Sunday, August 19, 2001		Television

When three is not company

THIS could be a re-run of an absorbing episode from the Salman-Karisma-Sushmita starrer, Biwi No 1. Only the faces and location are different. Apart from that Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye, 8.30 pm. every Thursday on Sony Entertainment Television, traverses the familiar landmarks of Bollywood, only the details are different.

Scene from Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye: Mushy stuff

Like in the David Dhawan production, here too the episodes revolve around Mallika’s first karva chauth and her philandering husband Rahul, who has been seeing his boss and first love, Maya! Mallika tries hard but just cannot seem to make any inroads into Rahul’s heart! Maya on the other hand is oblivious to Mallika’s existence and thinks that Rahul is all hers.

And before long, it is time for karva chauth, the north Indian festival where women fast for the long lives of their husbands. Mallika is eager and excited about the auspicious day and goes about preparing for the prayers with her mother-in-law. Together, they invite some friends from the neighbourhood, and then, destiny plays its hand!

Mallika, who is unaware of Rahul’s relationship with his boss, innocently ends up inviting Maya to the celebration! Maya declines the invitation and decides to keep a fast for Rahul’s long life as well! Which of the two wins the heart of Rahul...wife Mallika or lover Maya? Find out in Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye...that is, if you haven’t already seen Biwi No.1.

For some years now he’s been television’s alternative entertainer. Armed with an abrasive sense of humour, he can destroy reputations with a wry smile and a tongue firmly in the cheek.

Sajid Khan doesn’t need an introduction — though he feels everyone else in Bollywood does. And he’s seen been introducing most of the top stars the way he sees them ever since his 1999 hit talk show, Kehne Mein Kaya Harz Hai. It’s not surprising that he’s built a steady fan following that hangs on to every word and every nuance of this talking head.

A diehard James Bond fan, he confesses to owning a Reid & Taylor suit, an Omega watch and soon hopes to own a BMW car just like James Bond. A total movie freak, he owns about 1400 DVD’s and has excellent knowledge of films and music. If he is to be believed, Sajid, in his own words, says he would have been a dancer on the streets of not a VJ.

Viewers have seen him in the Best of the Best on Zee Music and Ikke Pe Ikka on Zee Cinema. Now watch this agony uncle of the small screen at his wackiest best on Zee music.com.

Now you can e-mail him all your problems at Zee next.com and he will instantly reply to you letter. If your girl friend has ditched you or you have a crush on the guy next door, you know what you have to do. Simply mail all your problems to Sajid.

His suggestions may or may not solve your problem but his wacky sense of humour will have you laughing all through the show.

How can one explain the mystic aura of the sixties superhit Haqeeqat? Before Chetan Anand’s classic, war films were a taboo in India. Chetan, the elder brother of Vijay and Dev Anand, established himself as one of India’s brightest filmmaker with hits like Aakhri Khat, Hindustan Ki Kasam and Heer Ranjha.

Star Gold pays a tribute to the veteran director, who as a teacher in Dehra Dun’s Doon School wrote a script and went to sell it in Mumbai. Since his script never got sold he decided to float his own company and produce the film.

That’s how Navketan Productions was born in 1946. Chetan made his directorial debut with Neecha Nagar that also marked the debut of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar as music director. The film went on to win the Grand Prix at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and made Chetan the first Indian filmmaker to win an international award.

For his next film Afsar he signed Suraiya for the lead role. Feeling the financial pinch, he had to make a frantic trunk call to his younger brother, Dev Anand to play the lead role in the film as he couldn’t afford an established hero. The film was a moderate success but the legend of the Anand brothers started to unfold.

What followed were classics like Taxi Driver, Aandhiyan, Haqeeqat, Aakhri Khat, Heer Ranjha, Teen Deviyaan, Hum Dono, Guide, Tere Mere Sapne and more.

Chetan Anand may have never received Lifetime Achievement — he died in 1997 — but no one can deny the genius a posthumous recognition as is being given by Star Gold.

What does a woman do when she has been wrongly convicted for the murder of her husband ? How does she prove her innocence? Find the answers to these intriguing questions in the new prime-time offering from Zee TV, Kabhi To Milenge Mondays to Thursdays at 10 pm on Zee.

Unlike other soaps this one is special as it marks the small screen debut of Rati Agnihotri. Her fine acting skills, which once made her the darling of the cinegoers, are on show yet again, as she portrays the role of a woman out to avenge herself for the wrongs done against her.

Says the seventies’ oomph girl, "I am privileged to be doing a serial that has a great star cast and also a story which is very different and unusual". Besides herself, Kabhi To Milenge stars Vijayendra Ghatge, Tanaaz Currim, Tom Alter and Anant Mahadevan who also directs the serial.

So, if you are looking for a little bit of action in a lot of mush, go ahead and watch this soap. It is bound to hold our attention, if only for its fine performances.

Muscle up with Arnie on Star Movies

Get set for a hailstorm of bullets every Thursday on Star Movies as Arnold Schwarzenegger blasts his way on to your telly screens. It ‘s non-stop action as the Hollywood Terminator flexes his awesome muscles and obliterates the baddies.

The seven-time former Mr Olympia hit big time in Hollywood after his title role in Conan the Barbarian. His sci-fi film The Terminator set the cash registers jingling. As a KGB agent in Red Heat he had viewers gueuing up outside cinema halls and Total Recall and Terminator 2: Judgement Day have been his best action movie till date.

The action gets heavier with Commando and Raw Deal. So duck for cover as Arnold comes with guns blazing every Thursday at 9.30 p.m.

In the distant past, humankind’s European homosapien ancestors, Cro-Magnons, shared the land with a very different human species. For 2,50,000 years, Neanderthals dominated the earth yet something caused them to die out, leaving only traces of their existence.

Neanderthal: Back to the Stone Age

Marshalling the latest scientific research and realistic dramatisations. Discovery Channel shows how climate changes and competition from Cro-Magnons led to the demise of this once successful species the Neanderthal airing August 19 at 10 p.m.

Dramatisations combining science-based prosthetics and cutting-edge animation transport viewers to the prehistoric home of a small clan of cave people. The show recreates their harsh and unforgiving environment, where limestone caves offered limited protection from brutal cold and predatory beasts.

The Neanderthal population numbered only about 10,00,000 at its peak; they lived in a limited area that extended from Siberia in the north to Israel in the south, and from Portugal in the far southwest to Uzbekistan in the east. Using scientific evidence, including skeletal remains, tools it reveals how Neanderthals evolved to to survive in rough surroundings.

Neanderthal follows a fictional clan, unable to breed and cut off from their hunting grounds, as they are squeezed out by the superior species of Cro-Magnons. Yet they form an important link to our past. Which makes the show a must-view for serious minded viewers.

— Mukesh Khosla