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Gautami Kapoor refuses Ekta Kapoor!


She's the first actor from the Balaji stable to have turned down the mega mythological show Mahabharata

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Gautami Kapoor has done the unbelievable. The actor has refused Ekta Kapoor's magnum opus Mahabharata. Reason? Well, she does not see herself playing a mythological character on the small-screen.

Says a source in the production house, "Gautami was roped in when Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi was in the doldrums after Smriti Irani's exit. Ekta is very fond of Gautami for this simple reason. But, the situation has become different with Smriti burying the hatchet with Ekta and coming back to the show. As a backup plan, Ekta had thought of roping her in for Mahabharata in a bid to compensate. But, when the creative team approached Gautami, she refused plainly."

Confirms Gautami, "Yes, I was approached for Mahabharata. However, I just turned it down without even hearing what my character was about."

Incidentally, Gautami and Ram Kapoor's daughter Sia is just two years old and the mother does not want to get herself engrossed in too much work. Even when she was offered to play Tulsi in Kyunkii, she had made it clear that she wouldn't be able to give more than seven hours per day.

"Balaji has been extremely kind to me. I only shoot for a limited number of hours every day. I also get offs on Friday and Saturday. But, if I take up Mahabharata, I would have to shoot for more than 12 hours each day. A mythological is all about costumes and dramatic dialogues; so almost three hours would be spent just on the preparations, besides the actual shooting. I cannot afford this," she says.

Gautami adds, "Ram is shooting for more than 12 hours each day. So, I want to be around Sia."

But, what if this upsets Ekta? "This is a false impression that people have of Ekta. She is a gem of a person. She knows my situation completely. When she took me in Kyunki, she agreed to all my conditions. Ram and I are a part of the big Balaji family. I'm sure, she will approach me whenever she has a good role for me," she ends.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1163793

Jay Bhanushali elbows Ekta Kapoor??
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Yet another blue eyed boy of the soap queen Ekta Kapoor has showed the guts to say no to her. Jay Bhanushali, who won the hearts of the audiences with his performance in Ekta Kapoor's serial Kayamat first and later on with his dancing prowess in the reality dance show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, actually has had the guts to turn down Ekta's offer to act in her forthcoming mythological magnum opus Mahabharat.



When contacted, Jay Bhanushali prefers to be frank and does not beat round the bush. Jay confesses that Ekta Kapoor indeed told her that she was keen on casting him in her show Mahabharat in the role of Sahadev, one of the five Pandavas. "Right now, I am not acting in any show and did not have the problem of adjusting my dates but yet I told Ekta that I would not be able to do her show for the simple reason that I feel that I am not cut out to do period dramas on television," explains Jay.

Jay further adds, "I just cannot bring myself to mouth chaste Hindi cum Sanskrit tongue twisting dialogues and don ill fitting period costumes and wear a mukut, after having essayed aam aadmi ka roles in serials like Kayamat. In fact, having watched the earlier versions of Mahabharat on television right from my childhood, I also know for a fact that the role of Sahadev is not a long running one and I could have easily accepted Ekta's offer and did the role for a few episodes but I did not want to do it because I really know I will not be comfortable doing a costume drama. I explained my point of view to Ekta and contrary to what people think of her, she clearly understood my point of view without any ego problem and we shook hands and parted ways. She has assured me that she would cast me in any other non period show of hers. I may even do a reality show for her in the near future, because I will always be indebted to her for having given me my big break on television."

Jay confesses that, like Prachi Desai, who is making her debut in films with Rock On opposite Farhan Akhtar and Rajeev Khandelwal who has made his debut with Aamir, he also is now aiming for a career in films since he feels that he has had his fill as far as TV is concerned, though he admits that it is TV which has made him what he is. "I want to prove my versatility as an actor by acting in films. My idol is Aamir Khan. I want to do a few selected films and focus more on quality than quantity. That is one of the reasons I have been steadfastly declining most of the offers I am getting these days post Kayamat and Jhalak Dikhla Jaa for acting in daily soaps. I do not want to get burnt out too soon," concludes Jay.
http://bigdhamaka.wordpress.com/2008/07/01/jay-bhanushali-el bows-ekta-kapoor/

Who plays what in Ekta's Mahabharat
Published by Radiosargam at 02:49:18 am on February 10, 2008
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Ekta Kapoor's Mahabharat is all set to unveil the biggest of actors of small screen donning the most talked about characters in the mythological magnum opus. If sources are to be believed, most of the loyal actors of Balaji Telefilms will be featured in the show.

A mythological as big as Mahabharat, is bound to be a big budget project and Ekta is not leaving any stone unturned to make it a mega-success. Ekta's Mahabharat will be competing with another mythological- Sagar Arts' Ramayan - on a rival channel. So, to give it the initial push, Ekta wants to rope in all her big and loyal actors. Here's the introductory blueprint of the largerthan-life epic. Our source from the industry says, "The process of approaching actors is a well thought out one. Hiten Tejwani whose character Karan in Kyunki… is similar to that of Karn in the epic. Aman Verma is chosen to essay the role of Yudhishthir. Chetan Hansraj for his good physique, height and baritone voice will be playing Bheem. For Arjun's role, Ekta has approached Shabbir Ahluwalia, because of his growing popularity. While Ram Kapoor is approached to play Dhritarashtra, the blind king and father of the Kauravs, who would be better than Akashdeep Sehgal to portray the menacing Duryodhan! Naman Shaw will be essaying the role of Abhimanyu."

A well-placed source from the production house says, "Sakshi Tanwar, who's been portraying the iconic character of Parvati Bhabi, has been approached for the role of Kunti. Ekta's blue-eyed girl Anita will get into the robes of Draupadi. However, Gauri is also considered for the role of Draupadi. It is yet to be seen who wins the race." If all goes well, all the actors of Balaji will be featured in Mahabharat. However, the hunt for the most important characters of Lord Krishna and Bhishm Pitamah, is still on.

TOI

Hiten Tejwani Plays Karan In Ekta's Mahabharat
Karan of Star Plus serial "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" now again you will see Hiten Tejwani to play a character of Karan in Ekta Kapoor's much talked epic "Kahaani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki" in a new way. The actor is happy to be called Karan everywhere! We had a chit chat with him about the much awaited show.



He says to talking about the epic, "It is true that in Kyunki I am playing Karan and in Mahabharat as well I have to play the character with the same name but it is totally different to mu current role and I am trying to work hard on it".

Well, on taking up the role, Hiten explains, " I am sure that makers have studiesd Mahabharat very well and they have selected characters according to demand of the role. I am not denying the fact that intially we feel that of we should have played that character instead of our current one. But slowly we become habitual to a particular character and we start getting positive reponses as well".

However, we tell you about the caharcter of Karan in the show. Karan was also known as Suryavanshi and Sutputra. He was the sixth child of Kunti. She gave birth to him before marriage and decided to leave him in a river. The Karan and Pandavas were not aware about this all story. Karan, known for his charity, gaught the battle against the Pandavas and got to know of the reality onlly when he was about to die.

The favourite talented actor is all praises for new Mahabharat. As he excitely says, "It is quite different from that of earlier one. We have seen the earlier Mahabharat and we started believing that all characters are like that in real life. The kind of clothes they used to don and the way they used to walk and talk was absolutely real. So if we show the same thing then there would not be any freshness. This Mahabharat will be beyond anybody's imagination".

Harshad Chopda And Shabbir In Race For Arjun Role In Mahabharat
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Television star Harshad Chopda as Prem of "Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil" fame and Shabbir Ahluwalia who currently play a lead role in "Kayamath" as Milind are in the race for the role of "Arjun" in Ekta Kapoor's lastest project "Kahaani Hamaaray Mahabharat Ki".
http://www.urdutech.net/360/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/harsh ad-shabbir1.jpg


Creative Head of the serial, Suraj Rao, told the media, "We are discussing Arjun's charatcer with Harshad Chopda. He had listened to the script and is quite okay with it, in other words her is satisfied with his character. Though he is new but he is quite suitable to the role. Meanwhile, we are in talks with Shabbir Ahluwalia too".

Suraj further adds, " Nivedita Basu (creative head of Balaji) is going to take the final decision within two days. We are going to have a meeting on Thursday and the announcement will be made soon. And yes, Anita Hasnandani is going to play a Draudpati's character".

The character of Arjun is one of the most important charatcters of "Mahabharat". He was the best archer and was the one who had hit the eye of the fish by looking at its image in the water and then got married to Draupadi in swayamwar. Lord Krishna gave him knowledge about the famous Bhagwat Geeta at the battle field when Pandavas were fighting Kauravas and Arjun was not ready for it.

The first promo for the serial was aired last week. Well, guy what do you think, who is the best option for the role of Arjun. Shabbir Ahluwalia or Harshad Chopda?     

An irked Gautami Kapoor says, "No, Thank you" to Ekta Kapoor's 'Mahabharata'.
Filed under: TV     
Posted: May 13th 2008 by Ruhi Tandon


An irked Gautami Kapoor says, "No, Thank you" to Ekta Kapoor's 'Mahabharata'The sudden resurfacing of Smriti as Tulsi and then, portraying Gautami as a negative character, has left the actress with bitter feeling towards Balaji production.

Ekta has sharing that she has something big in store for Gautami and it was the role of Draupadi in the magnum opus 'Mahabharata'. However; Gautami is in no mood to work for Ekta so, the actress admitted, "Yes, I was approached for 'Mahabharata' however, I just turned it down without even hearing about my character."

Gautami was roped in as Tulsi when Ekta had a showdown with Tulsi and now, the two have patched up and poor Gautami was shown the door. As hubby Ram Kapoor is highlighting in Ekta's soaps, Gautami cannot be vocal about her true feeling for Ekta hence, Gautami has excused herself by saying she has to devote more time to their 3-year old daughter Sia.

Ekta is shocked on being refused and she has declared a 'Mahabharata' against Gautami.

http://www.bollywoodblog.com/category/TV/An-irked-Gautami-Ka poor-says-No-Thank-you-to-Ekta-Kapoors-Mahabharata/

I would like to learn from Ekta Kapoor: Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi
With his character 'Koutilya' in "Chanakya", Dr. Dwivedi surely made his strata of audience but he couldn't justify himself to that cluster of people.

After making "Chanakya" in the year 1990, he chanced upon making of "Ek Aur Mahabharat" but unfortunately he failed alluring eyeballs to that show. Recently he is preparing to appear in television again with another Mahabharata made by Bobby Bedi.

He wishes to introduce his audience with the time, society as well as the conditions of that pre-historical time which still is a mystery hidden available in the Upanishad only.

Here is an excerpt from the interview:

Q.: Why Mahabharata?
A.: I think one must face bigger challenges, provided he wishes to increase his prowess. And I don't think there should be any bigger challenge than Mahabharata.

It's really challenging to recreate every bit of that time and to relive that point of history. But this is not the first time that I am accepting the challenge. Before that I took the same subject for my "Ek Aur Mahabharat" which couldn't succeed.

That experience taught me that I cannot play with the audience. And this time we are trying hard to get closer to people keeping in mind my previous bitter experience.

Q.: You are one of the most intelligent directors. But at times, you cannot refer the audience as the same. How will you connect your show with such an audience?
A.: I don't want to be remembered after my death. And if I am remembered that should only be for my intellectual creations. I believe in knowing completely about my subject before depicting that for my audience.

I have never seen anyone other than Shyam Benegal (Discovery of India) so dedicated to follow that path. Here people make historical films and shows but they don't even think about how the construction of houses took place or how was the society during Maurya dynasty.

People have tried with Mahabharata earlier also, but they had the same problem with researches. We tried to look at every field of that literature through Upanishad.

I have seen that people depend on imagination while they don't have sufficient material to read. And imagination is also very true if it's implied properly.

Q.: Do you think that the new generation will be able to connect themselves to the content of Mahabharata?
A.: Generation has been changing from the very beginning, but epics are still the same. There's nothing wrong in them.

I think no one should hinder the language from flowing to the next generations. I have faith that our new generation will accept the epic as it was accepted by people of any generation.

Q.: Ekta Kapoor also wishes to make Mahabharata. What would you like to say?
A.: Ekta is really very intelligent. She is one of the most successful names in the television history. I would like to learn from her experience.

Q.: Mahabharata is mainly based on the conflict between religious and unreligious facts. But you want to show its different aspects to your audience which may create obvious conflict. Are you prepared for that?
A.: I don't think there will be any problem regarding my aspects as the base for me is also the Mahabharata of Veda Vyas. And I think every human being has his/her own point of view to look at matters.

I think we can add our own where Mahabharata is silent but doing that we always have to keep our responsibility to the society in mind.

Q.: All the faces in your Mahabharata are new. Do you think they will be able to attract audience?
A.: I think every actor has his or her first day in this industry. And all the actors start their career with some shows. So, differentiating between new and old faces would really unfair. Besides, Mahabharata requires characters, not known actors.

Q.: You were a student of science. How do you personally look at Mahabharata?
A.: I would only say it's 'incredible'.

Q.: Once you said that you will create seven epics as Kalidas did. Please tell us about that.
A.: Considering "Chanakya", "Pinjar" the film and Mahabharata, three of them are already created and now I have to think of the remaining four.

Recently I am working on a story of 300 BC. I will announce it soon after I am done with that.

Q.: What happened to the film on Prithwiraj Chowhan that you were supposed to make?
A.: Yeah, I was inclined to make a film on that subject, but due to some controversies we had to drop the idea.

The funny part of that is Rajkumar Santoshi also wanted to make a film on the same subject at that time and he also had to drop the idea because of the same controversy. And now none of us intend to start it all over again.

Q.: You wanted to make a show on Ashoka also. What happened to that concept?
A.: You must remember that Prakash Mehra wanted to make that show after "Chanakya" got over. He called me to direct the show. But till that time there were many new channels in the market.

Their appearance completely changed the Quations of Doordarshan. At the same time it was impossible to make the show with the amount of money he offered. So, I rejected the show. Off late I am trying to make it again.

Q.: History affects you lot. What's the reason?
A.: (Smiling) Even I don't know the reason. My friends say that my soul was not salvaged in my last birth and that's why I go back to that time again and again.

Q.: War has completely different facets now. Earlier, there was war for nations only and then it became a matter for states and now it's happening even for racism. What would you like to say?
A.: I want to touch the same matters through Mahabharata.

I want to show people that they cannot win anything by killing others and war has no good aspect at all. It still is a great subject that demands our thought. - Rajnee Gupta
http://123india.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=19190

Ahead of time


Ekta Kapoor's Kahaani Hamaaray Mahabhaarat Ki will go on air earlier than initially scheduled


Back to Section Stories Posted On Friday, June 20, 2008

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Kunal M Shah


Ekta Kapoor

Ekta Kapoor's much talked-about show, Kahaani Hamaaray Mahabhaarat Ki, will go on air, earlier than the scheduled date.

So now viewers can tune in to the epic from July 7 onwards, instead of the earlier schedule of August 15. The show is slated to be a daily and will be aired on prime time from Monday to Thursday.

This change of schedule has taken place because Balaji Telefilms are way ahead of their deadline and have already built up a huge bank of episodes.

Although Ekta Kapoor remained unavailable for comment, a spokesperson of the channel says, "Yes, we had earlier announced the date of the telecast as August 15, to buy time as it is a big and ambitious show.

Also, we wanted to ensure that we have a proper bank of episodes before we begin telecasting. Now that we have built up a bank of episodes, we are ready to go on air from July 7."

The spokesperson also confirms the telecast days. She adds, "The show will now be aired from Monday to Thursday and not twice a week as we had scheduled earlier."

Kahaani Hamaaray Mahabhaarat Ki stars the biggest names in television like Ronit Roy, Hiten Tejwani, Saakshi Tanwar, Aryan Vaid, Chetan Hansraj, Anita Hassanandani and Makrand Deshpande, among others.

It is shot on a truly epic scale with spectacular sets and locations such as Ladakh, Jaipur and Wai.
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?Page=article&se ctid=12&contentid=20080620200806200323236759ee7667c

On the warpath


Back to Section Stories Posted On Friday, June 20, 2008

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Subhash K Jha


Mukesh

In BR Chopra's Mahabharat, actor Mukesh Khanna played Bhishma Pitamah, who had an integral role in way the epic played out.

However it seems that Mukesh Khanna has predicted Ekta Kapoor's Kahaani Hamaaray Mahabharat Ki to be disastrous, even before its telecast. "How can he be so sure of what we've made when he hasn't even seen a single frame?" Ekta retorts.

She adds, "I have the greatest regard for Mr BR Chopra and Ravi Chopra's Mahabharat, of which Mukesh Khanna was a part. Mahabharat is a mythological, not a historical. It is open to so many interpretations."

Khanna has also hinted that a new version of Mahabharat would be a flop as the remake of Sholay was. Laughing the matter off, Ekta says, "Sholay was a product of Ramesh Sippy's imagination, whereas Mahabharat is a legacy and a part of our culture, passed down from generations.

It belongs to me as much as it is anyone else's. The only person who can challenge my right to interpret Mahabharat is Ved Vyas, the man who wrote the epic. Luckily, he isn't around!"


http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?Page=article&se ctid=12&contentid=2008062020080620032321597dbd9acb6

Oh Lord!


Ekta Kapoor matched the horoscopes of 150 one-year-olds with Lord Krishna's and selected the one that came closest, for baby Krishna's role


Back to Section Stories Posted On Wednesday, June 18, 2008

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Vickey Lalwani

Ekta Kapoor is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that her mythological, Kahaani Hamaaray Mahabharat Ki, has perfect cast. To play the role Lord Krishna, Ekta ordered that only those kids born on Janmashthami last year could apply for baby Krishna's role.

Not only that, Ekta even ordered seven pundits from different parts of India to match the kundlis (horoscopes) of those kids with Lord Krishna's. The kundli that matched the most with Lord Krishna's kundli bagged the role.

The pundits have been put up in Mumbai and Ekta's company Balaji Telefilms is bearing the cost of their lodging and boarding.

Says our well-placed source from the TV industry, "Of course, we have kept the looks of the baby also in mind. The child who has been selected for the role resembles the one-year-old Krishna. Krishna's janam-din is going to be shown in a grand style."

When contacted, Ekta confirmed the story. She said, "Yes, it is true. I have assigned my staff to call for pundits who would have to look into the kundlis of all those who applied for baby Krishna's role. We received 150 entries and it was not an easy job."

But why look at the kundlis? Ekta explained, "It was necessary that the kid's kundli matched Lord Krishna's kundli. We are talking about God and we can't be anything but authentic.

In fact, I am taking special care to see that the kid's attire and accessories like the mor pankh (peacock feather) and sudarshan chakra are also sent by pujaris from various temples of India."So who is the lucky kid? Ekta revealed, "Well, his name is Krrish. He is from Mumbai. We selected him yesterday."

• It was necessary that the kid's kundli match Lord Krishna's kundli. We are talking about God and we can't be anything but authentic – Ekta Kapoor

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?Page=article&se ctid=12&contentid=20080618200806180324473782f7734f8