Ekta’s pilgrimage continues!

To propitiate the gods – and perhaps seek their aid to boost the TRPs – Ekta Kapoor has embarked on a tour of different temples in the country as she inched closer to the premiere of her most costly television soap to date. Industry insiders describe Ekta as an ‘extremely religious and superstitious’ person when it comes to her productions.

Apart from naming all her serials and films with a ‘K’, Ekta reportedly put forward hundreds of kundalis to her astrologer to zoom in on the baby who will essay the role of Krishna in the aforementioned soap, Kahaani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki.

It is already known that every year, Ekta makes a trip to the Balaji temple, to offer pujas. This year however, she has gone there several times. Says a source close to Ekta, “She named her company after ‘Him’ (Balaji) and wants to keep her favourite god happy at this time.”

Besides doing the rounds of the Siddhivinayak Temple, she has already been to the Dagdu Seth Ganesh temple in Pune. Sources say that the Ganesha idol that will feature in the show will resemble the idol at Dagdu Seth Ganesh.

Ekta has an envious collection of Ganesha idols at her home and office. “Yes, I have just come back from Tirupati temple and I am now in Pune to pay a visit to Dagdu Seth Ganpati. Dagdu Sethji is so great that I actually wanted to make our Ganpati (idol) in the show exactly like him. But, that’s a patented idol, so we have tweaked the look a little. I am very sure it will bring good luck to the show,” Ekta said.

Ekta says that she wanted to visit the Jagannath temple in Puri. However, by the time this article comes out, she would have a made a round at the Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur. “This year, due to a tight schedule, I could not make it to Puri. But I am told that Mahalaxmi (in Kolhapur) makes all your wishes come true. So, I am on my way to the temple to seek Her blessings,” she added.

Ekta says that since her show is about gods and goddesses, it will be religious in nature. “It’s our greatest epic and all the gods are there (in the soap) as characters. Obviously, it would be devotional in nature. Otherwise the show can’t meet with success. Being religious, it will have the true bhakti bhaav,” she stresses.