MUMBAI: As India completes 61 magnificent years of Independence; celebrations at Zee News have already begun! To salute the spirit of the nation, Zee News has lined up an array of programming that celebrates Indian achievements from across disciplines and attempts to define what it truly means to be an Indian.

India stands at a special moment in its young history, clearly poised for the Big Leap. And driving the aspirations of a nation of 1.2 billion is the largest youth workforce of the world. It is this Young India that is bringing in accolades for the country in all fields of activity and driving the country to its appointment with its destiny that Jawahar Lal Nehru spoke about 61 years ago. Hence Zee News salutes this unbounding energy of the youth on this I-Day with programming that highlights their contribution.

Under the theme of Jawan Hai India following are some day long programming initiatives that celebrate this spirit and confidence of a young and free India.

Jawan Hai Soch: One hour special programme dedicated to the issues that the youth of this country has revived. This special segment will touch the outlines of topics such as Yoga, Family Values, Parenting, Religion in constructive sense, Country ( Reverse Brain Drain taking place ). This special one-hour episode will air on August 15.

Jawan Hai Bollywood: This half an hour show will re-trace the major steps and developments in Indian cinematic history to gain insight into this diverse, colourful and vibrant industry. The major focus area will be the young talent storehouse that Bollywood has eveloved into. For example, the young actors, young directors with a new thought, young voices especially the singers coming out of talent hunts, the depiction of a young new India with remarkable flair, and new meaning Bollywood has given to patriotism. Daily 5:30 PM and repeat next day at 12:30 pm.

POLL: Youth Icons of India: Beginning August 14, Zee News identifies the five youth icons across the country. Capsules through the day will be aired daily to celebrate their achievements along with regular stories. Viewers will be given an opportunity to nominate their Youth Icon of India. The voting will begin on August 14, 2008 and the finale will be telecast on August 15.

Aisey Bhi Thay Nau Jawan: Zara Sochiye: On Independence day, a statue of great Bhagat Singh will be unveiled at Sandad Bhawan, who has been now remembered after a very long time. Half an hour capsule will revolve around imparting inspiration and will be an eye opener for the youngsters, showcasing the path of patriotism that Bhagat Singh followed. The show will be an on-air special on August 15.

Jawan Hain Yaddein : An attempt to collate all those happy and yet not happy, usual and yet unusual moments of the last 60 years of which the viewers are completely unaware of. The flashbacks from cases such as man behind the surrender story of Indo-Pak war of 1971 and many such unusual stories of newsmakers and events will leave the viewers speechless. This special will also hit the on-air platform on August 15.

"We at Zee News believe in the concept of giving viewers real news which is well reflected in special programming initiatives. This year we have decided to celebrate the Independence Day with a theme catering to the Indian Youth. With our Young India initiative we want to salute and celebrate this spirit of freedom with the youth who is playing a major role in contributing to the growth and prosperity of the country and thus, keeping alive the Independence in the literal sense. On behalf of team ZEE I would like to wish all the viewers a very Happy Independence Day, Jai Hind!!" said, Barun Das, CEO, Zee News Ltd.

MUMBAI: NewsX, India‘s premier HDTV ready English news channel, will be showcasing the Beijing Olympics with some very unique programming. The channel is presenting an in-depth analysis and discussions on one of the most awaited sports extravaganza through its programme, RINGS. NewsX has signed up one of the world‘s biggest 100 meters champions who is also the 1992 Barcelona Olympic winner, Linford Christie. His being a studio guest is a first in news television. Never in the history of Indian news television has an Olympic champion sat through the Olympics and analyzed Track and Field for the Indian audience.

Coming on the heels of Vijay Amritraj analyzing Wimbledon and Chima Okerie, the Euro, NewsX continues its endeavour to bring credible champions to explain and analyze sport. Commenting on the association with Linford Christie, Vynsley Fernandes, COO, INX News said, "Not only is he an Olympic champion, but a world champion, a European and a Commonwealth Champion. Linford analyzing the Olympics would offer a comprehensive perspective to our audience. It is this association with international experts that gives our sports programmes consistently high viewership. We are very proud to have set global standards in sports programming."

The programme has been specially developed to provide audiences a ringside view of the Beijing Olympics. Together with an update on the games, RINGS, also includes content about the city of Beijing - taking the coverage of this mega event to an unmatched high. It‘s not only reporting the event, but also discussing it threadbare as Olympics continue to test any athlete‘s strength, skills and endurance.

Said Linford Christie, "Discerning viewers across the world follow the Olympics very closely and it is encouraging that NewX has given the event its due by bringing out a very engaging programme. I am very happy to be associated with NewsX and I am looking forward to the entire experience."

‘Rings‘ will cover the background and history of the games, player profiles, achievements, daily results and records, upsets and surprises of the day, events to look forward to, Olympics trivia, changing techniques and all the information on the venues.

RINGS will be telecast everyday at 10 PM throughout the Olympics.

MUMBAI: Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM celebrated its fifth anniversary with the spirit of helping the cancer patients of Mahesh Memorial Trust Children?s Wing of Cancer Institute. Towards this, Radio Mirchi in association with Times foundation appealed to its listeners to contribute Rs.5 or in denominations of 5. This resulted in an overwhelming response from listeners, young and old alike and more than a lakh of rupees was collected ! On August 13, 2008, the amount collected was handed over to Mrs. Chitra Mahesh, trustee of Mahesh Memorial Trust Children?s Wing of Cancer Institute. The funds will be utilized to make a recreation room for the children that includes, toys, games, TV etc.

Radio Mirchi RJs spent time entertaining the children at the Cancer Institute and bringing a smile to the little faces. Entertaining the kids along with the RJs were popular playback singers Haricharan, Subhiksha and Vijay.

Speaking on the occasion, Sandeep Sud, VP & Cluster Head, Radio Mirchi Chennai said, ?Since we wanted the 5th Anniversary to be special and memorable we decided to give something back to Chennai. Mahesh Memorial Trust Children?s Wing of Cancer Institute is built in memory of Mahesh Mahadevan a talented music director who succumbed to Cancer. Mahesh has made immense contribution to music and this was our way of showing appreciation to him and also helping create a better environment for children seeking treatment at the Cancer Institutue.?

MUMBAI: Rajnikath?s Chandramukhi, telecast on Zee Cinema last week, proves that good content, packaged well and given the right platform, can do wonders. A SuperHit movie in the South, Chandramukhi dubbed for the national audiences and presented by Zee Cinema, garnered a rating as high as 2.5 TVR.

Mohan Gopinath, Business Head, Zee Cinema, said, ?Rajnikath enjoys a huge popularity amongst the audiences, an appeal that cuts across all sections. Though unknown to the Hindi ? speaking audiences, Chandramukhi had a huge potential which Zee Cinema very well recognized and packaged the movie accordingly. It?s the excellent packaging and promotion of the movie that made all the difference and helped us gather eye balls. Our choice of content and presentation of the work has acted as the key differentiators for us in the industry. We are very happy with the response received by the movie and would certainly incorporate this feedback in our future programming/ marketing decisions.?

Chandramukhi was telecast on Sunday, July 27th at 8.30 p.m. on Zee Cinema. The communication for the movie was based on the positioning ? ?Har Ghar Mein Hai Ek Chandramukhi?, stating that frustration, anger, depression and anxiety is present in every mind as the central character of the movie, Chandramukhi, rightly symbolizes.

MUMBAI: India is a homeland of populace who are youthful, cheerful, vibrant and there is no other way to celebrate Independence then in high spirits?This August UTV Bindass Movies presents the best of Hollywood comedy movies dubbed in Hindi, as young India marches towards its 61st Independence Day in apun ka style, apun ka language?between August 15-22, 2008

8 days?24 whacked out comedy movies, is what we have this month. The Independence week just roll out laughing with slapstick comedy?laugh your guts out as UTV Bindass Movies.

So let Jim Carry unleash his madness with The Mask, Dumb and Dumber, Me Myself and Irene. FBI Officer Martin Lawrence returns in a drag with Big Momma‘s House 2 and demented cadets romp it out in Police Academy series?While edgy horror spoof Scary Movies 3 and Mike Myer‘s retro cool go tongue in cheek in Austin Powers Series. A full week of wwacked out movies spiced up with chatpata Bindass Dubbing?

As vampires are haunted down by a dark Superhero Wesley Snipes( Blade & Blade 2), Sylvester Stallone shoots them all in Cobra and Mel Gibson battles Jet Li in Lethal Weapon, so along with stomach hurting laughter ?Bindass Movie premier explosive action blockbuster on Saturday XL Premiers.

MUMBAI: The August 15 long weekend is just around the corner and MAX, the Premium Movies and Special Events Channel, promises to bring to you an enjoyable movie experience through the weekend. Sit back in the warmth of your cozy home, while watching MAX, as we bring you the choicest of films.

Come Friday and MAX will bring to you movies like Lage Raho Munnabhai (starring Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi, the deadly Munna and Circuit duo who live the Gandhi way), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (an emotional drama with a huge star cast), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (one of the biggest musical blockbusters of Indian Cinema), Golmaal-Fun Unlimited (a part of the ?Comedy is Kinng? festival on MAX is about four friends bound together by their aimlessness and petty business of cheating people for fun and money)

MAX will showcase movies that will whet your appetite for more and ensure that your long weekend is a memorable one. So all you viewers sit back and enjoy a relaxed fun-filled weekend with a series of entertaining and light hearted movies to enliven your spirits.