Mega talent hunt for actors for 'Kyunki's 20-year leap

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

New Delhi, (UNI): Wannabe actors and singers in India never had it so good what with a host of talent hunt shows on various television channels providing them a window of opportunity to enter the "Mumbai dream world". Adding to the host of talent hunt shows, television producer Ekta Kapoor has now announced the launching of a mega talent hunt for actors to essay the Next Generation of the Virani family in the popular soap opera 'Kyunki Saas bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'. ''Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, the flagship soap from Balaji Telefilms Ltd, which has been ruling the TRP charts for the last five years, is all set to take a 20-year leap this June. The leap, therefore, makes way for a host of new characters to make their appearance on the small screen. In our endeavour to search for new faces, creative team of 'Kyunki...' is stepping out of the country's "glamour capital" Mumbai,''a spokesperson of Balaji telefilms told UNI here. As part of its talent search, Balaji Telefilms will conduct auditions across several cities of North India.

So, while the auditions for selecting actors for the show will be held in New Delhi on April 29 and 30 at Noida's Marwah Studios, they will be followed by auditions in Shimla on May 1 at Chaura Maidan College.

Auditions will also be held in Chandigarh on May 2 at the Dev Samaj College for Girls.

Talking to UNI, the head of Balaji Telefilms, Ekta Kapoor said,''we are always on the look out for fresh talent but this time around it is very special. We are looking for the next generation of the Virani Family. We started Kyunki, five years back with a large part of the cast selected from the masses and most of them, today, are well established artists with their own fan following. It therefore makes complete sense for us to go back to the masses to look for the next generation of the Virani Family.'' The auditions are open to professional actors, models, theatre artists and the general public in the 18 to 25 years age group.

Good diction, brilliant attitude and acting skills will be some of the factors that will be considered in those being short-listed.

''The highlight of this talent hunt is the search for "Krishnatulsi", who takes over the mantle of Tulsi from Smriti Irani as she takes over the mantle of Baa,''Ekta said.

The producers of such popular serials as 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi', 'Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki', 'Kasauti Zindagi Kay', 'Kahin To Hoga', 'Kavyanjali', 'Kaisa Ye Pyar Hai' and, most recently, 'Kasamh Se' and 'Kandy Floss', Balaji Telefilms Limited, promoted by yesteryears' Bollywood actor Jeetendra, his wife Shobha Kapoor and daughter Ekta Kapoor, is today one of the most successful media companies and the largest fiction based television content provider in India.

The launching of the talent hunt show comes close on the heels of several TV channels like Zee TV and Doordarshan coming up with acting talent hunt shows in the past.