Chennai Super Mom Contest 2009

Chennai Super Mom Contest 2009

Aquaguard Total presents “Chennai Super Mom Contest – 2009” event along with The Hindu, co-sponsors, media (Vijay TV) and event partners to celebrate the Motherhood and bring out the qualities and identify the Chennai Super Mom. This event is only for moms in Chennai and there is no restriction on age groups.

Registrations forms are available through online from 29th to 30th April 2009. Last date for sending the registration form is on 2nd May 2009. On 6th May 2009 Preliminary round will be held for the selected participants. Participants can chill out, relax, have fun at stalls - bindi art, cartoon, face painting and more. A range of home made products and handicrafts are displayed in Exhibition, which is organized by mothers. To participate in the Sub-Contests participants can register their name through telephone.

Events

Chennai Super Mom: Multi tasking rounds that includes creativity, general knowledge, talent shows and more.

Junk Art: Create your own art using waste materials at home.

Cookery Contest: Based on taste and presentation

Talent Show: Along with their child can exhibit their own talents.

Instructions: All contestants to be at the venue at 11 a.m. for the Sub-Events and 12 noon for Chennai Super Mom Contest on May 10th, 2009.
You can fill the registration form and forward it to thehindusupermom@gmail.com along with recent photographs or mail it to No.29, 2F, Dr.Muniyappa Road, Kilpauk, Chennai - 600 010. For registration of all sub events call us at 9003014101. The deadline is May 2nd. For more info visit: http://www.hinduonnet.com/supermom/index.htm

Venue:
Rani Meyyammai Hall, 18D, Egmore, Chennai, Tamilnadu 600008‎ - 044 28853800

Content Courtesy - chennai.fm

TRAI works on regulating tariffs, VAS

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is working on recommendations to regulate tariffs on direct to home (DTH) services and the value added services (VAS) offered by DTH operators on their interactive channels. While DTH operators say that tariff structures need to be rationalised by the TRAI, which also regulates the DTH industry, broadcasters feel the move would be counter-productive.

TRAI is mulling whether these services should be recognised as separate broadcast channels, which will make them subject to the up linking/down linking guidelines and the advertisement code. The consultation paper released by TRAI has received responses from 21 organisations representing DTH operators, broadcasters, cable operators, consumer organisations and distribution agents. TRAI proposed that since the video on demand (VOD), pay per view (PPV) and active services provided by DTH operators are not originally part of their license provisions, they should be designated as broadcast channels.

In response to this, Dish TV has suggested that this content can be classified into two. In its submission to TRAI, Dish TV states, "Dish TV is of the opinion that MOD is a channel approved under down linking policy and should be treated as an independent channel and a broadcast service." It supports this view by saying that particular movies, events or sports could be bought exclusively by certain operators and shown on demand only to its subscribers. As a channel, it would be subject to the 'must provide' clause so that it would not be able to deny its content to any distribution channel.

As for the active services, Dish TV suggests that since they are data services, they cannot be categorised as broadcast channels. It adds that DTH operators have to comply with the advertisement code and the programming code in any case. On the other hand, Tata Sky writes in its response, "These services are basically on-demand, informative and interactive in nature and mostly contain graphical information. In India, too, services offered by DTH service providers have evolved over last three years based on global practices and consumer preferences."

Tata Sky adds that since these services are neither marketed nor perceived as channels with linear programming, they should not be treated as such. The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of India (CASBAA) opposes the move to treat on-demand services as channels. CASBAA is also against regulation of the same, noting that "account should be taken of the very high degree of consumer choice involved in selecting content on these platforms – for most on demand type services, the consumer makes a conscious commercial decision to view the content, usually at a time of his own selection." MSM Discovery is of a different opinion altogether. It states, "In so far as such services utilise precious and scarce transponder space, the same ought not to be permitted until additional transponder capacity becomes available. It cannot be that on one hand DTH service providers deny carriage to broadcasters on the plea of lack of transponder space and in the same breath push their own content through their respective platforms."

TRAI has also invited the views of the industry and stakeholders on carriage fee, which DTH operators charge broadcasters, and tariffs of broadcasters and operators. Questions on a cap on carriage fee have also been raised in the paper.

Kollywood turns into political business ground

The political script for the Tamil Nadu 'power' stage has always included a delightful mix of corporate patronage and power play by silver screen veterans. Kollywood turned into a virtual business ground from where many a politician jumped on to the national political bandwagon. Veteran actor MG Ramachandran, who became chief minister of the state in 1977, commanded a considerable sway over the votebank thanks to the endearing image he projected through his roles. He was succeeded by his onscreen partner J Jayalalitha who is leading the party as a major opposition to the DMK.

The DMK, on the other hand, is being led by chief minister M Karunanidhi, who also started his career as a playwright and later became a scriptwriter for Tamil movies. Call it inspiration or just the DNA of Tamil cinema, many actors have forayed into south Indian politics since the nineties. Actor and producer Vijaya T Rajendhar captures the audience through his alliterative speeches; theatre artiste S Ve Sekhar uses irony to garner Brahmin vote base; actress Radhika beams into households through soaps on cable TV. She launched a party with her husband and actor Sarath Kumar.

The 2004 Lok Sabha elections saw a host of comedians and actors enter the campaign scene if not entering the fray. Comedy actor Senthil campaigned in south TN while Dhaamu sought votes in Chennai using his mimicking skills and north Madras accent. Actor and dancer Bharath in 'MGR-style' may put the party he is campaigning to poll advantage this year. Starting with veteran actress Manorama to Kushboo, whose fans built a temple dedicated to her, some actresses too have lent their support to parties.
The more recent one being Simran. Being a Punjabi by birth and Mumbai-ite by upbringing has not deterred her from campaigning in the polls.

"But, film stars campaigning for parties can't really be called political. It is similar to being a product's brand ambassador for the election season. But, such political branding never did pick up much in the south, as it did in the north, in recent times." says an Chennai based brand manager. It is more regional popularity than fan base that makes actors valuable during election campaigns. Ever since 'Vaigai Puyal' Vadivelu, named after river Vaigai in Madurai where he hails from, clashed with actor Vijayakanth, also from Madurai, on a non-political issue, it has been rumoured that every other party would use him to campaign against Vijayakanth's DMDK at Madurai. Be it anti-hero Napoleon's long standing popularity at his constituency Perambur or Sekhar's at Mylapore, it has been the support that they get out of their community in those areas.

Actor Sarath Kumar, also the president of the south Indian film actors association, is said to be riding on his Nadar caste origins to contest at Tirunelveli, a Nadar vote base. "In fact, it is usually the actors who approach political parties for campaigning, as it helps their visibility. But, this year, the actors have by and large kept mum. Maybe the action will start once the alliances are finalised." explains the manager. Kollywood veterans, however, see a fundamental change and don't expect 'action'. "Actors get more than the visibility they bargain for nowadays. Not only does the entertainment media cover them, the news and business media are starting to take interest in this industry as well," they say. "It is only in the last decade that celebrities signing up as corporate brand ambassadors became business news! For others, there are always lifestyle channels and publications, yet again an invention of the recent past." the veteran adds.

Lending their face to campaigns on social issues, NGOs and CSR activities have also picked up with actors in the south quite recently. "It probably gives them the needed visibility, sans the political complication," the veteran says. Political analysts introduce another angle which will hold actors back from getting involved in elections, particularly this year — the mess up between alliance partners at the centre and state in dealing with the Sri Lankan Tamils and Cauvery river water issue. "After the film community went on fasts and rallies on these issues, the state government decided to pedal slow, letting down actors and their public image. It is another matter whether using film actors will even work in an era of alliance politics where every regional party hopes to have a part to play in Delhi." they say.

A Televisionpoint News

Mumtaj/Sirkanth

Happened to see some snaps of this week's Boys Vs Girls snaps..
here they are..

What to Expect from Hello Kuttichathan ??

Holidays are here and kids are having a ball! Now they have more reasons to jump in joy! The popular character which every kid loves is back. Kuttichathan who had enthralled the kids of the state in theatrical version is now back on Television as Vijay TV brings you Hello Kuttichathan, a new series for kids. Extraordinary visual effects and graphic elements have been created to lend magic to this series. Watch Kuttichathan and his antics as he helps kids and has fun. And what more exciting contests are in store for kids who are to watch the show. The show is aired from Monday to Thursday at 6:30pm.

What to Expect from Suzhiyam..

Paranormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences that lack a scientific explanation. There are many incidents in life that have occurred without any logical explanation. When there are incidents which raise the questions 'believe it or not' we turn to science for an explanation. But when Science is unable to provide us with answers, then it remains in the middle path and becomes paranormal. Paranormal incidents have both terrified and fascinated us always leaving behind a level of curiousness. Vijay TV is all set to launch its new paranormal series titled "Suziyam" on May 04, 2009.

"Suzhiyam" which means zero or emptiness delves into such paranormal behavior in real life. Have you ever wondered what happens in the transition from life to death and back to life again?? Well, Suzhiyam features one such story of a boy who dies and comes back to life again. He narrates the incidents that he saw after he was declared 'clinically dead'.

Suzhiyam also features stories of people who may have been long gone from this world; but still continue to talk to people through their 'medium'. Suzhiyam series also includes a story of many aspiring treasure hunters who have never returned. This series features one real life paranormal experience told over four episodes every week with the central character who shares his experience.

Koffee with Meena and Ambika

This week it would be Meena and Ambika sharing their best moments of life and film industry with Any in Koffee with Anu.. I felt it would have been great if the show had Ambika and her sister Radha.. but not sure why Meena joins Ambika.. I donno whats the connection/relationship between them..

Nothing for May 1st ???

I was expecting that Vijay TV would have a list of programs for Uzhaipalargal thinam.. Labourer's Day on May 1st.. but there was nothing to my disappointment.. :(.. with few other Tamil Channels having wide range of programs I felt Star Vijay should have had their set of shows for the day. What do you guys think ???

IPL 2 into huge losses for all ?

Despite an enormous state police force, along with robust paramilitary forces comprising of 2,40,000 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF); 2,10,000 Border Security Force (BSF); 1,10,000 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF); 50,000 Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB); 45,000 Indo-Tibetan Border Police and 7,500 National Security Guards (NSG), India lacked the confidence to hold the second innings of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) tournament. So, Lalit Modi, the IPL architect, opted for a South African safari. Modi & Co. argue that IPL in South Africa is better than no IPL. But, Televisionpoint.com disagrees with this populist sentiment and we will tell you why, as the ratings for the second season has dipped below expectations.

Financially, this move has translated into huge losses for the official broadcaster Sony Max, advertisers, eight franchisee owners, government revenue in the form of taxes, support businesses (including hotels, airlines and clubs) further hitting the already dwindling health of the country's economy on the whole. While speaking to industry experts, Televisionpoint.com got the cost and revenue estimates for the franchisee owners in IPL's Season 2. First, a 20 per cent fall in television rating points (TRPs); second at least 30 per cent fall in sponsorship revenues; third gate receipts, which contributed around 20 per cent in the last season, in all likelihood, will contribute zero to revenues; and fourth 20 per cent increase in administrative costs.

Low TRPs
The TAM Media data suggests that the TRPs of an IPL event have fallen at least by 20 per cent. Why ? Well, there is less hype around the tournament and fans feel less connected with the event. For the matches played from April 18-25, the average of all the eight days is 4.61 (all India) while in Hindi speaking markets, the average is 5. In digital markets, the viewership is higher - 5.9 (all India) and 6.8 in HSM. The trends are pretty much similar, nevertheless the delivery of IPL in its second season is lower than what it was in the first season.

The all India viewership of the IPL matches, which commenced on April 18, have been declining gradually, with a few exceptions. While the first match recorded a TVR of 5.1, the one on April 19 garnered a TVR of 4.7, as per TAM Sports data on C&S 4+, all India audiences. The match on April 22 between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to draw a viewership of 4.7, all India. Among the digital audience, the match got a TVR of 4.9. The highest viewership, 5.4, for the match came from digital homes in Hindi speaking markets. The match between Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings, held on April 23, was most viewed by the digital audience in HSM with a TVR of 6. The all India TVR for the match was 4.9.

The second match on the same day (Thursday) between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders was the most watched match till date in IPL Season 2. Among the digital audience, the match garnered a TVR as high as 9.5 (in HSM) and 7.62 (all India). Among C&S households, the all India TVR was 5.4, while in HSM, it recorded 6.2. The match held on April 24, between Royal Challengers and Kings XI Punjab, got a TVR of 4.6 (all India), while in the HSM market the viewership was slightly higher. Digital homes recorded a high viewership of 5.8 (all India) and 7 in Hindi speaking regions.

The Deccan Chargers vs. Mumbai Indians match, held on April 25, received mediocre ratings - 3.5 (all India) and a TVR of 4 in HSM; while in HSM digital homes, the TVR was high at 5.6 and the all India TVR was 4.8.
Moreover, as the General Elections are being held during the same period, the viewership is divided. Sample this: On April 16, the first phase polling date, viewership for news channels shot up by 50 per cent during the General Elections. "A lot of male population that comprise a major chunk of viewership for cricket matches, are glued to their idiot box for election updates and results, which means that there are lesser number of people watching IPL at that point in time," explains Surbhi C. Murthy, branch head, Allied Media - Delhi. As the initial TRPs are below expectations, advertisers and marketers are renegotiating deals. And as the broadcast revenues are taking a hit, the event will be a dead property as the biggest source of revenues for the franchisees in Season 1 were the monies accrued from broadcast rights.

Gate Receipts

One of the biggest hit will be in losses due to accruals from gate receipts. Globally, gate receipts contribute a major chunk to the total revenue of any franchisee of sports club. About 35 per cent of the total revenue of English Premiere League (EPL) come from the gate receipts – as a matter of fact, the contribution of gate receipts to the total revenue of Tottenhan Hotspurs and Arsenal is 29 per cent and 50 per cent respectively (as per the Alchemy report, 2008). But for IPL in South Africa, the revenue stream arising out of gate receipts has taken a massive hit. Why ? Well, as IPL is more of an Indian cricketing tournament with city-based clubs, it has not been able to draw a connect with the South African people, which resulted in very few people actually buying tickets to go and watch the matches.

But industry experts feel that gate receipts will come down to zero for the franchisee owners. Agrees Naresh Gupta, strategic planning head, Publicis India, "I don't think any of the franchisees will get any revenues from gate receipts this year." This is a great loss for them because last year, gate receipts contributed around 18-25 per cent to their total revenue pie. In any case, ticket sales of these matches on the whole are supposed to be very low for who in Cape Town or Johannesburg will be interested in cheering for Knight Riders or Delhi Daredevils ?

Sponsorship Revenues

Another martyr on the block is the sponsorship revenues. Even key sponsors of the tournament are now turning down and are reconsidering their investments in the property. Reebok has already announced that it would slash its spend in IPL by 15-20 per cent and Hyundai, Havells, et al, are also chalking out similar plans. Sources from Coke say, "Though nothing has changed as of now, but we are giving our investments a second thought as the television ratings for the first and second week has been below our expectations." Nokia was the second most visible brand in the first season of IPL, next only to King Khan. But its success was attributable to the interactive advertising that the company was able to do. Nokia's spokesperson says, "The company is playing the wait game, we shall re-work our sponsorship deals, if the television ratings do not improve in coming week."

Couldn't BCCI & IPL have played a waiting game instead of the sponsors ? Holding IPL in international venue means that the on-ground sponsors like Vodafone, Nokia, Pepsi, LG, et al, would have a lot to lose. One could argue that since these are all global brands, therefore visibility in South Africa or India will mean one and the same thing. But then what about home-grown brands like DLF, Hero Honda and Havells ? A franchisee owner, on conditions of anonymity, argues, "Suppose if Dabur was one of the sponsors, so does it make an economic sense for it to have visibility in South Africa. The same logic would also hold true for the title sponsor DLF, which would also not stand to gain much from its association with IPL in this season."

Conservatives are pegging a correction of 40-50 per cent in revenues garnered from on-ground activities and say that overall sponsorships can be impacted by as much as 30 per cent. Apart from that, even merchandising and licensing deals of various franchisees would be affected by almost 40-50 per cent because of this 'slight change in plans.' "Who is wearing a Knight Riders' T-shirt and helmet while watching the match on TV," asks Mandar Natekar, head, revenue and marketing, Bigadda.com. Brijesh Patel, CEO, Bangalore Royal Challengers, admits, "The revenues from merchandising and licensing are definitely lesser than what it would have been had the tournament been played in India itself."

However, television ratings for the IPL may be down in its second season, but that's not putting off advertisers. A 10 second commercial ad spot on the Max was priced at Rs 4 lakh initially and has increased to Rs 5.25 lakh already, confirmed Rohit Gupta, president, network sales, Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd. "The rationale behind the increased number of brands associated with IPL despite lower ratings is that those which have invested heavily on IPL did so before the tournament began, based on last year's success." said Shubha George, managing director, Mediaedge:cia.
"Having said that, it is also important to note that while IPL ratings may be lower than last year's, it is still probably higher than anything else on TV, so it is still worth the while for brands, but the question here is, at what price ?" Shubha says.

Dark Continent Party

Take all the above into consideration and even you would arrive at the conclusion that the combined revenues of the eight franchisees this year will work out to be around Rs 390.2 crore, much below than last year when the figure was Rs 535 crore, according to Televisionpoint.com estimates.
And the total expenses on the other hand will come to Rs 670.06 crore, taking into consideration the incremental cost to be borne for acquisition of new players other than the 20 per cent escalation in administrative costs, due to the shift in venue. Had there been no IPL this season, it would have been a situation of no loss no gain for the franchisees. But, IPL in South Africa, has add more losses to their already red-smeared balance sheets.

Rakesh Singh, chief marketing officer, Chennai Super Kings, says, "BCCI has taken care of the escalated costs due to the venue shift. But the prime concern is the dip in viewership numbers, which is taking away the profit numbers." Additionally, BCCI and Modi have also promised that they would compensate the franchisees for any loss in revenues (in the form of gate receipts, in-stadia revenues, et al). But still there is no clarity on whether BCCI will compensate the franchisees completely or partially for the losses incurred. Or could this just be a gimmick that Modi is playing expecting that if the season is a hit, none of the franchisee owners will ask for compensation.

However, a BCCI insider revealed that the board planned to spend Rs 120-150 crore to compensate the franchisees. Even after that compensation the collective losses of the franchisee could well be over Rs 120 crore. So, both BCCI and the franchisees will eventually be losers. And it is not just the broadcaster, advertisers, franchisee owners and BCCI that are bearing the brunt of this shift in venue, even peripheral businesses like hotel, airlines, travel companies, clubs, et al, are hit hard. As per Televisionpoint.com research, last year, the hotel and travel industry got a boost of Rs 70 crore during IPL, which is a lost this year. Roughly 4,000 rooms per city (where the matches were held) were booked during last season. This year again the hospitality industry was looking forward to an upswing of 20-25 per cent in their occupancies and put an end to a lull period imposed on them due to the recent terror attacks.

IPL always push up sales volumes across various product categories. Take television for instance: Not only there is an increased demand from the home user segment but restaurants, fast food joints and shopping malls emerge as the biggest buyers of television sets in order to enhance footfalls. "We saw a growth of over 20 per cent in April over the same month last year. IPL was the main trigger in top 35-40 cities, for the sale of colour television sets (CTVs)," says Amitabh Tiwari, marketing head, home entertainment & B2B, LG Electronics India. Media businesses in the country are also facing a similar jolt, primarily the outdoor advertising industry. Selvel Advertising Ltd., for example, was expecting a business of about Rs 1.5-2 crore from this year's IPL.

A disappointed Noomi Mehta, chairman and managing director, Selvel Advertising, says, "Last time our business was about Rs 1 crore. This time we were more organised to serve better and do better business, but the League has gone abroad." Selvel had the rights for the display boards of Knight Riders. Apart from that, Selvel also served companies like Cadbury, Reliance's IPL campaign. Mehta says that the business coming from these accounts got adversely affected, Then again, there is also be a fall in government revenues through various taxes (entertainment tax, service tax, et al). Last year, the government earned Rs 90 crore from taxes deducted at source (TDS) alone. A senior official in Delhi & District Cricket Association said that the Delhi government alone suffered a loss of Rs 50 crore this year in the form of all taxes from IPL. It was expected that this season of IPL would bring in fresh air of resurgence into the ailing economy, which is currently going through a rough patch. Moreover, the last season of IPL had witnessed so much euphoria that people across sectors were hoping for this season to clear the negative vibes in the air.

Courtesy - Televisionpoint

Vote Podalana ????

With the elections just around the corner, BIG 92.7 FM, Chennai's only station that plays music which reflects the mood of Chennai has come up with a unique on-air and on-ground campaign titled 'Vote Podalana' to create awareness on the importance of voting. In continuation to the same a walkathon by kids was held today at Besant Nagar beach in association with Janagrahaa and Kids café. The walkathon was flagged off by Mr. Naresh Gupta, State Electoral Officer along with RJ BIG Dheena of BIG 92.7 FM.

'Vote Podalana' is a week long election special programme on-air and on-ground which is aimed at giving listeners a completely local flavor of the forthcoming elections in a smart & witty manner. 'Vote Podalana' will stress on the importance of voting and will have interviews of specialists on various aspects of elections. The on-air programme will be high on interaction where listeners can get their doubts on elections cleared. RJs of BIG 92.7 FM will also interact with listeners on elections during their regular outdoor broadcasting shows.

Commenting on the campaign, Mr. P.B Ramaswamy, Cluster Head, BIG 92.7 FM TamilNadu said, "BIG 92.7 FM Chennai is committed to empowering listeners by providing them with relevant information about the forthcoming elections in a smart & witty fashion, which will compel them to franchise their right to vote. Vote Podalana has been conceptualized keeping in mind the prevailing mood of city and we believe this campaign will create a sizeable impact in terms of awareness creation during this election."

Trai to issue DTH tariff recommendations in 2 months

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) will release its recommendations on DTH tariff regulations and other issues within two months. “The consultation paper was issued with the motive of bringing a level playing field for the DTH operators. We will be coming out with our recommendations on DTH tariff within two months," said Trai acting chairman AK Sawhney. The broadcast sector regulator, which had issued a consultation paper on issues relating to tariff regulation on 6 March, is seeking views from all the stakeholders before it firms up a policy guidline.

The DTH industry has a total subscriber base of 13 million, added Sawhney. Trai has also asked for views from stakeholders regarding value-added-services (such as movie-on-demand, pay-per-View), platform services (such as active learning, active stories) and carriage of radio channels on the direct-to-home platform. DTH operators like Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV and Reliance’s Big TV have requested for a lower content rate regulation from the broadcasters. Trai had earlier directed broadcasters to fix the rates of their channels at 50 per cent of analogue cable for DTH operators. “The benchmark of 50 per cent needs to be reviewed and amended so as to bring a uniformity, rationality and conformity between the rates of the channels for cable and DTH operators,” said Dish TV president Rajiv Khattar, while speaking at an open forum organised by Trai.

Agreed Big TV corporate affairs VP NP Singh: “At present tariff for DTH services at wholesale level are derived from non-Cas cable rates. There is not much competition in the cable TV service as there are only one or two operators in a service area, whereas in the case of DTH there are seven DTH operators including Doordarshan. Further, DTH operators have to compete with cable operators who do not have to pay licence fee. We, thus, strongly recommend that the tariff regulation for DTH service be fixed.” Zee Network VP Arvind Mohan, however, felt DTH operators were suffering losses because their business model was awry. "DTH operators have increased their customer acquisition cost in their drive to mop up volumes. Also it is the misconception of DTH operators that there is no price ceiling in non-Cas areas. As per the ruling of Supreme Court, the Trai tariff order dated 4 October 2004 has been applied. The present directive of channels being priced at 50 per cent of their non-Cas rates for DTH should stay as a tariff order,” Mohan said.

A Indian Television News

Yet again Pandiarajan's Marriage...

It was actor/director Pandiarajan's marriage yet again last week in Namma veetu kalyanam.. I remember that it was earlier shown in the program and now repeating the same..is it that they dont have enough video footings with them and retelecasting few episodes or something else ??? last week even we saw Manoj's wedding which has also appeared earlier in the show.. When will the Vijay TV really show up on the wedding of actor Srikanth, Surya-Jyothika and few other leading artists.. This is getting bored if they dont show anything new.

Priya & Satish's Special Performance..

Kanaa Kaanum Kaalangal fame Priya and Jodi No 1 Sanjay's friend Sathish will join the Boys Vs Girls show this week.. they would give a special performance for their teams and not sure whether they will help the team to add any points.. Priya as we all knew that she is a good dancer and Sathish is a fabulous dancer.. so this week it would be really great show in Boys Vs Girls with these additions.. be ready to see the show.. dont miss it..

Prasanna & Ranjani Through..

In an exciting Wild Card round of the Airtel Super Singer 2008 show.. its both Prasanna and Ranjani selected for the final round spot.. so the final is now left with 5 contestants.. this is quite bad.. how can the finals have so many contestants ??? leaving that aside.. First it was Prasanna who was selected by the Audiance.. yeah.. the voting that we had done made Prasanna to get into the final round of the contest. With Judges' wild card round took place last 2 days.. judges are also selecting 1 contestant for the final round spot.. It was Ranjani for the judges who deserves the selection.. From Prasanna or Ranjanai.. to it became Prasanna and Ranjani.. Enjoy..

IPL ratings hold steady

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is not getting any bigger this time. At least not on the ratings front so far. Max, the official broadcaster, has earned an average of 4.6 TVR from 18-25 April, according to Tam data (C&S 4+). This is below the average of 4.8 TVR that the inaugural edition got. The match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) reaped the highest rating, scoring a TVR of 5.56. The second most-watched contest was between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royal (RR), pocketing a TVR of 5.43.

In the six metros the matches averaged a TVR of 4.9. The highest rating came in the match between KKR and RR, garnering a TVR of 6.1. The match between CSK and RCB on 20 April got a rating of 6.04. Mumbai is really tuning in to the IPL, averaging 6.1 for the eleven matches from 19 April -25 April. The match between KKR and RR got a TVR of 8.7, the peak rating in Mumbai. The IPL has also done well in Hyderbad where the matches got an average TVR of 5.8. That is not surprising given how the much the team has changed its fortunes since the last time around. In Delhi too the rating crossed five. In Bangalore, though, the average TVR got was an indifferent 3.6, mirroring the team's fortunes. In Kolkata and Chennai, the matches have averaged over 4 TVRs. Not surprisingly the match between KKR and RR fetched a TVR of 9.26 in the city of joy. But most of the other matches did not earn good ratings in Kolkata.

Videocon launches D2H+

The Videocon group's direct-to-home (DTH) venture, called D2H+, has been launched on April 27 and is aiming a 10 per cent market share in the first year. The full commercial roll-out will start from May 1, 2009. The consumer electronics company, which made an announcement of Rs 1,000 crore for the DTH venture earlier, made a soft launch of its D2H+ services in Macau in front of its 2,500 dealers, who where specially flown in there.

"In the first year, we are looking at 15 lakh subscribers and add similar number every year. The target is to have one crore subscribers in six years. We are set for a mega roll out of our DTH services with around 15,000 showrooms across the country." says Venugopal Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Group. The company will launch integrated digital televisions (iDTVs) and set top boxes (STBs) with 4-5 packages. Of the total sales, the company is planning to sell 70 per cent IDTVs and 30 per cent STBs.

"We will be offering TVs with in-built STBs, which no one in the market offers. Over 40 engineers of the group spent nearly two years in developing the TV sets with in-built STBs." Dhoot said. The D2H+ product is being launched only in district towns and not rural areas across India as launching partly would help the company understand the operations better and provide better service. The technology for STBs is imported from Korea/China and later assembled at the company's Aurangabad plant. Gradually, D2H+ will also be manufactured from other plants of Videocon. Videocon will be entering the DTH space in India in the presence of ventures like Dish TV, Doordarshan, Tata Sky, Big TV and Airtel. The company is ensuring a strong sales network and has been recruiting sales and service staff through its media arm, Bharat Business Channel.

With five million subscribers, Dish TV has the largest share of the DTH market, which stands at about 12 million (excluding DD Direct). Tata Sky has about 3.4 million subscribers; Sun Direct with over 2.3 million subscribers; Big TV with about 1.2 million subscribers and Airtel digital TV with about 0.3 million subscribers.

Courtesy - Televisionpoint.com

Is it Prasanna ????

Is it Prasanna who won the final spot in the Wild Card Round in Airtel Super Singer 2008.. I was thinking that the competition is very much tough between Prasanna and Ranjani.... but in the Vijay TV forums there was posting by a nick "Prasanna123" saying THANKS to the forum members for supporting him.. but there were no confirmed news/information.. With the yesterday's performance Prasanna overcame Ranjani but lets see how it goes today.. I wish both of them to get back.. ;)

Farewell in KKK..

With the exams getting over...its farewell time in Kanaa kaanum kaalangal.. sterday's show was really funny.. it looks like the blue and red boys will join together during the farewell and they wud finally bcome frieds ;).. Will the show continue with the current crew for some more time or new members would start coming soon ????

Star India EVP Yash Khanna resigns

One of the earliest and founding members of Star India resigned today. Executive vice president corporate communications Yashpal Khanna put in his papers after a 17-year stint with the organisation this afternoon. Khanna who was one of the first employees in the Star India Mumbai office was hired by Siddharth Ray and looked after ad sales before taking on a diverse range of portfolios which included client servicing and corporate affairs and communications. Khanna confirmed that he had quit but gave no indication of where he was headed.

A Indiantelevision.com News

Something about Leslie Lewis..

Leslie Lewis is an Indian composer, perhaps best known for his work as part Colonial Cousins, a duo composed of Lewis and Hariharan. In 2003 Lewis stated that he felt the public associated him too much with his remixes and for that reason he had begun to avoid remixes and instead concentrate on his original compositions and on his work in Colonial Cousins. Lewis' father P. L. Raj was a prolific film choreographer.

Leslie Peter Lewis (or "Lezz", as he is fondly known) inherited his artistic inclinations from dad P L Raj. Dad is a well-known choreographer for films. So, naturally, the early sounds the young Lezz heard were Indian classical and film music. Later, at boarding school, Lezz was exposed to the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. With these diverse musical influences, Lezz soon began plucking guitar chords at the Cafe Royal, Oberoi Towers. Later, he had the opportunity of recording with renowned film music directors such as Kalyanji Anandji, Laxmikant Pyarelal, R. D. Burman and Louis Banks.

In 1987, Lezz launched a music company and began carving out a career in jingles-composing. He composed for some of the leading television networks and picked up nominations for the awards handed out annually by the Indian Academy of Advertising Film Art (IAAFA). After four consecutive nominations, in 1989, Lezz bagged the award. It was during Lezz's jingles career that the idea of Colonial Cousins was conceived. Lezz had called in Hari to sing a jingle for him one evening in 1992. The lyrics for the jingle were late coming in. The restless Lezz began crooning something while strumming on his guitar, Hari felt inspired to jam with an alaap, and the result: the seemless fusion of Eastern and Western sounds that has become the quintessential characteristic of the Colonial Cousins.

Today, Colonial Cousins has become Lezz's key vehicle for popularity and success. Lezz wrote the scores for the songs in the Colonial Cousins albums -- some with Hari -- and arranged all the pieces. The strains of his guitar can also be heard in some of the tracks. And, Lezz is the man who penned the English lyrics. Initially, Lezz hadn't intended singing on the album since he isn't a trained singer. But with a nudge and plenty of coaching from Hari, Lezz soon discovered and honed his singing talents. Lezz's other musical credits include doing the remix job for Asha Bhosle's "Rahul and I" album and writing the musical scores for the legendary diva's "Janam samjha karo" album. He also composed and produced the music for Suneeta Rao in "Paree Hu Main", Alisha in " Bombay Girl" and Kay Kay, a new singer.

n 1998, Lezz cut his first solo album, "Haseena", which is selling fairly well. He has also just made a foray into film music, completing the scores for the Hindi films "Mela" and "Jahd" and working on the scores for a yet to be titled Tamil film. Dad had long been prodding Lezz to do film music, reminding him that that was where the big bucks and big names were. But Lezz had been reluctant. Being a stickler for quality, he felt he'd have to compromise standards in film music. He told the Malaysian newspaper, The New Straits Times: "I feel a lot of the music in films doesn't have quality. Not because the people involved are not quality-conscious but you'd find people putting pressure on you to do things their way and use singers that they want to. I would only produce music for films when the director is one who can think, who's got a good concept and who understands what I'm doing." Presumably, the few film producers he has chosen to work with are people who think, who've got a concept and who understand what Lezz is doing!

On the personal side, Lezz is quick-witted and has a good sense of humour. He's also a sentimental person; the lyrics he writes certainly reflect that aspect of him. But we're only just getting to know Lezz, so this is all we have for you folks for now. Born in 1961, Lezz is a half South Indian (dad's side) and half Hindu Goan (mum's side). He's been hitched to Lolette for more than 10 years. They have two children, Dev (born 1991), and Divya (born 1996).

Courtesy - Wikipedia

Something about Hariharan...

Hariharan born 3 April 1955 in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam,Kannada and Telugu movies, an established ghazal singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music.

Hariharan grew up in Mumbai in a Tamil Iyer family, and has bachelor degrees in science and law. The son of renowned Carnatic vocalists, Shrimati Alamelu and the late H.A.S. Mani (full name:Anantha Subramani Iyer), Hariharan inherited his parents' musical talents. Alamelu was Hariharan's first guru (mentor). From here he picked up Carnatic music skills. He was also exposed to Hindustani music from a young age. In his teens, inspired by the songs of Mehdi Hassan and Jagjit Singh, Hariharan developed a passion for ghazals and started training in Hindustani music from Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. He used to put in nine hours of singing practice everyday. The committed Hariharan also put heart and soul into learning Urdu when he decided to become a ghazal singer. He has perfected his Urdu diction to such standards that even his audiences in Lucknow, the heartland of the language, have been wowed over.

In 1977, Hariharan bagged the top prize in the All-India Sur Singaar competition and was promptly signed on by the late music director Jaidev to sing for the Hindi film Gaman. His debut song "Ajeeb Saaneha Mujh Par Guzar Gaya Yaaron" in that movie became such a hit that it won Hariharan an Uttar Pradesh state award, as well as a Best Singer National Award nomination, and Hariharan's playback singing career took off. At the start of his career, Hariharan did the concert circuit and also performed on TV. He sang for a number of TV serials (e.g., Junoon). In addition, he cut several successful ghazal albums, writing most of the scores himself. One of Hariharan's first ghazal albums was "Abshaar-e-Ghazal" with Asha Bhonsle, which went gold in sales. Another outstanding ghazal album was "Gulfam", which not only hit double platinum in sales but also fetched Hariharan the Diva Award for the Best Album of the Year in 1994.

Hariharan entered the world of Tamil films in 1992 introduced by debutant music director A.R Rahman with the patriotic song "Thamizha Thamizha" in Maniratnam's film Roja. He was judged best male playback singer in the 1995 Tamil Nadu State Government Film Awards for his soulful rendition of the song "Uyire Uyire" also by music director A.R Rahman in Maniratnam's Bombay (Hariharan sang the song with K.S. Chitra). Hariharan has been one of the most trusted singer of A R Rahman and has sung many songs for him in long list of movies that includes Roja, Minsara Kanavu, Jeans, Indian, Mudhalvan, Taal, Bombay, Rangeela, Indira, Iruvar, Anbe Aaruyire, Kangalal Kaithu Sei, Sivaji, Alaipayuthey, Kannathil Muthamittal,Guru etc. In 1998, Hariharan won the national award for the best playback singer for the soulful rendition of the song "mere dushman mere bhai" from the Hindi movie Border, composed by Anu Malik. He has sung more than 500 Tamil songs which is his highest in his career.

The year 1996 was a career milestone; he released the fusion album Colonial Cousins with Bombay-based composer/singer Leslie Lewis. This was the first Indian act to be featured on MTV Unplugged. It won a string of awards including the MTV Indian Viewers' Choice award.
Hariharan has also acted in a Tamil film with Khushboo, titled Power of Women & also played cameo roles in the Tamil film Boys & the Malayalam film Millennium Stars. In 2004, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri and Yesudas Award for his outstanding performance in music. Hariharan also collaborated with Pakistan based band Strings for a track called "bolo bolo". Hariharan released an album called destiny with Punjabi / bhangra artiste Daler Mehndi. His newest Ghazal album "Lahore ke rang, Hari ke sang" with renowned ghazal composers from Pakistan won him rave reviews and critical acclaim inside and outside india. He also coined the terminology "Urdu Blues" with his immensely successful album "Kaash" which featured musicians like Anandan Sivamani the percussion maestro, Ustaad Rashid Mustafa on tabla, Ustad Liyaqat Ali Khan on Sitar & Ustad Sultan Khan on Sarangi. Hariharan also worked with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain on his ghazal album Haazir.

Courtesy - Wikipedia

Judges' WC Round Started..

On Day 1 of the judges' wild card round in Airtel Super Singer 2008, the show started with Hariharan and Leslie Lewis getting into the show. The first performance of the day was from Vijay Narayan singing "Azhage Azhagu"... he was asked to sing any Ilayaraja's classical by Srinivas. Next to sing was Ranjani.. she was given choice of "oru sanam" or "ninaithu ninaithu paarthen" or "nenjodu kalanthathu" by Unnikrishnan. She chose "oru sanam" and did justice to the song.. was quite good but not a great performance..

Prasanna was the next to sing.. he was asked to sing melody song by Sujatha and she even gave him some options like "poi solla koodathu" or "azhage sugama" or "sonnalum ketpathillai" but he chose "chotta chotta nanaithathu Tajmahalu" and he ROCKED the stage... in fact Hariharan started dancing after his performance.. Santhosh followed him and sang "kaatrin mozhi" which Srinvas had asked him to sing. Finally it was Raghinishree given choice of "swaasame swaasame" by Unnikrishnan and she was not so great.. she flawed in many places and it was just a good attempt.

when the show started, Hemamalini had given the result of the auidance voting to Hariharan and everyone of us knew that it will be announced only on wednesday.. so lets wait and see till that time..

Whats in Wild Card Round 2 ??

Whats in store for Judges' Wild Card round ??? Today's show was quite good with all the wild card contestants performing atleast 1 song ;).. all the 5 wild card contestants had to sing a song that the judges ask for.. So, for each of them there was 1 judge specifying the song or type of the song to be sung. Later tomorrow it would be contestant's choice of song and with these 2 performances they would be rated by the jduges. Probably on wednesday they will announce the contestant who is selected for the finals.

Whos in Wild Card Round 2 ??

This week it will be Wild Card round 2 aka Judges' Wild Card round.. it looks like contestants performance in this round with judges ratings and the audiance polling that happened last week will determine the contestants who would be selected for the final round. having said these.. the show has Srinivas, Unnikrishnan and Sujatha judging the performances of the contestants.. Show has Colonial brothers ;) Hariharan and Leslie Lewis as special judges. Also with them is Yugendran and Hemamalini anchoring the show..

Great Evening..

What happens when you put established singers with reality show finalists on the brink of stardom? Plenty, as Coimbatore found out at the Kovai Isai Vizha, a grand musical show held at the Hindusthan College grounds. Renowned playback singers like Sr inivas, Anuradha Sriram, Benny and Mahathi came together with new talent discovered by Vijay Television on their highly popular shows such as Super Singer, Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Deva and Boys vs. Girls.

Why Coimbatore ???

Coimbatore was chosen as the venue for the mega show as, in the words of the organisers, “The response and the hospitality of the city are tremendous. We strongly believe that anything started at your city is bound to be a sure fire hit”. The show’s presenter Gobinath of Neeya Naana fame summed it up as “We want to give our best to the best people”. Folks came dressed in their Sunday best and were not the least disappointed. The stage settings were psychedelic and the sound was state-of-the-art, and all the way from Chennai.

It is not every night that you get to see singers and dancers perform live and have the satisfaction of egging on your personal favorites from the small screen. The show kick started with a mellifluous rendition of the song ‘O Saya’ from the movie Slumdog Millionaire and ‘Mangalayam Thanthunathai’ a divine song. The participants came on stage dressed in pristine white, waving flags and balloons, as a sign of peace and unity. The singers outdid one another. Each and every performance was a stand out, be it ‘Adiye kolludhe’ from the movie Vaaranam Aayiram or the Hindi ‘Masakali’ from the recent film Dilli 6.
The old and the new

The concept by Vijay TV was outstanding where almost all the songs were rendered by current playback singers paired with the top contestants from Super Singer. On one hand you had experience to lean on, and on the other you had young guns roaring to innovate. The top three finalists of Super Singer, Ravi, Ajesh and Renu gave a moving rendition of ‘Valayapatti thavile’ from the Vijay starrer ATM. Gobinath and Shivakarthikeyan kept the laughs coming in with their compereing. There were foot tapping folk songs like ‘Atha Athoramma’ from Mazhaikottai and ‘Maduraikku pogadhedi’ to funky numbers like the ‘Nee Marilyn Monroe’ which just happens to be singer Benny’s all time favorite and ‘Taxi taxi’ from the movie Sakkarakatti (an antique taxi was driven on stage as part of the act!). The presenters even got a couple from the audience to hug each other for a romantic song ‘Vellaikara mutham’ sung by Mahathi

Great moves..

The choreography by the finalists of Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Deva was showcased in the song Jana Gana Mana’. The city was made proud as three of the seven finalists of the reality dance show Sheriff, Sai Pallavi and Manoj Kumar are from here. The crowd watched spellbound as they performed a flamenco dance to ‘Pyar Ke Kahani Suna’ and a Michael Jackson number to the melody of ‘Chikkubukku Raile’. The Boys vs. Girls contestants showed that they were made of cool stuff, too. Junior artists like Rinson and Abhinaya joined the likes of earlier winners such as Michael and Priyadharshini and stepped it up with some breathtaking dance moves.

The 8000 strong crowd loved every moment of it. They hummed along with the singers, shook a leg during the dances and even those that were bashful indulged in a bit of head banging and foot tapping. The final performance was a tribute to AR.Rahman. The artists all gathered to sing and dance to ‘Yella Pughazhum’ and the Oscar winning soundtrack ‘Jai Ho’.

This event will be telecasted on Vijay TV on April 29 and 30 at 7 p.m.

Whats up with Rasigan Express ??

‘Rasigan Express’, a publicity van of Vijay TV, is being received with great fanfare. Though the main activity was to vote for their favourite stars and their movies, the fans of movie stars were busy breaking coconuts, lighting camphor and conducting ‘paalabhisekhams’ to the mini cut-outs of the actors.

The van, that is here to collect votes from people to select nominees under five categories for their annual film awards show – UniverCell Vijay Awards, is remodelled to accommodate the cut-outs of cine stars on either side. A ladder positioned at the back of the van helps people board it to reach the ballot box. The ballot sheet contains the names of the 118 Tamil movies released in 2008. Five empty boxes are given against five categories, namely, favourite male actor, female actor, director, film and song.

The public should write one name against each category and drop it in the ballot box. It is a secret vote and the identity of the person is not revealed. The awards have been receiving tremendous response in the last three years, according to R. Balachandran, Vice-President, Strategic Planning and Marketing, Vijay TV.

Out of the 30-odd categories, five categories are decided by popular votes while the others are selected by a jury comprising Yugi Sethu, Pratap Pothan, Madan and Lizzy Priyadarshan.
The journey of the van that began on April 14 will continue for three weeks and pass through 14 districts.

Approximately 2,000 to 4,000 votes are collected every day. Vijay TV expects at least five lakh votes that will help them come out with nominations for the five categories. The nominees will be announced on May 17 and further voting will be requested online, through SMS or media for deciding the finalists. The award function is scheduled to be held on May 31.

“Our Unique Selling Proposition is that we are the only broadcaster to host a cine award. When we saw the response in the first year, not only in terms of the votes but also the turnout to the award function, it made us decide to do it on a regular basis. This is our third year. People are happy with our credibility because we reach out to the people, go to their area and collect votes,” says Mr. Balachandran.

Kovai Isai Mazhai..

Kovai Isai Mazhai promises to get the people of Coimbatore on their feet. Sway to the music of popular play back singers and artistes. The event is being hosted by Vijay TV, in collaboration with Chennai Silks. The Hindu is the official media partner. Anuradha Sriram, Srinivas, Mahathi and Benny Dayal are among the popular playback singers who will perform . The show also presents top contestants from Vijay T.V’s leading television shows. They include Ravi, Ajeesh, and Reni from Airtel Super Singer 2008 and Prem Gopal, Nanda Sherif, Manoj Kumar, Jayalakshmi, Leelavathi and Divya from Amul Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhudheva. Also, stars from the celebrity dance show Aachi Boys vs. Girls will also make their presence felt. The concert took place on April 19 at Hindustan College Grounds at 6.30 p.m... This week on April 30th at 7 PM Vijay TV will telecast the same..

Kovai Isai Mazhai, April 30, 19:00 Hrs

Boys - 1440 Vs Girls - 1480

Brinda challenged Dev on blind fold concept and it ended in a tie.. with both the performances equally good it was really hard for the judges to select the winner.
Shiva, Guna, Rinson, Michael, Vandana, Aishwarya and Devipriya performed for their own choice. George, Kamalesh, Shiva and Rinson from the boys team along with Devi Priya, Aishwarya and Abinaya from the girls team performed for the concept devils and angels.
The final score for boys are 1440 and girls are again leading with 1480.

Who will get in ??

Hello Kuttichatan Starts today..

New serial that is for sure going to attract the kids will be starting today.. "Hello Kutti chatan"... enjoy..

Suzhiyam..

Coming soon is the new show named "Suzhiyam" that would deal with super natural things of life.. from what happens after death.. here is the promotional video of the same..

Whos is the final Judge ??

Boys Vs Girls show had been seeing lot of female judges in the show.. it all started when Namitha was introduced as if she would continue in the show till the end..but she suddenly disappeared. Then, it was Nisha Kothari to appear for a week and suddenly Mumtaj joined the show and she is continuing for few weeks.. Not sure who will be the final judge. viewers should be happy atleast for Srikanth being there for almost all the shows..

Exam Time @ KKK

Its exam time in Kanaa Kaanum Kaalangal even.. in sync with the reality :).. the serial is all set to get into the next year's students in which Bhavya is set to feature.. This week it was even more fun that all the students had thought of what they are do in future.. Puli's mother is looking for his MBBS seat, Vicky & Sree would be going to foreign country for higher studies and looks like their characters would be set to go on like this...

Manoj-Nandana's Wedding

It was director Bharathiraja's son Manoj's wedding last week in Namma veetu kalyanam..I dint see it fully but I remember as if I had already seen it in the show.. Not sure whether it will continue this week also..

Maran sends legal notice to Jayalalitha

Former union minister for communication and IT Dayanidhi Maran has sent a legal notice to AIDMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) chief and former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalitha, demanding an apology for her allegations. In his notice, Maran has sought a public apology from Jayalalitha, failing which he has threatened to file a defamation case demanding Rs 100 million as compensation.

Jayalalitha had, in an election rally, alleged that Maran had misused his position to help Sun TV, which is owned by his brother Kalanithi Maran, in uplinking of programmes through telephone lines. While addressing a rally in Virudhunagar, in Tamil Nadu, she claimed that the CBI enquiries were stymied after a patch up between the families of Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi and the Maran brothers.

Jayalalitha said that Maran had been given 323 telephone connections with latest technology, by which audio and video could be transmitted. He even had a telephone exchange in his house for official purpose. The telephones in his house had been linked secretly by an underground cable to Sun TV and it was used to send Sun TV programmes to various parts of the world, she claimed.

A Indiantelevision.com News

Something about Veerasekar

Magic is not just about creating an illusion — of pulling out a bunch of roses from silver foils or turning ordinary paper into currency notes waving the wand. It can also touch lives, bring a smile and let people forget their misery for a moment.

Magician Veerasekar with more than 20 years of experience is specialized in Close up Magic, Conjuring ,illusion and Street Magic. He has won many awards in Magic Competitions. There was a programme was organised by World Tamizhar Radio to raise funds for the education of children affected by the tsunami as well as to help the underprivileged. He conducted 44 shows across the Emerald Isles, in Trincomalee, Puttalam, Vavuniya, Kandy and Vathalai. He also attracted attention when he rode a bike blindfolded.

Veerasekar can be contacted at 98422-12123/ 98433-12123. I am not sure whether this no is right/active.. I happened to see it in internet..

Kumbakonam's turn this week

It was Kumbakonam's turn this week in Mayalogam where the Mayakanni went on to the streets and roads of Kumbakonam with Magician Veerasekar. It was really fun to see Veerasekar doing magic with the public. many of his peformances were very much interesting and I liked the show very much... but I felt the magic that he performed with knife should not be done with school students. All other magic tricks that he did was entertaining & hope there would be lot to come from him and the Mayalogam team..

Rich Vs Poor Background Students.

It will be debate between the Rich background & Poor background students in this week's Neeya Naana. I think this is an okay topic but not the topic at its best ;) From the promotional videos it looks like the show will be an eye opener... but I think these days students dont see their financial background in choosing friends..Lets see how the show is..

It was SPB & Charan..

It was the great playback singer S.P. Balasubramaniam and his son Charan featured in Koffee with Anu yesterday.. I guess the show was specially for their home produced film "kunguma poovum konjum puravum".. I missed first half but was there seeing the most important part of the show.. the show had album segment, koffee taro and koffee awards.. Album mostly had fotos of Charan and his sister. best part was with Koffee taro... I am sure everyone will admire the way SPB speaks. The photos he chose were Ilayaraja, A.R. Rahman and Susila. Koffee award went to playback singer Janaki..

Zee to launch a Telugu movie channel

Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has decided to launch a Telugu movie channel, adding to its existing bouquet of a general entertainment and a recently launched news channel. The channel will be called Zee Cinemalu. "We have decided to launch a Telugu movie channel. It makes business sense for us as we have lapped up a lot of movies which we are currently using in our general entertainment channel," a source in the company says. ZNL has applied to the Information and Broadcasting ministry and is waiting for approval. "We have obtained some level of maturity in that market. The movie channel will fortify our position in the Telugu market," the source adds. Zee Telugu achieved a break even status in the second quarter of Fy'09, allowing the company the space to launch Telugu news channel Zee Gantalu in early April.

Zee lapped up close to 30 new movies in a deal size estimated at Rs 600 million. The roster included titles like Kotha Bangaru Lokam, Paandurangadu, Vinayakudu, Krishna, Ashta Chamma, Gorintaku, Bhadradri, Ready, Krishnarjuna, Nenu Meeku Thelusa, Okka Magadu, Bujji Gadu, Ontari, Navavasantham, Sasirekha Parinayam, Swagatham, Bhale Dongalu, Victory, Kantri, Surya S/o Krishnan, Sidhu from Sikakulam, Tulasi, Avakai Biryani and Maisamma IPS. "We have been aggressively acquiring Telugu movies for over a year now. We will continue to do so as part of our strategy to build a good movie library," says the source. Zee, however, has shelved its plans to launch a Bengali movie channel. "We are investing in Akaash Bangla where we have picked up a 26 per cent stake. We have dropped our plans to launch a Bengali movie channel," the source adds.

Star TV Network - Are you looking at this ??

Courtesy - Indiantelevision.com

Wild Card Round 2 !!!!

This week in Airtel Super Singer 2008 it would be Wild card round 2.. yeah.. yet another round ;) is it bcos the audiance vote is not favourable for the Vijay TV's favourite contestant ??? ;).. okay let it be.. this round will be for all the wildcard contestants & each of them will sing song that the judges ask for.. so for each any of the judge ask them do a performance at thier wish. From the promo and what I remember is.. Prasanna is asked to sing a Melody song by Sujatha, Vijay to sing Ilayaraja's number by Srinivas, Raghini Shree, Ranjani are asked to sing some specific song.

Looks like with the votes of audiance this round will also be considered to select the wild card round winner who will be selected for the finals.. Lets see what happens this wednesday.. Its obvious that the result would be out only on 3rd day of the week.