Football fever has caught on and the world cup hits our television sets tonight at 9.30 pm. With the excitement ramping up every minute we go all out asking our television celebrities about their plans of taking time off to watch the matches and quiz them on the team they support!

Riya V Anandwala explores!

Aman Verma- " I will ensure that I don't miss the excitement"

Around eight years back I was a diehard football fan when Real Madrid was the ruler, today the interest has dropped down a bit. But, I will certainly try to watch as much as I can. Very soon, I'll be leaving for Calcutta and the football craze there is amazing. I support Brazil, of course as it has a commendable team spirit. Other than that, I support Argentina, England and Italy which are my favourites. I will ensure that I don't miss the excitement.

Parmeet Sethi- " Football is my game"

I am very excited as I have been playing and watching this game since a very long time. It's been a very long time that I have consistently watched a match, so I am even the more enthusiastic about the same. My two sons too love it. I am so sure, I will be watching matches all night and sleeping on the sets. I haven't made up my mind as to which team I will back up, but there will be a tough competition between four teams, Brazil, England, Italy and of course Germany as its their home town!

Rajeev Mehra- " I will wind up the shooting before 8 pm"

I love sports. And I have been a football fan throughout my life. Luckily, I wind up shooting before 8pm and this time I will make sure that happens, so the tragedy of missing the World cup is avoided, as the cast and crew of my serials are also into football. So I will try my level best to finish everything early.Coming to my favourite, it has to be England, that team is damn good.

Mihir Mishra- " I will rigorously follow the world cup"

Both I and Maninee are major football fans. I have decided that I will rigorously follow the world cup this time. Since, I am already in the loop of my shooting schedules, I will take some time off for the matches. And anyway, the matches will be telecast at night or late evenings, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Hussain- " I will watch only the semi-finals and the finals"

I love football as it's certainly an enticing game. But, as I want to keep away from boredom, I will just follow the semi finals and the finals. I guess, I will be able to manage my hectic schedules as I am more interested in the second half of the world cup. I support Brazil and Argentina!

Kiran missing from Resham Dankh

date dilemma: Kiran Karmarkar

Karmarkar had shot for a few days for the new show but left because of date problems
Shaheen Parkar
shaheen@mid-day.com

Kiran Karmarkar has suddenly gone missing from the star cast of Aatish Kapadia and J D Majethia's new show, Resham Dankh, on Star One. The actor, best remembered as Om from Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, had even shot for the show for a few days. Says Karmarkar, "I was part of Resham Dankh initially, but later I preferred not to be a part of it."
Resham Dankh, set in a business family, is slated to air from August 14. The cast includes Moulli Ganguly, Raahil Azam, Apara Mehta, Sumeet Raghavan, Sulbha Deshpande and Rajiv Mehta.
No dates
So what made the actor walk out of the Star One daily? "My role in Resham Dankh was not that of a flag bearer for the show. It mainly revolves around Moulli and Raahil," says Karmarkar. "But the main cause I decided to opt out was because of dates. They wanted me to shoot for 25 days in a month. I could give only 15 days. I don't want to shoot every day and get stuck in a routine at the cost of other things like family and health."
Producer JD Majethia seconds the sentiments. "Things were amicably sorted out with Kiran. We wanted more dates and he could not give them to us. It was better to part ways."
Parent trap
But considering Karmarkar is not part of any other show at present, how could dates be such a major concern? "That is the way I prefer to function. What is the point of shooting for so many days when I am not the drama's flag bearer?" says Karmarkar.
After his exit from Kahaani last August, Karmarkar has been seen in a cameo in Saarrthi (Star Plus) and DON (Star One), besides being part of an episodic series of Darna Mana Hai (Star One).
"It is almost a year since I left Kahaani, and people have been wondering what I've been up to. But I'm busy caring for my son Ishaan, who is in senior KG in Billabong High School. I go to drop him to school everyday. I have to listen to all his demands. So there is enough for me to do."
Presently, Karmarkar is seen on the stage in Shubha Khote's Hindi play Merra Naam Joker. He had earlier featured in Salim Arif's Kacche Lamhe. "There have been offers from the Marathi stage but I haven't taken up anything yet."
Money matters
On the television front, Karmarkar says there was an offer from Zee "in which I was the flag bearer of the show, but the monetary compensation was not adequate. There is also an offer from Asit Modi for his new show, so talks are in progress for new assignments. I think it's time I get back to the small screen."