Manish dons eunuch look
Zee TV’s second season of its immensely successful weekend thriller Brahmarakshas has been keeping the audience hooked with the gripping account of the rakshas who has returned with twice as much power and is on a mission for immortality. Having enthralled the viewers with unpredictable twists and turns in Kalindi’s life, the show recently took a two-year leap, bringing in a package of surprises for its viewers. While a grieving Angad (Pearl V Puri) is seen mourning the loss of his beloved Kalindi (Nikki Sharma) who he believes has died as a result of his own actions, Kalindi’s look alike — Chandni enters as the modern chorni and is set to bring much chaos in his life. Amidst all of this, actor Manish Khanna who earlier played a pivotal role in the show is all set to return, this time in the character of a eunuch.
Having previously portrayed the character of Jwala, the tantric, Khanna will now be seen playing the role of his transgender brother, Irawat who bears a connection with the Brahmarakshas and enters as the new villain in Angad’s life and unknowingly in Chandni’s life too. The actor couldn’t be more thrilled to have returned with yet another interesting character and in fact will be seen donning a look similar to Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana’s character in Sangharsh.
Sharing his thoughts, Khanna said: “From the numerous roles that I have essayed on television, this character is one of the most unique and challenging ones I have had to play until now. I was required to bring a considerable change in my body language and even practise a bit of voice modulation to bring out the perfect essence of this role. Ashutosh Rana, who has been a dear friend became my immediate source of reference when it came to styling this character. He played the role of a eunuch in the film Sangharsh and I absolutely loved his performance including the way his character was showcased. We have tried to bring out a similar look in my character while bringing in a few unique and creative elements to the appearance as well. I just hope the viewers love this comeback of mine.”
Yash turns rude to pranali
An actor has to look 100 per cent natural on screen, even if he has to act angry, drunk, insane or even a yogi. Yash Tonk has been a method actor and has been known to give his takes naturally for every scene in just two takes maximum! While he is known to play comic characters in the past, it was easy for him to deliver in comedy scenes, but what happened when he had to deliver his part in a serious role like Brij Kishore in Sony TV’s Kyun Utthe Dil Chhod Aaye.
To look natural and to not scare off Pranali with his harsh tone and loud pitch, Yash Tonk rehearses his harsh fighting scenes with Pranali prior to the final take. Those are the scenes where he has to act in a negative zone or even raise his voice on his on screen wife, Tonk could not do that in just the final take without rehearsing it because he considers Pranali as his dear friend. While rehearsing their quarrel scenes, Pranali eases out Tonk saying it’s okay to raise his voice on her or even take a rude tone with her for a particular scene to look flawless.
Talking about these quarrel sequences, Tonk says: “I might be a method actor, but I’m a soft hearted person too when it comes to my friends and family. Pranali has become a dear friend ever since we started shooting for Kyun Utthe Dil Chhod Aaye. I don’t feel like raising my voice at her even for a scene. So for the final take to be flawless, I rehearse my harsh fighting scenes prior to the final take. She eases me out and asks me to yell at her even if that’s what the scene demands.”
Shaan’s virtual antakshari
In a clutter-breaking format innovation, Zee TV launched the world's first-ever music league championship Indian Pro Music League (IPML) on February 26, 2021. While the world of sports has seen several league competitions, this unique music league has six teams representing different regions of India, battling it out against each other in a musical championship. Each of these six teams supported by leading Bollywood and sports celebrities has top playback singers as their captains, one reality show star, and one fresh voice. Celebrated singers — Mika Singh, Kailash Kher, Sajid Khan, Shaan, Ankit Tiwari, Javed Ali, Asees Kaur, Bhoomi Trivedi, AkritiKakar, Payal Dev, Neha Bhasin, Shilpa Rao are captains of these six zonal teams.
After the epic opening ceremony, the six teams are ready to battle it out and the first set of league matches have kicked off. The upcoming episode has a Kishore Kumar theme and during the shoot, Bengal Tigers captains Shaan and Akriti Kakkar gave a spectacular performance to the song Mere Saamne Wali Khidki Mein. Right after the act, Shaan shared an emotional memory of his father while speaking to host Karan Wahi about Kishore Kumar. The Bengal Tigers captain mentioned how he lost his father — music composer Manas Mukherjee, in October 1986, but just before that, the legendary composer had written his last song Ei Jiboner path soja noy jeno that was sung by Kishore Kumar. The song came out later, but it was a big deal for the whole family, as Shaan revealed: “I felt that if Kishore Kumar is singing a song written by my father, I am sure my father was a well-known man. I have this one last image of them together, where I am walking behind my father and Kishore da. It was raining and they were discussing this song. It's a sweet memory I have of both of them.”
After this sweet revelation, Shaan also kicked off a virtual antakshari with ace musicians like Lisa Mishra, Amit Trivedi, Babul Supriyo and others joining in to sing a few Kishore Kumar classics. But wait till you see the mega battle between UP Dabbangs and Bengal Tigers. Shaan, Akriti's and their team will come out all guns blazing as they face off Ankit Tiwari, Payal Dev and their team.
Meher & siddhi’s mahasangam
Colors’ latest show Bawara Dil has won the audience's heart with its captivating drama and powerful storytelling. The show is about two strong personalities Siddhi (played by Kinjal Dhamecha) and Shiva (played by Aditya Redij) who hate each other yet are brought together by destiny. While fate brings them together, the two vow to destroy each other.
In the current track of the show, Shiva and Siddhi are at loggerheads as Siddhi throws a stone inside Shiva’s house and breaks his TV after being upset with his behaviour. She seeks help from Meher from Choti Sarrdaarni (played by Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia), who help her with some useful advice and motivates her. Meher gives her the much-needed courage to do the right thing.
Commenting on the Mahasangam episode, Dhamecha said, “As a viewer, I have enjoyed watching Choti Sarrdaarni and I truly admire Nimrit. When I heard that we are going to shoot the Mahasangam episode together, I was excited as I knew it will be a great learning experience for me. We are very excited for the episode and I hope that our viewers are too.”
Spotify presents superheroes
When it comes to Indian epics such as the Mahabharat or Ramayan, the familiar faces of Krishna, Ram or Hanuman hold dear to many of us. The fascinating characters of these books have come to excite, captivate and inspire generations of readers. However, these mythological tales record thousands of heroes and heroines, with many either overlooked or whose feats simply remain unheard. Spotify’s newest podcast Superheroes of Indian Mythology spotlights the gamut of these larger-than-life characters — both big and small.
What popular culture refers to as ‘supporting roles’, often turn out to have the most interesting stories to tell. Let’s look at unique names who played a pivotal role in history.
Bheeshma, revered as the eighth son of Goddess Ganga, was a learned scholar and one of the greatest examples of an honorable, loyal, duty-bound commander.
Karna, famously referred to as Suryaputra or Sun's son, is one of the more complex characters of the Mahabharat. There’s much more in the list.