MUMBAI: After eight months of intense and melodious competition, the first ever carnatic music talent hunt for children ,Amrita TV‘s Raga Ratnam Junior reached a well-deserved grand finale on 1 June with Arjun Krishnan(14) bagging the crown and winning the prize of Rs 3 lakhs

The climax witnessed a triangular contest between three finalists ,each of whom had made an indelible impression in the minds of Amrita TV?s discerning viewers worldwide.

The second prize of Rs 2 lakhs was won by Hari Sankar(14) while the third prize went to Mahadevan(10)

The selection of the winners was done entirely on the basis of jury voting in the presence of an invited audience of nearly 1500 music aficionados at University Senate Hall,Trivandrum

The four-hour Grand Finale saw the coming together of many eminent musicians who also formed the highly rated jury panel chaired by music maestro Dakshinamoorthy .Noted and well-respected names in the arena of carnatic music who comprised the jury panel were :Padma Bhushan,T.N.Sheshagopal,Kanyakumari Amma,Guruvayoor Dwarai,Kavalam Sreekumar,Binni Krishnakumar and K.LSreeram

As part of the grand finale the three budding musicians performed a series of well-appreciated rounds which consisted of : Mahaganpaithim,Varnam,Keerthanam,Bhajan and Thillana.

The programme also saw violin concert by Kanyakumari Amma and Guruvayoor Dwarai.

The grand finale of Raga Ratnam Junior will be telecast by Amrita TV on 8 June at 6.30 pm.

MUMBAI: On the occasion of the World Anti-Tobacco Day on May 31st, 94.3 MY FM stubbed the big cigarette, and spread awareness about the ill effects of tobacco through various interesting activities including the pitching of a huge ash tray. The anti smoking campaign was run in all 17 MY FM cities - Jaipur, Jodhpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Jalandhar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Udaipur, Gwalior, Indore, Ajmer, Amritsar, Bilaspur, Nagpur, Raipur, Kota and Jabalpur.

Apart from sparklers MY FM coordinated interesting on-ground activities that engaged a large number of people. MY FM stations organised public awareness campaigns with an innovative local flavour. Some of the stations had a huge stubbed cigarette installed at a central place in the city and smokers were asked to read out bad effects of smoking, which were aired on 94.3 MY FM. The stubbed cigarette was used as an inspirational icon to motivate smokers to stub their habit. The Bilaspur and Ahmedabad stations aired live, specialist doctors‘ advice on the harmful effects of smoking and tobacco chewing on the consumer‘s health.

At Indore and Chandigarh an impressive rally went through important areas and caught smokers and tobacco chewers to tell them about the harmful effects of tobacco. At Chandigarh a health check up camp had a huge response which was organised with the help of a local hospital. Whereas at Jaipur a huge ash tray was placed at a main thoroughfare of the city and the smokers were motivated to stub their cigarettes in the bowl. Books from Cancer patients donated by NGO‘s were given to smokers who read from them on air. Print and on-air campaigns invited people to join the rallies.

Speaking about the campaign, Mr Harrish M. Bhatia, COO - Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd. said "94.3 MY FM has taken up many social causes as a part of our CSR initiative. Radio is a mass medium and can be intelligently used to convey important messages to society. Tobacco consumption is becoming a major cause of concern especially in the smaller towns where many more people now have access. Through this initiative we are using this medium in these cities to spread maximum awareness."

MUMBAI: UTV Movies, the Hindi movie channel from the UTV Network, is presenting the world premiere of "My Name is Anthony Gonsalves" starring Amrita Rao, Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and introducing Nikhil Dwivedi on 6th June ‘08 at 8:30 p.m. As a prelude to the premiere, UTV Movies will telecast a special feature on the making of the movie.

"My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves" is the story of an ordinary guy, Anthony [Nikhil Dwivedi], who has extraordinary dreams. His dream is to become an actor. Sikandar [Pawan Malhotra] is Anthony‘s benevolent benefactor and protector. Anthony becomes a witness to a crime committed by Sikandar‘s gang. Anthony lands up in a situation wherein he has to choose between his benefactor on one hand and his dream to become an actor on the other. The film was released in theatres on 11th January 2008.

Says Dilshad Master, COO UTV Movies: "We are the fastest to bring the latest movies to the small screen and My Name is Anthony Gonsalves is just one example of our offering." ‘My Name is Anthony Gonsalves‘, released in theatres in the month of January and is being aired on television in the month of June.

Launched on February 24th, UTV Movies has premiered blockbuster movies on television like Aap Kaa Surroor, Life in a? Metro and Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and boasts of an enviable line-up which includes contemporary hit movies like Jodhaa Akbar, Halla Bol and Race.

MUMBAI: Commemorating the World No Tobacco Day, to be held on May 31, Pfizer Limited today announced the launch of the Champs Club website (www.champsclub.in <http://www .champsclub.in/> ) and a toll-free helpline (1800 4 190190), to help smokers who are strongly motivated to quit smoking. The toll free helpline can be reached from all mobile and landline numbers and is functional from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm everyday. The website and national toll free helpline aims to educate motivated quitters about nicotine addiction and provides guidance that will help them embark on the journey of quitting smoking and staying smoke free. Smokers can now talk to a Champs Club coach who will assist motivated quitters to identify the next best steps to achieve their goal of quitting.

On the occasion of the launch, Dr Chandrashekhar Potkar, Director, Medical and Regulatory Affairs, Pfizer India said, "We are extremely happy to announce the launch of Champs Club just ahead of the World No Tobacco Day. One of the many reasons that smokers find it difficult to quit is because of a lack of a constant support system. The Champs Club will help the smoker understand the seriousness of nicotine addiction and hand-hold him/her through the quitting process."

"Champs Club is Pfizer‘s endeavor to create a holistic method that can address the issue of smoking in the country. Today, Champix and Champs Club together provide the doctor and smoker with a highly effective and innovative therapeutic option and the psychological support that can help patients overcome the addiction to nicotine," Dr. Potkar added.

MUMBAI: This weekend was indeed a special treat for all the Challengers as they get their last opportunity to step into the Champion squad on Clinic All Clear ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar‘, Fri, May 30th, 10 p.m. only on STAR Plus. The contest got even tougher for the three Challengers - Amey, Rex & Toshi as this episode also allows the four eliminated contestants to bounce back as a Champion.

Tension & exhilaration began to rise as all the contestants gave their best performance to retain themselves in the competition. But Toshi clearly stole the show with his brilliant performance. He left the judges spellbound when he sang ‘O re Piya‘. The jury members also set the bar higher in this episode as they wanted the contestants to only give their best.

There was a twist when initially all the contestants got to know that they would know their performance scores from only 2 of the jury members. And the tension kept building up for them till Shekhar‘s scores were also revealed to them at the end of the episode. Moreover for the first time, the Champions were seen to make uncharitable and frank views on each Challenger‘s performance.

Tension has reached the pinnacle as this time with not only one but two Challengers being given the opportunity to go into the Champion squad. The top 3 Challengers of this week were Prajakta, Priyani and Toshi. Now the decision lies with the Champions ? which two Challengers would they want to compete with in the coming weeks??

To catch more excitement & action stay tuned to Clinic All Clear ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar‘, Fri, May 30th, 10 p.m. only on Star Plus!

MUMBAI: Ten years back HIND ROCK wasn‘t coined as a phrase or as a hype line (they hate the hype), but it is an attitude, an identity, a movement that EUPHORIA took upon themselves to show that sometimes Rock can be Right! And now it is!! The best is yet to come... but then, what is the best??" Aah? life and its mysteries.

Today, 2008 A.D. EUPHORIA has created a home for itself in the hearts of music aficionados and supporters (They hate the term fan! Fans are on ceilings). The non believers still find excuses but? "they are the challenge!"

Their various hit albums include DHOOM, PHIR DHOOM, MANTRA, EUPHORIA Gully and Mehfuz.

They have played in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Canada, Mauritius, Thailand, U.S.A. Yeah, played at the prestigious Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, the birthplace of Rock‘n‘Roll to 300,000 screaming Americans (the only Indians to do it) and then again at the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations, New York. They were the first band to get in and rock the assembly with music (and not speeches). "The greatest satisfaction is to play to people who love your music irrespective of the language of the genre. That‘s the real respect a musician craves for!"

Euphoria is playing in Chennai on the 7th of June 2008. They are doing a public performance in Chennai after 3 years. The event is scheduled to happen at the YMCA grounds Royapettah. The event would be witnessed by 7000 odd people.

"Its nice to be back in Chennai after a long gap and we are very keen to perform in Chennai" says Dr. Palash Sen, the lead singer of the brand.

"Mirchi as a station always caters to the young and vibrant music lovers. We have always created a niche for ourselves. Euphoria as a band also believes in a similar ideology. We are glad to get them to Chennai" says Sandeep Sud- Cluster Head & VP - Radio Mirchi Chennai.

SAE college is the presenting sponsor of the event. Indian Terrain, Jainsons and Galla thick mango are the Associate sponsors of the event. Paramount Airways is the official airline partner, while Radisson GRT, Chennai is the hospitality partner and Travel house is the travel partner on this event. The event is powered by Mirchi Activation.