ITV

Tag: Rajiv Khandelwal

  • Sony set to explore the media world with new show – ‘Reporters’

    Sony set to explore the media world with new show – ‘Reporters’

    MUMBAI: Breaking News! A common phrase that is flashed almost on all screens everyday – from news channels to websites. Now Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has picked it up as a ‘concept’ for its new entertainment show.

     

    While internationally, the backdrop of journalism has been seen in shows like The Newsroom starring Jeff Daniels, Dirt and The West Wings, amongst others; in India the concept was untapped until now.

     

    The Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from Multi Screen Media’s stable is all set to explore the world of media with its new show – Reporters. A love story that will make breaking news is set to hit the television screens from 13 April at 9 pm. The channel has roped in Frooti as the presenting sponsor for the show.

     

    Produced by Rose Audio Visuals’ Srishti Arya, it will reveal the challenging world of news in a contemporary way. Set against a backdrop of a media house, it follows the journey of seasoned and respected journalist Kabir Sharma (Rajeev Khandelwal) and a budding reporter Ananya Kashyap (Kritika Kamra). The show is a story of these two strong and conflicting individuals, who are destined to be together.

     

    SET SVP and marketing head Gaurav Seth believes that today the country’s perceptions, opinions and decisions are shaped by the world of television news and it is this world, which forms the setting of the channel’s new show.

     

    According to Seth, there are two kinds of stories that work on television – love stories inside the house and outside. One such show that had a love story setting in a fashion house was Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi.

     

    “A show’s backdrop and context needs to change after sometime as it tends to lose the novelty factor. It is important for us to keep evolving the medium, stories, characters and that’s where this new show comes in,” he said.

     

    Behind the scenes

    From visiting news channels to having in-depth conversations with journalists from the news medium, the actors have done it all. The actors met veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai to know how a newsroom functions.

     

    Moreover, the production house also did research in the matter in terms of how news is created, what the first point of connection to the last point of delivery and the process followed amongst other things.

     

    The production house did its R&D by seeking help from a senior journalist and made sure that the procedures that were being followed were on the right track.

     

    “The journalist we worked with said that many a times a news channel’s agenda and point of view may differ from that of its journalist. We have to be able to identify with the crisis of the character. Unless we don’t feel the need to take a side or stand, we are not going engage with the character. It is fascinating to see how news is created,” explains Arya.

     

    Seth further points that people, who are from the news medium, will relate to it. “This is factual and not made up just for the sake of it. However, at the same time you have to take creative liberties because at the end of the day, it is a story,” he said.

     

    Agreeing on the same, Arya asserts, “I would not say it is 100 per cent authentic because then it might not necessarily be engaging. We have tried to stay with the systems that a news channel follow.”

     

    The channel has canned five episodes till now and the show is designed for a finite run with 120 episodes. Seth feels that one has to tell the story in a limited time period that is available. “You can’t just keep on extending the show. If a story holds for 2000 episodes, by all means we can go for it but if it is conceptualised for a 100 episode pattern and then if you move it to 300, you will end up stretching the story,” he opined.

     

    Having started his career as a journalist with the newspaper called Mahanagar, SET chief creative director Ajay Bhalwankar has lived this life closely. “I believe that there are lots of interesting stories to tell. Today individual reporters are known, unlike during my time. When I began my career as a reporter, a press conference would see maximum eight to ten journalists with notepads. There was not a single camera present. Today, there are more cameras, so times have evolved and so has the profession. However, not many people know what happens inside and we thought that will create a great amount of curiosity for people.”

     

    Marketing buzz

     

    This time round, the channel has decided to push its marketing efforts on the digital medium to get the maximum bang for its buck.

     

    The first promo of Reporters grabbed one million views in less than a week. The channel ensured that the promo was interesting enough to create a splash. “It has been absolutely remarkable that people have noticed it. It’s been trending on Twitter regularly and we have managed to build a lot of anticipation for the show,” Seth said.

     

    Additionally, the channel has created a LinkedIn account for Khandelwal, where he is going to invite people to interview for jobs inside his network.

     

  • Divine predictions ’08

    Divine predictions ’08

    As they bid goodbye to 2007, our telly stars look forward to the New Year with great hope and expectation.

    But what’s in store for them in 2008? Neha Maheshwari got into intuitive mode trying to foresee whether the constellations will keep shining for our telly stars. For this purpose, we consulted noted Tarot card reader Dr Soniyaa P Bhaagiyaa.

    Here Dr Bhaagiyaa offers predictions for 2008 of different stars and channels through Tarot card reading and she also comes up with advice for the stars through her Goddess Guidance Cards.

    The results are as interesting as expected. So have fun reading them.

     

    Ekta Kapoor

    Year 2008 for her: It is going to be a good year professionally. There are bright chances of her getting married this coming year.

    As a producer: She will do well as a producer in 2008. She will hit the mark again. She might have to travel abroad for shoots.

    Bollywood: Tarot card suggests she leave everything in the hands of destiny. She may not receive the needful help from the people as expected. She is going to learn many lessons. For 2008, Bollywood is not going to be fruitful.

    The K-factor: There is a possibility that she will get rid of her favourite K-letter. She will resort to some other alphabet but will always take support of the letter K.

    Guidance card for 2008: Universe suggests Ekta create a connection with the divine different from what she has followed thus far. We advice her to visit some prayer place and make changes in her altar. She needs to check out what she needs to add to and minus from her altar. She needs to focus on the spirituality also, along with her professional life.
     

    Rajiv Khandelwal

    Bollywood: His movies will do good business overall. He will be getting some more opportunities. There is an advice card for him that reveals that if he takes risks he will be successful. He is in to manage lots of things this year.

    Television: His television career will be good and it is going to be a new beginning for him. But he needs to manage many things.

    Patch up with Ekta Kapoor: Yes there are bright chances of a patch up between the two and tarot also says that there are chances of him doing a Balaji serial.

    Guidance card for 2008: You are taken care of for your today and tomorrows by the universe so don’t worry.
     

    Smriti Irani

    2008 for her: It is going to be a mixed year. There will be ups and downs but as the year ends, it is going to be happy.

    As a producer: There will be many projects and she will be doing a lot of juggling. She will be trying to manage two different projects at a time but eventually she will be able to manage. Professionally she would struggle a bit managing too many projects. She would also try to expand herself.

    Advice card for her indicates that she should try to strike a balance as far as her professional life and production house is concerned. At the end, her professional life will be managed and it will do well.

    As an actor: Her acting career will be really good. She will also do some other projects. Overall it is going to be a good year for her.

    Bollywood aspirations: She might go there with the help of old acquaintances who will help her in the project.

    Guidance card for 2008: Universe suggests she spend some time near water. She needs to recharge her batteries. A break is advised to her as she has been under a lot of pressure off late. We suggest she go for a good holiday near an ocean or lake.
     

    Rakhi Sawant

    Controversies in 2008: Yes, she will remain among the controversies and thus in the news. But she will remain in control. She will be happy with the way she has led her life so far.

    Relationship with boyfriend Abhishek: The relationship is not going to be very exciting the coming year. Both of them will have disappointments in regards of not being given importance. The relationship will face emotional trauma and they will not take any risk in terms of both their relationship and professional life. There will be confusion in their relationship. The task for them is to choose between establishment of their careers or relationship.

    Guidance card for 2008: There is no need to hurry or force things to happen. She should take things easy. The guidance card suggests she believe in the process of the universe.
     

    Shweta Tiwari:

    2008 for her: Professionally, it is going to be a mixed year for Shweta Tiwari. There will be a lot of confusion and delays in projects. But 2008 is going to make her come across absolutely new beginnings. Personally the cards suggest she go for some past life regression. She has tried hard on her relationship but cards reveal her getting divorced the coming year. Justice will be done. Her Bhojpuri films will be successful. Her expectations will be fulfilled.

    Guidance card for 2008: She is just getting started so universe suggests she have patience and not give up easily.
     

    Iqbal Khan

    2008 for him: Iqbal Khan will be emotionally content this year. He should not lose control over his emotions. There will be a lot of competition and in turn he will try to prove himself but there is no need to. He needs to put his foot down wherever he is correct. But there is no need to prove his talent as 2008 is going to be a fulfilled year. There are bright chances that he will become a proud father.

    Bollywood: He has bright chances of his entering Bollywood.

    Patch up with Ekta Kapoor: Tarot card for him does indicate chances of having a patch up with Ekta Kapoor. But as far as acting in Ekta’s production house is concerned chances are very less and it may not happen.

    The advice card for him says that he should not look at emotional loss happened in the past but should grab the opportunity.

    Guidance card for 2008: This is the transforming time for him. He will be experiencing many changes and the universe suggests he accept those changes and go with the flow. He is advised to trust the universe.
     

    Prachi Desai

    2008 for her: Professionally, it is a mixed year for her. Whatever she has worked hard on this year will help her in the coming year. It is going to be a creative year for her.

    Her movie Rock On: Her expectations with the movies are running too high which is not good. It will only do ok business. She needs to balance her act. Destiny is going to support her throughout.

    She will get more offers from Bollywood but she is going to be very choosy and cautious.

    Quitting Television: There are 50-50 chances of her quitting the world of television. She will be very calculative and thus will face a lot of stress. 2008 can be rightly said as Dilemma Year for her as she will be in jeopardy deciding whether or not to quit television.

    Guidance card for 2008: The guidance card suggests she trust the universe.
     

    Ronit Roy

    Television career in 2008: It is going to be a mixed year for Ronit Roy. He will have the support of his luck and some mystical and unknown things. We suggest he go for some past life regression. He needs to be careful of his friends and enemies.

    Guidance card for 2008: The universe suggests he love himself. He needs to work out his relationships with the females around. He needs to respect the females.

    He also needs to check his relations with his mother. He should be non-judgmental about himself and others as well. He needs to focus on the love and light that is within everyone.
     
    This would again be a non-fiction year on television. So we have lots more reality shows lined up.
    _____****_____
     

    Star Plus: Compared to 2007, the coming year is not as good. But by year-end, it will turn out to be better. There will be a new beginnings in the year-end. In the process of proving themselves due to competition they may lose out on quality. They should not compromise with quality while competing. They will be taxing themselves uselessly. There will be let downs. They should maintain the values they believe in. They need to maintain their already established goodwill. They need to stay off temptations a bit.

    Advice for 2008: They are advised to have patience and not to worry as everything is working for them beautifully. But they are advised not to compromise with quality to get the needful results.
     

    Zee: It is going to be a mixed year for Zee TV. They would face certain losses but at the same time there will be several opportunities popping up. They need to handle the tough situations with lots of patience. There will be new opportunities for Zee in 2008. Zee is expected to have some changes at the authority level. This is time for learning lessons which will lead to the improvement in future. If they think of producing mythological serials luck will support them and such shows will be successful.

    Advice for 2008: If they work on projects related to children, it will be very good for them. They should work on some projects that can help children in their welfare and development.
     

    Sony: There are close to 100 percent chances that Sony channel will get sold. Though it might pull the financial year but after that it will come to an end.

    Advice for 2008: The guidance card says that your independence is the foundation of your strength and success. Tie-ups create unnecessary problems. If they try independently it would be good for them. But now the chances of them surviving after the mid-2008 are negligible.
     
     

    Amongst the newly launched channels: NDTV Imagine is expected to shine.
     
     

    (For the uninitiated, Dr Soniyaa P Bhaagiyaa is a reputed versatile Integrated Therapist who practices a variety of sciences. She has been practicing Tarot card reading for the last five years at her clinic in Mumbai. She is also a vastu expert, hypnotherapist, and practices aura healing, chakra guidance and tea leaf predictions).