Interview Ekta kapoor about Jay and Kayam

Your runaway actor, Pulkit Samrat, has said that your dragging him to court is a laughable antic. Your response? His antics are laughable too. I wish Pulkit could find a better way to stay in news. His antics reflect his upbringing. I'd like to see where he is after three years and where the loyal people in my company are, after three years.

Quite a few actors are quitting your soaps.. like Jay Bhanushali of Kayamath. Why? Right now Kayamath is focusing on Panchi (Bora). Jay doesn't have much to do, so he wants out. I don't blame him. We're casting him in another show. And Shweta Tiwari wanted out from Kasauti Zindagi Kay. No. Shweta didn't want the show to end. I wanted to end Kasauti.. in November. But I needed time to develop another concept. Once I had Kis Desh Mein Hai Merra Dil in hand, I ended Kasauti.. last month. How's your rapport with Shweta? We're on extremely cordial terms. I usually don't deal with my cast on a personal level. Smriti Iraani left Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Now Kasauti... has gone off air. What if Saakshi Tanwar quits Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki? Okay, I may not have a personal relationship with my actresses but Saakshi is an exception. I wouldn't let her go so easily . And why did Krystle D'Souza leave Kahe na Kahe? She couldn't cope with the job I guess.. She's so young and so underweight. Krystle will play an important role in Kya Dill Mein Hai and another new show. Did she always have a K in her name? Yes.That's how she was introduced to me.. here's Krystle with a K. I couldn't stop laughing. How's Karan Huku doing on the show? You once said he was a bad actor. You know, 90 per cent of the actors and actress need coaching. As for Huku, I was so badly misquoted! All I said was he may not be a great actor, but he's so good looking, he can get away with murder. When we'd just started shooting for Kahiin Toh Hoga with Aamna (Shariff), we'd shoot every scene five times over. What's happening with Prachi Desai and Kasamh Se? Chhotu is leaving Kasamh Se. This is Chhotu's last month on the show. Will the soap wrap up too? Zee TV wants me to carry on with it. So I will till I can hold the viewers' interest. Coming back to Kyunkii... the TRPs haven't been the same since Smriti Iraani quit. Right? Wrong. If you look up the ratings, you'll find that the TRPs - three months before Smriti quit the show and three months after Gautami (Kapoor) came in - are the same. Actually, it's the track that determines everything. Have one good track and the TRPs can go up from 4.5 points to 5.6 points in just a week. Have a bad one and it can dip real fast. Any tracks you regret? Tracks kya? There are so many shows I regret. Like Ram Kapoor's track in Kyunkii… Ooh, the cat lover. Why? It was very bizarre, very English and very cool but the viewers weren't ready for it. Any shows you regret having made? Karma.. no, King. No one saw it, not even me. What's happening with Mahabharat? Indrani Mukherjea of 9X has said that you aren't making it for her channel. I never said I was making it. I'm too scared to compete with Star.. so mostly I won't make it. But Chetan Hansraj is training to play Bheem. (Smiles) I'll compensate him. An actor commented that if you were to make Mahabharat, you would call it Kahabharat. Really? That's actually not a bad name for a Purab-Paschim kinda show. Why has Akashdeep Saigal's role in Kyunkii… been sidetracked? That's because his role in Kuchh Is Tara takes up all his time. Akashdeep has been suffering from Hepatitis B for the past one month but he's still shooting. He's half-mad anyway and we're full mad to let him act in that condition. Are you really taking on an acting role in your next film production? I have a bit part for which I have to shoot for exactly two-and-a-half hours. I'm playing myself. I can easily be called the most problematic actress on the set because I've changed my dates twice already. In the film, I get threat calls from a bhai. Has that happened? Nope. What about the organisations which protest against you and your soaps? I'd like to show them a survey which proves that my soaps have helped women to develop self-con- fidence. Women look up to my char- acters.. they identify with them and they aspire to be like them. Whom do you identify with? I don't identify with Parvati and Tulsi but they work. I'm pretty much like Prerana. She has a duality to her character that I can identify with. What's your last thought before you go to bed? On a Thursday night, it's the TRPs. And your first thought when you wake up? On a Friday morning, TRPs again. Any other day? I sleep, eat and drink TRPs. One hardly hears about your love life. That's because I don't have one! My friends call me a fish that has stuck in the TV pond. They keep threatening to thrown me in the sea.. otherwise, I'll never meet anyone. Who are your favourite non-Balaji show characters? Grusha Kapoor in Kehta Hai Dil and Aroonaji (Irani) in Mehendi Tere Naam Ki. Which character would be pukka husband material for you? Bryan of Queer Folk. He's perfect! Also Shah Rukh Khan as Abhimanyu Rai in Fauji. I was madly in love with him. When I was a schoolgirl, he had come to mum's store to buy something for Gauri. When I got to know, I was so excited. Don't you think Ram Kapoor should lose weight? (Astounded) How on earth can I tell him to do that? I'm not his wife. Finally, will Baa of Kyunkii... ever pop it? Do miracles happen? (Laughs) Maybe if you pray hard enough.. Seriously, she's just a 108-year-old young girl. Let her be! janaki.viswanathan@hindustantimes.com