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| Chaya Unnikrishnan A day on the sets of 9X shows didn't throw any surprises. Be it Siddharth Basu's Jiya Jale, Smriti Irani's Mere Apne or Ekta Kapoor's Kahe Naa Kahe, not one seemed different from the fare we are already watching Since curiosity is an essential part of a journo's DNA, it wasn't surprising that hordes of them arrived at the venue, where they were promptly divided into two groups. Two buses were kept ready and thirty minutes after the scheduled time, the journey began. We were told that we would be going to Film City to visit the sets of Siddharth Basu's first fiction soap Jiya Jale followed by a trip to Smriti Irani's Mere Apne set at Malad and Ekta Kapoor's Kahe Na Kahe shot at Sankraman Studio. Undoubtedly, it was going to be one long day, exciting or not would be decided later. As soon as the bus took to the road, the corporate communications head briefed us about the channel, its programmes and what makes it different from the existing ones. Teaser ads and a showreel of the different shows were screened in the video coach. The best thing about the promo we thought was their take on the navrasas. Dressed in Chaplinesque outfits, a man and a woman brought out the different rasas beautifully. Of the shows, much is expected from Basu's maiden foray into fiction but the promo isn't exciting nor does it differ from the ones we have seen umpteen times before, save for the melodious number composed by Shantanu Moitra and sung by Shreya Ghoshal. Smriti's Mere Apne set in Benaras has the ex-Tulsi draping a Gujarati saree and a jooda that revisits her popular avatar. As for the Balaji show, Kahe Na Kahe, the promo of a young girl, Ekta's new find Krystle D'Souza proclaming that she's married 50 times catches your attention alright, but it remains to be seen whether the serial does. It's the usual story of a middle-class girl, a marriage broker, from the looks of it and her dreams. Reminds you of her earlier serial Kkusum which was a aam ladki ki khaas kahani. However, two sitcoms that promise to tickle your funny bone are Remote Control starring Supriya Pathak and Deven Bhojani and Tanuja's debut show Babbanbbhai Vs Bimaltai with Gaurav Gera. Then there's Jamegijodi.com that sees Mona Millie Vasu making a comeback after her debut serial a couple of years ago and Mihir Mishra. Traditional match-making versus internet shaadi seems to be the funda of the show. As we draw comparisions and rate the forthcoming shows with those on the other channels, the audiovisual concludes and we find ourselves in Film City. We are ushered into a makeshift pandal for a press conference with Basu and his team, director Vipul Mayank, actors Mahesh Thakur, Bharati Achrekar, Natasha Sinha and a new boy Saurabh Pandey who plays the lead role. The girl Sriti Jha, we are told is hospitalised as she is down with a bout of malaria. After the usual spiel about their roles and how good it is, we are taken inside a set designed by none other than Nitin Desai. A mini haveli with a jhoola in the aangan, it straightaway creates a Gujarati ambience. After soaking in the traditional fervour and clicking pictures of the cast on the jhoola, the actors are handed over to the scribes for a one-on-one. Achrekar who plays the hero's daadi feels that after her Wagle Ki Duniya this is the first time she's acting in a "realistic serial". "The characters are extremely identifiable and close to life," she states. We ask Basu whether he is as comfortable producing a soap as he is creating a quiz? "Why not, I hail from a theatre background, and have already produced two tele-plays for Doordarshan. In fact, quiz is also a drama with elements of loss, victory, confrontation and presentation," he declares much to our amazement. As we wrap up our visit to Basu's set, he dramatically announces, "Watch Jiya Jale, 8.30 pm only on 9X!" Now we know, the quiz master is completely entrenched in the world of soaps. We move on to the sets of Irani's Mere Apne in Malad. It's nearly 3 pm and the heat is unbearable. However, we make our way inside the studio where chairs are being hurriedly put up for the imprompto meet. Soon, Irani, her entire starcast including Vinod Khanna are amidst us talking about the merits of the serial. Everyones' curious to know what prompted Khanna to do Irani's serial? Was it the BJP connection? "I don't mix art and politics," says Irani. As for Khanna, it was the central role as Kashinath Pandey that interested him. "As an actor I don't differentiate between the big and small screen," reasons the yesteryear superstar. Irani who plays his onscreen wife in the serial claims she wouldn't have gone ahead if "Vinodji had refused to do the role". After a few more Q & As the conference draws to a close. The time is 5 pm and we are supposed to meet Krystle D'Souza, Ekta Kapoor's new find for her serial Kahe Na Kahe. Considering we are at the fag end of the day we decide to take a raincheck. http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=17908
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