stars of zee

Will Star's stars shine on Zee too?

Gurdeep Kohli, Rohit Roy, Ronit Roy, Akashdeep Saigal and Rajeev Khandelwal. No we are not talking about the cast of another Star network soap. This is the latest 'star' attraction on Zee.

With Sinndoor Tere Naam Ka, Gurdip Kohli was the first actor to shift from Star to Zee. Others followed in her footsteps. Audiences noticed brothers Ronit and Rohit Roy in Manish Goswami's Sarrkkar hopping over from Star and Sony respectively.

So are the nation's television heartthrobs Akashdeep (Ansh of Kyunki...) and Rajeev Khandelwal (Sujal of Kahiin To Hoga). Viewers will see them sparring in the Ketan Mehta produced thriller Time Bomb. Sizzling Sangita Ghosh (Pammi of Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand) is not to be forgotten. The radiant lady will be returning to Zee TV after almost five years when she starred in Aroona Irani's Mehendi Tere Naam Ki.

Co-incidentally except for Gurdeep and Sangita all other actors including Karishma Tanna (who will be playing lead in Cinevista's Paalkhi) seem to be moving out of the Balaji camp extending their wings and reach (maybe) to different audiences through another channel.

Reflects Rajeev, "This is not a deliberate attempt to be seen on another channel. I wanted to work with Ketan Mehta and the show happened to be on Zee. I am willing to work on Star and Sony also."

Rohit agrees, "This is a strong co-incidence that most actors shifting to Zee had been doing Balaji shows last. I think actors want to try out different things, making them work with different channels."

Zee managers say this is all part of a strategy to get some of the best known names from television to star in its soaps and series. Zee TV's President Abhijit Saxena told Indiantelevision.com a few days ago, "Today Zee has the best star cast industry has to offer; Rajeev Khandelwal, Akashdeep Saigal, Sangeeta Ghosh, Rohit and Ronit Roy, Gurdeep Kohli. Name it and we have them on board. There is still a long way to go but we are getting there fast."

Zee TV's Marketing head Tarun Mehra shares, "Yes, this is a strategy. But it is not a deliberate attempt (to wean away stars from Star, Sony and Balaji). We would like to have the best of the industry in our shows. We look for the best directors and best stars. So, basically, this is a strategy to get the best of the industry."

Zee TV Programming head Ashwini Yardi echoes the same view adding, "these actors were immediately thought of when the script was written. Divya Seth came to our mind when the character of Priyamvada in Sarrkkar was drafted and so did Rajeev for Time Bomb," she explains.

With the coming on of Star's stars on Zee, will it shine? Watch this space.