Awards time on Sony
Posted online: Jan 02, 2009 at 1205 hrs

: As the year 2008 draws to a close, channels have lined up special programmes on the eve of the new year. Sony will be airing the 8th Indian Telly Awards on December 31 at 9.30 pm. The show, hosted by Cyrus Broacha and Mini Mathur, promises to be a laugh-riot. The evening witnesses some brilliant acts put together by television artists and stand-up comedians Purbi Joshi, Ali Asgar, Kamya Punjabi and VIP. The group performs a hilarious act on the recent strike that put the entire television industry off-work. But the showstopper was Cyrus’s Full Monty act. It so happened that Salman Khan was awarded the Best TV Personality Of The Year for the show 10 Ka Dum but the actor could not make it to the awards ceremony. To fill in for him, Cyrus stepped in to receive the award and started with the famous striptease. This shocked everyone at first and they were relieved to see his pants and shoes on. Mini was cheering with “Go on Cyrus… that’s for all you ladies on national television!” Later we heard Cyrus asking Mini to then take charge to woo the men!

Mouni Roy to play Seeta Aur Geeta
Mouni Roy, according to sources, has been selected to play the iconic roles of Seeta and Geeta in the serial based on the blockbuster film of the ’70s. Cezanne Khan will play the role of Sanjeev Kumar while Raahil Azim has been pencilled in to play Dharmendra. Apparently, Raahil, who was shown to be dead in Baabul Ka Angan Chhootey Na, was to make a comeback in the serial, but when he got finalised in Seeta Aur Geeta he decided to give Baabul... a miss.

Bhaichung to act
Bhaichung Bhutia, the famous footballer as all set to enter a different profession, that of acting. He is making his debut as an actor in a Bengali mega-serial Sanai produced by Bipin Kumar Vohra and directed by Agnidev Chatterjee. The character he plays is also involved in sports. There is an emotional and comic touch to his role. Says Bhaichung, “I have accepted the role as it gives me full scope to exhibit my histrionic prowess which I always wanted to do.” Others in the cast include veteran actor Soumitro Chatterjee, Sabitro Chatterjee and Arunima Ghosh. The serial will be telecast on Akash Bangla.

Chhavi Mittal enters Naaginn
Saillesh Gulabani has entered Zee’s Naaginn in a negative role and Chhavi Mittal has come in as the love angle of the male lead character, which invariably leads to a triangle love story. Saillesh is doing a supernatural thriller for the first time and is really kicked about it. He says, “I am playing a supernatural character called Agni who possesses magical powers. A sadhu (sage) wakes me up and tells me about the naagmani. A team consisting of three of us is then assigned the task of acquiring the naagmani by any means. The team includes a character called Vayu, essayed by Puneet Sachdeva and a cat-woman. My look is completely different in the show. Depending upon the response, the track might turn positive later on.” Saillesh has always maintained that he loves to do negative roles as they have a lot to offer. Talking about her character, Chhavi informs, “I am playing a simple village girl named Aastha who enters the life of the male lead in the show. With my entry, a triangular love story will start between the lead actress, actor and me. This is a cameo appearance but relatively a longer one. “

Mauja Hi Mauja on Star Plus
On December 31, Star Plus is going to air Mauja Hi Mauja-Bollywood Ka Sabse Bada Tamasha, a concerted effort from Bollywood and Star Plus to express gratitude to the police force for their efforts throughout the year. The event was shot two weeks before the Mumbai terror attacks which claimed many lives from the Mumbai force itself. With Mauja Hi Mauja, the entire Bollywood fraternity and television Industry aims to entertain its viewers with performances , gags and spoofs. Watch Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik, Salman Khan , Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut among others shaking their leg to hit Bollywood numbers.