ITV

Tag: Mikanos

  • Rousing finish to AXN’s ‘Hot’n’ Wild’ search

    MUMBAI: Hot ‘n’ sizzling swimwear! Russian babes trying to keep their hats on! Catcalling! Long legs! The finale to AXN’s Hot ‘n’ Wild contest had all this and then some.
    (From L to R) Whitney, Sharma, Acharya and Zaetta


    On Saturday night at Mikanos in downtown Mumbai, Salil Acharya and Deepica Sarma were crowned the AXN hot and wild couple. The search took almost two months and saw 5000 entries.
    While the eight contestants were in the limelight, the audience’s eyes popped at the sight of a four woman Russian dance troupe who danced to show biz tunes. The variety was delectable from Tom Jones’ You Can Keep Your Hat On to a jazz number straight from the Cotton Club. For readers who don’t know, the Cotton Club was a favourite hangout of gangsters in the 1930s.
    After a slow start with the finalists initially being asked repetitive questions, things started picking up. There was a costume and a swimwear round. These tested the participants on the parameters of looks, glamour, communications skills and screen presence.
    However, the highlight of the evening was the Dare Anchoring round where the contestants had use their persuasive skills to entice members of the audience to participate in simple dares. These ranged from performing headstands to walking on one’s toes for around half a minute.
    For the finalists, the challenge was to walk the line between being firm and being polite. The finalists were evaluated on the basis of audience management, spontaneity and presence of mind.


    The judges included SET’s executive VP, sales and revenue management Rohit Gupta, the hosts of Who Dares Wins former Australian test cricketer Mike Whitney, Australian model Tania Zaetta and AXN’s VP marketing Gregory Ho. Right now Deepica, Salil, Whitney and Zaetta are touring the country hosting AXN Extreme Dhamaka.
    This is an enhanced version of last year’s localised Who Dares Wins India Special and will also feature main dares. It also introduces elements from another reality show that airs on the channel Fear Factor. Mumbai will be the last stop of the six city tour sometime in the second week of October as this is the biggest market for the channel.
    Zaetta said, ” To successfully anchor a show like this you first of all have to check your ego at the doorstep. This is a team effort. You have to be prepared to dirty your hands in order to get the job done. You also have to love interacting with different kinds of people and learn to get along with a divergent array of personalities.”
    In order to prepare for Saturday the finalists went through grooming sessions conducted by choreographer Achla Sachdev, Elle’s fashion editor Mohan Neelkanth, haircare specialist Savio Pereira and Kaya Skin Clinic.

  • Swaraj to rock ‘MTV Just Grind’ on 11 July at Mikanos

    MUMBAI: Sitars, tanpuras, dhols and thumbi mashed up with dancefloor beats, rocky guitar riffs and catchy vocal. International music with eastern influences. is what music fans can expect at the MTV Just Grind bash. This takes place at Mikano’s on 11 July from 8 pm.
    Presented by White Mischief Holidays, MTV Just Grind will showcase the refreshing sound of Swaraj that comes at a time when Punjabi/bhangra is the new flavour of the west. In India, Swaraj will be represented by Khushboo from Sonik Gurus, Nerm from Shiva Sound System and Cavo from the Dum Dum Project. Swaraj consists of 20 DJ’s, musicians, producers and visual artists.
    Swaraj was formed nearly six years ago and they have taken their ‘Future Asian Beat’ sound – a heavy fusion of eastern sounds and rhythms with Hip Hop, Funk, Breakbeats, Drum ‘n bass and just about any other western dance floor style – around the world.
    Swaraj made the following comments about their upcoming trip to India “Swaraj is your birthright, performing live in India is ours! We’re looking forward to making MTV Just Grind the most happening party in Mumbai so make sure you’re there.”
    MTV’s Chillout crew will also be around shoot a half-hour special that will capture the music, the mood, the people and the maasti.
    Formed a couple of years ago Sonik Gurus have been likened to an urban version of Blur with their cheeky British pop lyrical sensibilities and heavy urban club grooves. Their music defies categorisation, crossing just about every musical boundary while forging a genre of it’s own. Sitars, tanpuras, dhols and thumbi mashed up with dancefloor beats, rocky guitar riffs and catchy vocal hooks comprise their sound. Sonik Gurus are rapidly establishing themselves as top remixers, having recently remixed tracks by U.S R ‘n B diva Toni Braxton and Shakalaka Baby from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bombay Dreams musical.
    Shiva Sound System formed an alliance with Swaraj just before their compilation “Future Asian Beat” was released. Soon rising to the headline act in the Swaraj roster, DJ Nerm’s sets grew incorporating new collaborators and methods of performance at each turn. While the seeds of the Shiva Sound System were sown here, Nerm toured around the globe with Swaraj, including territories from the US to India causing a storm wherever he went.
    Meanwhile The Dum Dum Project are currently making their own in-roads into Asia with a popular club residency in Bangkok. They introduced a new Asian- Indian sound, which combines Indian music with breakbeats, samples and live instrumentation. Their new single Punjabi 50 has been at number one on BBC radio1 Asian chart for over a month. Their sound is Urban Asian, with a heavy New York streetwise influence. The band comprises of Sean alias DJ Cavo and producer/instrumentalist Niraj Chag.