Nirja Guleri is again in a mood to experiment. First, there was Chandrakanta, then Tu Tu Main Main. Now she has made a countdown show called Ooh La La. The anchor is Neelam, playing a plain Jane who transforms herself into a `most wanted'. Merely by fantasising of herself in different avtaars she sees in TV programmess, films and commercials. One moment she is Rajat Sharma, the next moment, Brooke Logan. She even imagines herself as Aloo Prasad Yadav (wonder what the Bihari CM-babu would say about the aloo part!). In fact, Neelam changes her dream roles more often than you would change diapers on the most active baby. In every episode, she does 25 different take-offs. Biting off more than she can chew?Pune passionArun Frank has made more serials than he can remember. But one consistent thing about him is that he shoots more in Pune than in Mumbai. In fact, he spends around 15 days every month shooting there. He claims that Mumbai has been overused and Pune gives him new lush locations. But there appears to be another reason for going there. The rumour mill says that Arun goes there also because his in-laws stay there! In that case, he must be one of the exceptions who actually look forward to meeting their sas-sasurs. Pay up timeGirja Shankar's problems seem never-ending. First, he had a hard time finding sponsors for his serial Yeh Isqh Nahin Aasaan. His artists and technicians were not paid. But even after getting a sponsor, he still hasn't paid up. So much so, that it is rumoured the chaiwalla stopped Girja on the road and threatened to place a chai-embargo on his office staff unless he cleared the chai-dues! Maybe Girja should rename his serial, Yeh Production Nahin Aasaan.18 till I dieThe latest buzz is that Mukesh Khanna has gone in for yoga and meditation. He has even refused to wear beards in serials or do anything that would make him look old. The reason seems to be his home production, Shaktimaan, in which he does a take-off on, believe it or not, Superman. Mukesh is a dumb journalist who become superhuman and attends to all kinds of crises. But of course, he insists that the serial is not based on Superman, but on a superhuman! Maybe he does not want to land in crises off screen the way Sunil Agnihotri did with his Beetal.Kiddie crazeRemember, we told you about what happened to Rajiv Mehta when he was planning to throw a bash to celebrate 25 episodes of his serial, Suhana Safar? Well, he got a letter from Zee saying that the serial had been taken off air! But Rajiv is back with a new serial. Called Kashish (how appropriate!), the serial will be about a 14-year-old girl. Now, now, doesn't this sound a wee-bit like Tony and Diya Singh's Just Mohabbat which revolves around a 10-year-old boy?Of days & weeksVinod Ranganathan holds a record of sorts. He's the only writer of two daily serials on the air, Swabhimaan and Itihaas. Now he has turned producer. He is making a "spooky weekly soap". All other details are under wraps. But the strange part is, even though daily soaps havebrought him fame, his own serial is going to be a weekly!On a new highMusic Asia has reason to celebrate. Finally it has broken into the prime band by getting a place on the hot-bird-in-the-sky, the PAS-4 satellite. It is rehauling it's programme schedule and lauching a brand new mix of Hindi and English music. If the promos are anything to go by, it will definitely give Channel [V] and MTV and run for their money.Goa connectionMilind Soman has got an admirer, who, for a change, is not only impressed with his hunky looks but also his acting capabilities. And you've got to believe the lady when she says that he is not that bad an actor because she is this year's National Award winner for Best Supporting Actress for the film Sardari Begum, Rajeshwari Sachdev. The lady, who plays his lover girl in the new Zee serial Margarita, is having a great time shooting for the serial, thanks, to a great extent, to the suggestions Soman gives and takes all the time. The bottomline being: ``He is such a nice man.'' Now do we smell something more here than just simple, professional praise?(Contributed by Deepak Karambelkar, Anindita Dutta Roy and Murli Sharma)
