All about Kismat
From being Akshaye Khanna’s friend in Salaam-e-Ishq to Shahid Kapoor’s buddy in Kismat Connection Vishal seems to a favourite when it comes to casting as hero’s sidekick. Vishal, however, denies it completely. “Every chracter of mine has been definitive. In Kismat .. Shahid and I play friends and business partners. In my next film Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai I play someone who is wrongly convicted and whom Govinda helps. It’s a comedy. In Ek Vivaah Aisa Bhi I play an estranged husband. That is definitely not typecasting,” he stresses. Besides films, he’s also been signed by Sony to host IPL for a couple of years. But it was when he was selected as the Best Host in the World for Walt Disney and invited to Orlando (1998-99) to receive an award for the same that he felt luckiest and proudest. Some Kismat, that! Now, all he has to do is connect with the Bollywood filmmakers and bag prominent roles.

Now it’s JPL
Riding on the popularity of IPL, Jetix launches a one-of a kind initiative where viewers will form their individual on-air teams to compete in Jetix Premier League (JPL) cricket on the channel. Every participating viewer will play with his on-air team for their city to compete in this six city on-air competition. To participate, and form the on-air team, viewers will have to bid for the “Jetix Icon” of their city by sending SMS/ Call. The popular superheroes and characters on the channel — Storm Hawks, Power Rangers, Inspector Gadget, Dennis The Menace, American Dragon Jake Long and Hero represent the ‘Jetix Icons’. Top scorers for each city get awarded as the ‘Player of the Day’, JPL Power Player and JPL Champions of Champions. Along with JPL team merchandise, the 11 top players will win video games and CDs at the end of this three week contest. The bidding for the Jetix Icons started on July 5 and the contest goes live on Jetix from August 18. To set the premise for this unique program, Jetix will tour 600 schools and engage over four lakh students across six metros.

Abhijeet is back
Abhijeet who was out of the show after he raised objections to the entry of Pakistani singer Mussarat is back as a judge in Ek Se Badhkar Ek. So what prompted him to come back after his controversial and highly publicised exit? “I realised that I am fighting a lone battle. My colleagues and the industry for which I am doing it are not bothered,” he scoffs.“So, why should I care? Even the channel explained to me it wasn’t worth it. But it is my ideology and I stand by it,” he asserts. He maintains that he is still unhappy over the wild card entry of a Pakistani singer over “our singers like Emon and Harpreet.” His favourite teams in the show include Kushal- Sanchita, Anik-Shayantani and Raja Hassan - Jassi. “Sanobar is terrrific but has a weak partner in Mussarat,” he quips.

Shruti and Jaya in Jai Maa Durga
Two new characters have entered Star Plus mythological Jai Maa Durga: Goddess Jagdamba is played by Shruti Ulfat while Kali Mata’s role is essayed by Jaya Bhattacharya. In real life, both the actresses are huge Mata bhakts. Jaya being a Bengali is a follower of Maa Kali and for her the role is another way of getting close to her God. The duo have many fight sequences with the asurs(demons) and they have managed to do them themselves without any duplicates, this despite their heavy costumes and chunky weapons. Shruti was the one buckling under the pressure (literally!) because of her heavy sari, jewellery and a two-kilo crown custom-made for her, while Jaya haq long black hair, dark make-up and a mala of skulls around her neck.