Tusshar Kapoor will turn his hand to presenting on the BBC Asian Network for the first time later this month. On the 14th April, Tusshar with co-host the Saturday Film Café with the best of Bollywood news, views and music with Ameet Chana.

Tusshar, known for his roles in films such as MUJHE KUCHH KEHNA HAI, GHOLMAAL and KHAKEE with Amitabh Bachchan will talk to Fashion Guru Manish Malhotra about the style of forth coming film KYA LOVE STORY HAI. Manish, an award winning fashion designer, is the man who has given Tusshar his youthful look in the film KYA LOVE STORY HAI. Manish tells us about his foray into film direction and will be interviewed for the first time by his good friend of many years Tusshar! (more…)

Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty , winner of the Celebrity Big Brother, show has signed a mega-bucks deal to play the lead in a grand Bollywood musical, its producer said today.

Farhath Hussain said in London that the musical, yet to be titled, would be staged in September this year.

Hussain who has earned a name for himself in show business organising mega Bollywood concerts in around the world planned to sign a top leading man, choreographer and music director from the Indian film industry. (more…)

In a move effectively challenging the Indian cricket board’s national tournaments, Zee Group yesterday announced the launch of an ambitious Indian Cricket League (ICL) with a corpus fund of Rs 1 billion ($232.26 million) and a promise to field many international players.

Stung by the announcement and in order to stop speculation, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) quickly issued a statement that its president Sharad Pawar has received a letter, but said no more.
The announcement came as a surprise also because Zee owns the BCCI rights for overseas international cricket.

Zee won the five-year rights for $219.15 million. “A professional league is the need of the hour as is the killer instinct in the players. We will try to do it as early as possible — maybe in July,” said Zee group chairman Subhash Chandra at a press conference here. (more…)

Sahara One Media & Entertainment Ltd CEO Shantonu Aditya has quit the organization, with immediate effect.
An official announcement of his resignation released today has put all industry speculation to rest.

Aditya joined Sahara in June 2005 and prior to that he was heading SET Discovery as president.

NDTV has tied up with broadband and telephone services company Airtel to present a reality contest named ‘Airtel Scholar Hunt Destination UK’.

The show scheduled to go on air from 14 July 2007, proposes to select the best from the Indian student community in the country and offer them five scholarships to British universities in subjects as diverse as Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Management, Computing Science, Biomedical Science and Engineering. ‘Airtel Scholar Hunt Destination UK’ specifically targets students who will complete their Senior Secondary (Class XII) education this April.

Hosted by Arun Thapar, the show is structured around a multi-stage contest that places a high premium on academic excellence. As it progresses, the contest becomes more subject specific and intellectually grueling to ensure that the winners have a sound knowledge base and aptitude for the chosen subjects. (more…)

The show that made news and created a stir when it began its third season earlier this year is approaching its end in April. ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, with SRK, which opened with a TVR of 12.33 on January 22, has been witnessing a downward trend in viewership since then. STAR India has come up with a new concept for the show, called ‘Khelo India Saath Saath’, to gather more eyeballs.

‘Khelo India Saath Saath’ will be introduced in the show from April 9, providing viewers a platform to win money while seated at home. This eight-episode series will allow viewers to play at the same time as contestants on the show. For every right answer, the prize money is Rs 1 lakh.

Viewers can use the phone to answer questions appearing on the screen during the show by selecting the right option, as long as they do it before the correct answer is identified by the computer. One of the correct entries will be selected randomly. (more…)

MTV Networks Kids and Family Group and Amp’d Mobile, integrated mobile entertainment provider have announced the launch of a marathon programmed channel based on SpongeBob SquarePants and targeted to 18-25 year old audiences in the second quarter 2007.

As per the partnership, programming from Nickelodeon and The N will also appear within new channels on Amp’d TV beginning this week, states an official announcement.

Digital Media for MTVN Kids and Family Group executive VP Steve Youngwood said, “Nickelodeon shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar, and the Kids’ Choice Awards that feature large adult audiences, along with The N’s teen hits, fit well with Amp’d’s core demographic. These launches demonstrate our continued commitment to being a premier multi-platform media company.” (more…)

Into its second year, this reality series, hosted by Zoom anchor Pooja Sharma, will give viewers a peek into the rigorous grooming sessions that the contestants have with celebrity experts including Hemant Trivedi, Dabboo Ratnani, Deanne Pandey, Dr. Jamuna Pai, Sandip Soparrkar, Pooja Makhija, Bharat and Dorris Godambe, besides featuring sessions where the former winners share their experiences with the contestants.

The series will show the contestants share their thoughts, experiences, aspirations of becoming Miss India and reveal the gradual transition in the personality and attitude of the contestants during the course of their training period, informs an official release.

This year’s competition has introduced a number of new award categories to find the most talented contestants such as ‘Miss Zoom TV Personality’ to the contestant with great looks, presence and the wit that will make her Zoom’s discovery of the year. (more…)

After years of uncertainty, India’s state-owned television network Doordarshan will begin broadcasting two free-to-air channels here with the idea of bringing “the essence of India to Great Britain” from April 16.

According to the Rayat Group, the private company in charge of the channels’ distribution here, the two channels, DD India and DD News, will start broadcasting 24 hours a day from April 16. The content will be mostly in Hindi.

The launch of the channels is expected to provide a base for further expansion into Europe. Doordarshan will be the latest channel targeting the Asian/Indian diaspora in Britain. The current channels bouquet includes STAR TV, Zee, Sony, NDTV, and others produced and distributed from within Britain, such as MATV and Raj TV. (more…)

AFTER the Indian cricket team’s ouster from the ICC World Cup 2007, the worst fears of advertisers and media agencies have come true. According to latest numbers released by the TV audience measurement firm Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd (aMap), television viewership of World Cup matches has been shaved off by over 50% since India’s exit.

aMap’s data reveals that gross rating points (GRPs) of the matches have plunged to 13.89 from a GRP levels in excess of 40 during India matches. For instance, the GRP of the Australia vs South Africa (March 24) fixture, which was the first game after India’s exit, was 22.98. GRP for Tuesday’s West Indies vs Australia game (March 27) crashed further to 13.89.

Compare these numbers with the GRPs of matches where India played. India’s first match with Bangladesh delivered a GRP of 46.67. The game against Bermuda delivered a GRP of 40.75, while the ratings shot to 54.53 for the crucial match with Sri Lanka. The GRP for the World Cup opener between West Indies and Pakistan (March 13) was also a modest 36.83. aMap’s GRP figures for the first half of the matches also showed similar trend. (more…)