Salman Khan is endowed with an enigmatic persona. He may showcase his toughness on the exterior but “Being Human” he is also warm & a soft hearted person. There is that tender spot within him which is still craving for a lot of love, caring & soothing. Of late on the professional front, as per his own recent confession especially after finishing his work on Sultan, he really feels exhausted time & again. But he is not Salman Khan for nothing to give up so easily. To say that he has already carved a niche for himself by now would be an understatement. Actually speaking Salman Khan has undoubtedly cast his magical spell over his fans, that too in the last 2 and a half decade and they still seem to be under his magical influence. Yet carrying his bachlorhood on his lapel is the only thing that has started bothering him lately. And the thing that bothers the media a lot is Salman Khan’s elusiveness with them. But when he finally meets them he is a sheer delight which was evident last time during the promotional event of Rajshri Productions Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and this time during the promotional event of Yash Raj Films Sultan. Both the events were coincidentally held at the same venue namely Mehboob Studio at a stone’s throw distance from his abode.

Sultan has been the most talked about film of Yash Raj Films ever since it was launched. Comment!

I know what you are hinting at. And maybe that’s mainly because of the similarity of the subjects between my film Sultan & Aamir Khan’s film Dangal.

So Sutan wins the race as it is coming first and Aamir Khan’s film is coming only by the end of the year. What say?

Let’s not be judgemental as every film has its own destiny as to which film will be accepted by cine goers and which film will be rejected by them. Even otherwise there was no decision of winning the race. We were rushing up Sultan only to make it a Ramzan Eid release as I am very keen to release at least one film coinciding with every Ramzan Eid for everyone and as a special Ramzan Eid gift for all my Muslim fans, and Aamir Khan is working at a leisurely pace as he always tries to release his film during christmas.

You succeeded in avoiding the clash with Aamir Khan’s Dangal but the clash with Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees was avoided in the nick of time. Right?

Yes! You can say that. But then Shah Rukh Khan himslf bowed out at the last minute only because his film Raees was not completely ready to be released. Just imagine what would have happened in case the alter ego of our producers had clashed. Naturally we both would have ended up making a dent in our individual box office collections at the turnstiles. In fact we both would have had no choice but to share the collections and be at a loss. As was evident when both Ranveer Kapoor’s Bajirao Mastani & Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale were released on the same day and in the same week. Even otherwise the days of Aamir Khan’s Dil & Sunny Deol’s Ghayal hitting the marquee on the same day qnd in the same week and yet being declared super hits all over are definately over.

Ok! So let’s move on to the the topic of Sultan which is on the verge of release on the D – Day of Ramzan Eid. So tell us what is Sultan all about?

Sultan is basically about the sport of wrestling and I enact the role of a sports person to be specific a wrestler who starts from the village level akhada to the mat based ring and then into the MMA arena. And giving me company was Anushka Sharma who has her own aspirations as a sportswoman nay a women wrestler.

Now that you have made a mention of Anushka Sharma, tell us how apt was she as a woman wrestler and as your co – star too?

Anushka Sharma had come on board of Sultan at a much latter stage that too when I was rigorously training for my role in Sultan. But indeed she is a lovely girl and a good actress too. Its such a pity that I discovered this lovely girl only towards “The End” of Sultan. Even otherwise Sultan was a very demanding film physically. So we could only see our beds post pack- up. In fact it was unlike our other films where the colleagues from the same film hang around together at least during the breaks to get familiarised with each other.

Now tell us how tough was it to enact the toughest role of your career in Sultan?

It was toughest beyond my imagination. You need a perfect, appropriate & sufficient training like a wrestler in real life. In fact the intense & the gruelling training sessions that I underwent for Sultan and for that matter even Aamir Khan underwent for Dangal for reel life was similar or even a little more than what the real life wrestlers undergo in real life. Suppose if we both had not undergone such intense & gruelling training than perhaps we both would not be able to fight it out convincingly enough in the wrestling ring.

Would you like to describe in brief about your intense & gruelling training session that you underwent for Sultan?

I shot for Sultan for 6 hours every day and while shooting there would be so much of lifting and even thrusting on the ground involved and now this lifting & thrusting in itself was very tough for me because if I was lifting I would have to lift the same 120 kg guy at least 10 times for 10 different camera angles and for 10 differrent shots. And similarly I would get thrown down on the ground for the same number of times and this particular acts of lifting & throwing are not repeated that many times in real fights that are held in the real wrestling ring. Now coming to your first question of the training session part I would say or rather admit that it was the most toughest part of my career as an actor. I totally agree that you need solid training like the real life wrestlers if not more. So to cut the matter short I did undergo weight training in the first session. Then in the latter sessions I perfected my moves and in the subsequent sessions I used to spend at least 2 to 3 hours in a day for the intense & the gruelling training sessions. So in those training phase my daily routine was almost like eat and then head right back to the training session and than that would just not stop. And this was mainly because my director Ali Abbas Jaffar who knew nothing about the training part. So every 20 days or so he would need me to look different and have a different body type depending entirely on his whims & fancies on the sets. As a resultant effect sometimes I was bloating and then again going ahead and losing the excess weight only to pile it on again. The point is that I don’t think my director has ever seen the insides of a body building gym in his entire life. On the contrary I think it was more easier for Aamir Khan for his role in Dangal as he use to bulk up, shoot for Dangal and then relax for a longer period of time. Whereas in my case I just used to shoot, diet, eat, shoot, diet again and this used to just go on and on.

And now tell us how will both the films on wrestling namely Sultan & Dangal be beneficial in the long run to the sport of wrestling in general and the wrestlers in particular?

First of all I hope it changes the over all opinionated perception of all the concerned people including the concerned Government officials. That apart its like a blessing that the idea of scrapping the sport of wrestling off from the Olympics has been called off. I think in my opinion the wrestlers deserve much more respect than they get. Besides I believe that even the prize money they receive should be even more bigger for such a taxing sport. Moreover it is an expensive thing to maintain, I mean the body & the fight.

To wind it up tell us how important is it for an actor to hold on to his limelighted stardom at this age & stage of his career?

By the way was it necessary to rub salt on the wound. You see sir, stardom is not something like a game that you can keep holding on or keep playing on. Frankly speaking every actor wants to be in the limelight for as long as he or she can. Again honestly speaking everyone is scared of losing his or her limelighted stardom and I would be lying through my teeth if I say no. Besides its not just the stardom, its that love, its that respect of the fans that one keeps receiving and suddenly one fine day everything is over. That is specifically one thing, I mean one quality that you are working so hard for and all of a sudden something happens and you are not the liked person anymore and that particular aspect bothers and hurts everyone and then you need to be a strong man who can amicably adjust with that part of his life too.

Before parting I would like to make one more query. Can I?

Yes! You can. And I know that even you too would like to know about the latest on my matrimonial status. To tell you the truth I am desperately trying to get married. In fact main mara jaa raha hoon, But saamne wali ladki bhi toh raazi ho mujhse shaadi karnne ke liye. Boss it is no longer luck or destiny that works in case of one’s marriage but it is the girl power, and in my case it is the women power that will work. Let’s see ultimately who would agree to marry me. That’s it.

Producer: Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Aman Gill, Vikas Bahl & Sameer Nair
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Star Cast: Shahid Kapur, Karina Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh, Satish Kaushik et al
Music: Amit Trivedi, Benedict Taylor & Naren Chandavarkar

Director Abhishek Chaubey in his hat trick offering Udta Punjab has dealt with , a film belonging to the intensely dark & extremely serious genre, almost or more or less like his 1st outing (Ishqiya) & his 2nd outing (Dedh Ishqiya). Nevertheless the film Udta Punjab is mainly about the drugs abuse menace which is still existing in Punjab. But it looses its focus with varied sub – plots running parallel with the main plot. Besides the entire film sounds like a pure Punjabi film, because of the extensive use of the Punjabi lingo throughout the duration of the film.

The scripted scenario of Udta Punjab starts off with a scene at the India -Pakistan border wherein a Pakistani man throws a mysterious drug packet onto the Indian side. This is followed by a rocking introduction of rockstar Tommy “Gabru” Singh (Shahid Kapoor) and a glimpse into his addictive lifestyle. One day, Tommy Singh gets fired by his producers for delaying their recordings. If that wasn’t enough, Tommy Singh also gets arrested by the Punjab police amidst his birthday party, on grounds of drug abuse. When he gets released from jail, despite the jitters, he somehow manages to gear up to perform before an eagerly awaiting audience. Just before the performance, he does something extremely awkward that irks a handful of audience, who, then, run after him baying for his blood. On the other hand, Pinky Kumari aka Mary Jane (Alia Bhatt) migrates from Uttar Pradesh to Punjab. Her background reveals that, she was an exceptional hockey player, who, because of lack of financial support, landed up becoming a labourer. And since then, she is trying to find her place under the sun in Punjab. One day, when she finds a 3 kg drug packet, she tries to sell it off to make a fast buck. While doing so, for reasons best known to her, she dumps the whole 3 kg of drugs into a well, thus invoking the wrath of the drug peddlers, for whom, the entire packet meant heavy profits. Angered by her action, the peddlers not just end land up raping the helpless Pinky Kumari, but also keep her as captive with them. Repeated attempts to run away from their clutches, yields no results for Pinky. The 3rd angle to the story is that of Dr. Preet Sahani (Kareena Kapoor – Khan), under whom Balli Singh, the younger brother of Inspector Sartaj Singh (Diljit Dosanjh) is getting treated for being a victim of drug overdose. Amidst the course of Balli’s treatment, Sartaj Singh analyses & realises the harm that these banned substances cause to thevpeople. He, then, joins Preet Sahani in her crusade against drugs and exposing the drug mafias.

Director Abhishek Chaubey has picked up a very topical subject in Udta Punjab but mid – way he seems to have got totally confused by attempting to make amends with varied sub – plots thereby completely loosing his grip on the main plot of the substance abuse and in the process the film becomes too sluggish and just about moving with a snail’s pace. That apart his directorial skills are seriously let down by his entire technical team barring all the actors who have delivered a mind blowing performances.

Performance wise Shahid Kapoor leads the brigade with his brilliant act to say the least. And he is simply outstansding in his newest avatar of a rockstar. In fact Shahid Kapur & Satish Kaushik bring in a little bit of comic relief with their humorous banter in the film at regular intervals. Alia Bhatt is just superb in her de-glam avatar of a Bihari girl, she has surpassed her own role of Highway. The next in line restrained performance comes from Kareena Kapoor – Khan. That apart debutant Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh steals the cine goers heart by delivering a very heart warming performance. Just watch out for his comfortably sterling act in his future Bollywood movies.

Tail Piece: Lack of entertainment value is the biggest drawback of Udta Punjab thereby stamping the film totally as an art house cinema which will indeed garner a lot of critical acclaim as well as rave reviews in the global film festival circuit.

Producer: Anuraag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane & Madhu Mantena
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Star Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal et al
Music: Ram Sampath

Director Anurag Kashyap has always been more popularly known for the dark genre of films that he has been often making and his latest offering Raman Raghav 2.0 is no exception to the rule. Not only this Raman Raghav 2.0 is full of gory, gruesome & mindless murder mayhem.

The scripted scenario of Raman Raghav 2.0 starts off with the introduction of a young IPS officer Raghav (Vicky Kaushal of Masaan fame) and a deadly introduction of Ramanna aka Sindhi Dalwaai aka Raman (Nawazuddin Siddiqui who needs no special introduction). Raghav who, despite being an IPS officer, is almost always high on drugs; in fact Raghav does not leave a single chance to indulge in substance abuse, even when he is on duty. The film, then, traces its roots with a series of flashback events that establish Raman’s character as a serial killer with a history of random & meaningless killings. As the film comes back to the present, Raman gets into a confessional mode and says that he kills people because he likes to kill them for no reason. He also goes onto proclaim that he is a “Godsent gift to mankind”, who has been sent by God to kill people after their job is done on earth. What follows from hereon are a series of merciless & inhuman murders. After a gap of 7 years, Raghav visits his sister’s place and ends up killing her as well as her innocent husband and her child too. Simultaneously, Raghav also kills his girlfriend. Amidst all this, Raman confesses to Raghav about his hidden connection with him, that really stuns the latter.

Director Anurag Kashyap clarifies right in the opening frame of the film that Raman Raghav 2.0 is not at all based on the serial killer Raman Raghav who used to mindlessly & senselessly kill people sleeping on the pavements by crushing their head with a stone. These real killings had taken place in the 60’s time frame. But all said & done Mr. Kashyap definately seems to be inspired by the same real tragic events of the 60’s period. The only saving grace of the film is the sinisterly chilling & haunting background score by Ram Sampath, the apt cinematography by Jay Oza & above all the outstanding performance by its 2 lead actors namely Nawazuddin Siddiqui (excellently enacted extraordinaire act) & Vicky Kaushal (perfect act).

Tail Piece: If you are an ardent fan of Nawazuddin Siddiqui then Raman Raghav 2.0 is meant for you. But this film is strictly not recommended for weak hearted persons.

The 7th Jagran Film Festival recently announced its international selection in the feature film category. In fact the Best of International Films are all set to compete with the Indian National & Regionals.

So the 7th Jagran Film Festival announced its international selection in the feature film category. The Festival is set to begin from 1st July in New Delhi and travel to 15 other cities thereafter.

To be screened under the section World Panorama, the Festival line up has Sievanevada (Romania) directed by Criti Puiu, Road To Istanbul (Algeria) directed by Rachid Bouchareb, The Patriarch ( New Zealand) by Lee Tamahori, The First, The Last (France – Belgium) by Bouli Lanners, The Plants (Chile) by Roberto Doveris, Discordia (Romania) by Ion Indolean, The Market ( Canada) by Bobby Del Rio, The Oedipus King (Argentina) by Javier Molo, Two Nights Till Morning (Finland) by Mikko Kuparinen, Yellow Flowers On Green Grass (Vietnam) by Victor Vu, Chatô – The King Of Brazil ( Brazil) by Guilherme Fontes, Thank You For Bombing (Austria) by Barbara Eder, The Surprise (Italy) by Ivan Polidoro, Wonderland (Switzerland), directed by 10 directors, The Sum Of Histories (Belgium) by Lukas Bossuyt, Pop Up (Australia) by Stuart McBratney, Hear The Silence (Germany) by Ed Ehrenberg, Farewell Analog (Iran) by Hiwa Aminejad, Eddie Reynolds And The Iron Angels (Mexico) by Gustavo Moheno, Zoe (Spain) by Ander Duque, Utopia, An Adult’s Fairytale ( Greece) by Nikos Kourou.

That apart Indian cinemas like Talvar, Sarbjit, Airlift, Nil Battey Sannata, Neerja and above all Maharashtra’s highest grocer Sairat too will be showcased. The best of old times movies will also be showed, to name a few, Do Ankhen Barah Haath, Geet Gaya Patharone, Shatranj Ke Khilari, Shakuntala and many, many more. The selection includes films that has been screened in major film festivals like Cannes 2016, Berlinale 2016 and many, many others but this year onwards the Jagran Festival has begun to pick up films that have not participated in any film festival. These films would be screened across sections Indian & International under the banner, “Jagran Discovery”.

The curtain rises on Saarthak Chitram’s newest small screen serial named SAABJI written – produced – directed by Siddharth Nagar, whose one more serial Shiksha – Ek Majboot Aadharshila is already on air on Doordarshan Kisan Channel in the 9.30 pm slot, on 17th Jun, 2016. SAABJI is an entertaining story on love & revenge. SAABJI will be aired on every Friday – Saturday – Sunday in the 7 pm slot. SAABJI’s crew comprises of co – producer: Harender Singh Verma & Jaya Bhattacharya, creative head: Archana Saikia, production head: Pravin Sorte, cinematographer: Mukesh Sharma, lyrics: Abhilash, music: Vivek Bakshi, singer: Pratiksha Vashishth, editor: Arun Pakal & Satish Sharma, art: Mahendra Raut, background score: Bhupesh Sharma. SAABJI stars Ayub Khan, Jaya Bhattacharya, Suhasini Mulay, Shruti Ulfat, Anupam Bhattacharya, Dinesh Kaushik, Pallavi, Raju Shreshtha, Farida Dadi, Varsha Manik, Amita Nangia, Jugnu, Mithlesh Chaturvedi & Shresth Kumar.

Life OK Channel’s Serial Savdhaan India Completes 4 Years Of Its Existence In The Satellite Arena

Life OK Channel’s, most watched, talked about & extremely likeable serial Savdhaan India has recently completed 4 years of its existence in the Satellite arena. Life OK’s one of the most popular show, Saavdhan India has indeed recently completed 4 years of being on air. In these 4 years it has not only become the most watched show on Indian TV but has also made a fundamental shift in creating awareness against Crime. To commemorate 4 years of fighting crime, Life OK Channel recently unveiled a Saavdhan India anthem urging people to be vigilant and take precautions to prevent crime in their life. The 2 minute anthem instantly created a sensation with over 2 million views within just 3 days. The anthem also set the twitter world ablaze trending both nationally & worldwide. The initiative struck a chord with celebrities who tweeted with their support.

Sony Pictures Recently Re-aligned Its Key Portfolios

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) of late has re-aligned its key portfolios. Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) recently announced a re-alignment of its key management portfolios. SPN’s International business gets consolidated within the networks’ sales & syndication business whereas SPN’s Sports business gets more closely aligned to the distribution business. Consequently, Rohit Gupta’s role gets expanded from SPN, network sales president to SPN’s network sales & International business president.
SPN’s International business head Neeraj Arora will now report to Rohit Gupta.
Rajesh Kaul’s role gets expanded to SPN Distribution & Sports president and SPN sports business head Prasana Krishnan will now report into Rajesh Kaul. Rohit Gupta & Rajesh Kaul have been with SPN since 14 years & 8 years respectively.

Curtain Rises On Saarthak Chitram’s Saabji On 17th June 2016 On DD1 In 7 pm Slot

The curtain rises on Saarthak Chitram’s newest small screen serial named SAABJI written – produced – directed by Siddharth Nagar, whose one more serial Shiksha – Ek Majboot Aadharshila is already on air on Doordarshan Kisan Channel in the 9.30 pm slot, on 17th Jun, 2016. SAABJI is an entertaining story on love & revenge. SAABJI will be aired on every Friday – Saturday – Sunday in the 7 pm slot. SAABJI’s crew comprises of co – producer: Harender Singh Verma & Jaya Bhattacharya, creative head: Archana Saikia, production head: Pravin Sorte, cinematographer: Mukesh Sharma, lyrics: Abhilash, music: Vivek Bakshi, singer: Pratiksha Vashishth, editor: Arun Pakal & Satish Sharma, art: Mahendra Raut, background score: Bhupesh Sharma. SAABJI stars Ayub Khan, Jaya Bhattacharya, Suhasini Mulay, Shruti Ulfat, Anupam Bhattacharya, Dinesh Kaushik, Pallavi, Raju Shreshtha, Farida Dadi, Varsha Manik, Amita Nangia, Jugnu, Mithlesh Chaturvedi & Shresth Kumar.

Curtain Rises On Sab TV Channel’s Khidki From 28th Jun 2016

Curtain has risen on Sab TV Channel’s Khidki from 28th Jun, 2016. So start telling your funny story and relive it along with the world all over again on the small screen. Sony SAB will now give a sneak peek into the funny incidences of the lives of their viewers with its new show, Khidki. The show’s concept revolves around stories that have been sent in by viewers all over India. Some of these select stories are being adapted into mini – series of episodes for the small screen. Khidki is already on air from Tues, 28th Jun, 2016 every Mon to Fri @ 21:30 hours only on Sony SAB. The channel in partnership with producer J D Majethia & director Umesh Shukla of Oh! My God fame had called in for entries for the show in the month of Mar, 2016. Over 8000 entries have been received by the channel, of which, some of the shortlisted stories are now ready to be presented to the world. The show will have a set of recurring actors like Sarita Joshi, Rajeev Mehta, Lubna Salim, Aishwarya Sakhuja to name a few who will portray different characters in different stories, along with narration by JD Majethia, who is also the host of the show. Each story will be weaved into episodes designed to last for minimum of 3 to 8 episodes, depending on the length of each story.

Zoya Recently Signed As A Community Ambassador

Sony Le PLEX HD has recently signed Zoya Akhtar as its community ambassador. Sony Le PLEX HD has brought on board the very talented and acclaimed writer & director, Zoya Akhtar as it’s Community Ambassador. This will be the 1st time ever for Zoya Akhtar to be associated with a brand. Her cinema artistry and love for great movies make Zoya the right fit as the community ambassador. She will be seen as a representative of the community that appreciates quality cinema. The common passion for great cinema and storytelling brings Sony Le PLEX HD & Zoya Akhtar together in creating this premium hangout place for movie lovers to hangout, unwind & converse.

Sridhar Balakrishnan Signed By Star India
Star India has recently appointed Sridhar Balakrishnan as its head of distribution.
Star India has recently appointed former Marico chief operating officer for rest of South Asia, Middle East & Africa Sridhar Balakrishnan as its head of distribution.
Incidentally speaking Sridhar Balakrishnan replaces Krishnan Kutty, who has been made EVP & business head of the English cluster a few months back. In fact distribution has been a key priority for Star India organisation, and it has leveraged the growing penetration of TV to drive the reach of their channels across the width & the breadth of this country. As cable in India gets fully digitalised and consumers get access to an array of differentiated channels & services, the opportunity to unlock value in the distribution business is huge.

Zee Cafe’s Next Season Of Gotham Starts From 23rd Jun 2016

Zee Cafe’s next season of Gotham starts from 23rd Jun, 2016. Zee Café brings for its viewers the Best of DC comics’ universe this year. After a remarkable Season 1, Zee Café is back with a more intriguing season of Gotham. So get ready to kick your mundane weekdays in to high gear – with the 2nd instalment of Gotham which has started airing from 23rd Jun, 2016 onwards on every Mon – Fri at 10 pm followed by a brand new show Supergirl the following month. The
winner of the most exciting new series category at the Critics’ Choice Television awards, Gotham 2 brings back the era of villains. Heading into Season 2, catch the rise of the biggest Super villains – The Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, MR Freeze which eventually leads to the genesis of one of the most popular super heroes of our time – Batman. So this time, it’s darker, scarier and all about the rise of evil in Gotham.

Zeel Recently Tied Up With Dish & Sling TV

Zeel has recently tied up with Dish & Sling TV to expand its reach in US. Zeel has recently tied up with Dish & Sling TV to expand its reach in US. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) announced a landmark agreement with Dish & Sling TV to further strengthen its presence in the US Territory. As a part of the agreement, Dish & Sling TV will carry 27 new channels in addition to the existing 10 Zee channels, which will be available in varied languages like Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Rajasthani & Urdu. Post this alliance, the total number of Zee channels available in the US market will be 37 with a combined reach of 52 million or 5.2 crore homes (that includes English & Spanish HHs).

Prasar Bharati Is Not Opposed To Private Players’ Entry In DTT

Of late Prasar Bharati has issued a statement that it is not at all opposed to Private Players’ Entry In DTT. In fact
Prasar Bharati has always been in favour of opening up of the Digital Terrestrial Transmission (DTT) to private players, but of course it could not formalise the proposal owing to some internal pressure.
All said & done Prasar Bharti’s Chief Executive Officer Jawahar Sircar averred, “We had approved of DTT and allowing private players also to participate over a year back, but had faced resistance internally from certain quarters.” Besides the pubcaster was asked, by the Government, to prepare a base paper in this regard and draw up a business plan too. But this too, could not be done because of the unfamiliarity with market conditions.”

Star India Has Recently Dedicated 8 Channels

Star India has recently dedicated its 8 channels for a 24×7 coverage of Rio 2016. Living to its campaign tag line #issebadakuchnai, Star India will be pulling out non – stop coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympics games by dedicating 8 channels for the blockbuster event on a 24×7 basis. Beginning 5 Aug, 2016, the Brazil Olympics games will be broadcast in 2 languages namely English & Hindi.
Apart from the 8 channels, Star India will extensively cover the global multisport event on its OTT platform Hotstar. Together Star Sports & Hotstar will broadcast 3000 plus hours of the live content from the Olympics offering Indian sports fans every opportunity to catch every medal live. Star Sports HD channel cluster (Star Sports HD1, HD2, HD3, HD4) will mirror the SD one (Star Sports 1, 2,3, 4). Star Sports 1 & 4 and its corresponding HD feed will have the English language telecast & Star Sports 2 & 3 with the corresponding HD feed will telecast the Hindi coverage.

Zee TV Channel Recently Joined Weekend Ratings Battle with ‘Amma’ at 10.30pm time slot

Zee TV Channel has recently joined the Weekend ratings Battle with Amma in the 10.30pm time slot. Zee has joined the bandwagon in the race for the ratings amongst shows & slots. The Subhash Chandra led Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited premier Hindi GEC has pulled out its 1st 10.30 pm slot for an original fiction show. Zee has already airing its new finite series Amma in that slot from 25th Jun, 2016 every Sat & Sun. With this, Zee has joined Star Plus & Colors in the weekend ratings chase. Star Plus initiated the trend of airing fiction on weekends that was later followed by Colors which aired super hit shows such as 24 Season 1 in 2015 in the 10 pm slot on Fri & Sat. Colors added the just concluded Naagin in the 8 pm slot which has now been replaced by Kawach. The entrance of Zee in the 10.30 pm time slot will surely heat up the competition. There are other GEC’s too which are exploring weekend opportunities according to sources. Produced by Farhan P. Zamma, Amma is based on life of Jenabai Daaruwala, who is a well – known name in the Mumbai underworld mafia. The finite series will explore the journey of the rise of this female Don. The per episode production cost is approximately estimated from Rs 8 to Rs10 lakhs.

Small screen actor Sourabh Raaj Jain has recently bagged a Southern Movie project. The good looking, handsome hunk and a popular guy of television, Sourabh Raaj Jain who has charmed the audience with his acting skills on varied popular television shows like Mahabharat, Uttaran, et al is all set for a new beginning. Sourabh Raaj Jain will soon venture into South movies. In fact Saurabh Raaj Jain has recently bagged a big Southern Movie project. Indeed Sourabh Raaj Jain has been finalised to play the title role in K. Raghavendra Rao’s upcoming film. It’s a Telugu movie which also stars the very popular actors like Nagarjuna & Anushka Shetty. The film’s shoot is expected to begin from 7th Jul, 2016 and the 1st schedule might happen in Hyderabad and the rest at some other locales.

Mohit To Replace Cezzane In &TV’s Most Popular Show Gangaa

Small Screen actor Mohit Abrol is all set to replace Cezzane Khan in &TV’s most popular show Gangaa. &TV show Gangaa was recently in the news for being the comeback vehicle of Kasautii Zindagii Kay’s Anurag Basu aka Cezzane Khan. However, there is now a small change in the entire serial’s scenario. As Cezanne Khan is no longer a part of the show. Cezzane Khan has even gone ahead and confirmed the news in the media. So much so that a leading tabloid recenly quoted Cezzane Khan averring that he was indeed roped in for the show but during discussions with the makers, he realised that the project was not working out for him. Cezzane Khan who would be seen on the television screen after a long break, wanted to make sure that everything fell into place properly. That apart Cezzane Khan’s loss has worked in favour of another actor Mohit Abrol. So now Mohit Abrol owill be the new man in Gangaa’s life as the character of Rudra, will now be enacted by Mohit Abrol, who confirmed the news and averred, “Yes. I am a part of Gangaa now. Gangaa is a very popular show and this will also be my 2nd outing with &TV. I am looking forward to the show.”

Ankita & Kushal Strongly Deny Their Alleged Link Up

Small Screen actors Ankita Lokhande & Kushal Punjabi strongly denied their alleged “Link Up” recently. When Ankita Lokhande & Kushal Tandon were recently mobbed by the media after the duo had posted a few pictures of themselves. They had also engaged in a twitter banter after a few leading newspapers & online web portals wrote about their alleged link up. While Kushal Tandon clarified that he was just being a support system to Ankita Lokhande, who is his friend and was going through a rough patch. He went ahead and slammed a few media portals who had alledly linked them up. After Kushal Punjabi had clarified his stance, Ankita Lokhande too decided to address the rumours. Even though she did not speak to the media directly, she made sure to use a social medium that would get her word to one & all.

Prerna To Feature In The Upcoming Colors Show Namely 24 Season 2

Small screen actress Prerna Wanwari is all set to feature in the upcoming Colors show namely 24. Prerna Wanvari, who is well – known for her role in Bandini &
Parichay Nayee Zindagi Kay Sapno Ka will soon be seen in Colors 24 Season 2. The show, which has already been creating a lot of buzz in the media has roped in Prerna Wanwari for an important role.
Earlier on Ronit Roy was also roped in for an important cameo role in the show. Besides Prerna Wanwari will be seen enacting the role of a hotel manager.

Priya To Feature In The Currently On Air Sony TV’s Adaalat Season 2

Small screen actress Priya Shinde is all set to feature in the upcoming Sony TV’s Adaalat Season 2. Priya Shinde, who was last seen enacting the character of Monisha in Colors popular show Naagin
will be soon seen in the upcoming Sony TV’s Adaalat Season 2. Priya Shinde will seen essaying the character of a model, who will get married to a Maharaj who is almost double her age. He will soon get killed and Priya Shinde will be held as one of the suspects in the murder. How KD Pathak then finds out the truth behind the murder mystery will form the crux of the episode. Priya Shinde averred, “It’s an interesting character of a Mumbai based model, who gets married to a Maharaj double her age for money. When he gets murdered, KD Pathak sets out to find the truth.

Preetika To Feature In Cinevista’s Upcoming Show

Small screen actress Preetika Rao is all Set To Feature In an upcoming Cinevista’s Show. Preetika Rao, who had earlier won the hearts of millions of her fans with her stint as Aaliya in Colors popular show Beintehaa has been missing from the small screen arena ever since her show went off air. Preetika’s fan following has grown by leaps & bounds and her fans have been anxiously awaiting her comeback since a long time now. Earlier on there were media reports doing the rounds about Preetika Rao being a part of Zee TV show namely Radha Krishnan but Preetika Rao had firmly stated that she won’t be a part of the show. But as of now Preetika Rao has been roped in for Cinevista’s next show to go on air soon enough. So if all goes well, Preetika Rao will be finally making her comeback with the makers, namely Cinevista, of popular shows like Dill Mill Gayye, Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hain & Ek Hasina Thi.

Its Curtains Down For The Most Popular Mythological Show Siya Ke Ram In Sept 2016

And finally its Curtains Down for the most popular mythological show Siya Ke Ram In Sept 2016. Incidentally speaking Star Plus’ most popular mythological show, Siya Ke Ram that had started off with a great fanfare last year, is now scheduled to go off – air soon. In fact the show is all set to go off – air by the end of Sept, 2016. In fact Siya Ke Ram was pitched as a very different show, one that exhibits the Ramayan to the audience, from the perspective of Sita. The show & the leads have been getting a good & a positive response from the audience. It has indeed taken the viewers on an exhilarating journey through the epic and has depicted it from a unique perspective that has never been seen on Indian TV before.

Rakhi Dons The Avatar Of A Widow In Gangaa

Small screen actress Rakhi Vijan aka Rakhi Tandon, the most popular actress of Hum Paanch, has recently donned the avatar of a widow in the small screen serial Gangaa. In fact Rakhi Tandon, who has always been seen in loud, colourful & bright sarees in &TV’s social drama Gangaa will now be seen in a demure widow look on the show. Lately, Prabha’s husband Ratan was dejected in life and leaves the house without anyone’s knowledge. Subsequently, the family lodges a complaint in police station. The police inspector informs them that they have found a body along with some other belongings of a person that they suspect to be Ratan. The family later finds out that Ratan is dead. Prabha (Rakhi Tandon) feels extremely depressed as her son Yash is already in jail and now her husband has also left her. So henceforth, she will be seen donning a widow’s look on the show.

Shaktimaan Actor Mukesh To Quit The Show Waaris

Small screen actor Shaktimaan Mukesh Khanna is all set to Quit the small screen show Waaris. Mukesh Khanna, who plays Lalaji in Waaris, will soon quit the show after his character expires. Waaris, which is based on cultural issues and shows a mother bringing up a girl child as a boy, will soon take a 7 year leap. Before that, Mukesh will leave the show after his character will die in a thrilling horse riding sequence featuring the actor. Mukesh Khanna went on to state, “It was a great experience working on a different show like Waaris which focuses on the practices prevailing in the society such as a male child being preferred over a female child. Also, the last scene I shot literally gave me chills and it was a very memorable experience. My exit in the show is necessary to take the story forward and I request all the viewers to watch the show as it creates awareness.”
Debina To Make A Grand Comeback On Television

Small screen actress Debina Bannerjee is all set to make a Grand Comeback on Television. In fact Debina Bannerjee will soon be seen on the television screens. She is scheduled to do an episodic of Life Ok’s Bhakton Ki Bhakti Mein Shakti. She will be seen playing a cop in the series for one episode. One wonders as to why Debina Bannerjee has opted for an episodic – based show and she averred, “I actually took up the episodic serial mainly because the character I was going to enact, is what interested me the most. I wanted people to see how I carry myself as a cop. It was also more about how I bring out my strong personality through the role.” The actress had a great time while shooting for the show and she stated, “My character gets to do a lot of action scenes, punches & catching criminals, which really excited me while shooting too! This was quite exciting & interesting apart from all the household drama.”

Aneel Murarka recently shared his views against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking on International Drug Day. As the world gears up to commemorate the International Day against Drug Abuse & Illicit Trafficking on 26th Jun, 2016, profound & renowned industrialist & philanthropist Aneel Murarka elaborated on the significance of this day. Apart from the many causes that Aneel has championed for the welfare of the youth which include educating short films on anti – smoking, anti – suicide and the hazards of abusive language amongst the youth, he speaks about his zealous approach towards bringing a change in the society with regards to the issue of drug abuse, especially amongst the youth who he believes are the future torch bearers of our nation.

That apart he has been relentlessly, selflessly & whole heartedly working towards the upliftment & betterment of the youth & against curbing the menace of drug addiction in the society. He avers, “This day serves as a reminder to the global community in moving towards a society that deals with drug use from a health – centric & human rights approach.”

Aneel Murarka went ahead to highlight the importance of engaging & partnering with the drug using community averring, “The Government, law & police alone cannot take steps to control this menace. Their efforts need to be supported and matched by the concerted efforts from each & every individual in society by means of activities that promotes awareness, and I’m striving towards working & building awareness amongst the youth & people which I believe can help reduce the stigma & the discrimination of drug users and most importantly help them in their reintegration into society.”

On this International Day against Drug Abuse, Aneel also urged the youth to stand firm in their support towards anti -drug abuse and also to all the people especially the youth who are dealing with their struggle against drug addiction, he affirms,“Having faith & believing in yourself is the only way to win over this battle of drug addiction and stand victorious.”

Producer: Vishal Dhanvade
Director: Nitin Chauhan & Yogesh Jadhav
Star Cast: Sandeep Khare, Sanskruti Balgude, Dipti Bhagwat, Kishore Kadam, Astaad Kale, Praveen Tarde, Jyoti Chandekar & Kishore Chaughale

Gajanan Ingulkar (Sandeep Khare) is too possessed about his daughter Mughda Ingulkar (Sanskruti Balgude) and is constantly in fear that something wrong may happen to her. One rainy night he sees a man chasing Mughda and trying to rape her. So he goes ahead and kills the man with his pointed umbrella. The whole matter is resolved in a boringly long drawn out court battle.

The only saving grace of the film is the performance of the seasoned actors like Sandeep Khare, Sanskruti Balgude and Kishore Kadam.

The weakest link of the film is the direction of the duo Nitin Chauhan and Yogesh Jadhav. That apart the film seriously lacks in the entertainment arena.

The film deviates in many directions as it tries to tackle too many issues that too without any concrete solutions even for one.

Mona Singh, the small screen actress, always comes across as a bubbly and charming person with an infectious smile. She has traversed a long and arduous journey from her debut serial Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin to her latest serial on air namely Kavach – Kali Shaktiyon Se.

To start off with how would you describe your small screen journey from Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin to Kavach – Kali Shaktiyon Se?

When I did Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin I was not at all sure I would come this far. Right since the initial phase of my career my journey was smooth sailing. In fact now on retrospection I would say that my journey was fabulous. More especially as I feel that I never faced any hurdles, there were no rough rides, no particular ups and downs, not even any highs and lows. If only I too had faced all that then maybe I would have really enjoyed it. But so sad aisa kuch nahin hua bus kaam milta chala gaya or main karti chali gayee.

But your big screen journey has hardly anything much to speak about!

Yes! You are right. In my entire career I have hardly done a hat trick of film and except 3 Idiots the other two Utt Patang and Zed Plus hardly made any impact. May be I did not try hard enough to make my presence felt out there. But now I think I should concentrate a little more in this arena magar koi achha aur dang ka role bhi toh mile. No issues I am ready to wait for the right opportunity on the big screen.

Coming back to small screen what is your role in your latest on air serial Kavach – Kali Shaktiyon Se on Colors Channel?

In Kavach – Kali Sahaktiyon Se I am enacting the role of Paridhi who is a positive thinking and strong woman. She is a historian by profession. She is an independent, new – age girl who is self – confident and is adored by everyone in her family. Paridhi believes that there is a rationale behind everything and you are the creator of your own destiny. Paridhi is in love with Rajbeer, a businessman, since last four years and is now all set to get married to him. Just then a tragedy strikes when Rajbeer is possessed by an evil spirit of Manjulika. But Paridhi loves Rajbir unconditionally and is willing to go to any extent to protect him from evil forces and be his shield.

Do you believe in super natural forces?

Frankly speaking no! In fact when we were shooting for Kavach in a remote Haveli I really enjoyed the experience. In the nearby vicinity there was this place which was really rumoured to be haunted. So after pack up when I decided to stroll down there but when the unit hand got to know of my intention they were too scared and tried their level best to stop me from doing so. But people do not call me the Bindaas girl for nothing, so I carried on with my adventure.

How was it like working with Vivek Dahiya, the Rajbeer of Kavach?

Vivek Dahiya is a very sweet boy. When we were doing our first romantic scene the poor boy was too scared and confused saying, “how can I do a romantic scene with you as you are such a big and popular actress” But I made him comfortable and recently when he was about to get married he again used to come running to me. In a way I had become like a mother hen to him.

Two actress are mostly known for their off screen rivalry. Was it the same case with you and Mahek Chahal?

On the contrary it was the other way round as we became thick pals and always used to hit off like a house on fire on the sets off Kavach. It was so much fun working with Mahek. Every time we used to meet on the sets like long lost friends.

What is next on your professional and personal agenda?
On the professional front I am waiting for the right big screen offer to come my way and on the personal front I am waiting for the right life partner to come my way but sadly enough all the good boys seems to be taken up including my latest small screen hero Vivek Dahiya.