By A N Chorrea
There have been many, many faces on Zee TV through these last 20 years. So it was a tough ask to pick just 10 faces of the channel… so you have a list that’s different from the one here, do inbox it to editor@mxmindia.com. Or just put it in the comments below. Meanwhile, check this list (in alphabetical order of their last names)…
- Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty
He obviously didn’t become such a huge star thanks to Zee, but as the endearing Grandmaster of Dance India Dance (and DID Li’l Masters), on the small screen, Mithunda has become bigger than you-know-who.
- Avinash Sachdev & Rubina Dilaik
Avinash Sachdev and Rubina Dilaik
As Dev and Radhika in Chhoti Babu and Chhoti Bahu 2, Avinash Sachdev and Rubina Dilaik are now household names whose screen lives are followed by lakhs of Indians on Zee.
- Annu Kapoor
Annu Kapoor
If Antakshari is not a popular music reality show on television these days, it’s because no one could do it better than Annu Kapoor, the constant factor on the Gajendra Singh-produced show. Kapoor is an accomplished star, but Antakshari made him a megastar.
- Prachi Desai and Ram Kapoor
Prachi Desai and Ram Kapoor, Kasamh Se
Yes, Prachi Desai got into the big league with Rockstar and Ram Kapoor is everywhere thanks to Bade Achhe Lagte Hain’s promos for Sony, but as Bani Dixit/Walia and Jai Walia respectively, Desai and Kapoor had already turned superstars for tele-viewers
- Sanjeev Kapoor – zeenews.com
Sanjeev Kapoor
Long before Masterchef entered Indian homes and long before we had 24×7 television channels devoted to food, Khana Khazana saw Sanjeev Kapoor get into the kitchens of nearly every Indian. Khana Khazana is now a full-fledged channel and even though Chef Kapoor runs his own Food Food channel, Zee’s got his Khazana on all the time!
- Mohan Kapur – Fotocorp
Mohan Kapur
He was rude but he was fun and also very entertaining. In the early days, it was the UTV-produced Saanp Seedi that saw Zee climb the ladder of popularity.
- Ankita Lokhande
Ankita Lokhande
It’s a complex story from the Balaji Telefilms stable, but Ankita Lokhande as Archana Manav Deshmukh in Pavitra Rishta has essayed an award-winning role.
- Navneet Nishan – Fotocorp
Navneet Nishan
Doordarshan had its star protagonists in the past, but Navneet Nishan in Raman Kumar’s Tara was a rock star in the serial which went on and on and on… on Zee.
- Rajat Sharma – indiatvnews. com
Rajat Sharma
We knew him as a journalist and editor, but it’s Aap Ki Adalat on Zee that made Rajat Sharma a household name and took him to where he’s today as Founder-Chairman and editor-in-chief of India TV.
- Nikki Aneja Walia
Nikki Aneja Walia
Her character of Dr Simran in Astitva – Ek Prem Kahani earned her the sobriquet of the Sridevi of the small screen. Although she has starred in several soaps thereafter, nothing to beat her in Astitva.
A N Chorrea is a senior industryperson writing under a pseudonym