| On September 23, Sab TV decided to pull a fast one on actress Asavari Joshi – but the prank turned into a nerve-racking episode.
That Friday, the Sab Golmal Hai (directed by Aarti Shah and earlier titled Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai) team visted Vizaviz Studios, Goregaon (East), where Joshi was shooting for Sab TV's Sabse Bada Rupaiya. Sab Golmal Hai.
Jaggmeet Samundri, who has been with the show for nearly six months, posed as a CBI official; Joshi did not recognise him. "Joshi mustn't have seen me on television yet. Actor Harsh Chhaya was also present at the venue. I winked at him; he understood and kept quiet," says Samundri.
Samundri took Joshi aside and told her they had recorded an underworld conversation where gangsters had her name on their extortion list.
Says Joshi, "They told me, 'aajkal TV actors bahut paisa kamaane lage hai'. They said I was going to get a call from gangsters and they had come to warn me, and provide security." Samundri at sea
Joshi asked for Samundri's ID-card, which he was reluctant to show. "He eventually showed it to me, but pulled it back, saying he could show it just for ten seconds." Samundri defends himself, "How could I show it to her for long – she could have realised it was a fake."
Joshi further offers, "He even said he had information that I was being stalked. I did not buy his story, and went to the other room. As soon as I entered, I got a call from someone, saying, 'you better not tell anything to the guy standing outside, else achcha nahin hoga'. I sensed something fishy and called the CBI – I know some of the officials personally." Channel vision
Seeing that his game was up, and in fact, was backfiring on him, Samundri rushed into the other room and pleaded with Joshi to disconnect the call. "I drove home the message that we were from a channel and it was only a joke, and made her disconnect." Oceanic fury
Says Joshi, "This is not done. Aisa mazak karna ethical nahin. Logon se khilvad mat karo. Don't make people scared and nervous. I certainly did not enjoy it." Adds Samundri, "Joshi bahut bhadak gayi thi. Till the end, she did not calm down."
Will the episode be telecast? And how? "We will telecast this episode very soon. We could not shoot the end as per the original plan, because she went into another room for a while, where we hadn't planted a camera. But we did get a few portions when she came out after disconnecting that call. But it's okay. We can edit it as per our requirement," says Samundri.
According to Samundri, the cameras in the room where the drama began were planted in consent with the director of Sabse Bada Rupaiya, Sunil Salgia. But Salgia says, "I knew they were putting up cameras, but they didn't tell me they were out to fool her.
They said they had come to interview her. I didn't mind since they were from the same production house, Sab TV. Besides, when the prank was played, I had gone to the monitor room."
Who is Asavari?
Known for her comic role in Sab TV's Office Office, Asavari has done serious roles in Marathi theatre too.
On the small screen, she was lately seen in Star Plus's LOC. On the big screen, she was seen as Boman Irani's wife in the Amitabh-Akshay-Priyanka starrer, Waqt. Soon, she will be seen in a Marathi film Manthan, starring Padmini Kolhapure. vickey.lalwani@mid-day.com |
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