| SMALL TALK |
| Serial thrillers |
| Shirin Abbas |
| Starry, starry nights... from Bollywood to small screen stars... all seem headed Lucknow-wards nowadays. Close on the heels of the visit of Abhijeet Sawant and Jassi comes Sony's new brat pack to the city of the nawabs-- the star cast of Kaisa Yeh Pyar Hai, Balaji's idea of Rock Star meets girl next door. In Lucknow for the promotion of the serial were the lead pair M. Iqbal Khan (25) who plays Angad and Neha Bamb (Kripa) along with Amit Tandon (Prithvi in the serial) along with Prajakta Shukre and Rahul Vaid, the finalists from Indian Idol. Says Iqbal Khan, "This is my big, big break after two films Fantoosh and Bullet which didn't really work wonders for my career. It's a special privilege to be hand picked by Ekta Kapoor and become the leading man for a Balaji serial since they are really big in the television industry." Ask the Srinagar lad what his assets are and the answer comes pat, "The fact that I don't have two left feet helps, I suppose. Then I have had my try at modelling and films and that has given me the confidence before the camera. I've had my share of struggle and believe that there's no use getting too worked up over things. If they are meant to happen, they happen." The daily soap he says, leaves him with no time to pursue anything other than the serial at the moment. "I am giving 200 per cent to it, this is my make it or break it chance and I don't want to botch it. I don't think I can take that risk." With five films down South in her kitty, Neha Bamb says she is looking forward to making her presence felt on the small screen as well. Her sweet voice and baby girl looks are an asset to playing the simple Kripa, but that's where the similarity ends. I am a typical Mumbai girl, not the simple small town girl that I portray and have no patience, unlike the character I portray. I have no illusions, having seen the pace of life in Mumbai. While I am ambitious, I prefer to concentrate on things I have in hand rather than reach out to grasp too many things all at once. The third angle in this triangle is Prithvi, played by ABCD (American born Confused Desi) Amit Tandon who quit after a year of law school in the US to take part in the Channel V popstar hunt. He reached the five finalists in that contest before his luck ran out, only to enter and bag a place among the top ten in Indian Idol. Practical and down to earth this young man says while he did get a few film offers, he turned them down since they were side roles. "As it is 90 per cent of films are flops. I am not an Abhishek Bachchan or a Hrithik Roshan that someone will continue to give me lead roles if I flop. I have to be very careful. I liked the role on offer and Balaji is the biggest name in the TV industry. Also since we get Sony back in the US, I was rather keen to do a serial that my guys could watch back home. Now let's just see how it goes from here."From: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=125974 |
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
