SONY

KHEL

A dramatic new star-studded weekly drama produced by Smita Thackeray. Starts 22nd July, every Sunday at 21.00

What happens when, driven by success and power in business, your priorities force you to sacrifice the very people who love and need you? What happens when you are so caught up with concentrating on rivals that you have no time for your own family, your own relationships? What do you gain when you put every relationship on stake at the alter of business?

Find out in Khel, Sony Entertainment Television's dramatic new starstudded weekly soap, starring 22nd July, to air every Sunday at 21.00.

Meet Deven Oberoi (Dalip Tahil) a powerful, successful businessman, driven by a burning desire for ever greater success, power and wealth. His latest ambition : to build the largest casino in Asia, Casino Pyramid and he is willing to use any means to succeed, even if it means having to usurp land from poor tribals and face the dangerous ploys of a malicious and manic business rival, Ankush Thakur (Nirmal Pandey).

Deven Oberoi's home life is in a shambles. There is no understanding between him and his wife Shobha (Moon Moon Sen). Their daughter Divya (Khyati Khandke) feels so neglected that in spite of having a mother, she craves for maternal love. And even though Deven Oberoi is sometimes disturbed by the lack of harmony and peace in his family life, he just doesn't have the time or the inclination to pause and try to set things right.

Years ago, Deven Oberoi had left far behind in his past, a woman who was his first love - Lilavathi (Priya Tendulkar) and a daughter from her, Kiran (Mrinal Kulkarni). Today, the strong and self-made Lilavati is an IAS officer and she shares a wonderful, caring relationship with her daughter Kiran, whom she has brought up singlehandedly. Kiran knows Deven Oberoi is her father and craves to know him as closely as a daughter would know a parent. She also admires his successful career and today dreams of working for him - for she has just graduated with an MBA and has been called for an interview in his company.

And when this gripping story begins, into Deven Oberoi's life enters Kiran. With a heart filled with admiration for his business success and with a soul craving to know him and earn his approval. And with a mother back home, who silently took everything Life threw at her, but never gave up. Set in an emotional battlefield where high stakes of business are poised against personal relationships, Khel is the sensitive and powerful story of Deven Oberoi and the human beings he forgot by the wayside in his mad quest for fortune and fame. Will his past catch up with his present? Will his own flesh and blood ever become more important to him than his business rivals are? Will his buried conscience ever prick his mind?

Find out in Khel, produced by Smita Thackeray and directed by Virendra Pradhan in a scale truly befitting its mammoth star cast. A fast-paced emotional family drama set in high society, Khel will prove to be a thrilling, emotional rollercoaster for all viewers.

KHEL

A gripping new star-studded weekly drama produced by Smita Thackeray. Starts 22nd July to air every Sunday at 21.00

THE CAST
CHARACTER - PLAYED BY

Deven Oberoi - Dalip Tahil
Lilavati - Priya Tendulkar
Shobha Oberoi - Moon Moon Sen
Kiran Lilavati - Mrinal Kulkarni
Ankush Thakur - Nirmal Pandey
Aryan Oberoi - Ishan
Divya Oberoi - Khyati Khandke
Sam D'souza - Nitesh Pandey
Bhairav Chowdhury - Rohitashav Gaur
Vinit Patel - Darshan Jariwala
Sonali Patel - Sheela Sharma
Karan Diwan - Praveen Mehta and others.

THE TECHNICAL CREDITS

Producer - Smita Thackeray
Production House - Rahul Productions
Director - Virendra Pradhan
Director of Photography - Arun Gokhale
Editor - Vidyadhar Pathare
Story and Screenplay - Raju Parulekar
Dialogue & Title Lyrics - Mahendra Pratap Singh
Title song Vocals - Sonu Nigam
Title song Music - Raju Singh
Exec. Producer - Swati Thanawala

KHEL has a strong message for women : Smita Thackeray
In the few years since she actively entered the Media Industry. Smita Thackeray has carved a niche for herself and earned enormous respect as a quality conscious producer. Currently, she has begun two films : One starring Govinda and the other Hrithik Roshan.

And in the midst of all the excitement, she is charged by Khel, the lavish multistarrer which debuts on 22nd July to air every Sunday at 21.00 on Sony Entertainment Television. We spoke to her about the show. Excerpts.

How closely have you been involved with Khel?
I was very closely involved. I selected the story from many concepts that my production team had shortlisted. I selected Khel because it is a powerful story.

Why did you select this particular story? What is it based on?
It is actually very different from the saas - bahu stories you see everywhere today. Yes, they are popular and people are watching them, but how many more saas-bahu stories can people take? But I did not select this story because I did not want to do a saas bahu story. I selected it because this story is set in the background of high society and explores the race for commercial success and fame versus family relations. It is set in two kinds of lifestyles one is the high society of a very successful millionaire industrialist and the other is the middle class household of a woman who brought up her daughter singlehandedly. A woman who never said die!

What would you like viewers of Khel to take away from it?
When I think of it now, realize that maybe subconsciously, I wanted to tell the viewers that a woman should not be weak and she should face life. I am quite sure that after watching Kiran (played by Mrinal Kulkarni) and Lilavati (played by Priya Tendulkar), women will learn something these characters and their stories will encourage all women ..... will motivate them to achieve something in life.
I also want to show the viewers what can happen if, in your race for success and career all the time, you neglect your children ..... this story has that track also.

Khel has a massive star cast, with Dalip Tahil, Priya Tendulkar, Nirmal Pandey, Mrinal Kulkarni, Moon Moon Sen and so many others. Were you also involved in the casting?
Absolutely! It is a multistarrer and the cast is the best in the industry. And they have given such wonderful performances! All of them look the parts they are playing. I have been taking keen interest in all aspects of Khel. I love my work and I think that the pains that my unit and I have taken, are showing through the results in Khel. We have tried our best. Let us see how the viewers react! I hope they like the show.

I HAVE A VERY STRONG CHARACTER IN KHEL : Dalip Tahil
Dalip Tahil is extremely choosy about every role he accepts and so far has limited himself to feature films for fiction roles. Currently, Khel is the only television serial he is doing and here, the versatile actor tells us why.

I accepted the role of Deven Oberoi in Khel because the story is very gripping and my character was very good. Besides, since the production company is headed by Mrs. Smita Thackeray, I had complete faith that they would maintain standards throughout. Deven Oberoi, the character I am playing is pre-occupied with success. He is completely ruthless a man who has believed all along that success is all important, and must be attained at any cost. Now I personally don't hold such views, of course, but such extremism in outlook does exist and the role does epitomize a certain kind of businessman.

But it evolves ..... somewhere down the line, this character will begin to believe that family life is very important. How he get round to that and when he will do so remains to be seen. For TV, I'm not doing anything else apart from Khel right now. I'm very very selective, because I want to be sure I get into something that is perfectly sound from the creative and production points of view. Another great thing is that Khel is on Sony Entertainment Television, which is an extremely good looking and quality conscious channel. I think overall, Khel will be a very entertaining show, with slick production values. Let's see how it fares!

EVERY RELATIONSHIP HAS AN EXPIRY DATE : Priya Tendulkar
I play Lilavati, a woman of substance. I'd say she's not only today's and tomorrow's Indian woman - she's the woman of the next millennium! The character developed for Lilavati is something that hasn't been been portrayed on any TV show recently. Lilavati is very close to reality.

I always believe that every relationship has an expiry date and I like the way Lilavati reacts and takes charge after her relationship with Deven Oberoi expires. I hope Khel really succeeds because Lilavati is a brave, sensible woman who will inspire millions of Indian women through TV. With Khel and through Lilavati, we have an opportunity to bring back realism in the portrayal of women on Indian Television.

I'M DALIP TAHIL'S MANIC BUSINESS RIVAL IN KHEL : Nirmal Pandey
I like the way my character has been defined in Khel. Ankush Thakur is a very bitter business rival of Deven Oberoi and really hates him, but fortunately, the characterization is realistic and does not go over the top.

Yes, Ankush Thakur is very much off-centre, but he does not get into frenzies of wrath. His hatred of Deven Oberoi is cold and very real, and his only aim in life, when the story opens, is to stop Deven's Casino Pyramid from being built. And he will do anything for that! Ankush Thakur brings a very strong element of thrill and intrigue into the story and also is somehow responsible for spoiling his personal life and relationships with his family because he keeps Deven Oberoi tense with business problems all the time! Ankush Thakur, with his scheming against Deven, takes hatred and revenge to a different plane altogether! I'm really enjoying the role!

I PORTRAY THE ANGST OF A NEGLECTED CHILD : Khyati Khandke
I think Khel has given me the best role so far ... it's really challenging. I play Divya Oberoi, the neglected child whose parents have no time for her. So, on an emotional rebound, as it were, she rebels ... she does things that she believes any caring parent would not want a child to do. She gets into wrong company, parties till late, is a boisterous, loud, misbehaved girl.

And then, something causes her to change to improve ... to look at life with new hope with new eyes .. What that something is, I won't tell you here : it'll be much better if you find out, because there is a very nice, heartwarming twist to the story ... As for working with Smitaji's unit is concerned I think this is the best and most professional unit ... her sister Swatiji and the entire unit is really well prepared for everything ... I hope the viewers like my performance. I'd love feedback!

A WONDERFUL MOTHER - DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP : MRINAL KULKARNI
I'm really excited about playing Kiran in Khel. She is a girl in search of her father and also in search of her own identity. Plus, she shares a wonderful relationship with her mother a woman who has brought her up single-handedly.

So far, I have somehow had to play characters that have been more mature than my age - if not in appearance, then in mental make up - but in Khel. I play a girl my age ..... a girl who is a lively character and is well qualified too. There are several things that I find very attractive about this role, but the best is the very real mother-daughter relationship between Kiran and Lilavati. One generally sees mother-daughter relationships that are either too goody-goody, with "mamma this" and "mamma that...." or else there is too much of ronadhona in the relationships ... in either case, the mother generally considers the daughter to be a little kid, incapable of thinking for herself. But in reality, after a girl grows up, her relationship with her mother is that of a friend on equal terms of mutual respect, right? Khel recognizes this and the characters have been very well etched out. They have a beautiful relationship.

Smitaji's unit is wonderfully professional and that makes it very easy for me to work and vibe with them. The director is young and full of ideas and the script is full of drama and excitement. I'm enjoying myself!

I'm sure the viewers will love it too!

I PLAY A HIGH - SOCIETY WIFE ; Moon Moon Sen
I play Shobha Oberoi, a high-society wife who's got everything except a relationship with her husband Deven (Dalip Tahil). There is no understanding between them.

My character actually depicts the importance of love and understanding in life-material wealth alone is not enough. And while the middle class Lilavati (Priya Tendulkar) and Kiran (Mrinal Kulkarni) have a wonderful mother daughter relationship, there is complete lack of understanding between Shobha (my character) and her daughter Divya. I'm very happy about this role. It is a well-etched character and written realistically.

A CLASH OF VALUES
Khel's young director Virendra Pradhan, who has an 8-year association with Marathi Theatre, talks about the show.

Khel is my biggest TV serial and it shows a clash between Indian and Western values. Khel mirrors life in high society and in the middle class. On one side is Deven Oberoi, who has Western values and on the other side is Lilavati, who has very Indian values. Lilavati has given the same values to her daughter Kiran, who idolizes her father Deven Oberoi. One  interesting question that will come up : When Kiran will work for Deven, who will influence whom? Watch the drama when the past and the present confront each other.

On Sony Entertainment Television Sundays at 21.00 (IST)

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