Naseer back on TV in Kamramchand

After almost two decades, Naseeruddin Shah is returning to television. This time, he is matching strides with the carrot-chomping detective Karamchand (Pankaj Kapoor) in the new Sony weekly. Shah was last seen on the small screen as Mirza Ghalib in Gulzar's rendition of the legendary Urdu poet on Doordarshan in 1988.

Karamchand, a hugely popular and trendsetting show, aired on Doordarshan in the late 1980s. It is currently enjoying a second run on Sony every Saturday.

The master detective is known for his wry sense of humour and his dim-witted secretary Kitty. Sucheta Khanna now plays his Girl Friday, a role previously essayed by Sushmita Mukherjee.

Legal eagle

It is learnt that Naseer will feature in one episode of the detective series next month, and he is slated to shoot for it next week.

Says Karamchand producer-director Pankaj Parashar, "Naseer last did television ages ago and will never do it again in the present scenario.

When I asked him to be a part of the series, he told me to give him something that would excite him, something that would challenge him
enough to take it up. I hope I have."

Shah features as a high-profile legal eagle in Karamchand. "He is one of those flamboyant lawyers who takes up cases with great zest and style. As a director, it will be interesting to direct Naseer and Pankaj together. And I am sure they will give me a lot of trouble too!'' laughs Parasher.

Power performers

Incidentally, Shah has previously featured in two of Parashar's films — Jalwa and Banaras. Says Parashar, "It wasn't only because of my association with him that Naseer agreed to do a cameo in Karamchand. Naseer is a big fan of Karamchand.

He wanted to play a part in which there was something for him to do. He told me to sketch an interesting character for him."

Both Shah and Kapoor featured in Jalwa as well as in Vishal Bhardwaj's Maqbool. "Pankaj Kapoor is one of the best actors in the country, and having another powerhouse talent like Naseer will be an amazing experience for the show," adds Parasher.

Incidentally, Naseer's wife Ratna and Kapoor's wife Supriya are sisters. There's also a family connection, it seems!

Dimple in Karamchand?

The buzz is that Parashar may also rope in Dimple Kapadia in one of the future episodes of Karamchand.

Dimple has previously featured in Banaras as well.

"I have told her about it and she seems interested.

She too wants me to pen something exciting for her. Let's see how it goes," says Parashar.

http://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2007/february/151889.htm