Close on the heels of his much talked about comic role in Awara Pagal Deewana, Paresh Rawal has added another feather to his cap. The veteran actor has turned TV producer. His first offering as producer is a tri-weekly laugh riot-Shubh Mangal Savadhan that starts telecast from 15 July on Sahara TV.
Apart from this sitcom, Rawal‘s Playtime Creation is also working on three other projects - a soap, a religious thriller and another comedy. All these projects are likely to be on air in the next one year, Rawal says. Gradually, the company also plans to foray into tele films and then films. But isn‘t the company being overly ambitious, given the state of the industry? "Well turning TV producer was no doubt, a tougher experience than my struggle to make it as an actor," Rawal says, only half in jest.

A still from Shubh Mangal Savadhan

At a press conference called to launch the serial, the veteran actor was at his witty best.

Asked why he chose marriage as the topic of his first serial, Raval replied: "Shaadi has got maximum spice compared to any other event." But then why is he cautioning people - Savadhan - against marriage? "Well, I felt it was my responsibility to caution people against treading the path we took and suffered," Raval replied.

Raval‘s fans will however be disappointed to know that he will not be starring in the serial as he feels his present movie commitments will not allow him sufficient time to act in TV serials.

On his choice of Sahara TV, Raval said it was a rapidly growing channel that had been immensely receptive and supportive to them.

Playtime also started a trend of sorts by also launching the website devoted exclusively to the serial - www.smsthecomedy.com

The aim of the meeting is to discuss issues relating to set-top boxes, a necessary accessory once the conditional access system which the government, particularly I&B minister Sushma Swaraj, is keen to bring about, is implemented. A senior BIS official told indiantelevision.com today that the 12 July meeting (to be held a day after the apex body of electronics goods manufacturers, CETMA, holds a seminar on the TV industry with broadcasting industry representations) will discuss the various comments which had been invited on the technical parameters set by BIS for manufacturing of set-top boxes and decide the future course of action.
According to the BIS official, the feedback on the draft standards and specifications circulated earlier has been "favourable and positive." "Most of the feedback has agreed to what we had said with few suggestions coming on some minor technical issues," the official said, adding: "Hopefully by mid-August, BIS would be able to finalise the document which will be the industry standard." However, before CAS is implemented, certain amendments in the Cable TV (Networks) Regulation Act, 1995, facilitating CAS, will need the nod from the Indian Parliament‘s Upper House (Rajya Sabha) where the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government does not have a majority.

I&B ministry sources have indicated that the passage of the Cable TV Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha would be fairly easy during the monsoon session of Parliament scheduled to begin later this month. However, critics maintain that despite the I&B ministry‘s optimism, certain politicians in the government have not been in favour of CAS.

The BIS official also added that the decoding technique of each channel as and when CAS is implemented would be "proprietary in nature" where the broadcasters will exercise control through the multi-system operators.

There has been a major reorganisation at Hinduja Group MSO INCableNet in its senior management structure. INCableNet president Rajiv Vyas now has sole operational charge of INCableNet and has been promoted to COO IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMC). INCableNet is the operations arm of IMC. Out of the equation are the two other power centres in INCableNet ? CEO Ram Hingorani and CFO S Vardhan. Both have been transferred to Hinduja House. Hingorani is now vice-chairman IMC in a non-executive capacity (he was executive V-C IMC before the restructuring), while Vardhan has returned to parent company HTMT as executive director. Vardhan has been replaced by Srinivas Pala.
Talk of internal feuding among these three has long been there in the industry and it may well have been to resolve this that the restructuring was done.

 campaign to ward off the AIDS epidemic in India was flagged off on 2 July by the BBC World Service Trust, the NGO arm of the BBC World Service, in partnership with Prasar Bharati and the National AIDS Control Organisation.
Claiming that this is the world‘s most intensive broadcast campaign, the BBC says that for the next 10 months, the partnership will transmit:

- A detective drama ‘Jasoos Vijay‘. It will air thrice a week on regional Doordarshan stations, with an omnibus edition on DD National
- A weekly youth show called ‘Haath Se Haath Milaa‘
- ‘Chat Chowk‘ which will be a weekly radio phone-in

In addition to the above, social advertising spots will run three times every day on television and radio for the duration of the campaign. The USP of the project is that it uses the popular medium of entertainment to convey information and combat prejudice about AIDS, an official release informs.

The two-year project is funded by the Department for International Development, the British Government‘s aid ministry, as part of their much larger commitment to combating AIDS in India. The BBC project is budgeted at ?4 million (about Rs 260 million). The campaign will stress the need for protection and safe sex and will aim to increase knowledge and awareness and generate more informed opinion. At the same time, it aims at enhancing life skills in communication, negotiation and advocacy by challenging practices and stigma and discrimination.

The NACO-Prasar Bharati-BBC World Service Trust partnership will raise AIDS awareness in the low prevalence states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. By promoting behaviour change, including condom use, in these states, the objective is to contain the epidemic before it takes hold. In return for programming, production funds, training and workshops, Prasar Bharati has contributed producer time, in-house technical facilities and airtime to the project.