The gift of eternity from Viraasat

IF you liked the long-winding Zanjeerein, then Viraasat is just your cup of tea. By now writer Devendra Goswami seems to have mastered the art of the endless serial by breaking it into sub-plots and side stories.

Zee TV’s new year gift to viewers, Viraasat revolves around three generations headed by Shiv Narayan (Subbiraj) who hands over the business empire to his son and two grandsons and goes back to live in the small house from where he had started out in life.

And that sets the foundation for future disputes and intrigues. Added to this is a family conflict in which one of Shiv Narayan’s grandsons, instead of joining the family business, becomes a doctor and marries a girl of his choice antagonising his father in the process. The grandfather is reluctantly dragged in to make peace in the house.

The formidable cast includes Subbiraj, Rohini Hattangadi, Lalit Tiwari, Anita Kanwal, Mahesh Thakur, Sonia Kapoor, Vijay Arora Ritu Raj and more.

According to producer-director Gulshan Sachdeva, Viraasat mirrors the ambitions, aspirations and sacrifices of a normal, hard working individual. He claims there is neither sermonising nor any hint of moral preaching in the serial. The only problem is that it suspiciously sounds like one which makes you realise what eternity is all about.

Reaching for the stars

On the small screen this may be a record of sorts. One big hit which has put the lady is right on top of the star pile but she refuses to accept any more roles. The reason? Tejaswani Kolhapure is waiting for the right break in films.

Mujhe Chand Chahiye, she says, has given her enough exposure as an actress and she feels she is ready for the silver screen. Interestingly, five years ago she was approached for the lead role in the film Bekhudi by Rahul Rawail, but at that time she declined the offer which went to Kajol.

That was the time she was engrossed in modelling and acting was not on her list of priorities. But then she had a change of heart and accepted the role of a simple school girl who is transformed into a glamorous star in Mujhe Chand Chahiye. "It was so challenging that I had no hesitation in taking it up," says Tejaswani.

Now the next big challenge is to turn into a real life glamorous star. And the way she’s pursuing her goal, it doesn’t seem to be out of reach. After all sister Padmini too did it. But what if she fails?" Well, then I’ll start considering the many TV offers I am getting," says Tejaswani nonchalantly.

Back to the past

The last year of the twentieth century is an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary events of the past one hundred years. BBC’s People’s Century that started on January 2 is a major series in which individuals recall their part in history.

From the Russian Revolution to World War I and from Hiroshima to the Cold War, the series re-lives world-changing events through the eyes of the people who witnessed them. Using archive films the major events are recalled alongwith the changes in our everyday life from cars and computers to movies and TV.

People’s Century tells a story of rising hopes and aspirations in the age of the common man as millions won new freedoms and achieved new levels of prosperity. But it is also a story of widening inequality, crude populism and mass manipulation.

BBCsays it is the most ambitious factual series the channel has ever undertaken. The 26-part documentary series is a result of a three-year search through the world’s film archives which has produced some remarkable and original footage. So book your seat in advance and reserve time 7 p.m. every Saturday for this delightful series.

Living on the Edge

It may not exactly rival programmes on Discovery and the National Geographic Channel, yet, Living on the Edge, on Star Plus is making a definite niche for itself, thanks to anchorperson Naseeruddin Shah.

Recently, Shah took viewers to a fascinating journey through the Darjeeling Zoo where a unique experiment is underway to enable the breeding of endangered species.

In the sixties, the Darjeeling Zoo was the breeding ground for the pure and endangered Red Panda which it liberally presented to other zoos around the world. Today, thanks to people’s greed for fur, the Red Pandas have been brutally hunted in the wild and very few survive.

In 1994, the Darjeeling Zoo initiated a breeding project which resulted in 16 Red Pandas being produced in captivity. Ironically this supposedly rewarding effort has become a burden as the habitat for their release is not ready because the environment ministry has not released the funds for it.

It is this investigative edge which makes Living on the Edge such a riveting show setting it apart from others which merely focus on wildlife.

Songs sung blue

He’s back. And so is the melody. Sonu Nigam came on the pop scene with his album and video of Kismet is making the best of good times with a new album, titled Sanskar.

But this is a musical voyage with a difference. The singer has teamed up with music director Ravi Pawar [who has worked on albums like Deewane to Deewane Hai, Ho Jayegi Balle Balle, Tunak Tunak Tun to create an album of eight soulful songs.

The intensity and feeling of Sonu’s voice comes through in the video track Hari Mere Ghar Ko, Vandana Kariye and Soja Sapno Mein Khoja. This is a different Sonu Nigam from the one viewers have been in his debut video, Kismet.

Through popular music channels may not play the video because of its slow pace, it may be interesting to get a glimpse of it in other channels and see a different dimension of Sonu Nigam.

Chilling out with chatter

She’s the new icon of hip. A glamorous VJ who has turned fast talking into an art form on television. Amrita Arora the little sister of Malaika is an up-and-coming VJ in her own right and a third year student of psychology and literature.

Known as the vivacious, chirpy and cool VJ for MTV MTV Chill Out Amrita loves to party and gossip. Her most fervent admirer since she was two years has been the camera.

This admiration has been translated into a number of prestigious campaigns.

Amrita has a passion for music and as she put it – just loves to dance – whether it’s Bharatnatyam or a more trendy jazz ballet. She has studied both these forms of dance.

In a sincere attempt at explaining her non stop chatter Amrita says, "It’s really not my fault — my mouth hurts if I keep quite for more than ten minutes." Little wonder then that when this talking head is chattering, most viewers simply chill out!

— Mukesh Khosla