Akriti’s one-day stint

The pretty and stunning sensation, Akriti Kakar, who started her journey to success after being crowned as the winner in Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is back on the show, although this time as a host. However sadly, that’s just for one day. She’ll be hosting the New Year special episode, Sa Ra Ga Ma Pa Tandoori Nights, which is a one-hour special episode on 3rd January and will croon her hit tracks like Johhny Gaddar’s title track, Tha Kar Ke from Golmaal Returns.
Akriti shares, "Sa Ra Ga Ma Pa was the first ever singing talent show that started off the trend of talent shows in India. It's a kind of a trendsetter that provides a huge opportunity to the promising singers. I won the children's gala round way back when Sonu Nigam hosted the show. Started off my career with this show and today I'm part of the same show, but on a different level. It's like home coming for me and it was all the more fun when I met up with the old team of the show, it brought back very fond memories that became indelible in my minds eye."

The IDEA ITA Awards 2008 - A Big Presentation !

The Idea Indian Television Academy Awards finally took place on 14th December 2008. It was a grand affair and all top television celebrities were present in their best attires. From the Bidaai girls to the Balika Vadhu kids, all were there for this Oscars of television. And not only television celebrities, even superstars like Akshay Kumar with wife Twinkle and also Shilpa Shetty were present at this awards night making the night a memorable one. There were also outstanding performances by Ronit Roy, Jaswir Kaur, Mona Singh, Aamir-Sanjeeda, Bidaai cast, Avika & Avinash (Balika Vadhu) and so on. Dont miss it on Star Plus - 27th December, 8:30 pm.

Family Affair

After Amar Upadhyay, Aamna Shariff, Eijaz Khan, Shama Sikandar and many more names, Sai and Shakti, one of the most famous amongst all the television duo's, are the next to debut on the big screeen. The film is called 'Ghar-aunda' and has Sai's mother as the director while her father will be the cinematographer. Now that's what we call a family affair !

'Shree'

On 15th December 2008, Zee TV announced the launch of ‘Shree’, a love story with a paranormal element. This is the first time that a love story and a paranormal angle are being blended together to form a show like never before. In fact the outdoor creatives proclaim “Pavitra bandhan par ashubh saya”, which amply substantiates the combination of two distinctively separate storylines in a seamless lattice. The show debuts on 22nd December and is scheduled from Monday to Thursday at 10.30pm. We just hope that no 'ashubh saaya' comes on this show !

Protest Rally against the recent terrorist attacks at Juhu !

Chote Miyan et Dancing Queen !

Yesterday was the launch of two new shows to be aired on Colors channel i.e. Chote Miyan and Dancing Queen. Chote Miyan will be featuring kids from different cities doing stand up comedy and different gimmicks. The show will be judged by the King of comedy - Sachin Pilgaonkar and the kid of Bigg Boss's house - Rahul Mahajan whereas it will be hosted by Kapil Sharma & Juhi Parmar. Dancing Queen is another dance reality show which will be having 10 professional dancers mentoring 10 other girls. The show will be hosted by Shabbir Ahluwalia and will be judged by the original Dancing Queen - Hema Malini and the Jumping Jack - Jeetendra. We wish both the shows, all the best !

Sujata hai Jata !

Sony seems to be in big trouble! Another show to be pulled off-air due to low TRP’s after Arslaan and Waqt is Sujata. Due to low TRP’s the show’s time slot was changed from 10 pm to 7:30 pm and now, it has finally been pulled off. The last episode will telecast on December 11. Its all about TRP’s baby!

Jodi No. 13 !

If the Bhatti’s are out then the Hanraj’s are in ! Chetan Hansraj and wife Lavinia will be joining the battle of dance in Nach Baliye 4 this week as a Celebrity Entry. Confirming the news Chetan Hansraj says, “Yes, it’s true. We are entering Nach Baliye 4 this week. Our rehearsals have already started and it feels great being part of such a show.” If one remembers, last year Barkha & Indraneil Bisht had also entered Nach Baliye 3 as a Celebrity Entry but got evicted in just a week. We can just wish Chetan & Lavinia all the best!

Bhatti’s ka number aa gaya !

After Jatin - Priya, Karnvir – Teejay and Vinit – Tanushree, its now Jaspal and Savita Bhatti’s to be evicted from the dance reality show Nach Baliye – 4. The judges always appreciated them for the energy and creativity they put into their performances and they were one of the favourite couples among the other contestants. But according to our sources, this couple which always got a funny element to the show were in the danger zone along with Abhijeet & Shilpa and were then evicted. The eviction will take place on Saturday, 6 December at 8:00 p.m.

Once a producer .. always a producer ..!

That’s what Shekhar Suman believes in! While his debut show as a producer Still Moving Still Shaking’s promos are on air on NDTV Imagine, he is coming up with another show, which will be supposedly featured, on Sab TV. Its no hidden fact that current judge of Comedy Circus – Kaante Ki Takkar - Shekhar Suman is largely associated with comedy and so it brings no shock to us that this yet untitled show is also a comedy show but will also include an important message for the society in every episode. Well, good humour with a social message, now that’s one hit combination!

March for Mumbai

Reena Kapoor returns…

…as Rani in SaharaOne Television’s Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki. After a short sabbatical Reena Kapoor is back as the new Rani, replacing Neha Janpandit, who was essaying the role of Rani. According to the channel, “After Reena’s exit, the loyal audience who had so long accompanied Rani and Pari in their journey, complained that they missed their favourite Reena, and requested to get her back on the show. Since the audience decides the fate of daily serials (!) so their constant feedback had to be considered by the channel and the production house. Therefore by audience appeal Reena Kapoor was brought back into the show.”

Achint Kaur makes an entry in Ranbir Rano

Known for her acting prowess, Achint Kaur who’s acted in shows like Banegi Apni Baat, Kitty Party and many others is ready to be in action on Zee TV’s Ranbir Rano in an electrifying ‘avtaar’. This time around, Achint’s portraying a negative character, Preet, who is passionate and highly unpredictable and led by impulses and superstitions. There’s a story behind her grey character; a never forgetful past, a worthless husband and many such undisclosed facts. Yet, everyone apart from Bebe and her husband love her because of her manipulative nature.
Well Achint, people know the talent you have. What remains to be seen is whether the show will show an upward trend with viewers sticking back to their favorites as they all go on air from tonight or will it go for a toss?

Zulfi's the second runners-up!

The finale of Bigg Boss is already underway at the Bigg Boss house in Lonavala. And our sources inform us that Zulfi has been ousted as the second runners-up just minutes ago, amidst much mayhem. Also present on the occasion are all the other evicted housemates! Keep watching this space for more...

No pics please!

What does one do when one is told, ‘You are a horrible cook!’ Chances are, you work on your cooking or stop cooking altogether. However, Tanushree of Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan fame doesn’t believe so, and so we discovered at a party recently. Incidentally, she was once criticized on a leading television website for the clothes she wore to some event. Later, in Shaleen & Daljeet’s surpise bash, when a photographer from the same website wanted to click her pictures, she clearly said, “No photographs please. I’m really hurt with the comments you’ll passed about me. I don’t want to give you’ll any more photographs.” Darling, wearing some better clothes is an easier solution!

SURPRISEEE!!!!!

That’s what Daljeet told Shaleen on their birthday. Yes, you heard it right, ‘their’ birthday. They celebrated it recently at Club Ultimate, Andheri. To be honest, the do was quite a boring affair. The party started only post 9:30 (the official time being 7 pm, owing to the strike) as the birthday duo entered then. Among the current Nach Baliye jodis, Naman & Megha, Reshmi & Amit, Abhijeet & Shilpa, Sudeep & Anantika and Tanushree sans Vineet attended the party. Needless to say, the party turned out to be more of a Nach Baliye promotion than an actual celebration for jodis spent most of thier time posing for pictures and giving interviews. Poor Reshmi & Amit reached on time at 8 pm and had to wait for an hour and a half for the birthday duo and then left immediately. And it seemed that Abhijeet & Shilpa were attending 2 or 3 parties the same night. They entered and then left in just 5 minutes flat. But we have nothing to complain about for Shaleen & Daljeet were the perfect hosts. We wish them all the best!

Dancing queens or controversy queens?

If sources are to be believed, then the rarest combination of Bollywood, consisting of the Dream Girl Hema Malini, sex symbol Mallika Sherawat and jhakaas actor Anil Kapoor, are all set to judge a reality show called 'Dancing Queen'. This dance reality show is set to launch on Colors but hasn’t yet gone on air due to the infamous television strike. The concept is unique as it brings about a combination of item girls and common girls. Reportedly, reality show cum controversy queens Rakhi Sawant and Kashmera Shah as also Alina Wadiwala of Bigg Boss 2 fame with her sister Sana are among some of the participants of the show. One can see a lot of controversies coming up already!

Chuk de!

Another reality show, Chak De – Shehar Di Kudiyan Te Galli De Gunde, is set to end but with a twist. One can say that instead of saying Chak De!, the channel has chucked out this reality show. Confirming the news, anchor Roshni Chopra says, “Yes, it’s true! We have just been informed that the show has been pulled off and there will be no more episodes. We are feeling equally bad but that’s the way it works.” We tried contacting INX Media and Saibaba Telefilms, but there was no response. Now this is what we call a unique way of ending a reality show!

Kunal Kapoor talks TV

Fav show: Has forever been Friends
Fav show in youth: The World This Week
Fav surfing option: Discovery and National Geographic
Fav male on TV: Ronit Roy and Karan Johar
Fav female on TV: Prachi Desai

Boot Camp Training – The latest exercise fad?

Fitness trainer and jury member of Get Gorgeous-5 on Channel V, Yasmin Karachiwala, who’s riding high after helping Kareena achieve her size zero look in ‘Tashan’, launched her personal boot camp training at Mumbai’s 72 degree pub on Nov 13. Her partner, Prameet Kotak, is a certified boot camp trainer. Says Yasmin about the camp, “In boot camp training we’ll administer a fitness test to the participants who will then be divided into two teams, Alpha and Beta, led by Prameet and me, and we’ll train them accordingly.” The launch saw most of Yasmin’s clients like Kunal Kapoor, Anita Raj, Pia Trivedi, Waluscha Robinson, Diandra Soares, Madhoo, Mohd Azharuddin and Sangeeta Bijlani, among others, in attendance.

Mahabharat @ 35 lakh

Peter Mukherjea was overheard saying that INX Media will launch six new channels. We’re trying to figure out how, considering the dismal performance of the present three. In any case, a substantial amount to the tune of round about Rs 35 lakh goes to Mahabharat per episode. No wonder they refuse to give up on flogging the dead horse!

Success of Colors sees team leave for Australia

While many may take refuge in recession, fact remains that what has to work, will. A case in point being the newest GEC, Colors. So happy is its management with the brilliant launch, that it is sending a team of almost 100 (from programming, promos, marketing, sales and other depts) for a four-day vacation to enchanting Australia! The lucky employees are all set to fly tonight, i.e. Nov 13.

Neena Gupta to launch a new serial

Neena Gupta will launch a new show on a new channel shortly. The show is being written by Ila Bedi Dutta (who’s written most of Aruna Irani’s shows), who is simultaneously also writing Popkorn’s new film.

Happy birthday Neelam, says Ronit in South Africa

There’s hardly one TV celebrity who’s not making the most of the prolonged vacation, thanks to the blackout. While many have settled for nearby weekend destinations, Ronit Roy chose to travel all the way to South Africa, with his family in tow. There, he brought in wife Neelam’s birthday on Nov 11, and will be back on Nov 16.

When broadcasters called a press conference…

Moving in the standoff between the producers and the workers, broadcasters issued the two a notice to resolve their difference by Nov 9. Now considering that broadcasters are the dominating party in television content, one thought this would finally put a stop to the standoff. But, much to the embarrassment of the broadcasters, nothing of the sort happened, as the two parties stuck to their guns. And so, On Nov 10, minutes before the prime-time dailies were forced to go on reruns, five broadcasters – Uday Shankar (Star Plus), Albert Almeida (Sony), Rajesh Kamat (Colors), Puneet Goenka (Zee TV) and Sameer Nair (NDTV Imagine), called a press meet, where they did their best to convince members of the media that they are in fact the victims, as is the innocent audience. Of course on being asked, none denied that while the producers will begin from where they left, the broadcasters will come off worst with regards to losing daily advertising revenue.

The basics of the blackout

So there is a blackout on TV. While to the unenlightened eye it may seem like a simple worker vs employer standoff, we believe other parties feature too. On their part, the workers are asking for an increase in pay, better working conditions and reasonable shifts, and it is the foremost that has made the producers see red, who in turn have tried to pass on the hikes to the broadcasters. Expectedly, the broadcasters have flatly refused to agree to the increase in cost of production. Now while it is easy to cite recession, we believe that the cash crunch can also be attributed to another reason, that being big Bollywood stars and their bigger pay packets. Most channels have fallen over backwards trying to pay the filmy stars on time (lest they fail to turn up), thereby delaying payments to producers, which finally trickles down to the hapless workers.

Bidaai or Balika Vadhu?

Once again, Balika Vadhu on Colors had emerged on top in the latest weekly TRP ratings, displacing Star Plus’ Bidaai from the No 1 spot. And we find it interesting to note that once again, it has achieved its highest TRP on a Friday – the one day that Bidaai is not aired at. Some coincidence this!

It's raining channels!

There’s no stopping the number and genre of channels that are being launched across the small screen. If sources are to be believed, besides NDTV’s two more new channels, Ekta Kapoor will also join the fray with close to 11 of her own, while Rajat Sharma will launch at least three – GEC, lifestyle and Hindi business. Rupert Murdoch is also all set with six regional channels. Interestingly, even Sanjeev Kapoor is slated to launch a niche 24-hour food channel. And the news of Yashraj Films and Shahrukh Khan’s possible foray into television with channels of their own already has the fraternity in a tizzy. Meanwhile, BIG TV is already blazing ahead. It has bagged the official DTH partnership for the Indian Premier League (IPL), for a bid of $31.16 million (about Rs 137 crore) for the next four years!

Postponed: Kiran Bedi on TV

All those of you who were waiting to watch Kiran Bedi on TV will now have to wait a li’l longer… For the ongoing blackout has indefinitely postponed the launch of her show – Aap Ki Kachehri, which was to commence on November 10.
The show, to be aired on Star Plus, will see India’s first woman IPS officer turn facilitator, delivering instant justice in a swift and decisive court of alternate dispute redressal. Talking about how it all comes naturally to her, she says, “This is what I have been doing for the past 35 years, it is just an extension of my service, which is to bring justice in a rightful way.” The issues people come with vary from property and business to family. “In most cases, the matter is already known to outside people in the neighbourhood and community. So participants come unhesitatingly with the faith that they’ll be heard objectively and that a fair decision will be taken without any outside influence. While the problem may remain unresolved at the end, at least these people would have tried. And frankly, the best part of the show is that once these people are on the show, they make all the efforts to resolve the issue themselves,” reveals Bedi.

Rannvijay on a run...

For movies that is! The hunk already has in his kitty Mahesh Manjrekar’s ‘Toss’ and Shashant Ghosh’s ‘Mumbai Cutting’. While ‘Toss’ is a story of three childhood friends and their transforming relations due to certain incidents, ‘Mumbai Cutting’, a Sahara project, will see 11 directors come up with 11 short films. Says Rannvijay, “For how long can I host Roadies? My graph has to move upwards and thus I’m doing movies.”
Fair enough boy! As it is the girls couldn’t get enough of you on TV and now with Rannvijay coming up on the big screen too, he’s sure to have a humongous fan following there as well!

GR8! Hot Survey

Hottest guy on TV: Karan Singh Grover

Hottest gal on TV: Shveta Salve

Hottest jodi on screen: Shilpa Anand and Karan Singh Grover

Hottest anchor: Rannvijay

Hottest reality show star: Abhijeet Sawant

Hottest newcomer: Harshad Chopra

Most over-hyped personality: Tulsi Virani aka Smriti Irani

Q n A

Q: How many marriage proposals did you receive post Indian Idol?
Abhijeet Sawant, singer: More than a thousand!

Q: What’s your catchphrase?
Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief, Times Now: Be popular, not populist!

Q: When did you realise you’ve made it?
Ashvini Yardi, programming head, Colors: When people were more concerned about Bigg Boss than my health.

Q: What will you never tire of?
Ekta Kapoor, producer: Eating.

Q: What’s your secret skill?
Karan Johar, producer-director-anchor: No one knows, but I can cook quite well.

Q: Best Mumbai moment…
Kunal Dasgupta, CEO, Sony: Catching a pick-pocketer on a train!

Q: What do you collect?
Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief, CNN-IBN: Kishore Kumar CD’S.

Q: One most treasured item that you’ve lost?
Rajesh Kamat, CEO, Colors: Sleep.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Sanjeev Kapoor, celebrity chef: Keep things simple!

Q: What’s you guilty pleasure?
Simi Garewal, anchor: Playing video games late into the night.

The ITA on a roll...

The Indian Television Academy is on a roll... While on November 8 it organised a Celebrity T-20 Cricket Match, on November 11, it announced the 8th Annual IDEA-ITA Awards 2008 (A BIG Presentation).
The cricket match, held at Andheri Sports Complex to support the cause of Beti, saw television’s leading men like Sharad Kelkar, Varun Badola, Shaan, Jay Bhanushali, Karan Wahi, Charu Sharma, Karan Mehra, and many, many others in action, while leading ladies like Barkha Bisht, Jaswir Kaur, Amrita Prakash, Priya Wal, Smriti Mohan, and others enjoyed a brief spell of their own.
The Awards launch too was no sombre affair, what with the presence of stalwarts like Anu and Shashi Ranjan (ITA), Pradeep Shrivastava (IDEA), Tarun Katiyal (BIG), Keertan Adhyanthaya (Star Plus), and Prasoon Joshi (Chairman of the Jury). In attendance were also the eight contenders for the Idea Champion – Chaitanya Choudhary, Jay Bhanushali, Raja Hassan, Indraneil Sengupta, Barkha Bisht, Jaswir Kaur, Mouni Roy and Purbi Joshi, who will soon travel across the country to interact with the audiences.
The awards meanwhile are scheduled to be held on December 14, and promise to be bigger and better than ever before!