MUMBAI: On the occasion of India‘s Independence Day, TIMES NOW gives all Indians a chance to journey through the past 61 years, by hosting four unique initiatives dedicated to the various aspects of India post independence.

One of the key initiatives taken by TIMES NOW is the show ‘Reels of Freedom‘. This show will be hosted by actor Nandita Das, who will take you to the world of Indian cinema to celebrate nationalism, through glimpses of various patriotic movies. It will feature defining moments reflected in Indian cinema over the last 61 years that capture the patriotic fervour.

The daily show ‘The Newshour‘ hosted by Arnab Goswami will be a special 61 minute show and will pay tribute to the 61 most defining moments in independent India. The show will feature prominent guests like Swaminathan Iyer, Javed Akhtar, Gurcharan Das, Leander Paes and Rakesh Sharma. It aims to delve into India‘s achievements in fields like politics and business to films and popular culture.

Speaking on the unique initiative, Arnab Goswami, Editor - in- Chief, TIMES NOW said, "TIMES NOW being the leader in the English news category, reflects the views and standpoint of contemporary India. We believe both in celebrating the past and the pragmatic present, and look ahead at opportunities, challenges and threats for India in the coming years. I‘m looking forward to watching all the shows myself."

TIMES NOW will be hosting a show that goes beyond simply celebrating another year of Indian Independence, ‘India Truly Independent‘. This special show will be hosted from London by film icon and noted television personality, Kabir Bedi. The show will pay a tribute to the growing Indian diaspora, which goes far beyond the country‘s geographical border in its 61 years of independence. ‘India Truly Independent‘ embodies the spirit of a young insurgent India that attempts to unshackle itself from the factors holding it back and looks at India, free conflicts and strife.

TIMES NOW has also peppered the regular programming with rare footage of the most defining moments in India‘s 61 years as an Independent nation. This will be aired in the form of Vignettes all through 14th & 15th August.

So, this Independence Day gear up to get a whole new perspective of your motherland by tuning in to TIMES NOW.

MUMBAI: BIG FM?s RJs across 13 Stations have made a new Group LIMCA Record of successfully completing 105 hours of Rjing. BIG 92.7 FM Staions including ? Jammu, Jamshedpur, Patiala, Amritsar, Kanpur, Goa, Trivandrum, Bareily, Aligarh, Agra, Udaipur, Gwalior and Surat had kicked-off the RJ Marathon on 8 August at 7.00 am and culminated the same with loads of fanfare and other activities on 12 August at 4.00 pm?this marked the entry of BIG FM?s new group record on RJing in the LIMCA Books.

After the successful completion of the marathon all the RJs echoed the same feeling by saying that it was a truly a lifetime experience, something which they will always remember. All the cities responded to the RJ Marathon in a wonderful way and have received a Record number of sms and phone calls during days and nights. Listeners and fans were seen pouring into BIG FM studios to support the RJs. Families and friends of the RJs performed havans and puja for the success of this activity and kept on visiting the BIG studios. Other than this, loads of local celebrities in each of the stations visited the studio to cheer-up the jocks.

RJ stayed in the studios for days and nights with having food in the studios itself. With the culmination of the RJ Marathon, the ?Radio Olympiad? comes to an end with the promise of offering new activities in the near future for its listeners.

This unusual record required the Radio Jockey to have immense passion for Radio, given that it is a true endurance test. Such a marathon makes for a rare attempt and hence there are no learning?s for the RJ?s. All the RJ?s had gone through several preparations for the marathon both physically and mentally and undertook fitness, yoga and meditation classes to ensure the highest levels of patience, commitment and focus. These preparations along with prayers & blessings from his near and dear ones!

Commenting on this achievement, Mr. Nirupam Sonu, Vice President- Programming said,? We have always believed in creating exciting formats to entertain our listeners. With the successful completion of Radio Olympiad, we have not only created a LIMCA record, but also left a mark in the history of Indian Radio industry. All our RJs have portrayed passion, dedication and love for their listeners by undertaking this challenging campaign. We are extremely grateful to our listeners and fans without whose support this activity would not be a success.?

BIG 92.7 FM has ensured all arrangements required like medical assistance, food, energy drinks, string of well wishers to ensure the RJ?s are in their high spirits and also a well chalked out programming plan to ensure the successful completion of the marathon.

To know more about the Radio Olympiad, log on to www.big927fm.com or tune in to BIG 92.7 FM?

BIG 92.7 FM. Suno. Sunao, Life Banao!

?To be the first choice of listeners as we not only entertain but positively impact and transform their lives?

MUMBAI: Languages or the lack of knowledge of them can often cause a comedy of errors. For instance what could mean one thing in one language could have a horribly different meaning in another. That?s the premise of MTV?s brand new music show titled ?Lost in Translation?. Lost in Translation features songs of all genres and languages except Hindi with subtitles delivered MTV style. Not as a translation, but what we think what it sounds like!

So "There was a cold day" actually means ?Darwaza khol de? and ?A ella le gusta la gasolina? becomes ?Aye Aly, hookah la ghaas oh le na?!? With a fresh song premiered every Friday, the show promises a lot of laughs. Some of the songs to watch out for include, Prabhudeva?s ?Come on come on?, the Ketchup song and even ?Alane? by Wes.

Says Ashish Patil, General Manager, MTV India and Senior VP Creative & Content, ?We?ve had a history of helping our audience discover music they?ll never find anywhere else and delivering it in an avatar no one else can. Lost in Translation is another mad attempt at doing the same, and showcase that music knows no barriers, no language. No matter what dialect, we can still laugh at it!?

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.