Naya channel - naye shows!

After Utsav, Star Plus is ready with another proposed sibling. Tentatively titled P2, this one won't run rehashes, but some really interesting fare. That Ekta Kapoor will unleash her Kannu Ki Kismat Mein Kya Hai on P2 is already known. We now have it on authority that the channel, to launch in October, will also have a comedy show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, a half-hour weekly. Produced by Hats Off Productions (who made Khichdi for Star Plus), it will star Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak, Sumeet Raghavan, Rupali Ganguly and Reeta Bhaduri. What happens when the saas and bahu stay separately but aamne saamne, forms the crux of the plot. Do the squabbles and one-upmanship between the two ladies end? Are the people living in such a style free from mental tension? While Shah and Pathak play the saas and sasur, Raghavan and Ganguly play the beta and bahu. Shah plays a rich retired man staying in the upmarket Malabar Hill area, who is still full of life and loves playing pranks. Ganguly plays a perfectionist who has an eye for detailing, courtesy her father who is a detective (still to be cast). Reeta Bhaduri plays Shah's sister, she is all for social causes. On the other hand, Pathak is associated with NGOs but her causes are downright silly. Ganguly's character was not easy to cast. After several audition rounds which involved names like Shrradha Nigam among others, Ganguly was chosen; apparently someone who had never done comedy before was needed for the job. One gets the feeling Star may have voted for Ganguly over Nigam. Recently Nigam's Krishna Arjun was pulled off and currently she is doing Saathiya on Sahara Manoranjan. On the other hand, has Ganguly become Star's favourite? Out from Star's Sanjivani- A Medical Boon (produced by Cinevistaas) without being told when she'll return, err, whether she will ever return, the dusky babe was not only recalled sooner than expected but is hogging the limelight even more than before. Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is likely to be aired at prime time 9 p.m. Shooting commences 20 September. Khichdi which went off air with a promise to return in a new avatar will also find a place on the new channel. Watch this space for more on P2 !