Sunday, July 22, 2001		Television

Opening the door to more and yet more prizes

"GREED is good..." When stockbroker Gordon Gekko spoke the famous dialogue in the Hollywood blockbuster Wall Street, little did he know it would become the post-KBC motto of Star Plus.

After the heady success of KBC and KBC Junior, the channel is embarking on its third game show.... Khul Ja Sim Sim. Based on an immensely popular western show, Let’s Make A Deal it will be hosted by Aman Verma, (Anupam Kapadia of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi... fame). The show’s overseas popularity can be gauged from the fact that it ran for 27 years in America and made Monty Hall, the host of the show, a household name.

Starting on July 27, every Friday at 9 pm, Khul Ja Sim Sim will be based on a simple philosophy — the better your instinct, the more you can win: walking the tightrope between resisting temptation and ultimately making the right choice.

In the show, the contestant is told to select prizes that are kept in front of the curtain or to take a chance on winning prizes kept behind the closed curtain, which could be anything between a small cash award to a brand new car.

Nobody leaves empty handed even if you make a wrong choice — there are prizes for everybody. Will it give Govinda’s Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke a run for its mega prizes? Keep watching. The fight is on!

Close on the heels political spoofs like Ji Mantriji on Star Plus and Pradhan Mantri on Zee TV. Sahara too is bringing a satire on the bizarre characters who dot the colourful political canvas of India.

Rajpath every Wednesday and Thursday at 9 p.m, directed by Raja Bundela, zooms in on the cunning and conniving politicians whose sole preoccupation is to hit upon money-making schemes at the cost of the people who’ve elected them to office.

The serial begins with chief minister of Gagan Pradesh resigning from his post after having been found guilty of being party to a scandal that had rocked the state. Party leader Jugnu gets the task of selecting a new Chief Minister. He meets a common man and entrusts him the job.

The new Chief Minister, fondly called ‘Babuji’, does not shed his common-man attitude and resists attempts by the opposition and the ruling party alike to draft him into the cesspool of politics. He is determined to work for the class he comes from.

Would the system let such an honest guy stay at the key post for long? Can he manage to avoid the murky politics and pursue his objective? How long will he keep turning away from power and pelf?

A lot of questions that the common man keeps asking. But here, in an effort to seek answers the serial goes astray and ends up seriously questioning the system and loses much of its humour appeal.

Wait until dark!

Ghost stories, sorcery and scary monsters.... fear is the key here. Starting on July 27, 10 pm, Star Plus doles out horror in a new and more chilling way that is guaranteed to send a tingling sensation down your spine.

Ssshhhh...Koi Hai is an old-fashioned spooky show where things go bump in the dark. The kind that the Ramsay brothers have made so famous. Only this one is slicker and scarier. Each episode has a different storyline and the emphasis of each is on underplayed suspense where fear grips the mind.

With a combination of thrilling stories and high technical skills used to create haunting fear, the serial will take you, week after week, on eerie trips through dark, deep jungles, deserted islands, mysterious hills, even underwater.

Some stories are based on Indian folklore, while the rest are from all over the world. A few could have an uncanny resemblance to your own familiar surroundings... fear strikes anyone anytime! Get ready to jump!

If ever there was a dream trip, this was it. Nine kids from across the country went flew to Disneyland in Paris to be among the cartoons they love the most. The all-expenses paid trip was courtesy Sony Entertainment Television and Disney.

The kids were the winners of the May-2001 contest offering the prize of a four-day trip. It was a memorable time for these kids came from totally diverse backgrounds. "All our favourite characters came to life in front of us, it was just wonderful shaking hands with Mickey at the Character Paradel’ exclaimed one of them excitedly.

The idea behind the whole endeavour was to give the viewers a chance to experience the magic of Disney that they would probably cherish and share with others. An experience that can only be offered at the kingdom of Disneyland.

So, all you kids who want to go to Disneyland, stay tuned. With a little help from Sony, you could get lucky too! Watch out for the contest in Good Morning Disney at 8.30 am on weekdays and Disney Hour at 6 p.m. everyday. You never know when you’ll turn lucky!

Tired of game shows and family soaps? Want to know something more about your favourite people? Here’s your chance to get up close to the stars of your choice.

Dil Se on Zee every Tuesday, 8.30 p.m. is a no-holds barred show where pop, film and TV stars speak their heart out. They talk about anything under the sun, from their love lives to their inspirations and aspirations. Straight answers to straight questions and no beating about the bush.

The highlight of the show is that it is shot at the favourite place of the artist. For a party hopper, the Mehnaz, a discotheque, is the place where she speaks her heart out and for a more techno-savvy Remo Fernandes cafe.

So, all of you who wanted to know things about your favourite celebrities you didn’t already know, this is the show to fulfil your ambitions.

Masked as miniature workers, honeybees may look harmless, but they are armed with one of nature’s most effective defense mechanisms... the stringer. From the buzz of a hornet’s nest to a jellyfish swimming in the ocean, animals blessed with the ability to cause a sharp, stabbing pain keep their predators away.

Animal Planet goes inside the honeycomb and ocean caves for a look at the warriors of the animal world with Animal Ammo — Stingers on Saturday, July 28, 7 p.m.

The programme highlights the savviest stunners of the aquatic world. The beautiful and graceful, jellyfish is also some of the most deadly predators.

It dozes and kills its prey with stinging cells. Each of these cells contains a tiny harpoon that, when triggered by touch or chemicals, shoots into the prey and activates other cells.

Viewers also meet nature’s airborne attackers — the wasps. From solitary stalkers to communities that assault in mass, amazing footage of wasp behaviour reveals their stealthy and speedy hunting methods.

The programme concludes with an intimate look at a world usually hidden from human eyes — the beehive. It provides an up-close examination of how different types of bees, wasps and hornets communicate, operate and sometimes survive all on their own.

So get ready for the irritating predators to fake over the small screen with Animal Ammo— Stingers.

— Mukesh Khosla