Saat Phere _ On the Sets

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.

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

wow thats very intersting..
😉 thax for sharing dear... 😊

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing!

thank you very much may god bleess yyoouu

wow..thnx for sharing the article

thanks...dosent saloni look lighter in that pic...