Tag: Amrita TV

Amrita TV on Award-Winning Spree

MUMBAI: The Union of German Malayali Association, Germany, recently gave away its Annual TV Awards for 2006 wherein Amrita TV was presented with four Awards in different categories.

‘Santwanam’, the unique channel identity programme where celebrities spend time to bring joy to the lives of the underprivileged and homeless in various shelter homes, orphanages, hospices, won the “Best Television Programme Award”.

A highly appreciated programme, Amrita TV doesn’t accept advertisements for this programme, but facilitates well-wishers establish contact with the concerned institutions for contributions, donations, assistance, et al. “Super Star” which created new benchmarks in music reality programmes in South India ,bagged the “Best Music Show Award”.

” Sathi Lelavathi” a comedy show on the channel for the past few months, won the “Best Female Comic Artiste Award” . A”Special Jury Award” was given to Mr Neelan, Chief Executive Editor ,News Division, for “Overall Contribution to Media Field”

Film City magazine announced seven awards for Amrita TV .Of this, the channel’s telefilm “Neermathalathinte Pookal” won three awards for “Best Telefilm”,”Best Direction” and “Best Photography” .

Another telefilm produced by Amrita TV ,”Irulmekhagalkkum Madhye” bagged the awards for “Best Screenplay ” and “Best Actor”.Amrita TV’s longest running program “Udayamaritam” which has done 700 episodes got the award for “Best Anchor”

Meanwhile ,on Feb 14 ,at an award presentation ceremony in Trivandrum, Amrita TV will be presented with 15 of the 29 Kerala State Television Awards 2006, which were announced last year

Amrita TV , a 24-hour Malayalam satellite channel set up in 2005,has a global footprint covering India, Australia, Middle East, USA, UK, Europe, Canada and parts of South Africa.The channel is also available on internet through JumpTV, the world’s premier internet-based service provider for IPTVs and mobile devices.

Amrita TV’s website which has a blog forum based on the music reality program”Super Star”, averages one million hits a month

February 12, 2007
Amrita TV launches travelogue

MUMBAI: Amrita Television, the 24 hour satellite channel announced the launch of its international travel show called “Sundara Bhoomi” (Beautiful Earth)

Each episode will be anchored by a person who lives in the location .The idea is to provide the viewers with a familiar face ad at the same time a local guide to the locations featured. Anchors on the show include American actress Ashley Richardson, Australian host Kane Robinson and South Indian film star Divya Unni who now resides in the US.

The show travels to various locations like Universal Studios, Niagara Falls, Swiss Alps, Tokyo, America’s Wild West, Australia and France.

The show is jointly produced by an international crew from USA, Japan, France and India and will air from 4 February every Sunday at 12 pm as a 30-minute travelogue.

Amrita TV has a global footprint covering Australia, Middle East, USA, Canada and parts of South Africa and now in UK and Europe. The show addresses both domestic and South Indian immigrant audiences abroad.

February 3, 2007
Amrita TV to launch interactive kid’s program ‘Good English Game Show’

MUMBAI: Amrita TV has announced the launch an interactive show titled the Good English Game Show, which aims to teach children the finer nuances of the English language.

Slated to kick off on 28 January, the show has been branded by Hindustan Lever and will air every Sunday at 11.30 am.

The programme is a culmination of an initial selection process initiated by MaRRs Events in collaboration with Cambridge University Press through the International Spelling Bee Contest conducted in schools across Kerala. The shortlisted winners of this school level contest will vie for honours in the Amrita TV game show. Students from Class VII to XII will be eligible to participate, informs an official release.

The channel promises that the game show will create a learning experience using a vibrant and peppy format. The ten interactive rounds will include: Jumble Word, Spellcheck, Crossword, Mystery Word, Dictionary Scramble, Pix-Word, Mix and Match, Antonyms, Pick and Spell and Building Blocks The Show has prizes for viewers too.

The Good English Game Show is another reality format targeting young aspirants on Amrita TV. This follows from the weekly music talent hunt programme Super Star Junior which also caters to aspirants in the 10 -15 age group.

January 24, 2007
Amrita bags best TV channel award

MUMBAI: Amrita TV, the Malayalam satellite channel set up in April 2005, has within a short span of time, established itself for innovative and quality programming targetting the entire family .Recently various forums presented Amrita TV with accolades including the Best Channel Award.

The Forum for Better Television, presented Amrita TV with six Awards in the telefilms category out of which ‘Errul megangalkkum sooryres mikalkkum madhyee’ won three awards for best tele-film, best script writer, best editing ;while Neermathalathende pookal bagged three awards for best direction, best cinematography and best sound recording. Both these tele -films are in-house productions of the channel.

The Kerala Film Audience Council also presented the best tele-film Award to Neermathalathende Pookal, an in-house production. The LIVE Chancellor awards honoured Amrita TV with best TV channel award. The other Awards comprised the best interview-based programme for Samagamam , an interactive show of the channel which is running since April 2005, and has been recognized as a channel identity programme; and special jury mention for Ularakal, an investigative current affairs programme –both these programmes are produced in-house by Amrita TV.

The Chitram Television Awards adjudged Amrita TV as best TV channel. It also bestowed the best anchor award for Samagamam.

A commissioned serial of the channel – Chitrashalabham- got three Awards for best direction, best serial and best actress.

To maintain the quality and integrity of the channel’s programming character nearly 74 per cent of Amrita TV’s programmes are produced in-house by its team of talented and experienced directors.In May 2006, Amrita TV was bestowed with 15 of the 29 Kerala state awards for excellence in television in different categories–the first channel to be so honoured in its very first year of operation.

January 12, 2007
Amrita TV to beam live new year show from amusement park

MUMBAI: Amrita TV has lined up a star-studded programme for New Year eve.

A non-stop three hour programme starting from 9 pm will be beamed live on 31 December, culminating into the ushering of the new year.

The programme, “Amrita Golden Moments 2007”, will be telecast from Fantasy Park, Palakkad, Kerala’s first amusement park.

“Amrita Golden Moments” will feature noted playback singer Karthik.

According to an official release, the star attraction will be the Amrita TV Super Star Troupe comprising Sangeeth, Job, Ajay, Mithu, Sarath, B Lakshmi, Athira and VR Lakshmi – hot favourites among the Kerala youth after a dream run on Amrita TV’s music reality show.

There will be a chorus performance by the 11 Super Star Junior contestants–the “Super Star Junior” is Amrita’s latest music reality show in the 10-15 age group, now being telecast Monday to Friday, 8 pm to 9 pm.

Packed with interactive programmes for the assembled audience,the New Year Live show will feature Chendamelam, Kerala’s traditional performing art, choreographed dances, magic show ending with a scintillating fireworks display when the clock strikes twelve. Viewers across the world will be able to SMS New Year greetings during the live telecast.

The New Year programmes for the day also include blockbuster Malay

December 26, 2006
Amrita TV ‘Super Star Junior’ to kick off from 11 Dec

MUMBAI: Amrita TV has launched Super Star Junior for aspirants in the 10-15 age- group which goes on air from Dec 11 Monday to Friday 8 pm to 9 pm.

From the nearly 9000 children who registered for this talent hunt, 10 contestants will be shortlisted to participate in the performance rounds of the show, asserts an official release.

Amrita TV has conducted auditions across Trivandrum, Kochi and Kozhikode with music directors and singers like Deepak Dev , George Peter , Gayatri, Manjari and Jyotsana as judges.

Each of the 10 contestants will undergo music orientation, grooming and performance training from music director Alphonse. As part of the programme, contestants will be exposed to sightseeing visits, and mentoring sessions to handle the challenges of such a competition from experts in the field.

Hindustan Lever is the main brand sponsor and Hutch the co-sponsor of Super Star Junior.

The final 10 contestants will be fighting for the Super Star Junior crown based on public voting through sms –with one contestant being eliminated every week.The Grand Finale will be a triangular contest which is scheduled for mid-February 2007, before the onset of the school examination period, adds the release.

Amrita TV will be beaming the programme worldwide which besides India will include UK, Europe, USA, Middle East, Australia, Canada and webcast on Internet through JumpTV USA

December 9, 2006
Amrita TV’s Super Star crowns Sangeeth; Super Star Junior set to kick off

MUMBAI: Amrita TV’s Super Star grand finale night declared Sangeeth.S the winner with 1,06,898 votes, while Job Kurian was runner-up with 81,146 SMSs to his credit. At the event, Amrita TV also announced the launch of Super Star Junior for aspirants in the 10 -15 age group slated for December 2006, for which auditions start in November.

The winner bagged a Maruti Suzuki Swift car as the Super Star prize, while Kurian took home a bike. All the Super Star contestants also performed on the stage alongside the two finalists who were fighting for the crown.

The gala night also saw performances by the three judges, youth music icons, Deepak Dev, Alphonse and Bala Bhaskar alongwith a set of renderings by pianist Stephen –who provided the music accompaniment in the Super Star show right from its inception, states an official release.

The programme which introduced to Malayalam television the concept of discovering a music performer was telecast live from the University Senate Hall, Trivandrum. Kerala star Dileep presented by Super Star Prize, while directors and artistes who judged earlier episodes of the show were also present including Kamal, Siby Malayil, Lohitdas, Samvratha, Sreekumaran Thampy and Menaka.

November 20, 2006
Amrita TV ‘Super Star’ grand finale live on 19 November

MUMBAI: The music reality show, Amrita TV Super Star, which has completed 115 hourly episodes reaches its finale on 19 November.

The two finalists Job Kurian and Sangeeth S.R. will compete for the Super Star crown and the grand prize of a Maruti Suzuki Swift car.

The three hour finale which will be held in Trivandrum will be decided by public voting through SMS which will be processed instantly and the winner announced soon thereafter– all of which will be telecast live worldwide between 7 pm to 10 pm to viewers in India, Middle East, Europe and USA, asserts an official release.

The programme also comprises performances from the earlier 13 contestants who got eliminated in the shortlisting rounds. Besides participation of contestants,there will be music performances by the celebrity judges and pianist who participated in Super Star right from inception.

The programme will be attended by various actors like Dileep , Kavya Madhavan, and the film personalities who donned the role of invited jury for Super Star during the earlier episodes. The audience for the finale will also see an invited gathering from business houses,ad agencies,government,public sector,media,cable networks and fans and friends of contestants.Hindustan Lever is the main brand sponsor of Super Star.

Amrita TV’s Super Star has resulted in the creation of a Super Star blog forum in the channel’s website which attracted 1.7 million hits in October from across the world. In September it logged 1.1 million hits, adds the release.

November 16, 2006
JumpTV signs four more Indian channels

MUMBAI: JumpTV Inc., the global broadcaster of ethnic television over the internet, has signed exclusive internet-broadcast distribution agreements with four Indian television channels specialising in news, current events, politics and entertainment.

Hindi news channel India TV along with Malayalam television channels Kairali TV, People TV and Amrita TV have ‘jumped’ into the bandwagon now. Each channel will be priced at US$9.95 per month when launched commercially and at a later date will likely make up components of an Indian and/or South Asian bundle.

These new contracts that have been signed subsequent to the company’s 30 June 2006 quarter end disclosure. JumpTV now has 209 channels under license, informs an official release.

President and chief executive officer of JumpTV International Kaleil Isaza Tuzman stated, “With more than 15 million people of Indian origin living outside of the sub-continent — more than half of whom live in countries with high-broadband penetration such as the UK, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and the UAE — we believe there is a massive global market for these channels.”

JumpTV’s Asia-Pacific director Vinod Kumar adds, “We are pleased to add such valuable partners as India TV News, Kairali TV, People TV and Amrita TV to JumpTV’s growing channel lineup. These channels add a new and diverse level of Indian programming to our strong roster of content which includes Sony Entertainment Television Asia, Punjab Today and Balle Balle, among others.”

Early this June, JumpTV had entered into an exclusive agreement to begin offering Sony Entertainment Television Asia (SET Asia) in North America via internet.

August 24, 2006
Amrita TV unveils Onam programme package

MUMBAI: Malayalam entertainment channel Amrita TV has announced its package for the upcoming Onam season. A slew of cultural and entertainment programmes has been slotted for the period of 3 September to 9 September.

The highlight of the package is the premiere of two blockbusters Madhuchandralekha and Vargam. The channel will also telecast ppopular Tamil films Boys, Run and Khushi dubbed in Malayalam.

To spice up the occasion, Amrita TV will also telecast a special episode of its channel driver reality show Super Stars, as per an official communique.

A sneak peak at the extravaganza:
Virunnu: Popular stars visiting other stars’ housesa for Onam celebration.

Onam celebrations by the star cast of our popular serials Sathi Leelavathi & In Jawahar Colony, set in a a residential colony.

Review of new films released; chat sessions with the respective directors and producers.

A comparative look at the last five year’s Onam.

Star Interviews: Mamooty, Sathyan Anthikkad, Vikram, Poornima-Bhagyaraj, Padmapriya, Vikram, Ajith & Shalini
Star family – Interview with star sisters Urvasi, Kalpana, Kalaranjani and their family

Special Udayamritham: Celebrities sharing their onam experience in this special episode of the breakfast show.

Sruthilayam – Musical show participated by celebrities like Bala Bhaskar, Manjari and other star singers.

Onam with senior actresses Kaviyoor Ponnamma, KPAC Lalitha, Sreelatha will share their experience in the film industry.

Special Super Star – Super duper edition of Super Star with celebrity participation.

Special editions of Santhwanam & Samagamam with celebrity participation.

Events – GMMA: Gulf Malayali Music Awards function held at Dubai. participated by the entire music fraternity from Malayalam – schedule 8 September.

Special Treasure Hunt for Youth & Kids
Madras Masala: Onam memories by Tamil film stars
Cattle Race, Documentaries & Tele-films

Chat session between kids actor Dileep & wife Manju Warrier, the lucky kids will be chosen through a special contest.
Telecast on Uthraadam & Thiruvonam days:
Onam celebration by a group of Malayali celebrities and the film personalities settled in Chennai. More than 20 star and celebrity families get together at a theme park (Kishkinta) in Chennai to celebrate Onam. The participants includes K J Jesudas & family, Jayaram & Family, Jeyachandran & family, Priyadarshan & family, Srinivasan & family, Sujatha, Urvasi, Sheela, Jayabharati, Ambika, Revathy, Seema, I V Sasi, Asin, Nayanthara and Sukumari.
The Programme schedule: Dance permonce by actor Vineeth and Gopika Verma
Vanchippattu by professional singers
Pookkalam competition by stars
Interactive session between star families
Tug of war between stars
Musical chair

Amrita TV has also roped in leading celebrities including Menaka, Kalpana, Manju Pillai, Manjari and Shelly to anchor each of the Onam days.

August 24, 2006