ITV

Tag: Nikhil Chinnapa

  • MTV’s gets vignettes back in-vogue with ‘Desi Raj’ and ‘Page 3’

    MTV’s gets vignettes back in-vogue with ‘Desi Raj’ and ‘Page 3’

    MUMBAI: Indian music for the soul and glitterati feast for the voyeuristic eye. That could possibly describes MTV’s two new launches, MTV Page 3 and MTV Desi Raj.

    Although both are 10-minute vignettes, the similarity ends there. While MTV Page 3 is a fun look at parties and the hip and happening do’s, MTV Desi Raj takes the audience behind the scenes of the hottest gigs and bring them face to face with the creators of the Asian vibe.

    “It is a 10-minute vignette, so it’s breezy and basically gossipy in nature,” MTV veejay Anusha offers an explanation.

    In a bid to bring some more sizzle on the the small screen — not that there is any dearth of of — MTV’s Page 3 will be stalking the night to indulge the fascination of young viewers with glimpses into the lives of the rich and famous, informs a company release.

    So, whats new ? Isn’t there already something like that on the television? “Not really!” avers Anusha.

    “For starters, it is a vignette, so that sets it apart. On the other hand, it has got nothing to do with the party that we visit. We will give you a glimpse of the party but the show has more to do with the personalities that visit these parties. For example, for the inaugural episode we have visited Lakme India Fashion week. What we will be showing is not the usual LIFW coverage but we will give the viewers a sneak peek into the post event party that the electronic media hasn’t covered,” she added.

    The channel claims that their crew, after elbowing for space with press photographers, will bring to the viewers real life images of the glitz and glam, the fun and frolic, the naughty going ons and the gossip of the beautiful and glamourous people.

    Treated with MTV’s brand of tongue-in-cheek humour, MTV Page 3 will air on Fridays at 10:45 pm.

    Meanwhile VJ Nikhil Chinnapa will rediscover the Indian sound on MTV Desi Raj, every Friday at 10.30 pm.

    The show will be profiling a hot destination for music, every week. The 10-minute show will take the audience behind the scenes of some of the hottest gigs and bring them face to face with the creators of the Asian vibe.

    The first episode takes a look at how Indian sounds have consistently influenced western culture and music. “Guys like Ravi Shankar, Nitin Sahani, Talvin Singh, Apache Indian, Bally Sago can be credited with the reason that the Indian music even figured on the world music chart. These guys have surely paved the way for the rest like Outlandish, Rishi Rich, Punjabi MC,” offered Chinnappa.

    With the format based on storytelling, the inauguaral episode will look at the impact that Ravi Shankar had on global music, including his relationship with The Beatles.

    “This has been the age of pop and hip hop. Of late, the music aficionados realised that the 4X4 beat of hip hop matched with that of Bhangra. And hence the popularity of the music,” explained Chinnapa about the growing influence of Indian music.

  • Zee English to pump up programming with new shows, specials

    MUMBAI: While NBC’s enormously popular Friends has already stepped into the 10th and final season on US television, Zee English is all set to welcome the ninth season of the Emmy-winning comedy about six close-knit young friends living in New York City.


    That apart, the English entertainment channel will also unveil new shows like Curb your enthusiasm and the next season of Sopranos.
    While the ninth season of Friends premieres on Zee English on 10 October, the channel will be airing a special curtain raiser which takes the audience through each season of the critically acclaimed sitcom.


    Starting 2 October, the week long curtain raiser is anchored by actor Rahul Khanna and ex-MTV VJ Nafisa Joseph. Taking a cue from the popularity of the Emmy curtain raiser anchored by Gul Panag, the Friends curtain raiser attempts to take viewers down memory lane.


    Produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane production in association with Warner Bros Television, the show, which debuted on US television in 1994-95, began airing in India in 1998.
    The popularity of the show prompted the launch of the Indian version Hello Friends on Zee, produced by actor Ajit Pal. Unfortunately, audiences failed to warm up to the weekly that launched on 6 September 1999. Starring MTV VJs Cyrus Broacha, Nikhil Chinnapa, Maria Goretti, Aparna Tilak, Simon Singh and Anil Dimbri, the spin-off received a lukewarm response vis-a-vis the Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer show and was subsequently pulled off.
    While the channel is yet to announce the dates, the candid, unsparing and self-deprecating Curb Your Enthusiasm is the next launch of the season. The show brings the off-kilter comic vision of the Larry David co-created and co- produced another Zee English alumnus Seinfeld.


    The series blurs the lines between reality and fiction, as David (playing himself) and a cast of real and fictional characters are followed around Los Angeles by a ubiquitous camera that chronicles the private, often banal world of a relatively public man. It features footage of writer Larry David at home, at work and around town, as he gets into predicaments with fictional and real-life personalities. The show shot without a script, also stars Jeff Garlin as manager Jeff Greene and Cheryl Hines as wife Cheryl. The cast is given scene outlines and often improvise lines as they go.
    Speaking about the popularity of sitcoms, a channel spokesperson says that the ‘association’ factor with the sitcom is the prime reason of its popularity with the metro audience. While the channel remained noncommittal about whether they intend to get the spin-off Joey on board, Zee MGM will definitely be airing the final season of Friends next year. The channel has also planned a couple of contests around the ninth season.
    Based on the friendship of three men and three women who frequently gather at each other’s apartments and share sofa space at Greenwich Village’s ‘Central Perk’ coffeehouse, the show has been one of the regular features on the channel.
    While new acquisitions like Six Feet Under, Hidden Hills and The Norm Show have managed to register, the channel continues with reruns of the NBC show Fresh Prince of Bel Air and the ABC show Full House beside Friends, owing to the popularity of the old shows.