Name: Richa Nayyar Job

Profile: Actress

Sun Sign: Gemini, 24 May 1978

Educational Experience
Honours in English from Punjab University (Government College for Girls, Chandigarh).

Post Graduation from National School of Drama, Delhi (1998-2001)

Learnt theater from the Academy Theater, Atlanta, Georgia in the United States for two years.

Film Appreciation Course from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.

Professional Experience
I've been doing theater for the last 17-18 years. After my course in FTII, I came to Bombay in 2001.

Serials: I've worked in serial like Sach (Doordarshan), Hakeekat (Sahara), Amaanat, Aap Jo Bole Haan To Haan?Aap Jo Bole Na To Na, Kamal and Astitva (Zee), Sssh?Koi Hai and Sanjeevani (Star Plus), Hakeempur.com (ETV Urdu) and Aasha Ki Kiran (ETV Hindi).

Films: I've done this film called Dharini produced by the Films Division which should release within the next two months. I've also worked in an Indo-French film called Hawaa Aane Do which is in its post-production stages and should release by July this year. Then I've acted in a short film made by FTII called Until the Next Dawn. I also have four corporate films to my credit.

Television as career choice
I've always wanted to do theater. My dad (Sewak Nayyar) has his own theater group called 'Yavanika Theater Group' and so I've always been actively involved in theater. Television has been my second priority. But today television is the most popular platform for anyone's claim to fame. I'm not made for films and I don't even think I'm heroine material and I rather do performance oriented roles than dance around trees in movies!!

Current Television scenario
The television scenario today is changing and also revolutionising as new TV programmes with new ideas are coming up. You can't fool the audience anymore by showing them anything. The audience is now fed-up of the saas-bahu sagas. Their viewpoint is broadening and television today provides a better insight to them. And soon the television scenario is going to change even more.

Right and wrong about current Television scenario
It's a very subjective question. Something that I think is right; my mom may think it to be wrong. So one can't really define what is right and wrong about the current television scenario. Personally if you ask me, I don't like the saas-bahu family dramas that are shown on television.

Five years from now
Five years down the line I see myself doing just theater if I don't do anything bigger and better in television or I see myself as a very big star on television.

Hobbies
I love singing, swimming and traveling. It's a different thing that today because of my work commitments I can't travel as much as I did initially.

Idea of enjoyment
I love watching films, not the typical masala films but more on the lines of offbeat cinema and art films. I love the movie made by director Akira Kurosawa called Red Beard. More recently, I've liked Mr. and Mrs. Iyer and Freaky Chakra. I would love to act in movies of this genre.

Name: Roopali Kadyan

Designation: Senior Producer - STAR India

Sun Sign: Taurus

Educational Experience
Rather traumatic but anyway. Till the seventh standard, I was in Delhi. Later on, I was in the International School of Paris for three years.

I did my 12th from Delhi Public School, my Bachelors in French from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi and finally I did my Mass Communications from Sophia Polytechnic in Mumbai. Couldn't bear it post that!

Professional Experience
I have done various summer jobs and spent most of my later schooling years working through vacations. My dad is an army man and enforces his rules not just on his subordinates but also on me.

I worked for Prahlad Kakkar's Genesis Film Production for a year where I grew as a nocturnal being with insane shoot schedules and also grew hard of hearing with 'Papa Pancho' screaming at the top of his lungs (anyone who knows him will relate to this!!). Jokes apart, what I have learnt from him was primarily the art of detailing, which I haven't forgotten till date.

I have been with Star Plus for almost three years now and have worked on all sorts of software-format shows from Kaun Banega Crorepati, which was at the start of my career, to Kahani Kismet Ki; teenage fiction soaps like Kyon Hota Hai Pyar; kids daily Shaka-laka Boom Boom to events like the Screen Awards. Here's where I get serious!

Job Profile
The basic crux of my work is to create and implement high quality fiction and non-fiction television for mass audiences; to supervise all production and creative input on programmes; and innovate on a weekly basis with respect to storylines and visual presentation of shows.

I also act as the interface between the channel and the production houses for all issues with regard to shows; make key decisions on budgets, casting, production schedules, selection of creative and technical teams; scripting, promotion strategy and off air marketing. Phew!!!!!!!!!!

Television as career choice
Television, is a medium of constant change and reflection of society. Its dynamism and ever evolving nature has always attracted me. The mass reach of television entertainment and its ability to reach out to its audiences country wide cuts across all economic and social sections. It also gives us a direct connection to the mind, and especially in the case of fiction shows, to the heart of the viewer.

The responsibility of providing a high standard has always been challenging and I have loved this challenge. The reward of being able to read the mind of the viewers, to pre-empt their reaction and get it right is what motivates me week after week.

The opportunity to innovate on a weekly/daily basis and to create a product, that is widely accepted as successful in a very subjective field, is what drew me to television.

Current Television scenario
I think Star Plus has got it right! The total domination our channel has in the current television scenario indicates the high level of understanding the team, as a whole, has towards the taste and sensibilities of the viewers.

Star reflects the aspirations, feelings and idea of entertainment that the TV viewing audience in India has today. In a way, this is a complete reflection of our society. It also means that our biggest competitors are our own shows and therefore my biggest competitors sit right beside me!

Right and wrong about current Television scenario
It's a very subjective question. What works is right and what doesn't is wrong. All we need to do is innovate on the formats front. I would have test periods for everything so that at the end of it I can have an idea of what works and what doesn't.

Five years from now
Considering the high level of burn out in my field, I see myself on a white beach with top sunlight and waves conducive to boogie boarding with my loyalists Kurusawa, Cleopatra and Ginger (my dogs)!

Hobbies
Watching movies (language no bar), watching Roswell on Star World, going out as much as the job permits, dumping pups in my parents home. (I love dogs and they love breeding!!)

Sun Sign
I'm a Taurean but I hate cooking.

Idea of enjoyment
On a white beach with top sunlight and waves conducive to boogie along with my loyalists Kurusawa, Cleopatra and Ginger (these are my dogs)! In five years I will be doing what I enjoy most.

Name: Srikanth Raman

Designation: Associate Business

Director - CARAT - India Sun Sign: Libra

Educational Experience
B.Com (Mumbai University), MMS (Marketing) Mumbai University, 1991.

Professional Experience
One and a half years in Enterprise advertising as a Media Planning Trainee.

Two and a half years in Nexus Equity Communications, joined as a Media Planner; left as a Media Supervisor.

Seven years in Mudra Mumbai, joined as a Media Manager and left as a Media Director, Mumbai.

Currently with Carat India, since December 2002 as an Associate Business Director.

Job Profile
My basic job profile is essentially directing and controlling strategic planning and buying decisions for a key client.

The profile also includes initiating primary research to understand the buying behaviours of the target consumers. And periodically raising the bar in terms of service provided to our clients, ranging from better quality of Media solutions to more efficient ways of stretching the advertising rupee.

Advertising as career choice
Advertising, particularly media planning, at that point of time, seemed an ideal mix of quantitative skills blended with a certain amount of creative freedom.

For a new management graduate, who had all the ideals of making a mark in the marketing and advertising fraternity, media planning provided ample opportunities to make a difference to the client's business and therefore his bottomline.

Current Advertising scenario
It is unbelievably exciting! Due to the plethora of options that are there on the table, it has become unbelievably tough too. Reconditioning in set systems, thoughts and principles are the need of the day. One has to reinvent oneself almost on a month to month basis.

The clients, realising the importance of the investments made in Media/Communication, have increased their attention span in terms of involvement. And the increased involvement has made them more demanding. This means that one is constantly racing to be on one's toes. The experience makes an individual much richer, in terms of knowledge and information acquirement.

Right and wrong about current advertising scenario
Too many doomsday predictions are being made about this wonderful business of communicating to the consumer in a language and a manner that she understands and empathises with. Too many complications are being thrown in the ring, regarding a simple function of reaching out to the consumer when and wherever she is accessible.

Every industry is going through a churn and the same is happening here? but one has to meet challenges with a note of optimism. So nothing is wrong with this business, everything is right, and it can only get better.

Five years from now
Given such dynamism and emergence of new set of 'grammar' almost on an annual basis (from satellite channels to Internet to CAS to Convergence amongst others) any crystal ball gazing is fraught with ignorance. But wherever I am, I want to be in the thick of the action.

Hobbies
I love listening to music (from hard rock to grunge to Hindi film music of the 60's and 70's to AR Rehman and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) and movies (partial to Hindi masala and Hollywood movies of the gangster genre and romantic comedies)

Idea of enjoyment
Doing what you like everyday? and going home to people who enjoy being with you everyday! Enjoyment should be a continuous emotional experience, and not an escape.

Name: Ranjeev Verma

Designation: Actor

Sun Sign: Leo, 30 July

Educational Experience
Science graduate

Professional Experience

TV serials : I have done a lot of films and television serials in my career spanning nearly a decade. Presently, I'm working on serials like Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand which airs on Star Plus and Mulk which airs on Zee TV where I play a Sardarji character. I'm also working on a new serial called Lakeerein produced by Shobhna Desai which will start airing on Star Plus in April.

Feature films : I've also done some movies, one of them being Yeh Dil Aashiqana produced by Aruna Irani. Presently, I'm working on another of Arunaji's movies called Ajnabee Ho Gaye Hum. I am also very excited about my character in the movie Aanch, where I play Nana Patekar's son. It is a negative role and one I'm looking forward to.

Television as career choice
I always thought that I was a good actor and could be successful in this field. I haven't undergone any professional training in acting but have done some theatre and plays. I have learnt from my experience in the last ten years or so that I have been this field.

Current Television scenario
The whole industry is going through a very bad phase. There is a lot of competition and expectations are very high. Currently, Zee, Sony and Star TV are doing well.The producers are also doing well.

But there needs to be some decorum in the way people work. Things seem to be messed up everywhere in the industry. But I'm sure good times are not far away.

Right and wrong about current Television scenario
There are many television channels at present and hence there is a lot of scope for new talents. A whole lot of people can get work and prove themselves as good actors. Earlier, actors only had the feature film medium to showcase their abilities. But it is not the case now with so many serials coming up on the numerous channels we have today.

Of course, the money is divided due to the monopoly of some people on the top. It's not that there is no money in this field but the money does not come to you at the end of the day or it comes very late.

I'd like to mention a particular experience here. Six months ago I shot for Ketan Mehta's Production Chacha Chowdhary which airs on Sahara TV. I was promised that I would get my remuneration as soon I finish shooting for the serial. Till today I haven't got my dues.

So this is how the state is today in the industry. It's only if these things are brought out in the open, will people know about the real situation and steps can be taken so that actors don't suffer.

Five years from now
Five years from now I can't really say where I'll be, but I hope to see myself doing a lot of different roles and be recognized as a good actor for the kind of work I did.

Hobbies
I love reading and watching TV. I like to spend as much time with my family as and when I can.

Idea of enjoyment
My idea of enjoyment is earning good money from the profession I am in and then spending it on my family and myself.

When it comes to discussing leisure time activities, there are many things that head honcho Amar Deb is into - be it books, meditation or writing but it's his weekend travelling which keeps him on an even keel. During the course of the conversation, I find out that Deb is a real cool `travelling man'. And travelling for him is not about taking off to some exotic foreign locations and checking into a luxurious suite; but it's about braving torrential rains, driving down to some dense forests and camping in his tent.

So, it seems like travel is real hard work for Deb. He says, "My real adrenalin chaser is to explore wild places, camp out at some unknown virgin beaches or explore the rugged Sahayadri terrain in Maharashtra. I've been doing this for years now. At least once a month, I along with my wife Nita and five year old son take off on a ultimate dream drive in search of some unknown location."

So, what are the dream destinations for this seasoned traveller? There are places that Deb rattles off as he relives the experience, "My wanderlust has taken me across the state of Maharashtra. I can still vividly remember our trip to Khadavli which is about 14 kms off the Nasik highway when I could show my son millions of stars while sleeping under the open sky. "

He goes on, "another place is Ambivali, a deserted place with thick dense and thick forest mangoes. Then, there are some nameless destinations which we discover along the way. It's like if we decide to go to Matheran then we don't camp at proper Matheran but we trail off to a place like say Jumapatti."

I see a dreamer in Deb as listening to him also reminds me of the much forgotten word - serendipity - the faculty of making unexpected and happy discoveries accidentally which many of us have probably left behind us in the hubbub of daily life. As I am transformed to the sylvan serenity of the countryside, Deb adds, "it's a beautiful feeling to meet simple and beautiful people, to have a cup of tea from a roadside dhaba and drink water from the fresh water streams."

My Childhood experience
I ask him about his growing years and it looks like the travel bug is really in the
Deb genes. Recalling his childhood experience, he says, "My father was in the Navy where life was pretty regimented. So, to break the monotony, he would often drive down to discover waterfalls, hills and camp sites.
In fact, as a five year old I remember touring the whole of South along with my parents and of course my pets - a dog and a cat. We drove around in a car and camped ourselves at various destinations from Kerala to Kanyakumari. But, those days it was less polluted and crowded, and everything was very clean and beautiful."

But can't things get a bit out of hand with this rather risky penchant for travel? There are memories and incidents that Deb still carries with him. "Yes, sometimes it can be, but somehow overall there has never been a major problem."

He continues, "As a child, I remember being caught up in a major religious riot when we were travelling down South. Then, I remember seeing a python and a leopard right in my tent. At Jumapatti, we were woken up by villagers to caution us about a lion in the vicinity. Once, I was with some friends of mine and since I had forgotten to build the trench around my tent there was more than six inches of water and our sleeping bags were almost submerged. Now since I travel with my family, I am obviously a bit more careful."

Maharashtrians' are a beautiful people
Though born and brought up in Bangalore, Deb has adapted to Maharashtra and its culture like a fish to water. "I love the state and the people. Maharashtrians are beautiful and vivacious people. One is treated like a guest wherever one goes. And for those wanting to explore the state, no matter what kind of holiday you are looking for, you will find it here. Whether it's peaceful self-exile in the awe-inspiring mountains, quiet worship at shrines, or revelation in cave architecture, art and culture or challenging treks or abundant wildlife thrills."

Deb's such a nature lover that he's even reluctant to reveal deserted beaches and places which he has discovered along the way. He tells me what normally happens is that once these places get written about they start developing as tourist destinations and the within no time people start buying property at such places. "I always feel people should learn to enjoy nature without possessing it."

I ask him how this sort of adds on to his life. He says, "The combination of a fantastic car drive and a great outdoors gives me a sense of grounding literally. And it's definitely a break from our hectic schedules.
" I typically wake up in a tent somewhere in the middle of a mountain and think of a wild idea and then come to office and ask my gang to work on it." Aha?..

Miditech president Niret Alva has a relationship with sharp, easy companions, which has been wowing him, challenging him, since forever? his favourite Books. Nidhi Jain is truly inspired by him and swears to become a bookaholic herself.

Who introduced you to reading?
My grandfather Joachim Alva had a fabulous collection of books ranging from biographies and autobiographies to works on psychology and dating behaviour and history. He loved giving and accepting books as gifts. After I was born, all new purchases had his name and my name on one of the first pages and the date of purchase. The implication was that he was leaving them to me.

At his bed side was a Bible (the most widely printed and sold book in the world) and the Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis. I've read both. The first many times. The second once. The first is my favourite book. It's a love story of the relationship between God and man, sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical, with all the attendant ups and downs of faithfulness, betrayal, murder, war, redemption and restoration. In my life it holds supernatural power. I cannot start the day without it.

Joachim Alva was a journalist, freedom fighter, author and politician. He published the news magazine Forum in the heady days of the freedom struggle. Mahatma Gandhi read it and they often wrote to each other. We still have some of those handwritten letters. On Sundays, even before I was a teenager, I would take down in long hand his newspaper articles which he would simply dictate to me. He paid me a princely sum for each exercise and his reminiscences were published on Sundays in a column called Yesterday and Today.

I guess I got my love for books from him. I started reading really early. By the 6th or 7th standard I had read a fairly serious work called Pre-Marital Dating Behaviour. Forget who the author was. From my grandfather I inherited love for non-fiction across a variety of subjects. From the classic "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (William Shirer) which took me a month and twelve days to read in the 12th standard, to the sheer joy of pouring over the printed Encyclopedia Britannica, building on what had started with Enid Blyton, Biggles, Hardy Boys... Alistair Mclean... Ian Fleming... the love for books was all encompassing and still runs deep.

When my grandfather died when I was 14, I lost a fabulous role model, somebody who had inspired me at various levels; intellectual, spiritual, emotional and even to excel at sport... he left me with an abiding love for books.

Kind of book collection I have
It's very eclectic. Some books I have inherited from my grandfather. I love their old feel and slightly musty smell. Some have survived battles with termites, but don't look so good as a result.

The Bhagvad Gita according to Mahatma Gandhi is an example. I have books on Karate (did it for 3 years), a page-weary, battered 30 volume Encyclopedia Britannica , a gift from my parents, Niranjan and Margaret Alva, books bought after reading reviews in the Economist (my favourite magazine), books for the spirit, for the mind, for the sheer joy of fiction.... Ian McEwan, Umberto Eco (what an intellect that man has), Vikram Seth (Golden Gate and Suitable Boy), Ben Okri? books on economics that are lucid and easy to digest... books on the environment....The Forgiveness of Nature and a Moment on the Earth for example... David Attenborough....

I love touching and rearranging our books. My wife Anuja Chauhan loves books too and reads more than me. Unlike me she rereads lots of books. So does my 12-year-old daughter Niharika.

Our book collection reflects the diverse interests of our family... from the latest Harry Potter that my wife and daughter need to buy almost as soon as it is off the press to Agatha Christie to Wodehouse.... we love books... can't get enough of them... keep asking my wife to make more shelves.....

Taste in books and how do you choose the books you read.
My taste in books is often incomprehensible. It's intuitive. It's spontaneous. It's sometimes governed by reviews I read. Sometimes it has to do with work. When we were doing a reality series for BBC World on a call centre in Bangalore, I quickly read... What's this India Business.... And I own it.

When I was writing the script for Operation Hot Pursuit, an undercover documentary on the illegal ivory trade and tracing it from South India to Japan, made by Miditech for NGC... Someone gave me as a gift, a novel by Wilbur Smith that seriously helped stimulate the writing...
Basically I look to buy books that will help me grow by inspiring me, wowing me, challenging me, pushing me, forcing me to state what I stand for.
None of this means that I only read high brow stuff. Some of my favourite writers, I read for the sheer mastery over their material... Dalrymple, Seth, Roberts (Shantaram), Mehta (Maximum City), Agatha Christie... others I read to remember my childhood... Enid Blyton... believe it or not... read two, two years ago... then I love to read food for the soul... enny Hine... Derek Prince... Tozer... Yancey... Tolle

On favourite authors and well written books
There is no hard and fast rule. My favourite authors are those who draw you into their world and hold you close to them as they lead you from page to page. They reveal a point of view and ask you to join it and be a part of it. No this doesn't mean they are all fiction. Take Jeremy Sachs... The End of Poverty... an incredible argument, very passionate for how we can use capital to solve most of the world's development problems. Right or wrong.....he hits you in the solar plexus and you are forced to re-examine what you believe in.

Read Jared Diamond...Guns,Germs and Steel and his more recent Collapse... wow... solid research... well crafted arguments and the climax. Boy, does he make you think! Rushdie and the way he writes is so compelling, you are not drawn, you are driven through the narrative by a rare gift that the author clearly has. Tom Sharpe can make you laugh till you cry with his Wilt series... he is really funny. Sainath (Everybody Loves a Good Drought)... a solid reminder that a large part of India is clearly not the radar of our so-called mass media.

Do you find interesting things in every book
As soon as I finish reading a book, I write down its name and the author's name in a note book. It's a "ritual" going back to the 1980s. If I own the book, I may underline stuff that I found seriously compelling or moving or something that I need to internalise. May copy it out too. Every book as its own secret it own magic. Sometimes a book is dense and not too easy to follow, or maybe my intellect isn't sharp enough.....time to pass.....a good book is like a good relationship...effortless....easy...companionable........

Self help books
Look I know they sell well and that there are people who specialise in that kind of writing. I don't read them anymore. Used to years ago. What scares me about some very famous self-help authors with respect to what they stood for is that they were not able to practice what they preached. One person who preached the philosophy of objectivism died in any asylum. Another author who tried to teach people how to tackle life, committed suicide. A third married 6 times or thereabouts.

The best so called self help books are those that stimulate you to find your own answers. Eckhart Tolle is fabulous... The Power of the Present Moment and his new book... A New Earth... Jim Collins... Good to Great... On why some companies become truly spectacular and others fail to make the grade... simple, insightful and beautiful.

Investments on books
Never consider buying books a waste of money. Think they are well worth the investment, though sometimes it pays to wait for the paperback version. Research shows that children who grow up around books tend to be better equipped for life. Anuja and I have three kids. Niharika (11 and a half), Nayantara (8 and a half) and Daivik (almost 6). The eldest loves reading the most but the second one seems to be picking up. Daivik hasn't really got into it yet.

Reading pace
Varies, depending on the pace. A thriller gets polished off. Romila Thapar's History of India, Vol 1 took ages... was trying to absorb lots of stuff while reading.

Browsing and e-reading
Does not work for me... personally. A book is about having and holding... in bed, at the table, on a plane, in a train, in a park....

Currently reading
Just finished Heaven is so Real by Choo Thomas and now savouring a History of the World in 9 and a half chapters by J. Barnes.

Books that don't hold
Dense, seriously complex material that my brain can't connect with or fathom... stuff that I may grow old trying to get through.