Seema Kapoor has walked out of Ajay Sinha's Hasratein. Apparently the actress has been on bad terms with Sinha for quite some time. "He is a hypocrite. He makes a serial about women and their rights and talks of treating them with respect. And then he himself goes on and treats them as objects of sex," says a miffed Kapoor. Sinha, it seems, invited her for his birthday bash and when she asked him what he would like to have as a gift he told her that he wanted a kiss from her. This incident was followed by a cold war in print, till they finally decided that they couldn't work together. Now Shefali Chhaya has stepped into her shoes, and the latter seems very pleased about it. "It's flattering to know that there are actresses who are craving for Seema Kapoor's leftovers," she says.

High hopes

Shahbaz Khan, the desi Phantom of Betal Pachisi is flying high these days. He has a plum role in the forthcoming film Darmiyaan, directed by Kalpana Lajmi. And he's playing Taimur Lung in The Great Mughals. So now he's decided that he will do no more insignificant roles. And as a first step, he has dropped out of Cinevista's Hindustani. He feels that he wouldn't have much to do in the serial because director Puneet Issar is hogging the show himself.

Stuff champs are made of

After Puneet Issar, it is his brother-in-law, Satyajit Puri who has turned director. Puri who plays Kabir Kachra in Issar's Hindustani is directing a serial about cricket called Champion. While his brother-in-law plays the part of a frustrated cricketer, the director himself in the captain of the Indian team. And if the grapevine is to be believed, Sanjay Manjrekar is helping them out with the serial.

Over the top

Madhavan, the latest female heart-throb, seems to be suffering from a strange complex. He is working in about half a dozen serials, and ask him about any of them, and he'll tell you that he's the hero. To prove his new-found star status, he has even bought himself a second hand Toyota. And recently while shooting for Sea Hawks in Mauritius, he even insisted on doing his own stunts, a la Akshay Kumar. So he did a shot which required him to jump off a speed boat going at about 60 kmph.

Delayed drama

Mukesh Khanna's Shaktimaan, in which he plays the title role, besides directing, should have hit the small screen last Saturday. And Khanna had even held two press conferences in Delhi and Mumbai to announce this. But now it seems the date of telecast has been pushed to August 30. If this continues Khanna may well lose all his Shakti making the rounds of Mandi House.

Stale fare

Kapil Kapoor, the director of Hum Paanch, Chutki Bajake and Padosan seems to have a panache for comedy. There even seems to be a common pattern running through his serials. In Hum Paanch he had Priya Tendulkar dishing out comments from a photo frame. In Chutki Bajake Dharmesh Vyas does the same work as Yamdoot. But now, the director seems to be running out of ideas, because in Padosan he's made the furniture talk to the character played by Jatin Kanakiya. The poor man is seen conversing with the sofa, cupboards, and drapes in the house.

For a good cause

Here is an unit which celebrated 50 years of Indian Independence in a totally different way. Around 40 artistes and technicians involved with the serial Mahayagya on Sony TV signed forms donating their eyes at the Nair Hospital, Mumbai. "This is a small token from our unit for society and the country," said Rohini Hattangady, who plays the lead role in the serial.

Giving you more

Chahat Aur Nafrat completed a year on Zee this Sunday and has got a 52- episode extension. ``Going by the channel's ratings, our TRPs are 10-11 on the People Meter,'' says proud producer Sanjay Chandna. Director-writer Saurabh Sengupta attributes the success to the slick production and screenplay, which he says is done on the scale of a Bollywood film. As part of the new episodes, viewers can expect some added masala. ``We are introducing a new female character, and the suspense and drama will continue with new twists,'' promises Sengupta. Another woman is only going to add to our hero, Sharad Kapoor's problems.

(Contributed by Murli Sharma, Deepak Karambelkar and Anuradha Nagaraj)

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.