24 spreading magic, says Anil Kapoor

Actor-producer Anil Kapoor is excited with the response to his debut television production "24" and feels that gradually the show is casting a spell over the entire country.

With the first episode aired Oct 4 this year and six episodes telecast so far, the show has struck a chord not only with the audiences but also film industry legends like Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Anupam Kher, among others.

"Every body, including (my) friends, family, legends, are praise for it ('24') and saying, 'We have not seen such a show in India till date'," Anil, known for hit movies like "Mr. India", "Tezaab" and "Viraasat", told reporters at the launch of an interactive mobile game based on "24".


See Pics: Now, interactive mobile game on Anil Kapoor's 24


In the show, Anil plays the lead role of Jai Singh Rathod, the chief of anti-terrorist unit. The show captures the 24 hours of Rathore's life, where he struggles to prevent the assassination of a prime ministerial candidate and also has to save his daughter, who has been kidnapped by terrorists.

"There are some shows that trade doesn't like. Some shows are there that the film industry doesn't like, while some shows are not liked by the television industry people or people of advertising world. Some shows don't find their favourite spot among the audience and kids, but this show is kind of spreading like magic over the country," added the 53-year-old.

Anil gives credit to the team's hard work and passion.

"I have been working in the industry for the last 36 years, but I feel that nobody would have done such tremendous amount of work, so much hard work with so much passion till date as much as the entire team and I have done for the show," the actor said.

The sequel to 'No Entry' will finally roll in 2014

Now there is buzz that the filmmaker will roll the film in 2014 with Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan and Anil Kapoor along with some 10 girls. Finally.

Twitter abuzz with Anil Kapoor's '24' chatter

New Delhi: "24 it is gripping and stylised and going to change the face of INDIAN TELEVISION, Kudos to Anil Kapoor and His Team !!!" reads Madhur Bhandarkar's tweet after he watched the opening episode of Anil Kapoor's '24'. Such has been the impact of the pilot episode that '24' has become the favorite topic of discussion on Twitter. As people post their viewpoints and updates to family and friends on Twitter, it is clear that the show has managed been able to meet the expectations of the viewers. 

Anil Kapoor, who makes his TV debut as actor and producer with '24', has taken the first step in changing the way Indian TV is perceived. For those who came in late, '24' is the Indian version of an American TV series of the same name and features 

Anil Kapoor as Indian agent Jai Singh Rathod, the role based on American action hero Jack Bauer, originally played by Kiefer Sutherland. To help Indian viewers relate to '24', the show's writers have incorporated a few Indian twists. Read on to know what common viewers and popular names from the showbiz industry have been saying about the show. 

'24' airs on Colors TV, a property of Network 18, which also owns IBNLive.

Anil Kapoor dances with Salman Khan on 'Bigg Boss'

Weekend is here and this time the Sunday will be more Jhakkas, because joining Salman Khanon the sets will be the dashing and energetic Anil Kapoor, who is on the show to promote his upcoming show 24.

The episode started off with a dashing entry by the Robin Hood Pandey- Salman Khan on the song 'pandey ji seeti'. Followed by Anil Kapoor's entry on his signature song 'My name is Lakkhan'. They also danced together on their song 'Ishq di gali wich No entry'. The weekend with Salman and Anil was already high on the dose of entertainment, and it came as surprise when Salman carried Anil on his shoulders. But when Anil Kapoor tried to carry Salman on his shoulder, he was unable to carry Salman, and it left Salman and the audience in splits.

After Rajat Rawail was evicted from the Bigg Boss house, Salman called him on stage for a special chat. He was asked to crown Angel and Devil of the week. While Armaan was crowned as the Angel of the week, Asif was crowned as the Devil of the week. To make the weekend ka masti more mazedaar, Bigg Boss gave Rajat a special power- Bigg Bomb, wherein he was asked to take one person's name who would directly get nominated for next week's evictions.

After some serious discussions and chatting with Salman, to lighten Rajat's mood, Rajat's wife and daughter came on the stage to surprise him. After seeing them, Rajat couldn't control his emotions and broke into tears.

With all this fun, masti and drama, the Weekend is definitely going to be a WOW!

People stopped considering me as an Actor : Mandira Bedi

Popular television presenter Mandira Bedi, who has hosted various cricket based shows, says people had stopped looking at her as an actor.

After acting in popular shows like Shanti and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Mandira Bedi appeared on TV shows as a host or anchor.

Now, she is back on television after nine years with Indian adaptation of American drama series 24.

"I have always been on television in cricket hosting, anchoring reality shows. After cricket shows people stopped looking at me as an actor and thought of me as an anchor. But returning to acting on small screen is wonderful, with a platform like this ('24')," Mandira said.

"I always thought I will wait for a channel to come with a Mandira Bedi centric role. But when I got this offer I forgot all about that. I want to be a part of the show. I want this to be the platform for my come back in acting," she added.

In the show, Mandira Bedi plays a government agent, named Nikita Rai, based on the character Nina Myers, essayed by US actress Sarah Clarke in the original show.

Mandira Bedi loves her character and she completely relates to it.

She was amazed with the desire and energy of actor producer Anil Kapoor.

"It is amazing working with him. He is super fit, has got enthusiasm like a newcomer, which is very rare to find in people who have been around for so long. He makes us feel young again," she said.

The Hindi version of 24 is written by Rensil D'Silva, directed by Abhinay Deo and produced by Anil Kapoor. It will premiere in October.

On personal front, Mandira Bedi, who is married to director Raj Kaushal and has a son named Vir, seems quite excited to adopt a baby girl.

"We will be bringing a baby girl home soon. I always wanted to adopt a little girl. My husband and I had thought about this before we got married. My son is two years old and now he is little more independent. I think it is the right time to bring a baby girl home," she added.

Also, she will be launching her sari line soon.

"I have designed 150 saris. I am launching my line at Araish exhibition in Mumbai on September 3 and 4 and later in Singapore. It is not heavily embroidered. I have played on fabric and used hues such as neon, turquoise, lime green and coral," she added.