Earshot

Sitcom callingIt seems that sitcoms are the in thing these days. And surprisingly, most of them are hits. In terms of TRPs, that is. Whet...

Sitcom calling
It seems that sitcoms are the in thing these days. And surprisingly, most of them are hits. In terms of TRPs, that is. Whether they are actually funny or not is a different issue. One such serial that is doing well is Prithvi Singh’s Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai. Starring Bindu and Shashikala, it premiered eight weeks ago on Zee TV (Thursday, 8 pm). In its fourth week it notched up a TRP of six. Exhilarated with the response, Singh has started work on two more sitcoms. Although untitled, one of them stars Shammi Kapoor (for the first time in a comic role on the small screen), Niki Aneja, Tanaz Currim and Dilip Joshi. “I don’t want to disclose anything about the concept yet,” says Singh. Another concept is already at the preview level. Maryada, a soap based in Rajasthan about the clash between two royal families, is with Zee right now. With his career on the upswing, Singh must feel vindicated about his decision to walk out of Maharana Pratap. Following differences, he dissolved his partnership with Rathore Films– the producers of the historical.

Coming up
Another person who cannot stop beaming is producer Dinesh Bansal. After his serials Sinhasan and Inteqaam were terminated abruptly from Doordarshan and Zee, respectively, he found himself financially crippled. Now, he is beginning to recover his losses. Ghar Jamai starring Satish Shah, Madhavan and Mandira Bedi seems to be a winning proposition what with TRPs of 13, after just 26 episodes. Encouraged by his success, Bansal is now producing another sitcom. Alvida Darling has been written by Sanjay Chel and will be directed by Mahadevan again. With Farouque Sheikh in the lead this serial has already been approved by Zee. The industry buzz is that the serial should be a another hit. “It’s a bitter-sweet comedy about a husband and wife. It starts where other sitcoms end,” says Mahadevan.

Spook supreme
Deepak Tijori recently turned tele-producer with a few episodes of Saturday Suspense under his banner Tijori Inc. And we have to admit that he is really doing some good work. His Saturday Suspense story Khoj, to be telecast on December 26 is the first medical thriller ever made on Indian television. Directed by Anant Mahadevan, it centres around the invention of an AIDS vaccine. The team of doctors who make this discovery invite international attention and suddenly they find themselves embroiled in murder, mystery and scandal. “It’s the most dreaded and relevant topic in medicine today. You can say this is our contribution to World AIDS Day which was on December 1.

The plot is very real and believable,” Tijori explains. “It’s the first authentic, medical thriller ever made. It has a lot of medical terms and involved a lot of research. It’s about a cure for AIDS, where the doctors illegally test it on a patient who shows positive results and later gets murdered. It may not be an utopian dream, it might come true some day and people will remember our episode,” adds Mahadevan. The one-hour programme stars Surendra Pal, Saahil, Neelima Azim and Anang Desai, among others.Serials apart
Actress Vaidehi is mighty upset these days about rumours of her affair with cricketer-turned-actor Salil Ankola. Apparently, stories of a link-up started making the rounds after the two acted in Chahat Aur Nafrat on Zee. Both insist that there is nothing on between them and that they are just friends. But people have refused to believe them. Now, they have decided to take the drastic step of not working together. Recently, when Kanwaljeet was dropped from Captain House, the makers approached Ankola for the role. He flatly refused, thinking it would only add fuel to fire if he agreed to do another serial opposite Vaidehi. Finally, Narendra Jha took the role. “Why can’t people write about your work. I’ve had to faced this sort of problem earlier as well. It only spoils relationships,” fumes Vaidehi.