of the summons, but I did not receive it."
Priya, who is a BPL user since 2003, complains that soon after this problem with BPL, her bill amount started coming very high, contrary to her actual usage.
"Hence, I had no choice but to shift to a Hutch number. This has inconvenienced me terribly," she adds, saying, "But I'm not going to take this lying down. I will fight it out. I'm going to the Consumer Court. Some of my friends from the industry have also had similar complaints against BPL and they are going to support me in court. I don't care how much money and time I spend in this fight. Truth will prevail," she says.

Gazal Rai's glucose level dropped and she had to be hospitalised

Kunal does a Madonna

The actor is playing a girl in an episode of Left Right Left; he spent hours getting the look right

Ranjib Mazumder

Tv actor Kunal Kapoor aka Yudi of Left Right Left will now be seen playing a girl, for the fresher's party sequence in the show. Kunal's new avatar is called Madonna.

The unit of the serial was in Goa recently, to shoot the said episode. "It so happened that I tried on a girl's costume in the make-up room just to find out how I looked in that outfit. It was also my birthday and some of my friends insisted that I try out that costume. Although I was reluctant initially, I did it for fun. But little did I know that the creative team would actually change the whole sequence for me and now you can see me wearing the same costume in the serial," says Kunal.

According to insiders, the actor was quite adamant about not wearing a girl's costume again. When we quizzed Kumal about it, he confessed, "I had to wax my whole body and had four makeup men instead of the regular one, dressing me up. While one man worked on my arms, others took care of my legs, my false bosom and my face. I also had to wear a wig. I sport a tattoo on my hand. So, they had to put multiple layers of make-up to hide the tattoo. And to get the perfect pair of breasts, we tried oranges, but they slipped. Then, we replaced it with cotton balls. But the bra I was wearing was tight and uncomfortable. For earrings, I had to use clips. I wonder how women manage everything so perfectly."

So what was the reaction on the sets? "I became every man's fantasy (laughs). Initially I was quite uncomfortable dressing up like a girl, but once I got under the skin of the character, I started enjoying it. Although the unit members kept teasing me, I took it as a challenge," Kunal claims.

Director Anshuman Singh also had a ball shooting these sequences. "The episode begins with Yudi wanting to get a partner for the fresher's ball. But, since he couldn't find one, he decides to dress up like a girl himself. Thus Yudi becomes Madonna in the serial," he says.

Vikas Maniktala aka Huda who plays Madonna's partner at the fresher's ball, laughs, "It was really funny to watch Kunal dressing up like a girl. It was indeed difficult to recognise him."

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Aparna Tilak feels Indian audience is ready to watch bold scenes on TV

Costume drama

Pooja and Naina of Left Right Left had a big fight over an outfit

Ranjib Mazumder

Characters who look amicable on screen, can barely keep themselves from clawing each other off screen. This time, the two actors in question were Gazal Rai aka Pooja and Priyanka Bassi aka Naina of Left Right Left. The actresses had a big fight on the sets, the other day.

The unit was supposed to shoot a sequence in the rain. Apparently Priyanka's costume was not ready. She went off to the venue wearing Gazal's costume and got drenched. This however, infuriated Gazal and she later had a heated altercation with Priyanka. When asked, Gazal confirmed the news. "It was my skirt which Priyanka had been wearing during the shooting. She came in all wet and flung it on the floor. The whole room was a mess and I was annoyed. I am a cleanliness freak and she is just the opposite. I always tell her to take care of her costumes, but she won't listen," said Gazal.

However Gazal tried to sound a little more diplomatic. "Everyone in the serial has 2-3 pairs of dresses. Priyanka had a problem with the zip of her skirt. She even had little time to prepare for her scene and must have gone to shoots wearing my skirt," she added.

But according to the grapevine, Gazal is unhappy about Priyanka's role getting more prominence in the serial. "As far as our roles are concerned, we will all get our due share as the story progresses. So far, I have received a lot of appreciation and recognition for my role. I am satisfied with it," Gazal said.

When contacted, Priyanka said, "It was not done intentionally. I knew it was Gazal's costume, but since I was running late, I had no other option but to wear it. And when I returned, she was angry."

On being asked about her profession equation with Gazal, Priyanka said, "We are quite fond of each other. Although we fight at times, there are no hard feelings between us. I wonder who spread these rumours."

On the other hand, the director of the show, Anshuman Singh said, "I am sure, something must have happened that day. But, when I asked, both of them denied having any problem. As far as the professional rivalry is concerned, I would be happy if it exists. It would only help them put in their best."

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