Chhavi goes grrr!

Zee TV's Carnival 2006 is a unique concept through which fans of Indian Television (read: fans of Zee TV) are given a chance to meet and interact with their favourite screen idols. To the recently held Carnival in London, major Zee stars were invited to be a part of the festivities. Among the lucky chosen names were Ashish Nayyar, lead actor of Tumhari Disha (which also happens to be the oldest running serial of the channel at the moment) and Rajshri Thakur, Saloni of the current number one show Saat Phere.

The carnival being a huge success is another story but rumours were floating that Chhavi Mittal (female lead, Tumhari Disha) was unhappy about the fact that not she, but DK (Ashish) was invited to the carnival. The argument being, in a woman-oriented serial the title character (that's she) should have had more right to represent Zee. There were also reports that Chhavi threw tantrums on the sets of the serial to vent her anger and frustration. Though close sources from the production house confirm the news, Chhavi when contacted chose to be diplomatic. "Though it's unfortunate but I am happy that they invited Ashish. Maybe Ashish is more popular than me in London," says Chhavi, trying to hide her displeasure.

The producer of the show Rupali Guha denied any knowledge on the matter. "I am not aware of any such incident. You have to ask Chhavi or the organisers. I wouldn't like to comment on the issue," she categorically said. But, again, she also chose to be diplomatic and not irk her artistes by confirming the news. All she did was, put the ball in someone else's court. When contacted, Ashish Nayyar had this to say (even though we knew what's coming): "Zee TV first checked out the popularity quotient of the star and then took a decision on who to send to the event. Guess they decided that DK being a male character is more popular among the female fan following, which is also big considering women enjoy these serials a lot more. But I do not think Chhavi Mittal was not understanding enough to throw tantrums over this."

Says a close source from the production house: "Everyone wants to steer clear of controversies and controversial statements. But the fact remains that Chhavi threw a lot of tantrums on the sets after the news of Ashish being sent for the carnival." Not only that, sources confirmed that Chhavi, after coming to know that her popularity was less than Ashish's, has started paying more attention to her acting which she used to take very lightly otherwise.

So, one good thing did happen following this carnival fiasco ? Chhavi Mittal realised that it is her work which gets her noticed and not her petulant manners.