I love my Actors: Ekta Kapoor (Article)

By Subhash K Jha

This Ganapati festival is very special for Ekta Kapoor. "It's my first Ganpati in my new home. I can't have as much celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi as I'd like. I'd just have a pooja in the morning, dinner with close friends and then I'll go to Tirupathi the next day to pray for my new serial Karam Apna Apna."

As for Ekta's new serial Karam Apna Apna which goes on air next week, Ekta says it's a full-on Balajee brand of entertainment. "Karam … is a simple identifiable story. We wanted viewers to get something to chew on. I won't call this show different or out of this world.

I'm accused of becoming distanced from reality in my recent shows. Well, Karam ….is real. But I can't move too far away from my style. Finally my sensibilities will show on my shows. People say they find Kkasam Se very relatable. I think they'll say the same about KAA."

And why Iqbal Khan as the main lead? "Well KAA will have its hero in an extra-marital affair. My hero should look like someone two women, best friends would be fighting over. Iqbal fits the bill. It's a very sweet innocent story."

Iqbal's other daily Kaissa Yeh Pyarr Hai for Ekta on Sony will go off air in a couple of months.

Ekta says she hardly has anything to do with the new Smriti vehicle. "Thodisi Zameen Thodasa Aasman which went on Star earlier this month is very unlike what I do.

Full credit to the writer Kamlesh Pandey and Smriti Irani plus the Star executives like Shailja Kejriwal for this authentic serial. As for me, I've just lent my name to Thodisi Zameen…."

Karam Apna Apna (KAA) on the other hand is entirely Ekta's baby. "First Krishna Tusli in Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, now Karam….You've no idea how many auditions I've conducted until we found the right girl for KAA.

We hunted in places as distant as Simla, Jaipur, Surat, Pune and Delhi and finally we found Pallavi Joshi in Mumbai. We wanted a face that was pretty and yet nextdoor-like. Then one day I happened to see a show called Tumhari Disha in Zee.

Pallavi came on for maybe thirty seconds. And I said, 'This is the girl I want for KAA'. My mom nearly threw a fit. Can you imagine?We hunt high and low and finally we find her in Mumbai on television."

Tumhari Disha where Pallavi played a minor role has ended. "And a new chapter has started for Pallavi Subhash. She's a complete Balajee kid. We're shooting with her now."

Smiles Ekta, "She's Marathi. But she's playing a Bengali girl from Kolkata. Pallavi does lapse into a Marathi accent. But we control her. We'll manage in the dubbing."

So is Pallavi another Balajee actor who'll soon start throwing her weight around? Ekta shakes her head. "I hope not! See, the stress of suddenly shooting night and day takes its toll on the actors."

Sighs Ekta, "I love my actors and my shows. I hope I never lose my energy level about them."

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