Small superstars, Big dreams
22 Jan 2008, 0000 hrs IST,CHITRA UNNITHAN ,TNN

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doweshowbellyad=0; Size doesn't matter anymore, when it comes to entertainment. Now that the small screen is getting bigger, some of its TRP-topping heart-throbs are doing a quick cross-over to the real thing — Bollywood.

With a dearth of talent, filmmakers seem to be scouting and signing the best and the brightest from the soap-box and how! While the odd Aman Verma or Anita Hassanandani might have failed to woo the big screen, the list of all those who seem to be heading for a 'big' change is fairly huge — Aamna Shariff, Rajeev Khandelwal, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Sangeeta Ghosh, Eijaz Khan, Manav Gohil to Rucha Gujarati et al.

Even TV starlet Yuvika got lucky after her cameo in Om Shanti Om and is being offered lead roles! There's Aamna Shariff who's doing Aloo Chaat with Aftab Shivdasani, produced by Robbie Grewal and Rucha Gujarati is all set to make her debut in Lottery opposite singer Abhijeet Sawant. A bunch of small-time TV actors Ajay Choudhary, Rohan Tiwari and Payel Kumar are all set to act in an Anurag Basu movie. Nach Baliye 3 winner Sanjeeda Shaikh plays the second lead in Pankh, an arthouse movie. Dharmesh Darshan's Bhanvraa launches four TV stars in Bollywood — Sangeeta Ghosh, Eijaz Khan, Manav Gohil and Shveta Salve.

For actress Sangeeta Ghosh, the transition to films has been great. She says, "While working for television, you have a lot of time to learn and improve. But in films, you have the responsibility to give your best shot in a short time as people spend money to watch you."

While films may be the be-all, end-all for some, television helps get mileage for an actor who comes to our boudoir everyday. Prime-time heartthrob Eijaz Khan, who had done bit roles in films earlier, returns to films after a three-year TV stint. Eijaz, who plays the lead in Mirabai Not Out and Bhanvraa, agrees, "TV helped me get a lot of exposure before I got films. Be it films or TV, an actor has to listen to the director."

Sometimes, lack of good work on prime-time television drives them to make the move. And Bollywood with bigger pay cheques and more glamour seems an attractive alternative. "I will never look down upon TV, nor will I do B-grade films. But unless there is something pathbreaking to do on TV, I would prefer films," says Sangeeta.

Sanjeeda says, "TV is a big medium, has good money and offers more security than films. If an actor gets a television project under a big banner, he is considered to be secure for at least two years. But since films are a bigger medium, every actor wants to do films."

For some, it is the role that matters, irrespective of the medium they work in. Shveta Salve says, "If something triggers me as an actor, I would take it up, irrespective of the medium. I am working in Dharmesh Darshan's Bhanvraa, which is a modern day film. If films are the next step that brings out the best of me, I might quit television."

There are some who would not like to quit television come what may. Chetan Hansraj, who's wrapped up a film called Brahm, admits, "It was difficult to manage both. But I will not quit TV unless my film career really picks up."

In the long run, anyone who charts a box-office success story like the small screen's biggest import to 35mm Shah Rukh Khan has done, chances are, they'll be saying something completely different!


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Small_super stars_Big_dreams/articleshow/2716993.cms

Ekta danced with Karan on stage!
3 Feb 2008, 0000 hrs IST,TNN

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doweshowbellyad=0; Ekta Kapoor (TOI Photo) Ekta Kapoor was ecstatic Friday night. Afterall her first mega telly event was a great success. Television stars from her serials as well as other shows turned up in huge numbers. They were all there, either performing on stage or cheering among the audience. Ronit Roy and Roshni Chopra performed to some Bollywood foot-tapping numbers. Tusshar Kapoor, Rohit Roy and Shabbir Ahluwalia danced to the Ae Ganpat number. Lara Dutta along with the TV gang Eijaz Khan, Karan Patel, Jay Bhanushali and Sharad Malhotra out up a performance. But the highlight of the evening was Ekta Kapoor's dance with Karan Johar followed by a session of coffee with Karan (of course without the coffee!), where she grilled the director--cum-TV host. When asked to choose between Shahenshah and Badshah, KJo came up with a witty answer: "There's Akbar coming soon too. So let me choose after that!" Sajid Khan's witty remarks, as he hosted the show along with Malaika Arora-Khan, kept the audiences in splits. Almost towards the end of the show was the much-awaited Shah Rukh Khan performance put together by the Morani Brothers. And it was worth the wait as SRK rocked to the Chak De number along with telly women right from Neena Gupta to Smriti Iraani to Divyanka Tripathi, all dressed in blue. Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan who were present at the event were naturally the centre of attention. Guess the couple is slowly getting used to the extra attention they draw wherever they go. Parmeshwar Godrej was present too. Also spotted were Rakesh Roshan and wife Pinky, Suniel and Mana Shetty, Poonam Sinha, Amrita Arora, Aroona Irani, Anju Mahendroo, Preeti Jhangiani, Dheeraj Kumar, J D Majethia among scores of popular TV actors. Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor played the perfect hosts. Veteran filmmaker and TV producer BR Chopra was given the lifetime achievement honour. Ronit Roy and Prachi Desai got the voter's choice best actor and actress awards. But overall it was not Ekta's production house that dominated in terms of bagging awards. In fact shows from other production houses won the honours in most categories. Everyone was glad. And so Ekta, the brain behind this grand event. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/TV_Buzz/Ekt a_danced_with_Karan_on_stage/articleshow/2751174.cms

Big Celebrations

Ekta Kapoor's party on Friday night to celebrate achievements on the small screen was anything but small Back to Section Stories Posted On Sunday, February 03, 2008

< ="text/"> addthis_url = location.href; addthis_title = document.title; addthis_pub = 'saatchigallery'; < ="text/" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12"> Recommended tags : Balaji Telefilms, Ekta Kapoor's party, Prachi Desai, Rakhi Sawant, Abhishek, Nach Baliye, Babuji of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamna Sharif, Akashdeep Sehgal, Cezanne Khan, Shweta Tiwari Popular tags : Akashdeep <> (new ajax()).getHTML(document.getElementById('tags'),"ajax.aspx?p age=gettags&count=11&sort=0&tags=true&contentid=200802032008 0203032143788f453e0a§id=12",""); Add Tag < name="tag" value="" size="15" ="text"> < name="addtag" value="Submit" ="submit"> Mumbai Mirror Bureau Sanjeeda, Aamir, Sunita Menon and Manish Malhotra It was a classic case of working hard and partying harder. Ekta Kapoor's first television awards were held last night at a suburban sports complex after which stars from the small screen headed to a seaside lounge at Juhu. Famous for throwing the most talked about parties, Ekta's bash last night lacked the usual star attendance. Conspicuous by their absence was Sakshi Tanwar, Smriti Irani (who danced on-stage with Shah Rukh Khan at the award function), Aamna Sharif, Akashdeep Sehgal, Cezanne Khan and Shweta Tiwari. Ekta seemed quite pleased with the success of her award function. She was dressed in a traditional ghagra choli and was wishing Jai Mata Di to all the guests. Although Ekta was initially dancing, she quietly moved away as soon as she spotted media persons. Ekta's foe-turned-friend Sandiip Sikcand could not stop himself from praising Ekta. He kept telling everybody, 'Ekta is a darling you know!' Sandiip kept himself busy with Karan Mehra and Yuvraj Singh. Mita Vashisht looked dazzling in a pink outfit. Are we on? Eijaz and Anita Balaji Telefilms' creative head Nivedita Basu came in with husband, Yadu. Deepak Qazir (Babuji of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii) was seen sporting a red hat and kept vying for female attention! Gouri Tonnk kept a vigilant eye on her husband Yash throughout the party. The two girls of Amber Dhara took their on-screen role a bit too far by sticking together like they do in the show. Most of the stars preferred to stay away from the dance floor and interact with their co-actors instead. Naman Shaw was uncharacteristically low on energy. Does it have anything do with the four Balaji shows that he is acting in simultaneously? Prachi Desai deserves a makeover award for her sexy new look. Ronit Roy and his wife Neelam Eijaz Khan came in with Anita Hassanandani. Brothers Ronit and Rohit Roy preferred to hangout with their respective wives, Neelam and Mansi. While Ram Kapoor didn't dance, his gorgeous wife Gautami more than made up for his absence on the dance floor. Rakhi Sawant and her boyfriend Abhishek were busy showing their Nach Baliye steps until Rakhi lost her purse as well as her cool! http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&am p;sectid=12&contentid=2008020320080203032143788f453e0a

awesum pics yaar!thanks alot