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The ever-forthright Ekta Kapoor has no qualms about admitting that she had a minor scuffle with Sony Entertainment, its head honcho Tarun Katial to be precise.

"I was rather annoyed with Tarun. They had left out my soap Kkusum from the invitation card of their party celebrating their successful soaps. Though Tarun said it was an oversight I thought it was a deliberate attempt to push our Kkusum hastily out of sight. Come on! Just because the soap was winding up it didn't mean it shouldn't have got a decent send-off."

The minor fracas is now forgotten. And the workaholic TV tycoon is now working on her new show — a TV gossip magazine called Kandy Floss for Sony. Giving the details of the format for the first time Ekta says, "We've never really had a gossip-and-information show about TV on TV before. Also, Balaji Telefilms hasn't really done much non-fiction…though we did do the Sunita Menon Show on Zoom which was very successful. But, yes, Kandy Floss is a first for us. And we're excited."

Besides a regular female anchor, Kandy Floss will have an animation creature called Kandy who'll take viewers through the party-gossip-info circuit on television. "It would be my tribute to Madame M, the fictional gossip writer whom I grew up reading in the magazine Cine Blitz ."

The anchor, though is not confirmed. Isn't Archana Puransingh talking about anchoring the show? "We're in negotiations. But some nitty-gritty needs to be worked out," says Ekta. Besides Kandy Floss on Sony, Ekta has two new fiction programmes coming up on Star One…Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka and Kasam Se. "We've already started casting for Nimmo. Though it will have a new face in the central role the supporting cast will comprise some very well-known veterans from stage and movies, never seen in my serials," promises Ekta.

Ekta is also thrilled with the remarkable recovery of ratings for Star's KkavyAnjali. "From being written off —almost — to now being our fourth-most popular soap on Star after Kyunki...Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi..., Kahanii Ghar Ghar Kii and Kasautii Zindagii Kay (just ahead of Kahiin To Hoga) we're very proud of KkavyAnjali and the support that Star offered. Star's COO Samir Nair assured me he wouldn't close down the show, come what may. That gave me the courage to go on."

As for the revival of Hum Paanch on Zee, Ekta says it's still not certain how successful it would prove to be. "The first few weekends were overshadowed by other events on rival channels. But I had no choice. The channel told me either I bring Hum Paanch back, or they'd do it themselves. How could I let someone else take over my show? I've revived two of my shows Mano Ya No Mano and Koi Haadsa Koi Haqeeqat successfully. Why not Hum Paanch?"

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Ekta Kapoor's much-awaited "gossip" show Kandy Floss is already being touted to be all spice and no sugar. The magazine-format show is all set to go on Sony TV on March 10, but only after the channel ensures the content meets the "Standards and Practises of television channels" says Anupama Mandloi, VP, programming, Sony.

In fact, one of the reasons the show has been delayed in telecast is because the content, unlike Ekta's other shows, is very "adult" and "hot". Sandiip Sikcand, creative head, Balaji Telefilms explains, "Kandy Floss is all about the behind the scenes goings-on and hot, unadulterated gossip related to the entertainment industry. In our show we have dealt with some issues like "homosexuality in the fashion industry", to what extent will actors go to gain name and fame' and "will heroines go topless for a scene".

We have people (actors, models) making some very candid statements on camera. So that's something the channel is not very comfortable with. They wanted us to make some changes and edit it accordingly. But we can't as we have already toned down the outspokenness' of the show. It's just a 21-minute weekly show and editing it further will not do any justice to it because we have really worked hard on making it something totally different from what you have seen before on TV."

Kandy Floss is anchored by Archana Puran Singh. Says Sikcand, "The reason we chose Archana to host it is because her personality goes with the profile of our show. She has always been candid about what she thinks and has always been known to do things differently." It was earlier meant to be a weekend show at 8.30 pm but now it will be telecast at 11 pm on Fridays.

Says Mandloi, "Keeping in mind the content of the show, we thought it would be wise to telecast it at a later time. Kandy Floss is all about unveiling the lives of TV and film stars and so we have to be careful about what we show."

However Sikcand assures that "whatever we show or talk about on the show has come out of thorough research. If we are making any statements about any issue, we have every reason to." After giving viewers an overdose of Indian traditions and values through her prime time family sagas, looks like Ekta Kapoor is finally going to tackle some real and adult issues.