Karamchand is back! artical about sush

Pankaj Kapur	Sushmita Mukherjee

"Main toh sabootoh ka gulam hoon," said Pankaj Kapur, and an entire nation tuned in to Doordarshan every week to watch the carrot-chomping Karamchand unravel his latest mystery.

The show immortalised Kapur and his hare-brained secretary Kitty (Sushmita Mukherjee), and gave the insipid gajar a rather glamorous makeover. Now, 22 years later, Karamchand is back to entertain once again.

Says Pankuj Parashar, the director-producer of the original series, "A few years ago, my kids found an old photo of Pankaj (Kapur), Sushmita and me and asked my wife about it.

She said it was from an important period in my life, and so they framed it and gave it to me on my birthday. When they asked me about it, it disappointed me that a whole generation had grown up without knowing about Karamchand, and that's when I decided that I had to make it again."

New and improved

While Parashar remains tight-lipped about the details, a source tells us, "The revamped series will have a brand new look and will be technically superior to its '80s counterpart.

In fact, one of the highlights will be the funky soundtrack, which will be a blend of high-energy rock and pop sounds. It's being planned on the lines of a feature film, so each hour-long show will be like a mini-movie.

Currently, they are doing some test shoots for costumes, etc, but shooting for the first few episodes will begin soon."

The 'write' stuff

What made the original series so popular, was the perfect blend of mystery and comedy. And from the looks of it, we won't be disappointed this time around, either.

Says the source, "Pankuj has hired a team of six to twelve writers and every episode will have a new crime to solve. In all probability, the show will be a bi-weekly and will air on Sony. A decision on this will be taken by the end of August."

Kitty kahaan hai?

While the much-older Pankaj Kapur will reprise his role as the madcap detective, fans of the original Kitty, Sushmita Mukherjee, might be disappointed. The actress who became a household name as the ditzy secretary doesn't figure in the second innings.

When asked about it, Parashar says, "That's true. Sushmita isn't part of the new show. But we're good friends and she wished me all the best. We're on the lookout for a new girl to play Kitty, and have almost zeroed in on her."

But somehow, Kitty drawling, "Sir, you are a genius" at the end of every episode will not be the same without Sushmita!

thanx 4 sharing zis article noori...