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'The Serial', one of the most awaited shows has finally made its debut on Channel V. The reviews have been pouring in'love it, hate it but you cannot ignore it! In this day and age of television where 'run off the mill' stories are battered to bits, 'The Serial' brings forth a new concept - a taste of reality, a tinge of fantasy and a whole lot of drama. Tinsel Gupshup brings you up, close and personal with Vikas Gupta - the force behind the show that brings you into a 'TV actor's real life"

TG: How did 'The Serial' happen? Have you conceptualized, written it?

VG: I had started my production house ' A LOST BOY PRODUCTIONS and our first venture was Gumrah. At the same time, I was working on developing new ideas and it was very important that we came up with something completely different yet relatable. We wanted to take a season break and go on a road trip after Gumrah and the idea was to document our lives. Of course, Gumrah season 2 happened and from that point, the idea of documenting lives started and 'Rubaru' was born (later renamed to 'The Serial'). We had pitched the show to another young channel but for some reasons they could not get back to us. When Sakshi Khanna (non- fiction head at Channel V) heard about the show, she jumped on board immediately and before we knew it, Channel V was approving a pilot. The rest is as they say'no sleep till now!

TG: You have worked with Karan Kundra on Gumrah. Any particular reasons you chose to showcase Pooja Gor, Soumya Seth, Sara Khan, Vikrant Massey, Raj Singh Arora and Kritika Kamra for this show?

VG: Yes, Karan and I have worked together before, not just on Gumrah but on Kitani Mohabbat Hai also. One of the main reasons for working with him and choosing him for this project is because he is always ready to experiment with his work, he loves challenges and well of course, he is extremely popular. Kritika Kamra will be playing a cameo on 'The Serial' because her show got extended so she could not be a part of the project completely. I am so appreciative that she could become a part of the show in some way. Raj Singh Arora has stayed away from doing television for a long time, almost 5 years. He is an intense actor and although a lot of people (including Raj himself) were unsure about my choice, after watching the first episode, I can proudly say that Raj has killed it! Pooja Gor is a huge star and just last year I had suggested that after her show finishes, she should do a younger show. The timing was just perfect and it all fell into place. Once Soumya and Vikrant heard the story and the concept, they came on board instantly. We absolutely needed a powerful force like Vikrant and it really helped that Karan and Vikrant used to good friends. Sara Khan is a Rockstar!! There is so much about her life that people should know about and she is my favourite'so she was an obvious choice. Also, the onscreen Soumya and off screen Soumya are two very very very different people and believe me when I tell you that she is a complete revelation in the series. It was a mammoth task to get everyone together but I have to hand it to the entire cast, including Abigail, for agreeing to work in such an experimental show and trusting me about the whole thing.

TG: It's not easy to open up about your life'especially the personal details (relationships, make-ups, break-ups)'did you have a hard time convincing any of the actors for this show?

VG: As I mentioned earlier, it was a mammoth task but let me put it this way'all the actors on the show are intelligent and passionate people. All of them have been doing TV for some time now and just like me, they are bored of the same old story telling. Let me tell you that every single actor has taken a cut on the money to do this show. Channel V is always trying to do something different on television and so its budgets cannot be compared to channels like Star and Colors. Each and every individual on this show and Channel V believe in Lost Boy's vision and value - presenting content that is real and non conventional. I am really hoping that all our efforts will be accepted and loved!

TG: Did you think of appearing on the show as well?

VG: No, I did not but I think every other cast member must have mentioned this to me a million times! Honestly speaking, what really excites me is writing and creating this show. Plus I am putting it together with the most amazing bunch of hardworking people who are behind the lens.

TG: Professionally you have had these amazing ups and downs. If you could go back and change anything or do anything over'would you? What would you change?

VG: Well, maybe I would'maybe I would not have come to Mumbai and would be studying at Oxford and travelling. Of course I would not be working on TV but I am sure I would be doing something else'something just as interesting. I would most definitely miss some of the most wonderfully crack people who I have come to know and are such an important part of my life now.

TG: Lost boy production ' intriguing name, is there a story behind it?

VG: That is because I am lost in life and I don't believe that there is anything wrong with that. I was doing very well for myself when I quit Balaji, and everyone around me kept telling me that I had lost it! I admit, I am lost and hence the name of my production house. Anyone who is lost in life'please, you are most welcome here...

TG: Please give us the one or two words that comes to your mind for all the actors in 'The Serial'

Karan Kundra: lazy, passionate, loyal

Vikrant Massey: extraordinary actor, hardworking

Sara Khan: success story, super hot, daring

Soumya Seth: she is a boy, you have been lied to!

Pooja Gor: beautiful, Sid's best friend and serious

Kritika Kamra: I love her

Raj Singh Arora: intelligent, Al Pacino

Photo credit: Vikas Gupta

Tinsel Gupshup

Source: http://www.tinselgupshup.com/news/view/103/The-Lost-boy

Actor Karan Kundra is now back with The Serial, where the Punjabi boy plays himself. He tells Ektaa Malik how his Facebook profile picture helped his career take off

His clean-cut Punjabi-boy looks are refreshing when compared to the other beefed-up actors of the TV industry. Sitting at the coffee shop of the Shangri-La, Karan Kundra could have passed off as any typical Delhi boy. The spiked hair and the light jacket definitely made a couple of girls turn for a second look. He is currently the face of Gumrah, a teen crime show on Channel V and he is appearing as himself on The Serial.

Kundra comes from a Punjabi family, which he told me was not typical. "I have three elder sisters, one is an MBA, one a doctor and the third a PHD. So I knew I had to do something on my own. I set up a call centre in Jalandhar, acting was not even remotely on my radar. I enrolled for Mr India in 2008, just for kicks, for then the concept was very different from what it is today — there was a certain seriousness to the contest. And then Ekta Kapoor saw my pictures on Facebook and gave me a call," the actor said. Since then, Kundra has acted in Kitni Mohabbat Hai, where he played the arrogant business tycoon-turned-lover boy. What followed were shows like Bayttab Dil Kee Tamanna Hai and Aahat and participation in the dance reality show Zara Nachke Dikha. "But I got bored. That was the safe route, the typical TV shows that get redundant after a few years. I started wondering about what I should do next. That's what motivated me to do stuff likeGumrah and now The Serial. At least ten years down the line, when we look back, we should be able to laugh about what crazy stuff we did," the actor said.

Gumrah was the turning point in the actor's career. "We set new benchmarks for the audience with it. We took away the sensational element of crime, and followed it up with The Serial. Had we started off with it, the audience would not have connected with it. But now they are ready for an alternative television-viewing experience," Kundra shared.

The actor plays himself on the TV show but it's not the story of his life. Neither is it completely fiction. It's a blend of the two and more, set to cutting-edge camera techniques. The show also has criss-crossing time lines, with a non-linear narrative pattern. "There are flashbacks but not like the ones shown on typical prime-time TV shows. It's like a month back and forth. We have also traced how one small instance in a person's life can trigger off a series of events in someone else's," Kundra said. The actor's personality has been described as 'Punjabi' in the show, which we assume would be easy for him. "It's extremely difficult to play yourself. Just imagine — you have no script of the character, and you can't act. One gets conscious. It helped that at times we didn't know where the cameras were placed. But for some shots we had to face the camera," added the actor, who is very well versed with technology. "There was a shot in which I am dialling a number from my phone and the camera shifts to the screen of my camera. There was another where a person enters a house with a DSLR camera and the audience sees the interiors through the lens. There is a loud jolt when the person keeps it on the table and that translated into jerky movements onscreen."

Kundra emphasised that his off-screen chemistry with his co-stars helped a lot, the comfort level easing off the tension. "I have known my co-stars for a while now, so it's easier. We at times settle into a regular pattern of behaviour with them and that helps with shows like The Serial," Kundra said.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/vivacity/110776-big-on-the-small-screen.html