Bandini, Kitani Mohabbat Hai launched

Janaki Viswanathan attends the launch ofBandini and Kitani Mohabbat Hai...

A short announcement, a shorter AV and pandemonium ensues at the launch of Bandini and Kitani Mohabbat Hai at
Krishna Cottage. Oblivious to the frenzy of microphones, video cameras and reporter-questions, a trio of made-up girls sit in a corner, yakking away ceaselessly. That’s Pooja Gor, Akshita and Sonam Mann.

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They spot the press kit on me and beg to read it. And excitedly point at their photographs and character notes (“My pen-name is Anamika? I didn’t even know!” says one).

Pooja insists I spell her surname right or her folks back in Ahmedabad will be unhappy. The 17-year-old will play the eldest sister in the NDTV Imagine daily and plans to pursue her BCom through correspondence.

Spotted online
How was she spotted by Balaji Telefilms? “Facebook,” she grins, showing me a copy of her picture uploaded on the community website. Akshita, earlier seen in Kahani Ghar Ghar ki and Kasamh Se, brags about how her character gets the smartest one-liners on the show. But she refuses to give an example.

Mann says, “It got exciting with the ghost.” What? Akshita and Mann launch into the scary story, each overlapping the other. Gor’s inputs are limited to, “There are no such things as ghosts.”

About two weeks ago, in between shots on a bunk bed at Sankraman Studios, the girls began clicking pictures. Twice, a white light streamed through one of the staffers who was in the frame. “As soon as he stepped out, the white light vanished,” exclaims Mann.

Back to work
Gor retorts, “It must have been the lights.. there’s the softy, the baby.. it can’t have been a ghost.” The three argue until Akshita shudders, “I spent the rest of my breaks at the Hanuman temple on the set.”

Gor laughs and the other two mock-glare at her before squealing that it’s time for them to leave for another schedule. In Lonavla.. with no white lights hopefully.