Better times
Aneesh Dev who had a run of bad luck with his serial Samjhauta which went off DD before resurfacing on Zee as Aandhi Jazbaaton Ki is back in action. He is now producing a story called Dahak directed by Rajesh Ranashinge (who had earlier directed Samjhauta) to be telecast in the X-Zone slot on Zee. It stars Arif Zakaria and Sukanya Kulkarni. ``I can't say anything about the story but my episodes will give the actual definition of the supernatural,'' says Dev. He has also shot another pilot episode called Ek Muthi Aasmaan -- a family soap with Tushar Dalvi, Vaidehi, Sanjeev Seth, Smita Bansal, Rakesh Bedi amongst others which has been approved for Zee. Also in the pipeline is a sitcom called Abhi Zindagi Ka Le Lo Mazaa to be directed by someone called, Sanjay Gandhi.

Distance makes the heart...
Raman Kumar. After the bad times, he is in the news for some good reasons. His much talked about documentary on Assam called Distant Thunder is slated to be telecast on Doordarshan soon. And he has also started work on his film based on post-militant Punjab and if sources are to be believed he has signed on Naseeruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia for the main lead in his yet untitled film!

Three Cheers
United Television (UTV) which has produced shows like Shanti, Sea Hawks and the recent Gumraah (Zee) threw a bash last week to launch its new serial Hip Hip Hurray! (Zee). We couldn't stop wondering why the venue for the bash was a bungalow called Roop Leela in Juhu and not a hotel or a restaurant. The party was quite a low key affair and not many scribes turned up though the entire cast and crew was present. The serial has a bunch of newcomers (who are also studying in schools and colleges) and is directed by a lady called Noopur Asthana. So if you're fed up seeing the same old faces (Here you can read Shekhar Suman, Amit Behl, Sachin Khedekar) catch up with Hip Hip Hurray! every Wednesday, 8 pm.

Big, small star
Parmeet Sethi who made his mark with serials like Dastaan, Junoon quit television when he bagged films like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Diljale. Though the films did well looks like it didn't help Sethi in his career. So these days you again see him all over in serials like Jaane Bhi Do Paro, Nehle Pe Dehla (both produced by Cinevista and directed by his wife Archana Puran Singh who also stars in them). He was also seen in an episode of their detective serial, Saboot which stars, Anita Kanwar. Small isn't big but it can be beautiful.