In Search Of A Bride

In search of a bride

Chaya Unnikrishnan
Posted online: Friday, February 03, 2006 at 0000 hours IST

Neha from Delhi, Avinashi from Mumbai, Avnee from Ahmedabad and Manisha from Hyderabad are the chosen ones. The four girls will compete with one another to be Roshesh Sarabhai's bride. Currently, the four are shooting for the series which will be aired in the third week of February. The whackiest of the lot will find a permanent role in the popular comic serial Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai ... he Swayamvadhu organised by Star One for the whacky Roshesh of Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai is entering its final phase. Four girls each from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad have been short-listed and one of them will become Roshesh's bride. The unusual hunt initiated by the channel is the first-of-its-kind. If the response is any indication, we wouldn't be surprised if other shows follow suit. Even the producers were taken aback by the overwhelming entries they received in their hunt for Roshesh's bride. "At the most, we expected 100 but we have got more than 1000 prospective brides," reveals JD Majethia of Hats Off Production, making Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai. As a result, the entire unit toured four major cities; Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata; to audition the wannabe bahus. Of the 1000 girls, 10-12 were short-listed. They were invited to the sets of Sarabhai where the entire Sarabhai clan including Indravardhan, Maya, Saahil, Monisha and of course, Roshesh had gathered to select the bride.

Sneha Badhani had specially baked a low calorie cake keeping in mind Maya's penchant for nutrition, another girl Tejal Shah presented a lovingly made decorative showpiece

According to the makers, the criteria for the bahu was that she should have a maddening quality, a whacky energy to carry the role of a comic character. Maya Sarabhai (Ratna Pathak Shah), on the other hand, had just onespecification. "She has to be a complete contrast to Monisha (Roopali Ganguly)," she declared. As if on cue, all the 12 girls who had been called for the Mumbai audition had come single-mindedly to impress the saasuma. Saas khush toh momma's boy khush seemed to be their mantra. While one girl, Sneha Badhani had specially baked a low calorie cake keeping in mind Maya's penchant for nutrition, another girl Tejal Shah presented a lovingly made decorative showpiece to her. All of them were at pains to convince 'Mayama'm' that they would be a perfect balance between Maya and Monisha. Reason: They were neither "middle-class" like Monisha nor "upper class". As for the poor groom himself, he had to be content with some droll, some witty poems they had written specially for him, Roshesh style. In fact, one girl, Neeta Barnani even managed to speak in an affected way, exactly like Roshesh. Whoopee! Manisha dressed in a shimmering green sari was no novice to the camera. She anchors a show on a local channel in Hyderabad. A singer, she crooned Maya and Monisha's favourite number 'Jiya dhadak...' and had Roshesh up on his feet. She also enacted a spontaneous scene with the groom at director Aatish Kapadia's behest. The fair and petite Prachi Kanungo sported a cute smile. What's more, her teeth and nose structure were similar to Roshesh's elicting a quip from Aatish that they looked like siblings! Prachi, who is a biker, owning no less than a Yamaha, and an athelete to boot, took it sportingly. She said that it didn't matter whether she was selected or not, meeting the Sarabhai family itself was a dream come true. But there were girls like Vyjayanthi Iyer, a small-time model who wanted to make it as an actress. "Since I know everybody's attitudes in the serial and Roshesh is dreaming of becoming an actor, I think I will understand him better," she said petitioning her case. Mind you, Vyjayanthi is already married and was accompanied by her mother-in-law, mother and aunt, who had encouraged her to take part. Prachi Rai, another prospective bride, is happily married and had entered the contest at the instance of her husband who is a "fan of the serial." Another contestant Arpita Menon had got along her young son to the sets. It was a truly liberating experience.

One couldn't believe that girls who were already pursuing different professions, (dentistry, engineering, teacher) were serious about making a career out of acting

In fact, the auditions were a revelation both to the makers and the journos. One couldn't believe that girls who were already pursuing different professions, (dentistry, engineering, nutrionists, teachers, etc) were serious about making a career out of acting. Said Majethia, "Five years ago, one wouldn't have expected this kind of enthusiasm or confidence. But today television is big and people want to be in front of the camera. Also, I think Roshesh is responsible for the tremendous response. Girls feel they will be safe with him." Safe or not, there was one girl, who waddled to the stage with a big stomach. Even as we were wondering how she could enter the contest, her comments had everyone including the sophisticated Maya dumbstruck. She claimed that Roshesh was responsible for her pregnancy! Oops! How did she ever think that the Sarabhais would accept a pregnant girl? For as Sneha Badhani had pointed out earlier, the Sarabhais may have a western outlook but at heart they are traditional. The fact that they conducted swayamvadhu as opposed to the popular swayamvar proves that!

wow..thanx for the interesting article