Sunday, August 5, 2001		Television

A game of intense emotions & business intrigues

KHEL is a game where you either win or lose. But for powerhouse businessman Deven Oberoi (Dilip Tahil), Khel has just one connotation — winning and only winning. He is ready to put every relationship at stake for that heady feeling of success.

Oberoi’s home life is a shambles. There are constant squabbles with his wife Shobha (Moon Moon Sen). He also has a dark little secret — years ago he ditched a woman from whom he had a daughter. Today, that woman (Priya Tendulkar) is an IAS officer and lives with daughter, Kiran (Mrinal Kulkarni), whom she has brought up as a single mother.

Kiran knows Oberoi is her father and craves to come close to him as a daughter. She also admires his successful career and dreams of working for him — for she has just finished her MBA, and has been called for an interview in his company!

Set in an emotional battlefield where high stakes of business are poised against personal relationships, Khel on Sony Entertainment Television every Sunday at 9 p.m. is a dramatic new star-studded weekly soap produced by Smita Thackeray.

A sensitive and powerful story of Deven Oberoi and the people he forgot in his mad quest for fame and fortune. Will his past catch up with his present? Will his own flesh and blood ever become more important to him than his business rivals? Will his conscience finally start pricking? Find out the answers for yourself in this gripping serial.

Roll the cameras

Remember Chacha Chaudhary, the wise old man, who with his big, burly accomplice, Sabu forms a lethal combination of brains and brawns and can solve any problem under the sun? Now, after appearing in over 400 comics and numerous cartoon strips, Chacha Chaudhary and his friends are getting ready to appear in animated form on television.

The creator of the popular Indian toons, Pran is now negotiating with a leading cartoon channel to air the adventures of the first all-Indian cartoon character. Television, he says, was the next obvious step. "That was the route which the western cartoons also followed."

However, the similarity between Pran’s characters and western cartoons ends there. His creations are not powerful heroes like Superman, Batman and Spiderman who can fly or do extraordinary things. They are your everyday Indians who apply logic for solving problems.

Ever since he started, Pran has been making relevant changes. With changing times Chacha Chaudhary is solving problems like match fixing and the kidnapping of a famous film star by a Veerappan-like character!

Now as Chacha Chaudhary makes a debut on the small screen, Pran is overjoyed. "TV has a great reach. I’ll now be able to put a smile on the face of many more Indians. What else could make me more happy?" Perhaps the moolah he’ll get from the channel!

The famous black chair is again going to be occupied by quiz enthusiasts from different parts of the country as Siddharth Basu, one of the most recognisable quiz masters on TV, returns with the fourth edition of Mastermind India.

The fight for the ultimate honour in the world of quizzing begins from Thursday, August 9, on BBC World. The first two episodes to be aired will figure celebrities and media luminaries from leading publications of the country who will together rack their brains.

The first episode shot in Mumbai included names like adman Rahul da Cunha, actor Tom Alter and VJ Cyrus ‘Bakra’ Broacha taking turns in sitting on the hallowed black chair as guest participants. While da Cunha emerged winner among celebrities, Sandeep Unnithan won the title beating his other journalist colleagues.

So, stay tuned. The search is re-starting for the brainiest Indian. One black chair, four competitors, four minutes of sustained interrogation. No frills, no gimmicks. Just one winner for the ultimate accolade — Mastermind. No lakhpatis. No crorepatis!

Sant Kabeer’s teachings are as relevant today as they were centuries ago. Especially so in the present time when religious intolerance has become rampant the world over.

The apostle of peace is now making an appearance on the small screen to give lessons in secularity as opposed to the proliferation of strife based on caste, creed and religion that our politicians thrive upon.

Sant Kabeer every Friday at 9 p.m. on UTN is dedicated to the life and times of the great ‘fakir’. The saint whose poetry has shown the beacon of light and knowledge to the common man down the ages.

The serial tries to capture the vision of Kabeer which was far ahead of its time. The high point of the serial are the melodious hymns rendered by eminent singers based on Kabeer Ke Dohe. The couplets preach values about human life and divinity through very simple examples taken from day to day life.

Over the years, these couplets have moulded minds by their sheer simplicity and amazing depth. And it is these message-laden poems that make Kabeer a must-see serial for all those with a devotional bend of mind and even for those who believe in virtues of love, non-violence and truth.

With more than one billion people travelling by air each year, mid-flight emergencies are becoming common. But when the unforeseen happens at 9,000 metres, there is no emergency number to dial for on-site medical help. Flight attendants are the first source of medical aid.

Health In The Air on Discovery on August 4 at 2 p.m. takes viewers inside an aeroplane cabin to learn about the latest medical devices being used by airlines to aid in-flight victims.

In addition to highlighting the medical devices used in emergencies, it showcases up-to-date communications systems utilised by medical staff on the ground to determine whether a plane should be diverted to the closest airport during an airborne emergency.

Viewers go into hospitals and operating rooms to witness the toll flying takes on people’s physiological and mental well-being and learn what can be done to make the flying experience easier on the human body.

Health In The Air also reveals the effects of conditions emerging during a flight — deep vein thrombosis, a blood clotting condition that sometimes occurs when plane passengers have been sitting stationary in tight aircraft seats for long periods of time.

While examining the routine of getting from one point to another, it focuses on the role of airline companies, one of the biggest industries in the world, in safeguarding the health of airborne passengers and the risks involved and possible cures for coping with health in the air.

Football in Europe and South America is far more than a game — it’s a massive, money-spinning industry. Especially in England where big clubs dominate the game.

Merchandising, TV deals and corporate boxes have made British club owners rich beyond their dreams. In return, they have raised the entertainment level of the game with glamorous international players making premier league football chic and macho.

The Men Who Changed Football on BBC World is a compelling three-part documentary series being aired on August 5, 12, and 19. It reveals the untold story of how a handful of astute businessmen transformed English football into a multi-million pound industry through a series of backroom details and clandestine pacts.

The series starts with 1980 when football was plagued by poor attendance and entrenched violence. That’s when two fans of the game with deep pockets, Irving Scholar and David Dein, bought the British clubs, Tottenham and Arsenal.

A third man, Greg Dyke (now BBC Director-General) then working for the ITV Network struck multi-million deals that revolutionised the way football would be televised. He then persuaded the top British clubs to set up the Premiere League.

The fascinating series highlights how big money in football started changing the way football was being played and watched. And from then on there’s been no looking back even as the game gradually became a perpetual money-making machine. Pure, marketable gold.

— Mukesh Khosla