Concept/ Characters/ Articles-NO COMMENTS - Page 8

From Hitlist Mid-day 07.04.06

Shaadi mein aana 

Ashish Nayyar tied the knot with long time girlfriend, Kumuda Rao yesterday in Delhi.

The actor plans to throw a lavish reception on April 9 for his friends in Mumbai.

We received a colourful and hilarious wedding invitation from the actor. Nayyar calls his shaadi — a big fat Punjabi wedding and we believe it when he says so.

The actor's friends are dying for the groom to return from Delhi. Must have a helluva party planned for the couple.

Disha sings to a new tune

Chavi Mittal with husband director Mohit Hussein

Chavi Mittal aka Disha, who is seen as a journalist in Tumhari Disha is really versatile. She is a trained singer and also performs on stage. She will soon display this talent in Tumhari Disha, where she will sing for her character. "There is a sequence following DK's release from jail where Disha tries to irritate him by doing a jig; something like the song Buddha Mil Gaya from the film Sangam. I don't know how it will turn out. This is the first time that I will be dancing," says Chavi. That's not all, Chavi's husband Mohit Hussein (director of Zee's Kareena Kareena) will make his debut as a film director with Kaise Kahe produced by Smita Thackeray.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=19&am p;am p;articleid=4820061255010948200612416437

soucre Mid-day

Ashish's shaadi blooper

Ashish Nayyar

Ashish Nayyar's fans have been ecstatic after we accidentally leaked his phone number in this section.

The actor has been harrowed by calls from people from all over. "It wasn't the best feeling seeing your number splashed in print," says Nayyar.

On the good news front Nayyar had a fabulous reception for friends from the industry. "I had a great time", says Chavvi Hussein. Let's hope more fans don't harrow Nayyar.

Chhavi Hussain

Chhavi refuses to do intimate scenes
Nuzhat Aziz
Tuesday, April 25, 2006 19:46 IST


Actor Chhavi Hussain refuses to do intimate scenes with co-stars.

It's been two and a half years since 'Tumhari Disha' (Zee) has been on air but actor Chhavi Hussain, who plays the protagonist, is still unwilling to do intimate scenes with her co-stars.

While actor Kartik Agarwal has been recently roped in as the new man in protagonist Disha's life, actor Ashish Nayyar has been playing her husband.

Insiders say that Chhavi insists on changing scripts if it requires her to do an intimate scene with her co-stars. "At one point it did get difficult because she had to be close to her on-screen husband. But the script had to be altered because she didn't agree," said a unit member on conditions of anonymity.

Chhavi admits, "Yes I am uncomfortable. That's the reason why I have refused several Bollywood offers. In television, it's still not imperative to get intimate on-screen. I have my limits and I want to stick to my beliefs."

The actor who got married a year ago to director Mohit Hussain says, "I had my hang-ups much before I got married to Mohit. So it's nothing to do with him."

Though Chhavi isopen to exploring different kinds of roles, she wouldn't be happy doing "typical saas bahu sagas."

Don't touch me!


Pativrata: Chavvi Mittal with husband



Ashish Nayyar

Chaos on sets as Chavvi Mittal of Tumhari Disha refuses to let co-star touch her; saying none bar her husband can get intimate

Reena Thapar Kapoor
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=19&am p;articleid=428200612016921428200611723234

Disha, of Tumhari Disha, has suddenly gone coy. She has decided that no man other than her brand new husband will touch her. And yes, this coyness extends to her on-screen performance too.

So, Chavvi Mittal, alias Disha, who recently married director Mohit Hussain, has created an impregnable barrier around herself. Apparently, she has made it clear to her co-stars and unit members that she will not do get close to her on-screen hero, Ashish Nayyar, in the show any more.

Naturally, this sudden coyness put the entire plot of Tumhari Disha off track, since the show is a love story. Now the 'love' has being censored out of it by its protagonist.

"There isn't any chemistry between Ashish and Chavvi any more," reveals a unit member. "Chavvi's 'touch-me-not' attitude is a huge problem."

Chavvi admits to playing touch-me-not. "I'm never difficult or unreasonable on the sets. As an actor I want to do my job to the best of my ability. However I agree that I do have objections when it comes to getting too close to the hero," admits Chavvi.

The actress who is currently holidaying with her husband on the beaches of Ratnagiri, says that she has put her foot down and demanded certain changes in the script. "There haven't been too many instances but I did refuse to shoot for an intimate bedroom scene with Ashish," she says. "I understand that Tumhari Disha is a love story and such scenes are bound to be included. But I'm not comfortable with it. I don't believe that you have to touch, hug or kiss all the time, to express love. A lot can be conveyed through the eyes and through body language."

When contacted, Ashish says, "It took me a lot of time to accept her attitude. We are actors and it's our job to get under the skin of the characters. I have no personal attraction for Chavvi. But the love between our characters on screen has to be expressed."

"Initially, when she had just started her weird behaviour, I thought she was uncomfortable and hence I should try to help her relax," he adds. "So took the initiative to break the ice and make her feel comfortable, but she didn't budge from her stand."

Things between them have been going from bad to worse. "After a point it did really bother me as my character, DK, too was suffering," says Ashish. "But what can I do? She's a married woman and I have great respect for her. But we're just doing our job on the sets, aren't we? There have been times when she has asked her husband to be present on the sets. As an actor, you become stiff when you know that your heroine's husband is watching you with a hawk's eye. I don't want my performance to suffer because of Chavvi's fears and apprehensions."

Tumhari Disha has been successfully running on Zee TV for the past two years. Now the show has got an extension of a year. however, the big question is, how long will a romance continue with its protagonist suddenly turning coy?


C'mon, it's just your job!

• Post her engagement, Gurdeep Kohli has reservations about wearing a white sari in Sindoor. She is superstitious about white standing for widowhood.

• Aleeza quit Mamta as she didn't want to play an unwed mother in the serial and face social criticism.

Hear this one

Arjun Punj, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Vikas Bhalla

Riva Bubber, Rohit Roy

Television actors react to Chavvi's coy story

Arjun Punj

I don't think this is the right attitude to adopt for an actor. If you are asked to do explicit scenes and you decline, it may still be understandable, but if you have a problem even with holding your hero's hand, that too in a love story, then you shouldn't be in the business.


Rajeshwari Sachdev

It all depends on your personal comfort zone. If Chavvi did not want to do the scene, she must have had her own reasons for it. Personally, as an actor I don't think I understand this behaviour. One has to realise that on screen your actions are far removed from real life.


Vikas Bhalla

If your understanding with the production house is very good, then you can afford to refuse to do scenes if you are not convinced about. It is up to her to decide what she is comfortable doing on screen. Anyway, on screen every thing is contrived, nothing is real. If you die in a scene, it does not mean you die in real life. It's the same with holding hands and kissing too. Finally it's just fiction.


Riva Bubber

It is all so mechanical when you enact intimate scenes on screen. As far as holding hands is concerned, I think it is a very small issue. However, at the end of the day it depends on one's own comfort level. May be her husband doesn't like her doing certain scenes. In that case, she has to take care to not hurt her family's sentiments. 


Rohit Roy

It is surprising, but at some level it also depends on how comfortable you are with doing certain things on screen. If Chavvi refused to do the scene, she must have had her reasons for it. On the flip side, producers have to suffer when actors play difficult. So, these things should be made clear to them at the outset, before the serial is signed.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=19&am p;am p;articleid=42820061234878428200612235109

Soucre Mid-Day: http://web.mid-day.com/hitlist/2006/may/136474.htm

Chhavi Mittal's Ratnagiri rendezvous
   By: Shaheen Parkar
   May 3, 2006

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Chhavi Mittal and Mohit Hussein

Tumhari Disha actress Chhavi Mittal and her director husband Mohit Hussein celebrated their first wedding anniversary at a seaside resort in Ratnagiri.

"In fact I term this our eighth honeymoon," says Chhavi, who married Mohit on April 29 last year.

"We try and take mini vacations every now and then, but ever since Mohit has started directing his film Kaise Kahe, we have been unable to go anywhere for last three months.

Chhavi Mittal

Chhavi at Ganpatipule

Chhavi Mittal and Mohit Hussein

But we made it a point to spend five days together to celebrate our first anniversary.

Otherwise, I barely get to see Mohit as we are both shooting throughout the day," she adds.

Keen travellers

The couple wanted to visit an isolated place, "where the two of us get some time with each other."

Actress Dimple Ghosh suggested the Kohinoor Samudra Resort, in Ratnagiri.

"In the past year, we have been to Goa twice, besides Daman, Lonavla, Matheran and Mahableshwar.

Mohit was greatly excited about Ratnagiri, as it was a seven-hour drive to the resort. He loves long drives," explains Chhavi.

The setting was idyllic, as the resort is situated on a hilltop.

 "The beach was empty and unpolluted; we could spend the entire day there.

The resort also had a deck, from where we could see the whole city of Ratnagiri. It was simply lovely."

Soltaire gift

Chhavi Mittal

The couple also visited Ganpatipule, equally known for its temple and beaches.

"Ratnagiri is picturesque and quiet, just waiting to be explored. In fact, Mohit has already set sights on shooting his next film here."

And what anniversary gift did she receive from her hubby? "He gave me a sparkling solitaire," says Chhavi, "but I did not give him any gift," she laughs.

Zee's Tumhari Disha's proposed leap already has its lead threatening to quit! Chhavi Mittal is adamant about not aging if the show hits the fast forward button and has made up her mind to quit the show if the planned generation leap of 20 years is implemented.

Chhavi Mittal

"I am too young to play that old a character. This is my first show and I don't want to age now! Maybe five or six years down the line, I might give it a thought. I am feeling bad about it, but not that bad, since I believe that it's time that I move on. If they take a generation leap, I have no option but to quit," says Chhavi, who recently was in the news when she refused to get intimate with co-star Aashish Nayyer.

Although producer Rupali Guha of Filmfarm Productions says that plans regarding the leap are still underway and that it's too early to comment on it, our sources indicate that the search for Chhavi's replacement has already begun! Moreover, a little bird tells us that the lead will stop shooting from next month and is sticking to her resolve of quitting.

Meanwhile, Aashish seems positive about the probable leap! "I am not stuck up about aging. If the role is good and the character shapes up well, I don't have any problems, after all, it's acting!," sighs Aashish.

When contacted, Kruttika Desai, who plays Gargi in the show, refused to divulge any details. Sources say that the lady too is not too kicked about playing grandmother to a 25 year old.

All in all, this is one show whose off screen drama seems to have an uncanny resemblance to Zee's another show, Piya Ka Ghar where the makers had to resort to offer its lead, Narayani Shastri a double role to prevent her from walking out. Will Tumhari....take a similar disha?

Chavi is unwilling to age



It takes a spark to set a fire and going by what we've heard, it may not be too long before things start getting warm on Zee's daily soap Tumhari Disha. The serial is rumoured to take a generation leap, but not everybody is pleased with the time-jump. Apparently, the lead, Chavi Mittal is unwilling to age and is quite adamant about her stand; so much so that she is even ready to may quit the show if she is required to play mother to actors her own age.

However, when contacted, the actress sounded undecided. When asked her about her decision she was non-committal, saying, "I don't know, let's see what happens. I don't think the time-leap will happen soon. There are four to five tracks that the producers are working on; I don't know which one will be decided upon. At this stage, it is early to say if I will be continuing after the leap."   
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=19&ar ticleid=58200623186453582006231728328

Saaru chhe, says Sudha
   By: Shaheen Parkar
   May 9, 2006

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Sudha Chandran, better known as Ramola Sikand of the small screen, has gone the Tulsi (Smriti Z Iraani) way. Sudha will now feature in a Gujarati play, titled Shrimatiji Samjho To Saaro, produced by Kiran Bhatt and written and directed by Imtiaz Patel. This is the same team that produced Maniben.com, which marked Smriti's entry into Gujarati theatre. Learning the lingo Says Patel, "Sudha has worked extremely hard on her language for this role. She does not speak Gujarati, as she is from South India, but after having stayed in Mumbai all these years, Gujarati is familiar to her. She speaks Marathi very well, she is also getting comfortable with Gujarati. Sudha has taken it up as a challenge. Acting, after all, is all about expression." Says Chandran, "I've stay-ed in Mumbai many years, so Marathi and Gujarati are not exactly new. I hear people speak Gujarati and even manage to reply to them. I used to think Gujarati was an easy language to pick up. But now that I have begun rehearsals, I have realised how tough it is to complete a full sentence with the right pronunciations. There is more to Gujarati than 'su chhe' and 'saaru chhe'." The actress has taken up this assignment as she needs do something fresh. " Imtiaz-bhai has always been instru- mental in getting me to experiment and try out new avenues. He wrote Kamaal Karte Ho Aap Bhi, the first play I ever did. When Sahara was making a spoof on Devdas, called Bewdadas, he  suggested that I play the mother's role. He also wrote Zee show, Hum Paanch, so I have worked with him in this show, too." Chandran has acted in Gujarati films, and also dubbed for them herself. "But dubbing in films is a completely different experience; you say just one word at a time. Theatre is live, there are no retakes." Shrimatiji Samjho To Saaro opens May 21, at Nehru Centre, Worli. "It is a comedy that takes on trelationships between a mother and her son, settled in the US. It is about their culture conflict," says Patel. The cast also includes Gujarati stage regulars, Pratap Sachdev, Arya Rawal and Manish Mehta. Sudha takes the Smriti route Besides Kamaal Karte Ho Aap Bhi, Chandran was also seen in the Hindi play, Kohraa. On the small screen, she features in Tumhari Disha (Zee) and K Street Pali Hill (Star Plus). When asked if she sought inspiration from Smriti Z Iraani to do Gujarati theatre, Chandran says, "Smriti is extremely talented, and great at multi-tasking. I hope I can do it as well."

http://web.mid-day.com/hitlist/2006/may/136927.htmEdited by monika.goel - 18 years ago