This one’s for music buffs!
If you sing movie soundtracks, well Soul Fry Casa at Mumbai is the place to visit! Zee Studios is hosting a karaoke competition, Studio Nites at Soul Fry Casa, Fort in Mumbai. Studio Nites is Zee Studio’s platform that invites people who are interested in music and well-versed with movie songs to participate. The competition kickstarted on May 27 and ends on June 5.
The mood at Soul Fry Casa was energetic and buzzing. A lot of participants who had registered themselves were caught rehearsing their lines. About 20 people registered themselves and the singing contest began with the eternal Bryan Adams love song, Everything I do, I do it for you! fowllowed by songs like Stand By me, I will always love you, Staying alive, You fill up my senses and Leaving on a jet plane. Though the contestants were good, the place was overflowing with people. People who had just come to chill walked away with the free goodies like music CDs, DVDs and T-shirts.
Shibani Kashyap, who is one of the judges, was impressed with the turnout and was all praises for the karaoke initiative. “I was absolutely floored by the talent on display at the championship. A championship celebrating music from Hollywood is such a cool idea because music from the mainstream Hindi cinema is all over anyway.” The winner of the championship not only gets a cash prize of Rs 25,000, but also wins a chance to represent Mumbai at a national-level karaoke championship to be held in Bengaluru. The judges for the other two days are Anaida and Manasi Scott.

Cashing in on the Cash Cab
UTV Bindaas launched the second season of Cash Cab - Meter Chalu hai. The show this time is full of cash prizes, celebrity guests and new dares and challenges. The show was launched on May 24 and will be aired on every Sunday from 7 to 7.30 pm. The show will be hosted Munish Mukhija aka Munna, everybody’s favourite cabbie who pays them to ride in his cab. Although the format of the show remains the same on the whole, there will be some surprises along the way. For instance, this season, the contestants will have to call up Munna and convince him to drop them to their destination. “If Munna finds your reasons to be good enough, only then will he agree to drop you off,” says Jerrit John, the director and creative director of the show. For the first episode, the cab had been hired as a wedding car as a surprise for the bride and groom by their friends. And for the second episode, tattoo artist Al had hired the cab for a tattoo session. The grand prize for the show is Rs 20,000 and this season will see the questions getting more and more challenging and the cash prizes increasing accordingly. The contestants will be given dares to perform on the road. They will be given lifelines and for every wrong answer they will have to pay a penalty to Munna. Then, for the first time ever on television, there will also be a TRP meter within the cab to gauge where the show stands in its TRP ratings.

Saat Phere goes off air
Saat Phere’s young brigade is upset with the show going off air. When asked about her experience in working alongside seniors, Aamrapali Dubey, who played Shwetha in the show, said, “The first day I was really scared. But when I started talking to them, they were very sweet. They helped me a lot to grow as an actor.” Pranks and fun were always a part of the shoot. According to Ali Merchant, who played Rajveer on the show, “We are very serious once the camera starts rolling but between the scenes, we would have a lot of fun.” On the other hand, Amit Jain, who played Daksh, said, “I knew that the show would be going off air before I took it. But I love the character of Daksh because he is both modern and traditional and hence went along with the show.” Rachna Parulkar, who played Saawri on the show, was also disheartened, “I am very disappointed. This was my first break. But still we have no choice but to accept the fact.” She added, “I am truly attached to the show. But I am disappointed. I’ll surely miss Ali, Rachna, director’s shouting and yelling, et al.” The last episode of the show was aired on May 28.

Veteran actors in Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo
Zee TV’s Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo has roped in veteran actors Rupa Ganguly, Sushmita Mukherjee, Sudesh Berry, and Anjoom Farooqui for the show. The serial showcases a prevalent social evil in the society - the selling of the girl child in the midst of utter poverty to raise money for the rest of the family. The story revolved around 17-year-old Laali’s optimism about life and her courage and compassion when it comes to rescuing her family from the throes of hunger and abject poverty. Due to a sudden crisis in Laali’s family, her parents are forced to sell her to the Thakurs. The show has a huge turning-point where Laali will experience a different world altogether. The Thakur’s house calls for a complete new team of actors . The new change will certainly add a touch of richness and glamour to the show. Though the story would still remain about Laali’s adjustments and fights with the harsh truth of being sold off by her parents, the new characters would have a pivotal role to play in the show hereon. The Bong connection was at work as actors Rupa Ganguly and Sushmita Mukherjee bonded well during the shoot.

Karan Mehra takes the plunge and how!
Karan Mehra is one spontaneous guy! He recently upgraded his status from being a bachelor to now, being a spouse! Yes, you guys read that right, Karan is ‘taken’ for good! This year on Valentine’s Day he tied the knot with girlfriend Devika Mehta in a very hush-hush manner. The wedding took place in Delhi, attended by close family members only. The couple has been going around for the past 10 years. When contacted, Karan had this to say, “I had thought of Goa to be the venue for my wedding and that too on a yacht. But unfortunately that did not materialise due to lot of reasons. As it was a small, private affair I missed out on inviting loads of people. And now, I will definitely make up for it since lots of people are demanding a treat. And as far the marriage is concerned I guess I made the pact, there is no way out now,” cackles the newlywed groom.