Amul India Show becomes trendy

SO, what’s so new about the all-new Amul India Show on Star Plus? It still is an assortment of eye-catching events and newsmakers and it is still airing on Sundays at 11 a.m.

The difference is that there are plently of changes. For one, Sanjana Kapoor is no longer anchoring the show. The charming Meghna, daughter of Raakhee and Gulzar, takes her place.

The programme will now speak Hinglish — an easy mix of everyday English and Hindi that viewers all over the country are comfortable with.

There are new sections like India 2000 — millennium related trivia, celebrations and hype; India I — a hard hitting montage on a current issue. A cartoon and the inimitable Amul hoarding.

Then there’s The List — the show’s opinion on anything from the latest shoe fad to Bollywood’s best talent as also India Buzz which is a pithy Q&A with a lifestyle Guru.

So get set for new stories, features and trivia which reflect India on the threshold of the 21st century.

Showman show

Forget Charlie Chaplin. Forget Richard Attenborough. For an Indian, the showman of the century is Raj Kapoor. And capturing that sentiment is Sony Entertainment Television with a three-month long retrospective, Raj Kapoor-Showman of the Millennium.

The marathon series showcases the first family of Hindi cinema with a mix of original programming and films. Viewers will be taken through Raj Kapoor’s journey from an actor to a showman.

Music from R.K. movies is an integral part of the retrospective. The Unforgettables in 10 episodes has current music directors paying tribute to Raj Kapoor’s legendary sense of sur.

Kehta Hai Joker directed by Bobby Bedi Bandit Queen and Fire traces Raj Kapoor — actor, director and individual. It focuses on the man, his movies and his influences.

So get ready to catch the angst of Awara, the pathos of Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, the romance of Barsaat, the freshness of Bobby and the grandeur of Mera Naam Joker. Every Saturday and Sunday till October 3, 1999 — A-not-to-be-missed series.

Behind the camera now

It’s been a life devoted to the muses. After a stint in theatre, Rajit Kapoor moved on to television serials with Ghar Jamai, in 1986. His popularity soared with Byomkesh Bakshi and Junoon still running on Doordarshan.

From there he moved to feature films with Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda, Mammo, Sardari Begum, Ghulam and The Making of the Mahatma in which he received the National Award for best actor.

Rajit has now formed his own banner and has produced and directed Tripthi and Shuruaat. both for Star Plus Bestsellers.

Tripthi is about a woman whose husband disappears on the day of the Mumbai blasts. She refuses to believe he is dead and blanks out the incident. Shuruaat is about a woman whose son divorces his wife. But she develops a tender bond with her daughter-in-law after the divorce.

"Making a one-hour film is more challenging than a full length feature film," says Rajit and adds, "the entire story has to be worked out in those sixty minutes". Which shouldn’t be difficult for him considering he has such a rich experience behind him.

Life imitates art

It’s a marriage made in heaven. Lord Shiva and Parvati are getting married! No, not again and not as in mythology but in real life.

Yashodan Rana who plays Lord Shiva and Gayatri Shastri who plays Parvati in the popular Doordarshan serial, Om Namah Sivay recently got engaged in Mumbai with the entire unit of the serial in attendance.

Om Namah Shivay has completed 120 of the 156 episodes and the producers are hoping that DD will give it a whopping extension of upto 500 episodes. The makers say the serial will get a tremendous boost now with the lead pair getting engaged.

"They have played their roles to the hilt," says director Dheeraj Kumar. "They put so much into it that they actually fell in love with each other".

Now, when will the viewers hear the wedding bells? Says Gayatri, coyly "We are looking for an auspicious day". Maybe Shivratri. Could there be a more auspicious day than that!

Another crimebuster

It’s a trend which has caught on with an unusual fervour. First came India’s Most Wanted on Zee. The pattern was successfully followed by Bhanwar on Sony and Apradhi on Star Plus.

Now comes Agnichakra again on Zee. According to its producers this show will strive to uncover more than just the motive of the crime. There will be no constructed sets, no studio lightings and the actors would be selected on the basis of their physical similarity to the real people involved in the crime.

"It’s not just another crime show but it hopes to generate social awareness through its presentation of real life crime," says a spokesperson of Tracinema, the producers of the show.

Didn’t we hear similar words from similar show producers? Yes we did. But then, one successful turn surely deserves another.

V are changing

It’s time for sweeping changes at Channel V in its bid to steal a march over other music channels. With the new man, Mahesh Murthy at the helm of affairs, Channel V looks all set to win the viewership race.

For a start, it has lined up 25 new exciting shows and a number of old VJ’s have been replaced by fresh new faces. Says Murthy, "As most of our new programmes are aimed at youth between 18 and 24 we have chosen the new VJs they can identify with".

Channel V, adds Murthy, has jumped to the number one position with a viewership of 12 million. "The bubbly new VJ’s will provide a new cutting edge over other music and youth channels".

If things work according to plans, life’s surely not going to be a song for Channel V’s competitors.

— Mukesh Khosla