The makers of Hasratein sure know how to keep the serial in the news. After the controversial exit of Seema Kapoor we thought that with the sedate Shefali Chhaya stepping into her shoes the serial wouldn’t be quite so sizzling. But we have to admit we were wrong. Two soon-to-be-aired episodes of the serial will deal with ‘sex education’. Yeah, Savi will tell her daughter all about the birds and bees. Says Ajai Sinha, director, “Hasratein is a serial that deals with female pyschology. In another serial the subject would have seemed out of place but not so with our serial, it fits in perfectly.” The entire exercise is aimed at being an educational experience for all pubescent girls.

Damini woos the viewers

The exploits of firebrand journo Damini, has the viewers hooked to the daily soap. Damini has been rated as the highest viewed Marathi programme as per IMRB ratings. Producers, Adhikari Brothers are showered with fan mail, especially from officegoers complaining about the timing — 4.30 to 5 pm daily. Remains to be seen if DD gives in to popular demand and grants the soap a primetime slot.

Shammi versus Shammi

The easiest way to beat the Monday blues on a chilly December evening is to put up your feet, grab the remote and start channel surfing. And don’t be surprised if you run into Shammi Kapoor on two channels at 9.30 pm. The dancing hero of the ’60s plays the dominating family head in Chattan and on Sony, at the same time, he’s the underworld don in Shikast. For the sake of Shammi Kapoor fans will the programme heads of the two channels resolve the viewers’ dilemma by n

50 Telugu film stars in one tele-serial

As many as 50 popular Telugu film stars are going to be a part of a film-based serial Swarna Bharati Ki Chitraharti. This star-studded show, is the Telugu film industry’s tribute to 50 years of India’s independence. The inaugural episode featured the Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Akkineni Nageswara Rao who reviewed the golden jubilee year.

Produced by film producer-cum-journalist Vasiraju Prakasam, the serial will have more such crowd-pullers airing thier views and glorifying the country’s rich cultural heritage. The show will be aired on Hyderabad DD every Sunday at 12.25 pm.

Theatre’s gift to small-screen

For most women marriage means the end of their careers, but there are a few whose careers have gained momentum after marriage and motherhood. Shubhangi Fawle-Latkar (quite a name, that!) has been making her presence felt on the small screen in serials like Aahat and Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s Ek Aur Mahabharat, in which she played Satyawati. Not that Shubhangi is a complete novice in acting. She has a solid theatre background and has played the lead in plays like Tempt Me Not and Khalnaaika. The pretty, soft-spoken actress is also a trained Bharat Natyam dancer, “When I am not busy with my acting assignments, I give dance performances,” she informs. Shubhangi attributes her achievements to her husband’s rock solid support, “It’s only because of him that I could take up acting after marriage. And now that both my kids are old enough to take care of themselves, I can be something more than just a wife and a mother,right?” she beams .

Sheeba back to theatre

One-time sizzler Sheeba appears to have sobered down with time and marriage. Moving from movies to music videos and tele-serials and now theatre, she has explored every creative avenue open to her. All set to play act once again, Sheeba is busy with the rehearsals these days. And she doesn’t have to worry about rushing home to her husband, Akashdeep. Because he happens to be her co-star on this play titled Save Our Soul. Directed by Manoj Sinha, this musical comedy opens on December 21 at Nehru Centre, Mumbai. Sure seems to be a nice little family affair.

Chappa chappa guy going great guns

Does the name Ravi Gosain ring a bell? Would the hint that he was one of the Chappa chappa foursome — the clean shaven, lanky teenager — in Guzar’s Maachis, help? Ravi plays Seema Biswas’s revolutionary son in Govind Nihalani’s Hazar Chaurasi Ki Maa and in total contrast to these two intense roles he plays the mischievous Nigoda in teleserial Amanat. He again plays a revolutionary in Ramesh Sippy’s Gaatha and the intense character of Chandrashekhar Azad in Swaraj. But Ravi would have us believe that he looks so different in each role he plays that audience and directors alike fail to relate him to his other characters. A recent example was that of director Vivek Agnihotri who approached Ravi for a role in his serial Saturday Night Suspense. “He confessed that if I hadn’t told him he wouldn’t have thought I was the same person who played all those characters,” avered Ravi.

And if you are wondering what the other three Chappa chappa guys are doing here is an update. Jimmy Shergill — the tall, fair, lean looking guy — has signed two films, Shabnam Kapoor’s Dum Dum Diga Diga and Jahan Tum Le Chalo. Sunil Sinha — the bearded chap with fire in his eyes — is playing Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi in DD’s Swaraj and has an important role in the serial Naya Daur. Chandrachur of course is being hailed as the guy of tomorrow and is flooded with films.