Mumbai: Aunty mat kaho naa
Bollywood superstar Bipasha Basu who was the guest judge on 9X's song-and-dance reality show Chak De Shehar Di Kudiyan Te Galli De Gunde, was in for a shock when one of the participants Bhanu Pratap Singh told her that he has been her fan since his childhood days. A pleasantly surprised Bipasha retorted by saying, "Ha abhi toh Aunty hi bula do." Bipasha took the compliment sportingly and enjoyed herself.

Judge kaho
Choreographer Sandip Soparrkar has found a new role as a judge in 9X's Chak De Shehar Di Kudiyan Te Galli De Gunde. Raveena Tandon, Salim and Suleiman are also on the panel. Sandip was earlier technical director of Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa.

Is this the biggest?
Producer Asit K Modi of the SAB show claims that the sets of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma is the largest set of any show seen on television. It was built in just two months despite the monsoons and consists of a garden, temple, park which is called Gokuldham Society. The show is based on the column written by famous humourist Tarak Mehta of Gujrat who has been writing in Chitralekha magazine for the past 37 years.

Second coming
The second season of Remote Control kicked off yesterday. The show starring Deven Bhojani, Supriya Pathak, Mansi Parekh and Jay Soni will also introduce Benaf Dadachanji (Baby of Baa Bahu Aur Baby) in a glam avatar. The other new entry also includes Sooraj Thapar. Producer JD Majethia says, "We are overjoyed with the response the first season got and no other show has returned with a Season 2 so quickly."

No Santaan
Yasir Shah, who debuted with Balaji's Khwaish and is seen in Jiiya Jale was offered a cameo in Santaan on Zee. He was to be paired with 'special friend' Mitika Sharma who has stood by him as he hails from Pakistan and knew nobody in Mumbai when he arrived. He was keen to do the role as Jiiya Jale is going off air but things didn't work. His friends are now tease him that he has lost a child as the title is Santaan!

Role model
Sakshi Tanwar (Parvati of Kahaani) has been roped in as brand ambassador of Godrej's Ezee Bright and Spot. The actress seems to be in a modelling mood nowadays. Or should we say finally Sakshi is taking up new things in life apart from the rona-dhona of her soapy tales. She also anchored a reality show with Smriti Irani. What next, Sakshi?

Agony and ecstasy
On screen, Neha Janpandit, Rani of Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki is a Ramayan bhakt but off-screen she is a big believer of Ganesha. She brings Ganpati home every year. The actress has invited her unit members to her house for darshan. On screen, the newly-wed Rani is unhappy in her sasural where she is made to live in a house full of cockroaches and ants.

What's in a name?
Abhinav Shukla steps into Babul Ka Angann Chootey Na. His character is called Ratan, a buddy of Aastha, the lead of the show. The producer's name is Ratna Sinha. We wonder if it is a mere co-incidence that his character's name is similar to the producer's name or it is a case of nummerology. Post Rahil Azam's exit from the show, this is the new entry and it is only a cameo. Coincidentally the existing lead hero's name is Siddarth Shukla. And people are already asking if Abhinav and Siddarth are related in any way since they share a common surname off-screen!

No khushi, only gham
Among all the contestants of SaharaOne's Saas vs Bahu, Kittu Gidwani seems the most disillusioned. The actress has decided to never participate in another reality show! "It's like no matter how hard you work, it doesn't count. What matters is how much you are liked by the judges. The judges have their favourites and I think this whole thing is rigged. I'm anyway an outsider so I don't know the tricks of the trade," says Kittu. The reason being that in spite of good performances, she's been getting poor marks along with her bahu Daljeet. "Our act was brilliant but I was upset with the marks we got," says Kittu. Guess one has to learn to take things in their stride when things go wrong.

Dance of pain
It's quite a different thing if you dance regularly and then go on stage. But when someone is dancing after 21 years, it definitely is going to be difficult! Like for Shoma Anand in Saas Vs Bahu. When she practiced with Bhanujeet for Jumme Raat for three hours, her body couldn't take it. "I had to pop painkillers before I went on stage for the performance," says Shoma. No pain, no gain!