Gaurav Chopra has gotten himself a vital role in Sony's <em>Aisa Des Hai Mera</em> wherein he plays one of the central characters opposite the main lead Saumya Tandon (Rusty). The actor who has had a host of good shows behind him from <em>Lavanya, Piya Ka Ghar, Dil Kya Chahta Hai</em> to MTV's <em>Ghoom</em> is all set to spice up the track by playing the new protagonist.

Lovers of Zee's afternoon band will have to get accustomed to a new line up of shows. Reth and <em>Piya Ka Ghar</em>, two of the channel's steady and stable shows, will be bowed out by mid February. On the cards is a reshuffle of its existing shows like Paalkhi, and the recent entry of new properties like <em>Kasamh Se</em> and <em>Mamta</em>. Sources say the channel plans a complete revamp of the noon band shortly.

Who says girls look good driving long dainty cars? Some love sporting huge cars which compliment their personalities. And of those kinds is our Narayani Shastri who recently bought silver Safari Dicor. The actress already had a Safari prior to this one. This brand new car has cost her nothing less than 9.5 lakhs. An excited Narayani says, "I have always driven a heavy iron car, I am very comfortable driving them. And moreover, by now I have got the hang of it."

Aashish Kaul, the suave Delhiite who plays Subroto Basu in <em>Kasautii Zindagi Kay</em>, is now trying his hand in afternoon soaps as well. Aashish will be seen as Munna, a con man a la Abhishek Bachchan in <em>Bunty Aur Babli</em>, in Zee daily <em>Piya Ka Ghar</em> from Thursday. The guy has kept a deliberate low profile in tellywood, despite having played key roles in <em>Ghutan, Kkusum</em> and <em>Kahanii Ghar Ghar Ki</em> on Star and <em>Saathiya</em> on Sahara One. But that was then and this is now.

Gaurav Chopra who was seen as Prem in <em>Piya Ka Ghar</em> and Sandy in Lavanya and was last seen in <em>Dil Kya Chahta Hai</em> is now busy performing a West-End styled Bollywood-themed musical titled <em>Bombay Crush</em> in South Africa. Gaurav plays Salman Ahmed, the lead role in the production, alongside Durban actress Kajal Bagwandeen as Minal Singh and a cast of twenty performers from around the continent. Gaurav arrived in Durban one month before the opening night which took place on 1 December and saw the who's who of the city turn out in their finest to watch the musical.

Sushmita Mukherji will now be seen in Zee's <em>Piya Ka Ghar</em> as Urmila. She makes an entrance in the soap opera on 15 December. Sushmita's character has a comic touch and plays innocent but will not take rubbish from anyone. She wants to live a happy life and a luxurious one is what she dreams of.

Raj Loghani (Garv of <em>Piya ka Ghar</em>) hurt his left hand excruciatingly on Thursday, while shooting for a scene he was doing Vineeta Thakur (Isha)in which he was supposed to break a mirror using a paper weight in his hand. However, the shot went fine and after Raj broke the mirror just as he was supposed to. Second's later blood started to drip from his left hand, and the whole scene was caught on camera.

He says he is passionate about life, relations and ambitions. He also says he is as harsh on himself as he is with others about the standards he sets. So, what is the real Gaurav Chopra really like? Known better as Narayani Shastri's boyfriend, Gaurav is now himself an established actor. The relationship has gone through troubled times, but Gaurav is clear. "Romance means being naked in front of your loved one emotionally and being as genuine as you can be," he says, but marriage is a definite no-no. <strong>Prashant Golecha</strong> quizzed Gaurav on the direction his life is taking.

Narayani Shastri will no longer be seen in her teen avatar in Zee's <em>Piya Ka Ghar</em>, where she had a double role. The lady, who played the mother daughter duo in this afternoon daily seems very dejected at having to give up this role which is very close to her heart. "Yes, I am feeling a little sad...but what to do! It's the call of the production house," says Narayani, who has just this show in her kitty for the time being.

Tashu bua, aka, Narayani Shastri seems to be a discontented lady. Her track in Balaji's <em>Kkusum</em>, is going nowhere, and the lady has decided to stay away from shooting for a while. "Yes, I have stopped shooting for <em>Kkusum</em>, since my track wasn't going anywhere. The last meeting that I had with Ekta, I decided that until something decent comes up, I will not re-enter the show," confirmed Narayani.