Article--Smriti I rani's new show

G irl and boy are just about to take their pheras at the shaadi ka mandap when a woman walks in and declares that she's preg- gers. Before anyone can react, seven others stand up and declare the same. The bride almost faints when an old granny also claims, in a quivering voice, that she's also carrying the groom's baby. It's just one of the three promos for 9X, the new channel set to hit the tube next week. Apparently, every show is dedicated to one 'rasa' or emo- tion. But from what we've seen, it looks like a lot of drama with a sprinkling of comedy. Same old, same old Siddharth Basu's foray into TV fiction - Jiya Jale - is being touted as the biggest show on 9X (Smri- ti Iraani and co. don't seem to mind). Sure, he's roped in art director Nitin Desai, composer Shan- tanu Moitra and lyricist Swanand Kirkire but the sets and the cast are no dif- ferent from what we see on other soaps. "It's different. It's a lot more realistic. We won't be having any Madras cuts or melodrama. Jiya Jale has a cinematic look," argues Basu. The cast includes Mahesh Thakur, Bharti Achrekar, Natasha Sinha and newbies Sriti Jha, Tapeshwari Sharma and Saurabh Pandey. From the K-factory Much has been said about Ekta Kapoor's latest find, 17-year-old Krystle D'Souza. "No, I didn't change my name.. I always spelt it with a K," clarifies the self-assured young girl who plays 21-year-old Kinjal, a wedding planner (that's what we gather from the promos) in Kahe na Kahe. Her co-stars include Vaish- navi McDonald, Darpan Shri- vastav and Karan Huku among others. Huku, who was in Kya Love Story Hai, is pretty excited about his bad-boy act. But aren't we by now tired of Ms Kapoor's bad boys who turn annoyingly good? Vinod Khanna glares into the camera in Mere Apne in which he's playing hubby to Smriti Iraani. The serial is set in Varanasi and has a Mohabbatein feel to it.. at least Khanna's character does. This one's a regular fami- ly saga, but then no one's pre- tending that it's any different. Pretty promising We all know how funny Gaurav Gera can be. Team him up with yesteryear actress Tanuja in Babban Bhai Vs Bimla Tai, and you finally have something that's cute. Tanuja's Bimla Tai is quite like Priya Tendulkar's ghost appearance in Hum Paanch. Next up are Mihir Mishra and Mona Wasu (she made a forgettable debut in Millee) in Jamegi Jodi.com. Hip, America-returned guy runs a matrimonial website and oiled-plaited-bespectacled girl believes that matched horo- scopes maketh a marriage. Finally, there's Remote Con- trol. Definitely worth a watch. After all it's from the makers of Baa Bahoo aur Baby. janaki.viswanathan@hindustantimes.com