Vijay's Golden Moments

Vijay TV had started a new show titled "Vijay's Golden Moments".. yeah.. if someone got to learn how to use resources better.. ask Vijay TV to teach you.. Kanaa kaanum kaalangal has been having recap titled "Ninaithale inikum" and I think it is a big hit.. now they have started this show to retelecast all their super hit shows again. hmmm.. looks like



Jodi No 1
Super Singer
Super Singer Junior
Vijay Awards

will be featuring in this golden moments and I think there will be more shows added to list. This is now replaced the hollywood movie time on saturday.. also there will not be any retelecast of any shows on saturday. I think we will watch these for sure ;) what do you guys think ??

Shiva gets home dream kitchen..

Actor Shiva took away dream kitchen in Samayal Samayal show today.. yeah.. the same actor who appeared in "Eeramana Rojave" film. This was his third and final round in the competition. In the first round, Shiva himself cooked most of the time and made his wife to watch him cooking. Last and this week both cooked together.

South Indian Speciality

Today's choice for the competitors was to cook south Indian speciality item. Both the teams choose Chicken and prepare one dish each. Actor Vincent joined the show and competed against Shiva. Shiva's team prepared Chicken Bracoli in south Indian style and Vincent's team prepared South Indian chicken Vadai. Finally it was Shiva to win this event and being his final round in the competition he took home dream kitchen.

Sandra everywhere !!!

After Shivakarthikeyan who was appearing for quite a few shows in Vijay TV.. its now time for Sandra.. Yeah, Sandra initially introduced in the show in Neeya Naana when Prajin came as a special guest. During this time, Gopinath called Sandra and asked some question to her for the show. Then, her first appearance was in Roja Kootam in "Janani" character. Her role in the serial is to be innocent and she has done her best. We could see the way she acts in the serial. Then its with 2 new realty shows Boys Vs Girls season 2 and Anu alavum bayam illai.

In Boys Vs Girls season 2, she is the captain for the Girls team and first I thought that there were many other people who can be made as captain.. but after her few performances I have changed my mind that she deserves to be captain. Still I could say that there are few girls who also deserves to lead their team. Anu alavum bayam illai shows her brave and courage.. she is able to do the tasks with ease and in warm up week, she played with snake.. it was really unbelievable.. I was shocked seeing that.

With these many roles in the Vijay TV, I guess Sandra is going to go long way. I am sure now itself she had reached lots of viewers and had got a huge fan following her. Great going Sandra !!!

Vinayaka Chathurti Special

Vijay TV presents a special line-up of programmes to celebrate Vinayaka Chathurti.

10.00 AM
‘Andha Kaalam Indha Kaalam’
Leoni and his team will take us on a journey of how the concept of religion and Bhakti has transformed through the ages.

11.00 AM
Shreya Saran in ‘Excuse Me Ms. Shreya.’
The actor discusses ‘Kandasamy’, her film career and experiences in Tamil, Telugu and Hollywood films.

12.00 PM
Interview with Shruti Haasan.
The multi-faceted daughter of Kamal Haasan reveals her life’s little secrets and joys in this light hearted interview.

12.30 PM
‘Kandaen Kadhalai – Oru Sirappu Paarvai’
clips from the film’s audio launch function.

1.00 PM
‘Kandasamy - the musical’.
Director Susi Ganesan and music director Devi Sreeprasad talk about their experiences.

1.30 PM
Curtain-raiser of ‘Nanayam’
A suspense thriller starring Prasanna, Sibiraj, SPB and Raghini. The film is directed by Sakthi S. Rajan and the music is composed by James Vasanthan.

4.00 PM
Tamil premiere of ‘The Village’.

Week with Fire..

This week in Anu alavum bayam illai, the contestants will be asked to complete some tasks in the middle of fire. We hav already seen that the show was really scary with the snakes round in the first competitive round and there has two non competitive rounds which were even really difficult tasks. Having said that, completing tasks in fire is really going to be a difficult taks and from the promotional video it looks like Sandra while performing her task, slips and taken in stretcher.. she was indeed rushed to hospital.

Meena Continues..

Actress Meena who appeared in last week's Boys Vs Girls continues to be in the show this week also.. I guess she would continue to judge the performances and has replaced Sanghavi in the show. I think that Meena is really better than Sanghavi ofcourse not only in acting but also in dancing. We have seen lots of dance from Meena and she deserves to be a judge in this competition. Last week she came bang into the show with supporting the girls team and from promotional video it looks like she still supports the girls team.

Its not sure how long Meena would be available in the show.. is it for few episodes or permanent is really unknown. we will hav to wait and see.. Also, from the promotional video it looks like Shyaam and Meena has some discussions in choosing the winner in the solo competition round and lets see how it goes..

Athu Ithu Ethu, I-Day special - Video

Athu Ithu Ethu, Independence day special with actors Senthil, Livingston and Pandiarajan

Please, Intha buthakathai vaangaatheenga..

Please, Dont buy this Book !!!

Host Gopinath has been very popular with his Vijay TV shows and these days he is been appearing in few shows other than Neeya Naana. We knew that he worked as journalist and then worked as independent director in a media company for few years and then Vijay TV entry gave him a step ahead to reach people easily. Now, he had written a book titled "Please intha buthakathai vaangaatheenga" that is "Please dont buy this book". I have read reviews of the book that it is really good and very energetic after reading. The book is priced at Rs. 60.. yeah its not an expensive book and price is very nominal. I have found a website where it can be bought online but the delivery charges are very high. I will look for that book and post my review in here..

TIMES NOW breaks the 40% viewership share barrier

TIMES NOW achieves its highest ever ratings with 40 per cent market share in the English News Channel Space and in doing so has left behind NDTV 24x7 and CNN IBN whose combined share is only 37%. In a week when swine flu was the talk of the town as well as the major story across all news mediums, TIMES NOW’s differentiated programming and breakthrough graphics helped it amass this massive lead. According to the latest released TAM data for Week 33 ending 15th Aug'09, all 1 Mn+ markets, in CS M25+ AB, TIMES NOW has garnered 40% share compared to 19% of NDTV 24X7 and 17% of CNN IBN. TIMES NOW continues to remain the No.1 English news channel month-on-month since July 2008 as reported by TAM in both CS M25+ AB & CS 15+ audiences in 1mn+ markets.

Commenting on the channel’s extraordinary performance, Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief said, “Week on week TIMES NOW dominates as the most watched English News channel. This week’s data re-affirms its position as the undisputed leader in the English News Channel space. In a matter of three years, we have scripted a growth story in TV news unparalleled in terms of traction in viewership, leading over competition and becoming the most preferred English news channel not only for viewers but also for newsmakers.”

“The ratings clearly echo the fact that TIMES NOW is deeply entrenched in the minds of the viewers as the leader in the English News Channel Space. TIMES NOW’s achieves commendable levels of viewership for its spectacular programming during major events which influence the audience. This is testimony to the trust and credibility our brand enjoys. TIMES NOW is also the advertiser’s first choice as it has consistently delivered superior impact and efficacy to the clients’ advertising plan. We will continue setting higher standards and greater benchmarks for ourselves”, said Sandeep Sharma, Sr. Vice President - Marketing & Sales while commenting on this achievement.

- Indian Television

Rambha, Sona or Swathi – Whose swayamwar?

Now that the hullabaloo behind Rakhi Sawant’s staged Swayamwar that skyrocketed the TRPs and grabbed the eyeballs of homemakers across the country is over, looks like it’s time to rip it off in Tamil. While it was speculated that Rambha was to star in the Southern edition Swayamwar, she strongly slammed them as rumors.

A few days ago, in an interview to a popular newspaper, item girl Sona expressed interest for a similar Swayamwar. That said; the latest to join the bandwagon is the once-Vijay’s lead lady Swathi. She admitted coyly, in true Rakhi style, that she would have no qualms in starring in such a show. “Swayamwars are part of our tradition. I will be happy to be in one (of course, as a bride),” she said.

Its Mohini's wedding..

It will actress Mohini's wedding this week in Namma Veetu kalyanam.. these days the show is again back with the footages and they are not repeating the previous episodes.. last week it was Deepak's marraige and it was fun watching that episode. This week, the kerala actress Mohini who appeared in few tamil film will be sharing her best moments of life..

Harish Ragavendra joins SS Jr

Playback singer Harish Ragavendra will join the Airtel Super Singer Junior 2 show next week.. after today's episode, next week's promotional video was shown and from that it looks like it will be Harish Ragavendra and Mahathi judging the performances of the kids.. I think it would have been good if they had one more judge adding to these two. I am not sure why Tippu is not coming after the preliminary auditions..

Special Performances..

Airtel SUper Singer Junior 2, had 45 top kids competing in the next round of the competition. This round is named as "Favourite Hero/Heroine" round.. for which the kids will sing songs from their favourite actors songs. This is not all for the round.. the kids will also be doing special performances. it can be anything other than singing.. so kids were really multi-talented.. it was from dance to palying musical instruments to mimicry.. I was shocked seeing this generation of kids doing these many things and they are talented in many fields.. thanks to parents for encouraging their kids for lots of thing.

DVD give aways..

Last week it was MP3 player for any kid who gets best dressed award and took home mp3 players.. this week for the special performances DVD player is been given as gift for the kids.. this time there are lots of give aways being in Airtel SUper singer junior 2.. I geuss there are more to come going forward..

FMCG cos hog more air time on DD channels

FMCG companies have more screen presence than carmakers and telecom companies on all Doordarshan (DD) channels, though the latter two are pushing hard for rural sales. The top 10 advertisers on all the 50 DD channels are FMCG companies. The data, put together by market researcher TAM Media Research for ET, shows that Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the country’s largest consumer products company and biggest advertiser, leads the pack as the top private advertiser on DD with a 9% share. HUL is followed by ITC with a 2% share. Other top advertisers include Wipro, Emami, Dabur, Colgate-Palmolive, Heinz, Perfetti Van Melle, Godrej Consumer Products and Reckitt Benckiser.

Telecom is the second most-advertised category with media buyers saying that it is bound to find more space on DD. While FMCGs buy more volume of advertising, telecom companies buy more high-value deals at a premium. Madison Media CEO Basabdatta Chowdhuri pointed out: “While FMCGs consume more inventory since they buy airtime across the day, telecom companies buy air-time mostly during prime time.” That’s because FMCG advertising is aimed more at women who would watch TV through the day while telecom companies target the male audience who would typically tune in during the evenings.

Despite the fact that the automobiles sector too derives healthy volumes from rural markets, its investments on DD are relatively lower. Maruti chief general manager (marketing) Shashank Srivastava said: “Our exposure to Doordarshan is less as we are more confined to other satellite channels, which offer a large pie of our target customers. Though Doordarshan is the single-largest network in the country, we are targeting audiences looking for new cars and generating fresh demand.” Companies and media buyers, however, said that DD is a medium no marketer with a rural focus can afford to ignore. Godrej Consumer Products’ price warrior soap brand, Godrej No 1, crossed Rs 500 crore in value sales in June 2009. The company said it has also followed a differentiated media strategy. Over the past 18-20 months, Godrej No 1 has focused its ad spends only on DD, highlighting the brand’s affordability plank.

Godrej Consumer Products MD Dalip Sehgal said: “Godrej No 1 is particularly strong in the Hindi belt, which has a huge DD footprint. So, we decided to put in money behind DD rather than cable & satellite television.” The Kolkata-based Rs 750-crore FMCG company Emami, which makes Boroplus, Himani Fast Relief and Fair & Handsome cream, said its portfolio appeals to consumers who watch only DD, where cable TV does not reach. Typically, Emami spends about 70% of its budgets on satellite channels and the remaining 30% on DD. Rates on DD are about 50% less than that of private channels, so even if companies buy more air-time on the channel, they spend lesser in comparison. Media buying company Zenith Optimedia’s senior vice-president Navin Khemka said: “FMCG is the highest-penetrated category in rural markets so DD naturally figures in their media plans.” Doordarshan is the country’s largest TV broadcaster with a penetration of 107 million households. The number of households with cable & satellite TV are about 73 million, in comparison.

- Economic Times

Samayal samayal, I-day special Video

Samayal samayal, Independence day special Video

Whats up with SS Jr ??

This week in Airtel Super Singer Junior 2, it would be the top 45 kids competing for the next level of the competition. This level of the competition is "Favourite Hero/Heroine" round.. the participants will have to sing any song of their chioce where their favourite hero or heroine had acted. Last week it was the fancy dress round where paritipants wear same costume what the hero or heroine worn in the song.

Back ground music is introduced in this round.. orchestra joins the crew and it will be really a great feeling for the kids to sing with the bgm.. some kids said that this is the first time they sing with the music and thats why they are not able to perform really well. and I think its obvious that its not so easy to sing in competition on first time with music.

Whos in the round ?

It will be same judges Mahathi, Pop Shalini and Unni Menon judging the performance of the kids. And its still Divyadarshini aka DD anchoring the show.. who has been doing a very good job. This round is not in hotel rather it had come to an auditorium i guess.. soon there will set round..

Thank you Vijay TV : Kamal Haasan

Kamal Haasan – the name personifies uniqueness, hard work, dedication and exceptional creativity. His journey in filmdom began with Kalathur Kanamma at the age of five; and now after 50 years, there is no stopping him. He has not only proved himself to be a versatile actor, the star has excelled in the many roles of film making such as script writer, director, producer, singer, among others.

Vijay TV will celebrate 50 years of Kamal Haasan in its own exclusive way with a spate of events to be launched in the next six weeks. The celebrations, titled 'Rin Ulaganayagan Kamal Aimbathu – Oru Thodarum Sarithiram', will witness activities across the state. This exclusive event will be the first of its kind for any star and will be carried out in different phases.

Kamal Haasan, appearing on Vijay TV's show 'Kamal 50', said, "These 50 years in cinema is not a single man’s achievement. There are many people in my life who have been an inspiration in making these 50 years happen; this is a team effort. I am thankful to my producers who have believed in me and my work. I will always be grateful to AVM Chettiar, Shanmugam Annachi, Iyakunar Sigaram K. Balachander and many others who have always been my strength and watched out for me through these years. These 50 years would come in any person’s life; but it was Vijay TV that first presented this concept and was determined to celebrate this in a grand manner."

He added, "It gives me great honour that most of my friends from the industry are present here today to address the media. They are the people who always speak well of me even in my absence and have been a source of support through my failures. Their willingness to be a part of this event gives me great pleasure. Only, now I have to make myself worthy of all the nice things that they have said or would tell about me in this forum and I will take this as my responsibility. This isn’t humility but my true self."

"My friends, directors, producers and fans who have attended the meet today have always been with me, giving me strength, guiding and protecting me; a major contribution of this comes from the media. Vijay TV has also been a part of my life; they have been good critics and I am indebted to all of you for this," he said.

"This is not the zenith of my life, but an incident that has happened without my realizing it. Suddenly, when faced with the question on these 50 years, I am telling the truth when I say I search for an answer. There is a lot more for me to achieve and I will take this as morning alarm to shake me up and continue my work; I would not think of this as an evening… thank you," he concluded.

Sun TV Network bags KPL TV rights

Sun TV Network Ltd. has snapped up the five-year telecast rights for the Karnataka Premier League (KPL). Sun will be broadcasting the event on its Kannada news channel Udaya Verthegalu. As per the agreement, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) will get FCT (free commercial time) on Udaya. “Sun’s Udaya brand has the most number of Kannada channels. I am confident that as time progresses the returns from the Udaya FCT will also go up,” says KSCA Secretary Brijesh Patel. KPL could well become a Rs.1 billion-plus property over the next five years. After pulling in Rs 350 million from the franchisees, the KSCA will also be getting revenue from the FCT on Udaya.

Realtor Mantri Developers (Mantri) will pay Rs111.1 million for five years for the title sponsorship of the cup, which will be called the Mantri-KPL cup. The logo will be submitted by Mantri to the KSCA shortly for approval. Other co-sponsors will be announced in a couple of days, according to Patel. Coincidentally, the title sponsor for the larger Indian Premier League (IPL), on which the KPL has been modeled, is also a realtor – DLF. Says Mantri CMD Sushil Mantri, “We expect the same measure of success for the KPL as the IPL. I expect a higher overall interest in Karnataka for the KPL than the IPL.” The inaugural 31 match Twenty20 KPL, featuring eight zonal teams, will be held from 9-24 September, with six day-time matches planned in Mysore and the rest in Bangalore. Two matches per day will be held in Bangalore, the first one between 3.30 pm and 7 pm, and the second one between 7.30 pm and 10.30 pm. The inaugural match in Bangalore, however, will be held a little earlier and will followed by the inauguration. The timings are subject to confirmation from the broadcaster, informs Patel.

-Indiantelevision

Dhesathirku Vaanga - Video

Dhesathirku Vaanga - Independence Day special program

Cable TV industry demands more time for financial disclosures

An initiative undertaken by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to ensure that broadcasters, cable companies and operators, among others, make detailed financial disclosures of their business operations for the last three years is expected to be delayed, as all industry stakeholders have decided to seek more time. In fact, according to industry sources, several broadcasters, cable operators and others are opposed to sharing detailed financial numbers of their respective companies.

“We have made Trai aware of the possible hurdles in making such financial disclosures. Disclosures can happen, provided there is ample time and a consensus among those involved,” the legal head of a leading media house said on condition of anonymity. Trai wants to know the detailed financials of various stakeholders as part of its exercise on the issue of fixing taxes for cable TV services in non-CAS areas. “To obtain a realistic understanding of the financials and the operation of various stakeholders, we have asked for the detailed financials and other operational details from all stakeholders,” a Trai insider said. The regulator had given a deadline of August 17 for all stakeholders to make their submissions, but failed to get an all-round response from the stakeholders, sources in Trai said.

Various stakeholders, especially the privately-held ones like several broadcasters, cable operators and others, are divided on how much financial details to share with the sector regulator, fearing information leakages that may impact their future business prospects. “Trai wants to know details like how much did we pay in carriage fees to a particular cable operator and how much advertising revenue was generated on each of our channels. Such details, once out in the public domain, could lead to a severe undermining of future business negotiations,” a senior executive, representing a leading media house, said. “The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of all leading broadcasters, recently met and decided to seek more time from Trai on the matter,” a senior IBF executive said. On its part, Trai has sought various financial disclosures from all stakeholders, including audited financial data and a break-up of key revenues and costs; insights into the operating model; carriage fees charges and ad revenue generated on the channels. It has also asked for details on the cost of operations from broadcasters, cable operators and MSOs, among others.

-Business Standard

When power shifts to viewers for TV, it shows

In the matrix of a world digitised by the binary integers, what makes us take a look at the world of television is the way it has metamorphosed from a satellite-based phenomenon to a state where digital and satellite media coexist. Call it the third wave or the power shift, the viewer, has made it happen. Televisionpoint.com does a future analysis of what the face of television would be in financial year 2009-2010.

Consumer is King
It is probably the third wave in India with the communications scenario taking a different turn wherein the consumer had only to be content with what was offered by the market. But, according to Siddhartha Mukherjee, vice-president, communications, TAM Media Research, it is now the consumer who will be deciding the fate of the players in the world of television. "For the first time in India, the TV industry entered a mode of demand and supply. With the advent of the DTH and set top box the viewer gets to exercise the demand power; earlier it used to be supply dependant," says Mukherjee. Does it mean the satellite service providers will become obsolete? According to Mukherjee, the "coexistence of both the media can't be ruled out as they cater to different target groups. But with the increase in disposable income, the consumer has become more discernible."

Paradigm Power
Media analysts are of the opinion that DTH will cast the magic wand of change and decide the market dynamics. So, in this situation where niche channels are entering the market, how the respective players are deriving stratagems to capture their share is a million rupee question. "The year 2009-10 is going to witness more number of regional general entertainment channels (GECs). Moreover, more innovative formats will also emerge to cater to the changing consumer palate," says Mukherjee. Industry too echoes a similar version. According to Shailaja Kejriwal, creative head, content, NDTV Imagine, "There are new formats emerging in the communications industry. A mix of fiction and non-fiction is going to be the mantra." "While 2008 saw saas-bahu sagas, music and dance based reality shows, this format will undergo a transformation the coming years. A new genre which is a pot pourri of lot of elements such as epic, family, social, and humour based programming mix including deviations from typical on-fiction programmes will be introduced to get the audience glued." Kejriwal adds.

Invisible Hand
The viewer acts as an invisible hand by channeling the demand curve. Actor Anang Desai feels, "People want good and newer ideas executed to give rise to good programming. Novel subjects need to be found out as formulas have lost their charm to amuse the audience."

Future Shock
Will there be any other parallel trends? "Kids entertainment channels (KECs) are certainly going to be more happening in the future," adds Mukherjee. "What will sweep the major chunk of business is the localisation of content with channels targeting regional markets, which was untapped so far. The enormous potential that the Indian animation sector has, will act as a multiplier effect to boost the number of channels embracing the regional touch." says Mukherjee. At the same time, there is a parallel trend of channels focusing on youth. Experts however, opine that it will require more players. But till then, the viewer will have a cornucopia of programmes to feast on. Grab your popcorn and enjoy surfing.

-Televisionpoint

Eldams Road => Dr. Kamal Haasan Road

The Nadigar Sangam President Sarath Kumar said that the film stars would initiate the move to rename the Eldams Road as Dr. Kamal Haasan Road. According to Sarath, renaming the road, in which the star has been living for years, is the apt way of felicitating him on his Golden Jubilee year in Kollywood. Sarath Kumar added that the Nadigar Sangam will petition the state government and the Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi to do the needful.

Ulaganayagan Kamal Aimbathu - Oru Thodarum Sarithiram, Part 2

PHASE 3 – the MEGA event at Chennai

This month long celebrations will culminate with a mega event in Chennai in the 2nd week of September. An evening to treasure, as the film stars of Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film industry come together on one stage to salute the one & only Kamal Haasan. Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan himself will be present to witness the event and speak a few words to his ardent fans. Popular faces beginning from Big B and Super star Rajinikanth; other stars like Shahrukh Khan, Mamooty, Mohanlal, Sridevi, Chiranjeevi, Puneet Rajkumar, Jeyapradha, Hemamalini, Suryah, Ajith, Vijay., and many artists along with top notch technicians, would be a part of this grand event witnessed by a 7,000 strong audience. With performances by legends of the music industry and dance performances by leading actors from the Tamil industry, this would be a night to cherish. The event would be split into five parts, each representing a decade of Kamal Haasan’s films.

In consultation with the legend, a core team has been set up that will monitor the celebrations. The core team has legendary director K. Balachander, actor Sivakumar, actor / producer – Sarath Kumar, Member of Parliament Napolean, directors – A.R. Murugadoss and Myshkin, actors Kushboo and Jaimala, playback singer / producer – S.P. Charan, film critics Madan and Yugi Sethu. The advertising fraternity has already expressed great interest in associating with these celebrations; many partners like logistics (KPN Travels), hospitality (The Accord Metropolitan) and multiplex (Sathyam Cinemas) have already been roped in. With huge promotional plans across various mediums; this would surely be an event to watch out for.!

Kamal Haasan speaks “these 50 years in cinema is not a single man’s achievement. There are many people in my life who have been an inspiration in making these 50 years happen; this is a team effort. I’m thankful to my producers who have believed in me and my work. I will always be grateful to AVM Chettiar, Shanmugam Annachi, Iyakunar Sigaram K.Balachander and many others who have always been my strength and watched out for me through these years. These 50 years would come in any person’s life; but it was Vijay TV that first presented this concept and was determined to celebrate this in a grand manner.“

He adds, “It gives me great honor that most of my friends from the industry are present here today to address the media. They are the people who always speak well of me even in my absence; and have been a source of support through my failures. Their willingness to be a part of this event gives me great pleasure. Only now, I would have to make myself worthy of all the nice things that they have said or would tell about me in this forum; and I will take this as my responsibility. This isn’t humility; but my true self.”

“My friends, directors, producers and fans who have attended the meet today have always been with me giving me strength, guiding and protecting me; and a major contribution of this comes from the media. Vijay TV has also been a part of my life, they have been good critics and I am indebted to all of you for this” he adds.

“This is not the zenith of my life, but it is an incident that has happened without my realizing it. Suddenly, when faced with the question on these 50 years; I am telling the truth when I say I search for an answer. There is a lot more for me to achieve and I will take this as morning alarm to shake me up and continue my work; I would not think of this as an evening… thank you” he concludes.

Source - Chennai365

Ulaganayagan Kamal Aimbathu - Oru Thodarum Sarithiram, Part 1

“Kamal Haasan” – the name personifies uniqueness, hard work, dedication and exceptional creativity. His journey in filmdom began with the film “Kalathur Kanamma” at the age of five; and now after 50 years; there is no stopping him. He has not only proved himself to be a versatile actor; the star has excelled in the many roles of film making such as script writer, director, producer, singer among others.

Vijay TV, the exclusive television channel nominated to celebrate the 50 years of Kamal Haasan in its own exclusive way is to launch a spate of events in the next 6 weeks. The celebrations titled “Rin Ulaganayagan Kamal Aimbathu – Oru Thodarum Sarithiram” will witness activities across the state. This exclusive event will be one of its kind ever attempted for any star and will be carried out in various phases.

PHASE 1:

To begin the proceedings, a customized “Kamal Bus” would traverse the state; attracting all his thousands of fans. This bus would visit the film trade centers and fan clubs in Tamilnadu and Bengaluru. An exclusive photo exhibition with rare and never seen before photographs from Kamal Haasan’s life will be on display on this bus. Apart from the photo exhibition, the fans, technicians and artists will sign the huge scroll that would be presented to the star. The bus leaves from Chennai and travels to Chengalpet, Pudhucheri, Villupuram, Perambalur, Tiruchi, Madurai, Paramakudi, Tuticorin, Thirunelvelli, Nagercoil, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Bengaluru, Thirupathur, Vellore and Kanchipuram over a period of 12 days.

PHASE 2 – Iyal Isai Nadaga Thiruvizha

This will be a festival that celebrates the three forms of Tamil language at three key locations in Tamilnadu i.e. Madurai, Coimbatore and Chennai.

Thamizhum Kamalum – Madurai

“Thamizhum Kamalum” event would be held at Madurai. This would be a literary discussion featuring eminent personalities from the field of Tamil literature. While the scholars speak on how the veteran actor has made use of literature in most of his films wisely; his fans group & the commoners would come up with their own interpretation of Kamal Haasan’s contribution to the language. Kamal Haasan’s perfection and attention to detail when it comes to using various Tamil dictions in his films would be highlighted. The use of Bharathiyaar poems in “Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu” to Abirami Andadadhi in “Guna” & from playing a Srilankan Tamil in “Thenali” to the American “Dasavatharam” Kamal Haasan has done it all. Watch out for this gripping discussion which is interspersed with interesting anecdotes.

Kamalum Kaadhalum – Coimbatore

Kovai would witness a grand musical nite “Kamalum Kaadahalum” which will feature some of most popular evergreen hits featuring Kamal Haasan. Many popular faces from the Tamil film & music industry would perform in front of a LIVE audience. The songs from most of Kamal Haasan’s movies have been chartbusters in every era. The theme of this event would be LOVE and songs depicting the various stages of love would be sung by legendary singers like S. P. Balasubramaniyam and Chitra. Also joining them would be popular playback singers Madhu Balakrishnan, Anuradha Sriram, S. P. Charan, Benny Dayal, Karthik, Vijay Yesudas, Suchithra, Madhumitha, Naveen, Haricharan, Ranjith, Rahul Nambiar and many others.

Kamal Haasan Film festival – Chennai

In Chennai, Vijay TV has planned to organize a Kamal Haasan film festival over 3 weeks in August-September in partnership with Sathyam Cinemas; showcasing some of his best movies ever.

Special On air episodes

Parallel to these on ground events at Coimbatore, Chennai and Madurai; the biography of Kamal Haasan will air on Vijay TV. This 16 episode series would talk about his childhood days as an actor, his first passion – the theatre and his life in cinema. With experiences narrated by his contemporaries and juniors of the past 50 years, the show will be an emotional & inspiring tale of Kamal Haasan – the phenomenon. Starts August 31, 2009; airing Monday – Thursday at 8pm.

DD should show more films with social messages: Soni

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni is in favour of Doordarshan telecasting feature films that send out a social message while being entertaining. Soni said exemption of entertainment duty for feature films was a state subject and, therefore, she could only express her personal views and not take a decision on the matter. Minister of State for Rural Development Pradeep Jain also expressed the view that parents should have greater involvement in understanding the aspirations of their children and moulding their future.

They were speaking to indiantelevision.com after a special show of the film ‘Chal Chalein’ by Ujjwal Singh based on child rights which was commercially released on 7 August. Those present on the occasion included former member of Parliament Pappu Yadav, child counselor Sudha Gupta, director Ujjwal Singh and the writer Vijaya Ramchandrula. The film stars Mithun Chakravarty, Jaya Bhattacharya, Rati Agnihotri, Anoop Soni, Shilpa Shukla, Mukesh Khanna, Tanvi Hegde, Priyesh Sagar, Saket Sharma, and Chirag Ruia among others. The film is about the educational burden that is put on the young and the expectations of the adults that force the young to extreme steps like suicide. The film also raises questions like the low reputation of government schools forcing parents to go to private schools where they pay higher fees and therefore have higher expectations; the need to ensure employment opportunities in all fields apart from medical, engineering or civil services; the need to ensure compulsory education till the age of 18, and that entry should only be at nursery school level and not pre-nursery.

-Indiantelevision.com