SCHEMING TRIO

Mohini: Tulsi’s daughter-in-law in Kyunki… who is forever plotting against Tulsi. Pallavi: The renegade member of the Agarwal family in Kahani… Komolika: The Basu family’s daughter-in-law in Kasauti…, an expert at kidnapping.

As far as showbiz CVs go, Rekkha Modi?s is right up there with the best in the business. Sample some of her achievements: former journalist, writer of bombastic lines, mother of outlandish plots ? all of 28, she?s got the right mix of cheek and chutzpah to be at the head of the hacks running the TRP race. And then there?s that extra ?K? in her name to boot.

So, with such dedication at work, you would expect the scriptwriter of the popular K-serials ? she provides the words uttered by the dolled-up figures in Balaji Telefilms? Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki and Kasauti Zindagi Kay ? to follow the script to the T. Even in real life.

But then Modi had always had a thing for drama. She grew up on a steady dose of Suraj Barjatiya?s saccharine family movies. The former journalist with Meri Saheli had always dreamt of becoming a scriptwriter and when she got her break with Balaji five years back, Modi thought that she had finally arrived.

But then things have fallen slightly out of script now. Over the last week Modi has become the darling of outraged headlines for allegedly inciting small-time actor Rashmikant Kapadia to make threatening phone calls to Smriti Iraani, the face that Kyunki fans swear by and Modi?s steadfast friend for some years now. An arrest, a bit of heckling and a bail order later, Modi sits at home a disillusioned celebrity. ?I will go to women?s organisations. Mera kanoon aur dosti par se vishwaas uth gaya hai (I?ve lost faith in the law and in friendship),? she sighs. Even that line, some say, is straight out of one of her soaps.

The grapevine has it that Modi hatched her plot of intrigue after a bitter altercation with Shadab Khan, the producer of Kyunki and Razia Rizvi, the associate creative head, at Balaji House in front of the aghast crew. Meanwhile, Iraani too had her role cut out, as she apparently had Kapadia dropped from an episode in the serial. This thing led to that, Modi and Kapadia got together and Modi finally convinced Kapadia to call up Iraani, impersonating a Muslim gent. Iraani is said to have received over 50 phone calls, with everything from obscenities to threats to her children.

The police found that the incriminating calls had been made from Kapadia?s phone ? several of them by Modi. They finally caught up with her when she was found speaking suspiciously to Kapadia from an Andheri public phone. At the police station she was apparently slapped several times by male and female constables to make her own up.

Enough material there, you would say, to keep you glued to your TV at prime time. And surely, like every scheming saas, Modi is the villain of the piece and Iraani, the aggrieved bahu. But Modi says that this is not the line that should be taken. ?What is the evidence that I was involved in engineering these calls? Can?t I speak to a colleague over the phone?? she asks.

But that?s not where the plot ends. Balaji insiders drop dark hints that Modi?s friendship with Iraani has bordered on the obsessive. But Modi is quick to counter this claim. ?Why should I jeopardise my career by threatening a star of the show? Smriti and I have been very good friends and she is no Rani Mukherjee or Preity Zinta. I?m not a mad fan, although I feel she is one of the best actresses we have today. I hope good sense prevails,? she says. Iraani, quite unlike the Tulsi she plays, has preferred to stay reticent. ?Let the law take its own course. I?m glad my children are safe now,? is all she has to offer.

And like all perfect soaps, acquaintances and friends have a major role to play in how the drama plays out. Modi?s neighbours at the Sheetal Darshan building in suburban Malad haven?t lost the chance to incriminate her further. Apparently, she had the water supply disconnected, owes a hefty Rs 2 lakh to the building?s society and never played Holi. ?But then I shared a peda with them!? Modi counters. ?Ab to behti Ganga mein sab haath dhone lage hain (everyone is taking advantage of the situation),? she rues.

But if there?s a real loser, it has to be the Balaji boss Ektaa Kapoor. With Modi as her favourite backroom girl and Iraani her perfect on-screen angel, she has kept her finger tightly on the pulse of the bored middle class with a combo fare of romance, intrigue and family feuds. And she?d hate to lose either of the two. That?s possibly why she?s still waiting to see what the plot throws up next.

Modi, though, would have you believe that she?s fighting for her rights. ?My writing will become even bolder and my women will have more grit and determination,? she believes. Others feel that she?s just shot herself in the foot.

After all, didn?t someone tell her that K also stood for kamikaze?