Titan Antakshari Articles -- NO COMMENTS

First Previous

Page

Frequent Posters

Neetha

@niti_26

Voyager

Posted: 18 years ago

#31

TALKING POINT with Karan Oberoi

Aparna Chandra

News of you replacing Sunil Pal as host on Titan Antakshari comes as a surprise?
The offer surprised me too. In my 10 years on TV, I've done only four shows as I'm very particular about the kind of production values I'm associating with.

What will you be adding to the show?
I want to make it like a rock show, where I sing, dance and jump into the audience. The channel agreed to let me have complete creative freedom. I didn't want to work with a script, an antakshari is essentially informal and conversational. We have started off with a kid's special and I adore children.

Two hosts on one show usually calls for trouble.
That's something I chose to address right away. Himani Kapoor was apprehensive about the change but now she'd rather keep the script aside too. I come from a band where each member is as different as chalk and cheese and we have all learnt to handle that.

Does the band take a backseat now?
Not at all, I shoot six days a month. Music is my first calling. The band will release a video during the monsoon of the song Jhoomengi baharein. It'll be produced by my production company Artistic Unlimited.

So is production where you are finally headed?
It certainly is a direction I want to take. We are already speaking with a few channels about a variety of shows. There's also a romantic film script that we are working on.

Why this secrecy about Mona Singh and you?
We really were just friends but we've been together for a while now. It's just that when the rumours first started both of us received flak back home. We may come from army backgrounds but we are also from small towns. Mona's father was upset with the gossip. Now, of course, marriage is a natural conclusion of our relationship, though not immediately. Mona has Bollywood aspirations.

Edited by niti_26 - 18 years ago

Quote

Shruti

@shruti

Alumni

+ 9

Posted: 18 years ago

#32

Karan is angry over rumours in a section of the press linking him with his Antakshari co-host Himani Kapoor. "This kind of nonsense is annoying. Till now, everyone was pestering Mona and me to admit to our relationship. Now that we've finally come out in the open, and have admitted to getting married soon, stories about Himani and me have started doing the rounds. Give the girl a break! She's just a kid. And I treat her as one. People who talk like this deserve to be put in the zoo," he says angrily.

Thankfully his fiance Mona Singh is rather cool about it. "She knows me and the entertainment industry only too well to react to such loose talk," says Karan. But Himani's parents are very upset about the negative publicity their daughter is getting.

www.deccan.com

Quote

Looks like you are new here. Register for free, learn and contribute.

Monika

@monika.goel

Sparkler

Posted: 18 years ago

#33

'Mona is the woman for me'

Karan Oberoi in a confessional mode about the rumours of his affair with co-host Himani (Antakshari) and the love of his life, Mona Singh. Now a TV actor feels like a daily labourer who is used to fill up a producer's bank of episodes.

WHAT made you replace Sunil Pal in Antakshari. Weren't you apprehensive about comparisons? I was overwhelmed when I was offered Antakshari which is a very popular show. I am told that TRPs have jumped, since I took over. I did have my apprehensions before taking it up because till now the show has been treated in the traditional format. I wanted to handle it my way and the risk involved in it was huge but thankfully, the channel gave me a free hand which was a good back-up. I do such kind of shows for a living (Band of Boys), and Antakshari was a comparatively smaller version of it. I brought in my style which thankfully clicked. My style is more unscripted and spontaneous—like Annu Kapoor never danced or jumped in the audiences which I do. What kept you away from television for so long? The quality of the programmes is what kept me away. When I did shows like 'Saaya' and 'Milan', there was substance to my role. My role in 'Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin' too had enough meat for me take it up. We were given scripts in advance, which helped us bring out the cre ativity. But now an actor feels like a daily labourer who is used to fill up a producer's bank of episodes. In fact, the first question that is asked of an actor is how many days can he spare for a show in a month. It's not about you as an actor but the amount of time you can give. There's complete cacophony on television as medioc rity is thriving. Of late there is not a single soap opera, which is worth watching. I do not want to be associated with anything that does not give me thrill. I would rather do my concerts. How is the 'band of boys' progressing? Fantastic is the word. It's been six years now and we are counted among the top 3-4 bands in the country. We are living out of suitcases literally. I have travelled all over India, in the interiors too as well as the world. I simply love performing in front of a live audience. Your co-host Himani is said to be smitten with you… I wonder where it all started from. We do have fantastic tuning. When there are two hosts on a show, there is generally a tussle. Thankfully, we don't face that problem. She gives me the space to host and vice-versa. Our screen rapport is fantastic, but nothing more than that. She's a little kid and a good friend.

When are you going official about your relationship with Mona Singh? Oh, I can proudly proclaim that Mona is the woman in my life. And I guess everybody in the know is aware that we are a couple, so there's nothing to go official about it. She's a lovely, lively girl who is very real. And boy, she has a great sense of humour. Right now, we are happy in each other's company but marriage will have to wait. Mona has Bollywood aspirations and I have certain commitments too. I guess, when we both get the time to finally walk the altar we will certainly do.

WHAT made you replace Sunil Pal in Antakshari. Weren't you apprehensive about compar- isons? I was overwhelmed when I was of- fered Antakshari which is a very popular show. I am told that TRPs have jumped, since I took over. I did have my apprehensions before tak- ing it up because till now the show has been treated in the traditional format. I wanted to handle it my way and the risk involved in it was huge but thankfully, the channel gave me a free hand which was a good back-up. I do such kind of shows for a living (Band of Boys), and Antakshari was a comparative- ly smaller version of it. I brought in my style which thankfully clicked. My style is more unscripted and spontaneous—like Annu Kapoor never danced or jumped in the audi- ences which I do. What kept you away from televi- sion for so long? The quality of the programmes is what kept me away. When I did shows like 'Saaya' and 'Milan', there was substance to my role. My role in 'Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin' too had enough meat for me take it up. We were given scripts in advance, which helped us bring out the cre- ativity. But now an actor feels like a daily labourer who is used to fill up a producer's bank of episodes. In fact, the first question that is asked of an actor is how many days can he spare for a show in a month. It's not about you as an actor but the amount of time you can give. There's complete cacophony on television as medioc- rity is thriving. Of late there is not a single soap opera, which is worth watching. I do not want to be associ- ated with anything that does not give me thrill. I would rather do my con- certs. How is the 'band of boys' pro- gressing? Fantastic is the word. It's been six years now and we are counted among the top 3-4 bands in the country. We are living out of suitcases literally. I have travelled all over India, in the in- teriors too as well as the world. I sim- ply love performing in front of a live audience. Your co-host Himani is said to be smitten with you… I wonder where it all started from. We do have fantastic tuning. When there are two hosts on a show, there is gen- erally a tussle. Thankfully, we don't face that problem. She gives me the space to host and vice-versa. Our screen rapport is fantastic, but noth- ing more than that. She's a little kid and a good friend. When are you going official about your relationship with Mona Singh? Oh, I can proudly proclaim that Mona is the woman in my life. And I guess everybody in the know is aware that we are a couple, so there's nothing to go official about it. She's a lovely, live- ly girl who is very real. And boy, she has a great sense of humour. Right now, we are happy in each other's company but marriage will have to wait. Mona has Bollywood aspira- tions and I have certain commitments too. I guess, when we both get the time to finally walk the altar we will cer- tainly do.

Edited by monika.goel - 18 years ago

Quote

@virgoqueen

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#34

too big for his boots: Sameer Mohammad with Karan Oberoi and Himani
L'il Champ big tantrums
Sameer's constant interruptions on the sets is a cause for concern

By: Tushar Joshi

------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------

too big for his boots: Sameer Mohammad with Karan Oberoi and Himani
He may be just 11 years old, but sources on the sets of Zee's Titan Antakshari L'il Champs say Sameer Mohammad who leads the Sameer ke Mastane team has become too big for his boots. A source working on the show reveals that Sameer has of late, started throwing tantrums. "Intially he used to get ready in a really short time. However these days he refuses to let the make-up man touch him till he's had his pizza and Diet Coke. He wasn't like this during the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa days, but now he's become a star and his behaviour has definitely changed."
Payal Patel who works on the show agrees and adds, "This is purely my personal observation but Sameer has definitely changed. He was grounded before, but since he's come on L'il Champs he has taken all the success quite seriously." She adds that Sameer's behaviour does hamper the show's flow at times. "He has this habit to interrupt and start speaking when Himani and Karan (Oberoi) say something. This does get irritating at times."
Starry airs
Adding that Sanchita and Diwakar (the two other champs) are still the way they were before, she says, "We have to understand that they are kids. Fame does things to you especially at such a young age. I think Sameer needs to understand that he has a long road ahead and needs to keep his head on the shoulders and not get carried away."
Citing his huge fan following as a reason for his starry behaviour, she says, "He gets mobbed at malls and every kid comes up for his autograph. This definitely gives him a huge high."
Sameer wasn't available for comment.

Quote

1 2 3 4

Titan Antakshari Articles -- NO COMMENTS - Page 4

Related Topics

Explore Topics