Sunday, May 25, 2003		Television

Combating crime the hi-tech way

Ankola & Sharawat in Ak..tion Unlimited Josh

THEY glide through pulsating techno-clubs, bluster their way through casinos to fight crime and track down criminals.

Former cop (Salil Ankola), ex-conman (Vinod Sharawat) and a retired police commissioner (Saurabh Shukla) get together to track down anti-social elements, in the action series Ak...tion Unlimited Josh on Star Plus at every Friday at 9.30 p.m.

Produced on the scale of a big screen movie, Josh has sequences of helicopters exploding in mid-air, car chases through busy streets and people jumping off cliffs and skyscrapers.

Karan a crusading ex-cop and Siddhu a deceptive conman are brought together by a fading ex-police commissioner, Wakatkar. They make a relentless and dedicated team with a single mission — to uncover the truth.

The series, shot in multi-locations is a fast paced adventure thriller that will bring an occasional smile and some heart-breaking moments and will keep you glued to your set.

Funny food

Two men, two dhabas and lots of pangaas! That in short sums up Sab TV’s Dhaaba Junction every Monday and Tuesday at 9 p.m.

The irrepressible Jaspal Bhatti plays dhaaba owner Lahori whose dream is to ensure that people who park in his parking lot should not go to eat at Kartar’s dhaaba next door.

Lahori’s life is both complex and tragic. His wife Jeeto swears by rival Kartar’s cooking. His daughter Preeto has her eye on Kartar’s younger brother Rajinder, whose sole ambition is to become a taxi driver in Canada.

Adding to the confusion is Lahori’s 10-year-old son Mintoo, an ally of the puncturewala Subbu. For some odd reason, the time you pass the shop, you suddenly have a flat tyre!

Care to be part of this madness. If yes, tune into Dhaaba Junction and find out why Sab TV is fast becoming an All Smiles And No Tears channel.

This surely is a season of comedies as channels vie with each other to tickle the funny bone. With Sab TV providing the laughs with Dhaaba Junction Sahara brings out Gilli Danda Thursday to Saturday at 7 p.m. for a half hour of mirth.

Directed by Sachin Pilgaonkar, Gilli Danda is a treat for viewers of all ages. The comedy spins around a young kid Gulshan, aka Gilli and his retired neigbhour Mr Danda.

Drawing from the popular game of Gilli Danda, the serial attempts to explore the innocent mind of children living in a world of adults.

Active, agile, tireless, and hard-to-catch, Gilli is a handful for Danda uncle. His attempts to help people out frequently usually end up in hilarious situations!

The gentle comedy may not have you rolling over with laughter. But it will certainly draw a smile — a hallmark of all of Sachin’s sitcoms.

Rajasthan contains some of India’s most colourful scenery. Camel races and elephant processions, pilgrims and merchants, gem cutters and stone masons — all contribute to the region’s unique culture and sights.

On May 31, at 9 p.m. Discovery Channel’s Discover India travels to Rajasthan and portrays modern and contemporary life in this desert state. The programme visits markets, which sell everything from spices to saris, profiles the architecture and arts of three different religions, and provides a close-up view of the friendly people here.

The Discover India series is showcasing fascinating sides of India not often told. For example, some ancient Southern temples unvisited by western tourists are so large that America’s Senate building, Versailles in France, the British Houses of Parliament and St Paul’s in Rome could all be easily accommodated within a single temple!

Then there are shows on the Indian wildlife, the Himalayas as also a full-length feature on Delhi, one of the grandest cities of the world. So, even if you are not an Indophile, you will find this series eminently absorbing and watchable.

Having captured the imagination of children across 45 countries, Pokemon is now all set to enthrall young Indian viewers Mondays to Fridays at 8 a.m. with a repeat at 5 p.m. on Cartoon Network.

Pokemon, a unique creature is a hybrid of different animals. The series spins around the adventures of Ash Ketchum, the young hero who embarks on a perilous journey with Pokemon helping him beat incredible odds and making seemingly impossible things happen!

A part of Ash’s adventure is to save his precious Pokemon from the infamous Team Rocket, that wants to capture if for its special powers and will do anything to help achieve its diabolical plan of total domination!

Will the plan work or will Pokemon save the world? Watch the fun start rolling in in this kiddie animated series.

It may not have had a big impact on the box office but coming around the time of the US-led attack on Afghanistan, the timing of Ujjal Chaterjee’s Escape From Taliban was impeccable.

In case you missed the film — one of the first to tell a story within the context of the Afghan tyrannical society, you can now view it on May 29 at 8 p.m. on Zee TV.

The true-life narrative is based on the first-hand accounts of a Bengali woman Sushmita Banerjee (recorded in a book Kabuliwala’s Bengali Wife) who fled from Afghanistan in 1995. This film follows the journey of the woman (played by Manisha Koirala) who marries an Afghani (Nawab Khan).

Once in Afghanistan, she realises how disturbing the state of affairs is in her husband’s country and decides to go back to India. But that’s easier said than done.

How she manages to escape the clutches of her psychopath in-laws and Taliban officers forms the crux of this gripping drama.

— Mukesh Khosla