MUMBAI: Shakti Bhog Foods Ltd, makers of the popular Shakti brand of wheat flour, is venturing into the satellite television business.

Promoted by Kewal Krishan Kumar, the company is launching a 24-hour holistic health and lifestyle channel. The plan is to launch Shakti Channel within three weeks.

Shakti channel COO Himanshu Malik confirmed the development, adding that the channel?s test signals would commence from Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna. K Prakash Verma will head the channel?s programming.

Dedicated to health-based programming, the free-to-air (FTA) channel will beam via Thaicom 3. The channel will be distributed by Fifth Avenue Media Services.

The channel will provide details based on up-to-date health, diet and fitness information. The channel will also air programmes such as Yog Rakha Nirog (information on how one can refrain from sickness), Health Zone, Ab Dardh Nahi (relief from pain), Aerobics, Don?t worry be Healthy, Sex-Clinic, to name a few, offers Malik.

The channel will also feature the famous bhakti singer Narinder Chanchal who was one of the playback singers, along with eternal nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, for Raj Kapoor?s movie Bobby.

Malik adds that with more channels of this nature in the space, the market would only grow. Already available in this genre is 7 Star Care. He said, "We would concentrate in the Hindi belt first and then move on to the Western market to strengthen the distribution of the channel. Later, we will move to the Southern market."

Shakti channel has already initiated publicity campaigns through hoardings across North India. It will also use various other mediums of advertising such as newspapers and magazines.

The serial made under their banner Shrishti Entertainment is all set for launch at 10 pm on 4 November 2002. The serial has a budget of a whopping Rs 50 million plus and is scheduled to have 268 episodes for one year.

Bhagyashree and Himalaya also have another soap called Tanha Dil Tanha Safar, a joint venture with UTV and five medium budget films in the pipeline. While Himalaya, last seen with Bhagyashree on the big screen, will refrain from acting on the small screen, he plans to don the greasepaint for his forthcoming films.

A still from the forthcoming Kagaz Ki kashti

The soap which has three K?s( the most popular and deemed auspicious letter nowadays)claims to be different from the ongoing saas-bahu sagas currently on air. The story revolves around Arti (played by Bhagyashree), a small town girl whose childhood sweetheart returns from the US with a girlfriend, thus forming the predictable love triangle. The story goes on to focus on Arti?s battle to win him over and the many challenges she faces. Apart from being packed with the usual twists of heartaches, family melodrama and the likes, the serial?s USP are songs created especially to add glamour and depth to the serial.