Noted TV and stage actress and Mumbai Doordarshan‘s most loveable Marathi newsreader of yesteryear, Bhakti Barve Inamdar, died in an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway around 5:30 am on Monday morning. Inamdar was in her fifties.

According to Maharashtra state police control, the car in which the actress was travelling between Pune and Mumbai, rammed into an electric pole. Inamdar and the driver died on the spot while a second passenger survived and is in hospital, according to the Afternoon Despatch and Courier and chalomumbai.com.

Kishore Dhargalkar, the executive producer of the popular teleserial "Gharkul" starring Inamdar, which is currently airing on Sahyadhri Marathi language channel, said it was a big blow not only to the survival of the serial but also for her millions of fans and audiences all over the state.

Wife of the late TV star Shafi Inamdar, she was last seen in "Jannat Talkies", featured in the series Director‘s Cut on Saturday on DD Metro.

Ianamdar was admired for her versatility as an actress who portrayed a variety of roles from comedy to tragedy with outstanding ease. Among her sterling stage performances were those "Ti Phularani", "Nag Mandala" and "Aayee Retire Hote Aahe". She had also been featured in Kundan Shah‘s comedy "Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro" with Naseeruddin Shah, Satish Shah and Ravi Basvani. She was also editor of the film.

When Kiran Karnik took the reins at Discovery India in mid-1995 his mission was to drive the channel‘s penetration into the unknown terrain that made up India‘s cable TV viewing population. Today, that has been achieved to a large extent and as he prepares to hand over charge sometime in May, the channel is attempting further forays with a line-up of new programmes.

It was to drive the point across to the advertising world that a meeting for the fraternity was called at a south Mumbai hotel on Friday. The channel made a presentation on the potential that is there for advertisers.

According to the figures dished out, Discovery has greatly widened its audience reach following its recent tie-up with national broadcaster Doordarshan. Discovery now has a penetration of 18 million cable homes while sister channel Animal Planet reaches 6.5 million homes across India.

"Discovery‘s tie-up with Doordarshan early this year bilingually in Hindi and English is a step toward reaching a wider audience," Ambika Shrivastava, vice-president, marketing and sales said. The recent earthquake that devastated Gujarat state has driven people‘s need to learn more about the phenomenon, Shrivastava said. "Curiosity, knowledge, and exploring the world around us is what people look forward to and that is what Discovery Channel and Animal Planet intend to give them," she said.

Discovery‘s special series on earthquakes telecast in the first week of February has received a good response, Shrivastava said, while announcing the forthcoming lineup of programmes. A lineup which includes "The Raging Planet" and "Ancient Earthquakes and Sunken Cities".

Shrivastava also pointed out that the channel was reaching out to schools with quiz based programmes. "Discovery channel annually hosts an all-India quiz where students from 18 cities all over the country participate, she said.

On the issue of who will take over from Karnik, however, there was no word. "Discovery is still looking for somebody to head the organisation. Mr Karnik is still on the board and will be guiding the channel till they find somebody," was all that the corporate communications team could say when the subject was broached.