Manav's friend circle

Manav Gohil, the actor who hails from Baroda has made a lot of friends in Mumbai. His pals in the industry include Sharad & Keerti Kelkar, Tanaaz Lal, Bhaktiyar Irani, Juhi Parmar, Gourav Gera, Rajesh Khera and handsome Hussain. As they say a man is known by the company he keeps, and going by this fairly interesting lineup of friends, we think Manav is headed in the right direction. He says, "I don't meet my friends regularly but I am in touch with all of them. Many of them have been my contemporaries since the time I began my career. Yet, there are no ego hassles whatsoever between us about who's doing better or worse." All in all, considering many of Manav's friends are a part of Star One's Nach Baliye 2, we think Manav and wifey Shweta are going to have a gala time on the show. And lets hope, maybe, while doing balle balle the show might also open up new doors of success for you! Deepraz Rana turns a year younger Deepraz Rana who played the role of Tatya Tope in The Rising is playing Harsh Major Nair in Sab's Left Right Left. Deepraj turned a year older on 31st August. As his friends from the industry reveal, `normally every year he invites people home and we chill out.' But this year the actor was busy shooting and doing a Left Right Left on the sets. On a rather philosophical note Deepraz says, "I didn't celebrate my b'day this time. And that's definitely not because I am getting older. It was just that I was busy. I believe age is just a number and it's all in the mind. One is as old or as young as one thinks oneself to be. I think with each passing year, I have not just grown in experience but even matured as an actor." We couldn't agree more, considering his lineup of work which includes serials like Tara, Umeed, Reporter, Chanakya, Chandrakanta, Udaan, Tipu Sultan and films like LOC, The Rising and The Hero. Not just this, Deepraj has even done theatre with Nadira Babbar and Rani Balbir Kau. Yet, somehow we think Deepraz still hasn't really got his due in the industry. Not too many people know about his body of work and all the roles he has played. Let's hope by his next b'day, Deepraz find his true place in the industry. Is Mannish rubbing people the wrong way? Recently actor Mannish Goel was in news for his patch up with Anuj Saxena. But then we wonder why he made those snide and glaring remarks about Aman Yatan Verma and Rohit Roy in the August issue of a television glossy. His comments read somewhat like this, "I don't want to do character roles like Aman (Verma) and Rohit (Roy).I don't want to be in a position where I leave television and end up doing five minute roles in films." Now, we're sure this must have obviously irked the handsome Roy brother and the actor-anchor Aman. When contacted, Rohit had this to say, " Mannish called up and offered a self-explanation that the magazine had misrepresented his quotes. Giving him the benefit of doubt, I have forgotten the incident. I have never done just five-minute roles. I have worked in prestigious projects like Plan and LOC. If he feels that he should not do my kind of roles (for esteemed producers like Sanjay Gupta and J.P.Dutta) then I wish him all the best. May he get the kind of films he wants to do." Aman Verma appears practical when he expounds, "Yes, I may be doing four minute roles in films but even to get that for a television actor is no small feat. It's an achievement in itself to convince film producers." According to him producers look upon TV stars as having busy and hectic schedules and are therefore reluctant to offer them a role in their films. It's difficult to convince a film director for a full-fledged role despite which he has been signed on by Ravi Chopra for Babul and Saajid Nadiadwala for Jaaneman with Akshay, Salman and Preity Zinta. As for Goel's remarks, "I have not read the piece yet. But Mannish is an intelligent person so the next time I meet him, I shall ask him to advise me on how I should work out my career," chuckles Aman in grave mockery, adding, "He is just seeing fame (after Nach Baliye) and it is easy to get carried away. Even I have made these mistakes in the past by rubbing people the wrong way but now I have realized that it does not pay." We hope Mannish takes a leaf from Verma's experiences and grows up! Puneet might just see red! Intriguing things happen on the sets of SAB TV's Left Right Left, the serial about men in uniform. It seems Puneet Issar, the Bollywood baddie who plays the Brigadier in this show, generally keeps to himself and is regarded with respect by the rest of the cast. His he-man physique and treble voice are intimidating enough to scare away younger actors. But Vikas, who plays Hooda in the serial, is one daring chap and a prankster. On one such occasion, when this notorious guy and Aparna Tilak (Dr.Shalini in the show) were passing by Puneet's personal green room, he banged hard on the door and ran away, leaving Aparna standing right in front of the door, when Puneet came out with a menacing look. She stood there trembling, only to later encounter a smile from the big, burly man who had by then realised that she was not the culprit. And Vikas' mischief doesn't end here. He is also known to entertain the crew by imitating the villain's style of dialogue delivery. Beware Hooda! For the day when you will be caught red-handed you might just be sent marching Left Right Left! Ashish Kaul patches up with Nausheen Looks like it's patch up time in tellyland. After Anuj Saxena and Mannish Goyal's much publicised patch up with the later coming for the former's private birthday bash, there has also been another low profile patch up. It seems Raymon Kakar (who played Nikita Chachi in Kkusum) and Mannish Goyal have also revived their old friendship. Then remember Ashish Kaul who played Anuj Saxena aka Abhay Kapoor's best friend in Kkusum? The actor used to bond very well with Nausheen Ali Sardar on the sets of Kkusum and thereafter she started tieing Rakhi to him. But very soon the relationship saw troubled times and she had stopped tieing Rakhi to Ashish since the last two years. But the buzz goes that both the actors have patched up. Says Ashish, who's currently playing negative in Kasauti Zindagi Kay, " This Rakhi was very special to me as I got my sister back. I am quite close to Nausheen who did tie Rakhi to me again." Now, we wonder who's inspiring TV actors to go on a patch up spree. Or is it so that there are no permanent friends or enemies in showbiz.