T o help viewers make the right choice in selecting the next Indian Idol, Sony will put three of its prime time dramas on hold for a week from June 4 to 7. Indian Idol will air from June 1 to 9 from 9 p m onwards. The channel's creative director Sandiip Sikcand says, "A strate- gy like this serves a dual purpose. Indian Idol is expected to attract good viewership. And, on the back of it, we will promote Durgesh Nandinii, Ek Ladki Anjaani Sii and Virrudh, so that when they return on June 11, it also gets a slice of the huge traffic that is hooked onto Idol." Durgesh Nandinii Here, Shweta Gulati makes an entry as Lakshya's (Mohit Mallik) wife. "The storyline will show how Lakshya's past has caught up with him," says Sikcand. Producer Shobhana Desai says, "I'm optimistic of leaving the show on a high point..it should help us get in more viewers. It's a golden chance to build a bank..make life easier for every- one and shoot regular hours once we return on air." About Gulati, she says, "Shwe- ta fitted the character to the T. Her first role was in my show Shagun. It's not a negative role…in fact, I'm incapable of creating a vamp like those seen on TV today ." Ek Ladki Anjaani Sii The storyline is focussing on Nikhil (Shakti Anand) trying hard to keep the fact from Ananya (Sai Deodhar) that he will be sav- ing his son from leukemia by undergoing a bone marrow trans- plant. The surgery is a risk and he doesn't want Ananya to stop him. The Kasautii Zindagi Kay actor, Cezzane Khan, who quit Balaji Telefilms recently will be the new entrant in Ek Ladkii.. His character will be shown in episodes post June 11. Khan will enact the role of a suave million- aire doctor who is very confident of his capabilities. His character comes between Nikhil and Ananya, but only time will tell if he'll bring them togther or dam- age their relationship. "Cezzane's fans will fall in love with him all over again. The role is very different from anything seen on TV today,"says Sikcand. Virrudh Vasudha (Smriti Z Iraani) learns about her father Dhirendra's (Vikram Gokhale) scheming true self. He is caught red-handed by her trying to kill her mother Shalini (Zarina Wahab). And, someone close to Dhirendra shoots him. Iraani says, "The suspense ele- ment now will be whether Dhirendra survives or not and who is responsible in killing him. There is a new character but he will appear only later. "Backed by marketing research, the channel has taken this deci- sion to give viewers a break from their daily dose of soaps. We should have a bank of 12 episodes in this time." That's not all, Sachin Tyagi will also make an entry in Kaajjal. On the musical talent hunt shows on Star Plus and Zee, Sik- cand concludes, "The more the merrier. It's still very early days to see the TRPs and decide which show has an advantage. We have to deal with fragmented viewer- ship. The emergence of new talent will decide the fate of each show." WS INGNE BREAK ANNU MALLIK will not be seen in Indian Idol's Piano Round that begins tomorrow. At least not for the first two days. The shoot had begun yesterday and the unit/channel was doing it's best to keep the news under wraps. All efforts to contact Mallik proved to be futile. It is believed that he has been hospitalised. A source says, "It's very compli- cated. His falling sick at this cru- cial juncture is just one issue. They are even considering reliev- ing him from the show."
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