Synopsis,Character Details & Articles - Page 2

Anish as Samar in Saat Phere

Last week we had told you about Anand Suryavanshi quitting the Zee show Saat Phere. Well, his replacement is going to be Mazher Sayed who had earlier acted as Anish in the popular Balaji daily Kahiin Kissi Roz. He was also seen as Dr Walia in Star Plus' Kesar and in the Sahara show Kamini Damini.

Mazher will now play the role of Samar, brother of the protagonist Saloni, who is caught between his responsibilities as a brother, son and husband. There is also a track of the family's relationship with Samar's wife Kaveri (Aanchal Dwivedi) who Samar married against the wishes of his family. Mazher will make an entry into the show towards the end of November.

Mazher is also known as a popular model and was on his way out of India for a modelling assignment when he got a call from the producer of Saat Phere Sunjoy Wadhwa to replace Anand Suryavanshi. He readily agreed and said 'yes' to the role.

Dhruv unveiled

Mohan Bhandari's son slated to make his debut in Sixxerr

Kunal M Shah

Television veteran Mohan Bhandari's son, Dhruv is all set to make his debut with Manish Goswami's Sixxerr. The show is expected to be aired in January on Star One.

Dhruv essays the role of a successful cricketer in the show. Elaborating on that he says, "Yes. I am doing the show and as everyone knows, the show has a cricket backdrop. I play a rich and successful cricketer. Rati Agnihotri and Pawan Malhotra play my parents. I am very thankful to Manish Goswami for giving me a break. It's quite an amazing thing to be part of the show." Four episodes of the show have already been shot.

Producer Manish Goswami did his first show Parampara with Dhruv's father. "I always wanted to be an actor and knew that it was my calling. So, Manishji met me in February this year and then called me for an audition but I was busy with my final year examinations. Later I met him and the deal was sealed."

Is he prepared to tackle the inevitable comparisons with his father? "They had some doubts initially as they thought I looked pretty young. But thankfully things fell into place and I was on. I am aware that people will have lot of expectations from me and that's scary. Hopefully I will be able to do justice to my dad's reputation and deliver my best," he says.

With a television serial under his belt, does Dhruv harbour any celluloid dreams? "My next step will be films but I am taking it easy for the moment. I don't want to do any crossover cinema. I want to dance around trees and fight the bad guys. I want to be a commercial actor and I am waiting for my time to come. Till then it's television for me," Dhruv says.

Anand Suryavanshi


Saath Phere's hero wants to leave
Monday, October 31, 2005 | Television

Anand Suryavanshi, the protagonist, plans to opt out of the show even before it has taken off

Reena Thapar Kapoor

It's only been a few days since the show went on air and Zee TV's much publicised Saath Phere already had its first controversy. Apparently Anand Suryavanshi, who plays Samar, the main protagonist on the show, has decided to opt out. This news came as an absolute surprise because one didn't expect drastic changes in a big show like Saath Phere at its onset.

Everything was hunky dory till the show's script started changing. Soon Suryavanshi realised that his role wasn't shaping up as it was described. "He doesn't wish to continue with the show as it doesn't offer him any scope to perform," informed a source.

As it turned out, the disheartened actor stopped showing up for the shoots. This problem led to a conflict between him and Sunjay Wadhwa (the producer of the show). "It's true that there are certain issues that Anand and I need to talk about," revealed Wadhwa. However, the producer said that Anand hadn't officially informed him about his desire to not continue with the serial anymore.

"I know that he isn't very happy with his role. I understand his point but there is nothing that cannot be solved." The producer says that he has always kept a low-profile in his career that has spanned a decade. "I wouldn't have spoken about all this but it will clear the air between my actors and me once and for all," Wadhwa says.

With television's growing demand, every day hundreds of actors come to Mumbai looking for work. "It's very difficult to put up with the demands of an actor and I'm not just referring to Anand. A script is a script. It cannot be changed as per one's whims and fancies. I'd love to have Anand on my show but if he unhappy working with us, then I'll have no choice but to replace him. Replacements have been happening in television and it's also accepted by the audience," snaps Wadhwa.

Despite repeated attempts Anand Suryavanshi was unavailable for his comments.


Anand Suryavanshi who has quit the Zee show Saat Phere. His replacement is going to be Mazher Sayed who had earlier acted as Anish in the popular Balaji daily Kahiin Kissi Roz. He was also seen as Dr Walia in Star Plus' Kesar and in the Sahara show Kamini Damini.

Mazher will now play the role of Samar, brother of the protagonist Saloni, who is caught between his responsibilities as a brother, son and husband. There is also a track of the family's relationship with Samar's wife Kaveri (Aanchal Dwivedi) who Samar married against the wishes of his family. Mazher will make an entry into the show towards the end of November.

Mazher is also known as a popular model and was on his way out of India for a modelling assignment when he got a call from the producer of Saat Phere Sunjoy Wadhwa to replace Anand Suryavanshi. He readily agreed and said 'yes' to the role.

Could You Please Make Me a Shade Lighter?
How Indians came to view fair skin as an ideal--and a business opportunity
By ALEX PERRY
From the Dec. 05, 2005 issue of TIME magazine

Posted Monday, Nov. 28, 2005
Up close, Rajashree Thakur makes a terrible ugly duckling. Her face is a flawless ocher, punctuated by ebony eyes and framed by jet black hair, and in the light of the setting sun, she glows. Thakur plays the lead in India's new hit soap Saat Phere ("seven circles around the fire," a Hindu marriage ritual), which, between riveting digressions into the lives, loves and secrets of a Rajasthani family, is the tragedy of Saloni, too unfortunate-looking for love. "It's not that Saloni isn't beautiful," clarifies Thakur, a former model. "It's that she's dark. Because of her complexion, her family thinks no one will marry her." At today's shoot in the hills north of Bombay, Saloni seeks solace at a temple after another day of dusky humiliation, only to be lectured on the virtues of fairness by a fat, ivory-skinned 9-year-old boy. "Ah, Saloni," grimaces Thakur. "She goes through hell."

The notion that Thakur's skin color could qualify her as unattractive is hard to fathom. Hers is a universal beauty, and in the West, despite concerns about the sun's rays and skin cancer, people spend billions of dollars trying to duplicate her caf au lait tone. But Asia, from its geishas to its Ganesha gods, has always prized the pale. And in India the desire is a national obsession. You see it in the personal ads, which range from the general ("Whitish girl invites match") to the pinpoint specific ("Suitable alliance invited for ... fair, smart, only daughter having advanced training in footwear molds designing") but consistently mention the aspirant's light skin. You see it in pharmacies selling Fair & Lovely lightening soaps and creams and--new this season--Fair and Handsome, for men. And you see it in commercials, in which India's top two models, Katrina Kaif and Yana Gupta, are part English and part Czech, respectively. Lightness is big business. Fair and Handsome's maker, Mohan Goenka of Calcutta-based Emami, says the fairness-cosmetics market has grown two-thirds in the past five years, to an annual $250 million. India's 60,000 beauty salons do a roaring trade bleaching faces and blasting skin with tiny sand blowers.

No one can say for certain where this fascination with white skin originated. Thakur and Goenka point to pale-faced conquerors from Britain and central Asia who forcefully instilled a reverence for whiteness. Cultural conservatives complain Hollywood is pushing aside Indian heroes in favor of Westerners all too ready to display their pale flesh. Some sociologists argue that in a country where most people still farm, dark skin is associated with lowly labor in the outdoors.

Cory Wallia is Bollywood's top makeup artist and a man whose cautionary--and perhaps apocryphal--tales on whitening include the time the mother of a bride insisted he slap on so much white foundation that the young girl somehow turned blue. (The punch line? The mother approved.) He believes the real reason for the fairness craze is more troubling than most care to admit. While no one suspects that Westerners seek tans to change their ethnicity, Indians, he says, are motivated essentially to do just that. "Indians are more racist with other Indians than any American ever was with his slaves," Wallia says. "The desire for whiteness has very little to do with beauty."

But fashions--even cultures--can change. Although darkness is still akin to evil in rural India, Wallia says that in Bombay, reflecting its position as the capital of an increasingly cosmopolitan India, dusky is becoming a popular look. Thakur, as her character Saloni, may even be poised to become India's first overtly dark-skinned icon. "People stop me everywhere and ask me, 'Why are you crying so much on TV? It's not fair.'" In fact, says Thakur, the climax of Saat Phere will break another Indian taboo. "Saloni eventually decides she's not going to get married. She is educated, she can sing and dance very well, and she just doesn't consider her complexion a problem." And does the single, dark Saloni live happily ever after? Thakur laughs and says, "Of course. This is Indian TV. Not every rule was meant to be broken."

Poonam resumes shooting (mumbaimirror)

Shubhra of Saat Phere is back to work after a spell of jaundice


Poonam Gulati

Poonam Gulati has fully recovered from jaundice and has resumed shooting. Shubhra of Zee's Saat Phere contracted jaundice almost a month ago. "I don't know how and when I got jaundice. One can just keep guessing as one can't really trace how one gets infected. I didn't think too much about it because ailments are a part and parcel of our lives these days," says Poonam.

Poonam spent some time in a hospital too. But that did not keep her away from her commitments and she says, "On two occasions, I shot for Saat Phere. My doctor doesn't know about it. I sneaked out of the hospital telling the doctor that I had to go for an urgent photo shoot. He believed me and let me go although the nurses knew what I was up to."

Poonam claims to be a workaholic and says that nothing can keep her away from work for long, "I am used to a hectic life. I find it more stressful to sit at home and do nothing. I wanted to be engaged in work so I reported to shoots. And it wasn't that pressurising on the sets. The unit of Saat Phere is like an extended family to me. I would feel cheerful on seeing my colleagues. They took very good care of me when on the sets."

She is feeling much better now. "Except for my eyes, which still look yellow, I am fine. I feel a lot more energetic. It is just a matter of time before I become completely alright," she adds.

In the meanwhile, Saat Phere's director has been changed for the second time.

A source says that Rajan Shahi who had replaced Rakesh Sarang, asked the producer to relieve him from his duties. Vijay Pandey has taken over from where Shahi left.

posted by charu_18

ON THE SETS

From--Bombay Times (14 th dec 2005)

(if this topic is repeated then iam sorry)

Saat Phere

A BOND OF LOVE

Saloni may be facing hardships in the serial Saat Phere, but in reality she bonds very well with all the actors, much like a real family, finds BT

RESHMA S KULKARNI

In the break… It's lunch-time on the sets of Saat Phere, tucked away in a quiet bylane at Andheri MIDC. It has been a gruelling morning shift for the cast and crew, as quite some heavy-duty scenes have been shot. As the track goes, Saloni, the main protagonist, has agreed to get engaged to a boy chosen by her parents and the scenes associated with this track are being shot in this session. The lunch break is put to good use for altering the light arrangements and rearranging the furniture for the next schedule. The set has an ethnic Rajasthani backdrop, complete with jhoomars, jharokas and Rajasthani paintings, lending authenticity to the characters' backgrounds. Meanwhile, the other actors, comprising of Mohan Bhandari (Narpat Singh), Pratichi

Mishra (Ambika Singh) and Rajashri Thakur (Saloni Singh) are done with their costume change and touching their make-up and are waiting for the shoot to begin, which will commence as soon as Neena Gupta arrives.

Neena Gupta arrives

Neena, looking radiant as usual, arrives sharp in time and goes straight to the vanity van to get her makeup done. She seems quite gung-ho about her character Manno bhabhi, which has been included to provide a tinge of comedy in an otherwise serious story. However, she's candidly admits, "I am under no illusion that I'm central to the plot. No, I'm not; it has always been Saloni's story. But I'm very happy that I have had people come up to me at airports or restaurants to say that they have liked me in this role."

Getting back to work

While Neena's getting her make-up done, the second schedule has already begun upstairs. Mohan Bhandari is looking dapper in a black formal bandgala and gets quite some compliments from Poonam Gulati, who plays Saloni's sister (Shubhra) and the other women on the set. Rajashri and Pratichi exchange notes on each other's costumes. Apparently, Rajashri disapproves of the colour of Pratichi's sari, which she feels is too bright. This schedule consists of scenes between Mohan, Rajashri and Pratichi. Poonam, though she's not needed for the shoot, lounges around and chatting with the crew members. The scene consists of an argument between Saloni and her mother Ambika, who's trying to hold her back from meeting Neel, played by Rakesh Bapat (who's scheduled to arrive later in the day). The shots consist mainly of panning expressions and get canned quite quickly, especially at the behest of Pratichi who keeps urging the team, "Kaam karo, kaam karo!" to which Mohan quips, "Look who's talking!" much to Pratichi's mock consternation and others' amusement.

A bond of love

The camaraderie amidst the actors is worth a mention. All of them are at as much ease with each other as one might be in a family. "That's what we feel about each other," quips Rajashri. "We spend so much time with each other that we are now bonded like a family; in fact, when I came in, I was a rank newcomer and was very nervous about how I'll act with all these senior actors, but to their credit, Mohanji, Neenaji, everyone treated me like a daughter, teaching me the nuances of acting. Also, I, Pratichi and Poonam bond big time. So now if any of us is not present for the shoot, the rest of us miss that person hugely." In fact, when Rajashri got engaged a few days back, it was a moment of joy for the entire unit. Mohan Bhandari, who plays Rajashri's father, too reiterates her comments as he says, "Ab toh ek rishta saa jud gaya hai sabse." This rishta (bond) is very much evident as the shoot begins and things just begun getting topsy turvy, with a glass pane cracking up to the lighting going awry, causing the director Vijay Pande to hyperventilate; but, all the 'family members' rally around him to set the things into place. Looking at them, one is compelled to admit that this unit surely shares something more than a working relationship.

&nbs p; &n bsp; &nbs p;

THREE GOOD: Director Vijay Pande, Rajshri Thakur and Pratichi Mishra

posted by dkdish

They are the backbone of any television production. They not only conceive award winning shows but also have the foresight to gauge their potential.They also provide the moolah that keeps these shows alive and kicking for years. In this column, we speak to some of the most vibrant producers who have made shows that have set trends in the television industry and try to find out what makes them tick!

As a TV producer, Sunjoy Waddhwa had almost six shows running simultaneously on different channels. His latest baby Saat Phere (on Zee TV) got featured in Time magazine recently.

This commerce graduate has done it all, from exporting Indian handicrafts to starting a production house that churned out remarkable shows like Aatish, Thief of Baghdad and Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand. His Saat Phere on Zee deals with the perennial tribulations a dark complexioned girl in Indian society. Kavita Shyam chatted up the simple and hard working director on life and work..

On his first few TV shows -
I always wanted to make films but television happened by chance and I started Kaarnik Communications in 1997 with my cousin and produced my first show Neeyat for Zee. This was followed by Ek Mulakat on Star Plus which had surrogate motherhood as its theme. Soon after followed Aatish on Star Plus and many other shows like Arth for Zee, Thief of Baghdad for Zee, Kasauti for DD and Yehi To Hai Woh for Star One. Phir Se, a telefilm for Sahara won the Rapa awards this year.

On Saat Phere and its star cast -
Zee came up with an one line idea about making a show on a girl who is dark. From there our creative team wove the story, worked around the concept and finally presented it to the channel. We could have taken a known face from the industry but we decided to launch a new face and that is when we auditioned many girls until we found Rajshree for Saloni's character and I think she is doing quite fine. We also got featured in Time magazine thanks to the show.

Rakesh Bapat and I were talking for a long time for a television project, besides he wanted to debut on television too. We wanted a nice and soft face for the role of a lover boy (musician).

Neena Gupta was on our mind for the colorful and loud mouthed character of a bhabhi besides we have worked together in Neeyat and Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand.

Shweta Kawatra wanted to do a positive role but we were thinking of casting her for some other role but suddenly this came up.

Sadia is doing a fabulous job and it was a unanimous decision to have her in the show.
As Saloni progresses in her life we will have new characters coming in and this will happen in the next one month or so.

On Sphere Origins-

I started Sphere Origins in 2002. We have an ideation team which looks into the creative aspects of every show we make, works on a theme, develops concepts and presents the ideas to the channels.

On his future projects-
We have a detective series titled Don for Star Plus lined up that will have Parmeet Sethi as the lead but the other characters in the show will keep changing in all the series. The look of the show is going to be very different - nothing like CID or other investigative shows on air.
Talks are on for a non-fiction show on Discovery and a reality show too. 2006 will have us making films and many more television shows for various channels.

On his personal life-On his personal life-
I have been happily married for the past 15 years and I have a 13 year old daughter. My wife is into exports of furniture articles and is also actively involved in the look of my shows (set, props, costumes).

__________________

Shahid Amir

Bollywood designer Shahid Amir's creations will now be seen on the small screen. He will be doing the styling for Sunjoy Wadhwa's new show Saloni (tentative title) which will air on Zee around August-September.

Shahid, whose film clients include Ajay Devgan, Manisha Koirala and Fardeen Khan (he designed his engagement suit recently) besides several other stars, will design for every character on the show. "It is not that he will only style the main actors but everyone on the show to provide it a proper glossy look," says Wadhwa about his new show.

Style symbols

Saloni has film actor Rakesh Bapat (Tum Bin) make his television debut. "I have known Rakesh for a long time and have designed a lot for him. It was he who suggested my name to Sunjoy for the show," informs Shahid. The serial, which has a Rajasthan setting, will have the characters attired in a style symbolic of the region.

"But I will not be dressing them up in those typical mirror-work kind of costumes. I will use them as mere symbols to create my own style for the seial," says Shahid.

Star cast

Saloni is directed by Rakesh Sarang and written by Purnendu Shekhar and Rajesh Dube. Besides Bapat, the huge and well-know star cast includes Neena Gupta, Mohan Bhandari, Shweta Kawaatra, Akshay Anand, Sharad Kelkar and two new faces — Rajshree Thakur and Poonam Gulati.

Prime time

Saloni is slated to air at prime time on Zee. Though Wadhwa is tightlipped about what Saloni is about, it is learnt that it besides a Rajasthan setting, it delves upon the inner beauty of an individual.

from mid-day