Sunday, July 29, 2001		Television

THE heady success of KBC Junior and Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, seems to be spurring Star Plus to pull ahead of competition with slickly produced shows for all age groups.

Take the new kiddie show Kya Masti Kya Dhoom on Fridays, 8 p.m. from July 27. Though akin to Sony’s popular Boogie Woogie, this one is more imaginative and innovative. Though it does have kids dancing to filmi numbers, the finer edge is provided by segments like magic shows by children, talent hunts and spoofs mostly on their pet peeves and dislikes — exams, teachers and homework.

Like in Boogie Woogie, participants will be judged by personalities from the field of entertainment. Bubbly co-anchors between the ages of 8-14 form the supportive team.

However, the main attraction is the anchor who is none other than the vivacious Sonali Bendre. The lady can infuse life into anything. Her very presence gives the show a clear edge over others. So stay tuned. Kya Masti Kya Dhoom may be worth watching just for Sonali don’t mind Bendre.

Zee TV is getting serious about comedies. For almost a year now it has been hunting for good scripts and approving pilots that tickle the funny bone.

A new serial in this genre Apun To Bas Vaise Hi to be aired every Tuesday at 7.30 p.m., is a sitcom with a twist. Funny all right, the difference here is that the storyline is singularly uncommon.

It features Satish Shah who gives a very unusual present to his daughter on her 16th birthday. He gifts her two adopted younger brothers! The boys happen to be the sons of his trusted driver who was killed in an accident.

The serial revolves around the thundering trio who bring the roof down with their hilarious pranks that sometimes tend to get out of hand. The pandemonium caused by the threesome manages to even drive out all household help.

Produced by Girish Malik, who already has two successful shows running on B4U, Apun To Bas Vaise promises to bring comic relief in the lives of the humour-parched audiences a la Different Strokes — and the similarities here don’t seem to be coincidental.

Take her seriously when she says she dislikes being dismissed off as just another pretty face on music television. Komila Jagtiani means every word of it. After being a VJ on Channel V for less than a year, Komila (who’s since re-christened herself as Kim) says life’s on a song.

Like the earlier day Ruby Bhatia, Kim is the winner of the 1999 Miss India-Canada contest. But she says films or television serials haven’t interested her for the simple reason, that she can’t speak fluent Hindi. "Till I get my diction right I can’t think in those lines," Says Kim.

A graduate from the prestigious Theater Dance Academy of Canada, Kim is an accomplished danseuse adept at ballet, hip-hop, Latin and even Indian dances. She’s taught dance in Toronto. "I wanted to be a professional dancer, I’d performed in the USA and Canada and people told me I was a natural," says Kim who hastily put aside all plans once she got the VJ’s job.

But Kim who’s currently hosting the popular Jump Start, Club [V], very [V] and very [V] UK doesn’t see herself doing too much television. "I’d like to go back to Canada and study law. My secret passion is to be a lawyer." Let’s hope there are no judgements against that!

Looking for weekend nirvana? Wake up to a melodious Sunday morning with a rich fare of bhajans sung by celebrity singers.

Dharam Aur Hum on Star Plus every Sunday, 8 a.m., is a very politically correct programme, that professes to "salute the spirit of religious tolerance in India." In other words, it means, you have a medley of devotional songs from all religions.

The show, hosted by ghazal and bhajan singer Anup Jalota, will air a devotional song and then interpret its meaning for viewers. There will also be specials with personalities from the music world like Talat Aziz, Jaspinder Narula and others throwing light on some devotional compositions.

So if you’ve had a tough week, tune into Dharam Aur Karam for a half-hour stress-busting therapy.

Imagine crawling into the belly of a hollowed-out, oversized steel ball, preparing to plunge thousands of feet into the ocean depths.

Pioneer deep-sea explorer William Beebe didn’t have to imagine. Between 1930 and 1934, he entered the specially designed Bathysphere time and time again in a series of ever more daring dives, probing deeper into the sea than any man or woman before him, Beebe eventually reached on amazing depth of 3,028 feet in an expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

He recorded unusual fish specimens that caused a scientific stir and great controversy. But Beebe’s expeditions were as harrowing as they were fascinating. He knew that at thousands of feet under the sea, a drop of water entering a leaking Bathysphere would shoot through flesh and bone like a steel bullet. Imagine that!

Now the National Geographic Channel re-enacts the deep-sea diver’s daring adventures in a special screening on July 30 at 9 p.m. Master of the Abyss will feature rare footage of one of Beebe’s historic expeditions and stunning re-enactments shot in an exact replica of the vessel. A riveting show that would take your breath away.

The images are original. The colour is real. This series brings never-before-seen footage to the screen to show that the futility and horror of World War-II remains a vivid reality.

Discovery relives the horrors of World War II in Colour of War — A New World Order at 8 p.m. on July 30.

Personal accounts, letters and diaries of people who lived and died during those years bring these archival films of some of the most brutally compelling years in human history to life. World War II is no longer a black and white war. It is a red letter event in the history of mankind.

— Mukesh Khosla