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Tag: Parmeshwar Godrej

  • Star World fashions a move to lifestyle

    MUMBAI: Star World is in for some image sprucing.
    Moving away from its predominant Western content, the English entertainment channel split its beam with an India specific beam catering exclusively to Indian viewers, in May this year. With urban Indians being the target audience, the channel has now moving towards lifestyle segment. First in the line is a five-week weekly series, Milan Fashion Week, scheduled to air on Sundays from 2 November to 30 November at 9:00 pm.
    Tarun Tahiliani hobnobbing at Milan


    Although Indian designers invited for the international shows isn’t news, it is the first time that an Indian designer, Tarun Tahiliani, will showcase his collection in Milan on request.
    After the recent Lakme Fashion Week telecast on Sony Entertainment Television, many entertainment and news channels are now clamouring to climb aboard the fashion bandwagon. Star World has also thrown its hat into the ring by planning to expand local programming in a big way. After five weeks’ coverage, the channel will bring in a new lifestyle show Style . With Style, the channel will offer a peek at all that is considered vibrant and stylish on the Indian fashion horizon. Each episode will have a different anchor, either a celebrity or a family talking about their personal style, offering glimpses of stylish couture, cuisine, architectures.
    The man and his designs


    The channel has roped in actor Gauri Karnik, to anchor the Milan Fashion Week. “Though the current trend may be towards lifestyle, we have always included elements in our programming. Our show Amul India Show, on Star World, was a successful lifestyle format. To suit the Indian audience taste, we decided to further the coverage, started by theMilan Fashion Week,” says Star India’s senior vice president content and communication Deepak Segal.
    Speaking on the decision to get Karnik as the anchor-presenter, Segal offers, “The show is all about trends and style and we wanted somebody ‘happening’. Gauri fits the bill. Besides, even Rahul Bose has been roped in to do a special on mens’ fashion.”
    Canned in a heritage show format, the show trails the anchor who presents the show in a first person format. Karnik will not only be focusing on Tahiliani’s line, she will be getting sound bites from his famous clientele including Kabir Bedi, Nikki Bedi, Jemima Khan, Parmeshwar Godrej, Simi Garewal and Mehr Jessia. That apart, each episode will bring to the viewers a different facet of Milan, its fashion, its essence and the sights and sounds of the international fashion shows.
    Star’s English entertainment channel is planning to revamp its car and automobile show Top drive. The new avatar Top Driveway will showcase the interesting cultural heritage of the country. According to Segal, “it will be a good mix of travelogue and automobile show. We also will be showcasing lifestyle segment alongside.”

  • Tehelka founder seeks support for print venture

    MUMBAI: Tehelka founder Tarun J Tejpal will be back with his weekend print publication Tehelka on the Weekend in October 2003.
    Tejpal’s company has embarked upon a communication campaign to enrol people who will become a founder subscriber or a member of the Tehelka Engaged Circle. Tejpal hopes to preserve the publication’s independence by enlisting support for the paper while hoping that this monetary support will contribute to sustain the publication.
    Inviting subscriptions from thousands of people in advance, Tejpal claims that the new publication will represent everything Tehelka has come to symbolise, in the last three years – free, fair and fearless public interest journalism. Tejpal’s website Tehelka.com created waves two years ago when it broke the story of high level corruption in defence procurements.
    Tejpal also claims that the publication will be aggressively independent. “It will not be aligned to any business house or political party. It will be aligned only to the public interest,” he adds.
    A note from the Tehelka team says that those who enrol as Founder Subscriber will join the ranks of luminaries like Shahrukh Khan, Shabana Azmi, Mira Nair, Javed Akhtar, Mahesh Mathai, Parmeshwar Godrej, Shobhaa De, Sunil Khilnani, Shanti Bhushan, Vikram Lal, Anil Aggarwal, Arif Mohd Khan, Jit Paul, Saeed Naqvi, John Singh, Dr.Prathap.C.Reddy and more.
    “You will also be a part of the Tehelka National Collegium where you can have a firsthand discussion with people at the forefront of change and contribute to the agenda of Tehelka as well,” adds Tejpal.
    The note also says that those who subscribe to the Tehelka Engaged Circle will have a platform to connect with warriors who are on the frontlines, fighting pitched battles against all odds; with other like-minded socially conscious Indians.
    The Engaged Circle will act as a catalyst to make issues into crusades and resurrect a critical mass that can make a bigger impact. “You will be invited to Tehelka National Engaged Forums as well, where you can come face to face with these warriors,” Tejpal adds.
    While referring to the past, Tejpal reminisces: “Ever since we broke the story on corruption in defence procurements, we have had to face relentless victimisation at the hands of a powerful establishment. In two years Tehelka’s staff has gone from 120 people to three; its office has been vacated; its staffers arrested and harassed; and its debts have spiralled. Yet its support has grown, as has its resolve.”
    Tejpal goes on to add: “We are determined to keep Tehelka from becoming a bad story: do the right thing and be destroyed for it. We want Tehelka to be a good story: do the right thing, suffer for it, but succeed in the end.
    The Tehelka Advisory Board has eminent personalities such as Anna Hazare, Kuldip Nayyar, Mahashweta Devi, Mark Tully, Ram Jethmalani, Swami Agnivesh, Shyam Benegal, Sir V.S. Naipaul, Alyque Padamsee, Mallika Sarabhai, Mahesh Bhatt, Kapil Sibal, Julio Ribeiro amongst others.