BENGALURU: The Star Networks Malayalam general entertainment channel (GEC) offering Asianet will start airing a new reality show, a hunt for Kerala?s most talented/best family - ?Bharthakkanmarude Sradakku? (BS) at the 8.00 pm weekend primetime slot starting May 31, 2013.

BS will run through 50 episodes Friday to Sunday. It replaces another reality show ?Sundari neeyam, sundaran njanum? which ran through 82 episodes.

In the show, teams will be tested on their skill in rapid, spontaneous and natural presentation of various tasks and foot-tapping numbers among other things, before they advance to the next round.

BS has south Indian actor Madhu as the anchor and Meena and Jayan as jury members. The show is produced by the channel and directed by KV Sashi kumar.

Asianet has roped in More Life Omega 3 as the title sponsor and Minar TMT 500 D as the powered by sponsor for BS. The first prize, a flat worth Rs 25 lakh is sponsored by realty group Confident and the second prize - Rs 10 lakh by Swyamwara Silks.

MUMBAI: The idiot box has come a long way from making run of the mill ?saas-bahu? sagas and nonsensical comedy shows. Nowadays the focus is on making magnum opus shows, and erecting massive sets to get the right feel and engage TV viewers with the perfect scenic and thematic setting for the storyline.

This apart, there is the fact film promotions have been integrated into TV shows, with big ticket Bollywod stars making appearances. Then casts of two shows have been integrated to get a Maha episode. Clearly, general entertainment channels (GECs) have been resorting to extensive marketing and viewer engagement, leaving no stone unturned to promote shows in the best possible way through all platforms.

Taking this trend to another level is Colors, which is going all out to package and promote its popular daily show Madhubala-Ek Ishq Ek Junoon.

Produced by Nautanki Films, it stars Drashti Dhami and Vivian Dsena as the lead pair- RK, an arrogant yet desirable superstar and Madhubala, an ordinary girl who gives RK an eye for an eye. This unusual romance has carved a place in the hearts of television viewers within a short span of one year garnering high TRPs and becoming one of the most popular shows at Colors. The lead pair recently won an indiantelevision.com?s Indian Telly Award for popular on-screen TV couple as their on-screen chemistry has caught the imagination of millions of fans.

The show is known for its notorious twists and the latest track involves the much awaited and ?demanded? wedding sequence of RK and Madhubala. This sequence is being promoted across social media platforms with a unique contest. RK, unable to decide the perfect gift for his lady love, has reached out to the show?s fans asking them to help him make the perfect choice. The reward: the four best entries get an invitation each to the grand wedding on the sets of Madhubala-Ek Ishq Ek Junoon.

Viewers were invited to send in their advice through an SMS or log on to colors.in.com and drop a 140 character suggestion between 17 and 25 May 2013. At the time of writing the response had been lukewarm with just about 900 visible recommendations being given by fans.

So what is it about contests that GECs are venturing into this space even as far as fiction shows are concerned?

Colors weekday programming head Prashant Bhatt explains: "Contests give us an opportunity to engage with the audiences and at the same time maintain their interest in the show. Also having a contest for a fiction show is a unique thing as we have to think of innovative ideas around the sequence. The response for the Madhubala wedding is exceptionally good given that the show has a good viewership and it has attracted a lot of curiosity as well."

Madhubala-Ek Ishq Ek Junoon is a big ticket show for Colors. It has been averaging about 2.5 TVRs, it was at the No 3 slot amongst its programmes in week 20 of TAM?s weekly ratings. The long-running Uttaran had shimmied up to the No 2 slot in that week, replacing it.

Bhatt adds: "Madhubala is one of our big budget shows. The first few episodes of the show were shot in Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. Post that also, we had the most expensive fight sequence between RK and Balraj. Now, for the wedding, we will be going all out with this sequence as well. Keeping the theme of the show in mind, the wedding is of the biggest superstar, RK to his love, so for us the viewers it cannot get bigger than this. We will be going all out for the wedding."

In the past, the show had a sequence which was shot at a massive budget of Rs 20 lakh. With such a high benchmark, expect a big splurge on the wedding celebrations too. Sources point out that a fabulous set is being created for the same in a five star hotel in Mumbai, and it?s quite likely that stars from other shows on Colors are likely to be invited. Madhubala Fan Clubs have been rooting for superstar Salman Khan to be a celebrity invitee.

MUMBAI: It?s a women?s peep show if there was any. Six ordinary women, talking about their most intimate and private moments, their hopes, worst fears, insecurities, mistakes, triumphs, joys, sorrows - all on national television. To top it all, they have filmed all of it themselves.

We are talking about ?Connected Hum Tum?, a show which is slated to premiere on Hindi GEC Zee TV, from 2 June and will air five days a week (Monday to Friday) at 10 pm. It will be replacing ?Badalte Rishton ki Dastaan?.

The six women participating in the show are Red FM RJ Malishka Mendonca, Preeti Kochar (dentist and belly dance instructor), Pallavi Barman (brand manager at Diesel), Mahima Chaudhary (aspiring actress), Sonal Gyani (LGBT activist with Humsafar Trust) and Madhavi Mauskar (a language expert and corporate trainer).

Produced by Disney UTV?s TV content division, it is directed by documentary film maker and writer Paromita Vohra. Connected Hum Tum is slated to run for 65 episodes and has been under production for almost two years, including casting, researching, filming and post-production.

The channel has roped in actor Abhay Deol to anchor the show. He will regale TV viewers with his sparkling wit, spot on observations and tongue in cheek commentary on all that?s brewing in the women?s lives.

The show is based on a Israeli TV non-fiction format ?Connected?- created by Ram Landes and Doron Tsabari - has been produced in seven countries - Israel, Holland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Ukraine, Romania. And it has achieved reasonable success wherever it has been licensed by Armoza Formats - which has the show in its catalogue.

"It is very exciting to see ?Connected? travel to India. In a country so culturally rich and with the terrific cast that Zee has brought in we are sure this will make a fascinating show. In the process of taking ?Connected? worldwide we have met TV channels and production companies in over 10 countries and I am extremely impressed with the ability and creativity of the professional staff of the production in India," states Ram Landes.
 
"What makes Connected Hum Tum different is that other reality shows function on capturing people from the outside - there is a crew that shoots them and it?s the crew?s perspective that is captured on camera. In this case, there is no crew with the women here," says Zee TV content head Ajay Balwankar.

Deol says he had no plans to do anything with TV but the format of the show floored him and he had no option but to sign on.

Abhay Deol & Zee TV?s Ajay Balwankar: Will Zee TV?s audiences take to the new experiment?

"Television is a powerful medium," he says. "As far as the women who are showcasing themselves on TV through this show are concerned, it was their choice and they chose to take the camera home. The producers and directors have given them dignity and they can show whatever they wish to. We hope it will help men understand women?s point of view better."

Media observers expressed some caution about whether Zee TV?s core audience will take a shining to Connected Hum Tum. "Zee TV is treading on ground that Colors has with Bigg Boss which has created a buzz," says a media observer. "So far Zee TV has been known for its talent hunts like DID, India?s Best Dramebaaz, Saregama, and derivatives of these shows and its strong fictional content. We will have to see how its core audience reacts to this show which could be titillating as compared to the fare they have been used to."

But Balwankar says audiences will take to it well. He points out: "The core idea at the heart of the show is to bring families together by helping them understand women better. In studying the mind space of six women at different crossroads in life, Zee TV gives audiences a chance to understand the psyche of today?s women thereby understanding the women in our own lives better."

It?s over to the TV viewer to decide.

MUMBAI: Big Magic, Reliance Broadcast Network?s regional general entertainment channel (GEC) for the Hindi-speaking heartland of central India, has roped in popular television actors Varun Badola and Rajeshwari Sachdev as the mentors for its upcoming property, BIG Fame Star.

Sara Khan will be seen hosting the show on the channel. The youth talent hunt, which will penetrate to the grass-root level to present a platform to superstar aspirants, kicked off auditions across 15 markets in Uttar Pradesh on 4 May and is all set to witness the first phase of mega auditions amongst shortlisted contestants from Moradabad, Saharanpur and Meerut on 9 May.

As mentors, Varun Badola and Rajeshwari Sachdev will join Anup Soni and Tisca Chopra who are the esteemed judges on the show. During the mega auditions, the mentor-duo will be responsible for grooming and training the contestants, as well as judging them thereafter in order to close in on the finalists that will feature on BIG Fame Star.

Khan, who joins the quartet as the host for the show will be seen guiding the contestants as their friend and support. Following the first-phase of mega-auditions will be two more phases wherein more contestants will be selected from 12 additional markets across Uttar Pradesh - with Aligarh being the next city to witness their youth?s rise to fame.

By the time the three phases of auditions draw to a close, the mentors will shortlist the top 16 contestants who will be able to take their dreams of superstardom to another level through weekly challenges and rounds that will be featured on BIG Fame Star on Big Magic.

Reliance Broadcast Network Limited business head-language TV Sunil Kumaran said, "BIG Fame Star is a multi-faceted talent hunt which aims to penetrate to the deepest level to reveal some of the most gifted youth in Uttar Pradesh. Varun Badola and Kavita Kaushik have been a part of the entertainment industry for a long time and have won multiple awards and recognitions for the respective projects. They are confident that their strong legacy combined with their unparalleled understanding of the industry and their friendly persona make them the ideal mentors for the youth aspiring to be tomorrow?s superstars."

This move ensures the best programming mix to its audiences, as Big Magic gears for phase II of digitisation, with Reliance Broadcast Network?s recently launched consumer awareness campaigns ?Samajdhari se Chune, Apna Set Top Box?.

After an extremely successful roll-out of the campaign across the four metros, it now extends across 38 cities in DAS phase II. The 12 week campaign launching 1 April, has been designed to empower consumers with information on digitisation.

Simultaneously, it also offers distribution partners an excellent opportunity to strengthen brand equity. The campaign will see an extensive multi-media marketing push with the help of RBNL?S marketing muscle and expertise and will be promoted across the platforms of television, radio, cinemas, digital, outdoor, on ground and road shows.

MUMBAI: Leading Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Star Plus has planned to extend its evening primetime with the launch of ?Ek Ghar Banaunga? on 29 April.

The show will air at 6:30 pm every Monday to Friday. This move makes Star Plus the only private sector Hindi GEC to air original programming from 6.30 pm onwards.

Produced by Rakesh Paswan?s Village Boy Productions, the show is based in Uttar Pradesh and aims to breaks stereotypes with a new perspective on the relationship between a son-in-law and his wife?s family.
 
The show stars Ishita Dutta and Rahul Sharma, playing the roles of Poonam who is an intelligent college student, and Akash who is a small-town boy from Sitapur, U.P. who single-handedly runs his family business. His general demeanour and inability to speak English is in stark contrast to Poonam.

Through their journey as individuals first and then as a married couple, ?Ek Ghar Banaunga? questions the way life functions after the daughter is married off.