MUMBAI: If you were in Hong Kong last week, you may be wondering what this phrase means, and why you keep hearing it in every shop, restaurant and market in the city.The obligatory four-word greeting, always said with gusto, wishes others a happy and a prosperous New Year, accordingly to the lunar calendar. However, on February 7 this year, the New Year was extra-special for the Indian community in HK, as the finalists of Star Voice of India welcomed the Chinese Year of the Rat with a scintillating performance in Hong Kong. Indeed, it was an unforgettable evening.

Ishmeet, Harshit, Chhoote Ustad ?Abhaas?, Toshi, Sumitra & Priyani from the popular Star Plus reality show, Star Voice of India performed in front of a packed house at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Auditorium. The sold-out concert, themed as ?Evolution of Bollywood Music? took audience on a sentimental journey through the valley of reminiscences ? Starting with melodious classics of the 1970s all the way up to the contemporary favourites ?Dard-E-Disco? and ?Chak-De?. The talents were engaged in a mellifluous musical camaraderie and went into the crowd, setting the feet tapping. The show also showcased the fusion of local HK dancers dancing on popular Bollywood numbers, clearly a first time on such a big platform. Evidently, if public feedback is the metric of measurement, HK audience loved the performance. The chief guest was Mr. L.D. Ralte, the Consulate General of India in HK. It?s the first time the SVOI talents performed together anywhere internationally. After the event, we had organizer queries for similar shows in US, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai. Please find attached a few pictures from the show!

The highlight of the evening was the Start of the auditions of Star Voice of HK with the promise that if we are able to spot a real singing talent in HK, he/she will be given an opportunity to travel to India and sing a song from the SVOI Season 2 platform, in front of esteemed judges and this episode will be televised on Star Plus globally. Clearly, this is a huge localization opportunity and will help integrate our International beams better. Already 100 people have signed up for the SVOHK auditions.

This is a small attempt to a bigger canvas called ?SVOI World Tour?. Encouraged by the success of SVOI Concert in HK and after incorporating the many learning too, we at International Business hope to take this property across other Star markets regionally soon (depending on regional market interest). The idea is to further popularize Star, enhance the brand equity of Star Voice of India, and entertain viewers by converting compelling and winning content from reel to real. Thanks & best regards.

MUMBAI: INX Media?s satellite-delivered music channel 9XM, which last month reached out to an additional six million subscribers across India with a distribution deal on government-owned Direct-To-Home platform DD Direct Plus, has established an unprecedented leadership position in only three months since its launch in October 2007.

According to industry figures just released for the key Indian youth demographic of 15-24 year-olds, the channel - which takes an entirely fresh approach to presenting music - has achieved a more than two-fold audience share lead over Viacom?s global youth music brand MTV, and an audience share in excess of seven times that of News Corporation?s STAR TV music platform Channel [V], both of which have been active in the sub-continent for over ten years (see chart below).

"9XM has filled a void in the music television space. It has created a distinctive new space in music and entertainment that targets the needs and attitudes of youth, and not just the demographics," said Anthony Pettifer, Group Director, Brand and Communication, INX Media. "That?s why we?ve seen the channel being watched not only at home, but in canteens, colleges, bars, shopping malls, gyms, coffee bars and eateries. We?ve even seen it being played in streets outside McDonald?s restaurants."

9XM?s revolutionary presentation features only full-length, current hit Bollywood songs on a screen shared with irreverent graphics, animated characters and interactive viewer feedback. The channel in effect has created a new genre - non-stop Bollywood Music Entertainment - and packaged it in a uniquely youthful style. As a result it has also overtaken the audience share of the leading youth-oriented general entertainment channels in India and a number of niche players in other genres (see chart below).

Audience interactivity with the channel begins with on-screen SMS messaging via live quizzes and contests. "SMS traffic to the channel is averaging 25,000 messages each day", says Pettifer. "This high level of interactivity has also contributed to the channel taking on a life of its own on the Internet, with 9XM and its characters being adopted by numerous Orkut and other user-generated online communities," Pettifer added.

9XM?s avant-garde audiovisual experience (see screenshot below) features no VJ?s, no interviews, no news and no hype about itself. The animated characters who act as the channel?s "spokespeople" provide a stream of humorous interjections and asides that are fast becoming part of youth culture.

"Each song that makes it onto the 9XM playlist is there as the result of a thorough research process," said Vikas Varma, Head, Music Entertainment Channels at INX Media. "We sustain momentum through a continuous and live process of improvisation and animation to ensure that each song is never presented in the same way twice. We have created a space which has made Hindi music very cool to watch and listen to - the high ratings are proof of that," Verma added.

Advertising partners have a range of options, from traditional spot buys to messages and brand imagery that are carefully integrated into the on-screen experience.

Having established an unprecedented following among viewers since its launch, Pettifer is confident of continued growth. "The audience figures show that we?ve got our positioning right from the start.

We have deliberately not used conventional marketing to promote the channel and the 9XM brand. Instead we have let people discover it for themselves and this strategy clearly works," he concluded.

MUMBAI: Swar Sangram the music reality show on ETV-Marathi has raised a controversy-should a singer be versatile and sings all kinds of songs or stick to one?s own voice quality and sing only those kind of songs.

The same question has been raised repeatedly in all the Hindi music reality shows, but has hit the Marathi screen for the first time.

The show is in the continuation of another popular show aired on the same channel- Maze Jeevan Gaane.

The 12 contestants for Swar Sangram were selected by well known poets and music directors -Raam Laxman, Yeshwant Deo, Sriniwas Khale, Anil Mohile, Vandana Vitankar, Shantaram Nandgaonkar, Meena Mangeshkar Khadikar, Dashrath Pujari, Shridhar Phadke, Sudhir Moghe, Late Vasantrao Desai, Vithal Umap,.Ashok Patki and Mangesh Padgaonkar.

These personalities talked about their life?s musical journey and compositions, and their songs were presented by four up-coming, young talented singers. Other well known singers also spoke and rendered songs of these personalities. At the end of each episode the said personality chose one best singer from the four.

Swar Sangram is a singing competition between these selected 12 singers, this being the main difference between the regular singing contests and this show, that these singers are selected by the maker of the songs.

ETV claims that the competition will be different with each episode having a different theme - Republic Day, the golden era of Marathi music, classical, women?s day, Holi, albums , gazals, filmy masti, duets, regional songs, songs sung by non- Marathi singers, etc.

The eminent music based celebrities are called to judge on the sets like - Padmaja Pheneni, The first lady of Marathi films-Sulochanadidi , Prajakta Shukre, Swapnil Bandodkar, Aarti Anklikar etc along with the regular judges-Sadhana Sargam and up coming music director-Mayuresh Pai.

Music Personality Tyagraj Khadilkar is assigned the music mentor?s role. Another interesting concept being introduced here is that for the first time Marathi films are being promoted in such a show, with their teams becoming and becoming a part of the judging.

Films like Man Pakharu Pakharu, Mohini, Checkmate and Saaware Re have been promoted along with some of the top stars of the Marathi industry. The USP of this show is also that only the judges will decide the final winner and the SMS system will be applicable only for the last two episodes for the selection of the most popular singer- viewer?s choice.

These series have been shot in the picturesque Ramoji Film City on a huge set, never before seen on Marathi television, and conceived and directed by Madhavi Mutatkar.

The mega final of Swar Sangram will be telecast on the 12th of April. It is aired every Saturday at 9pm on ETV-Marathi.

To know more about all the controversy watch Swar Sangram this Saturday, 16 February at 9 pm only on ETV Marathi.

MUMBAI: The latest TAM ratings for Saturday, 2nd February 2008 have shown Star Majha - the leading 24x7 National News Channel in Marathi - as No.1 amongst all news channels in Hindi, English and Marathi with a market share of 19 % in the Maharashtra market*

Star Majha made its dominance felt by becoming the first channel to break the feud between Raj Thackeray and Amar Singh live on 2nd February. The coverage on Raj Thackeray‘s comments on Amitabh was seen at its peak with Amar Singh‘s response also coming in. The story was extensively covered from all aspects by Star Majha while all the other channels followed it.

Star Majha has emerged as the undisputed choice of Marathi news viewers by being No.1 for sixteen weeks** in a row with an average market share of 58%. In Marathi News universe, Star Majha has garnered a market share of 69% in the current week, thus surpassing competition by a huge margin***.

In a short span of 7 months Star Majha has introduced the audience to never before experienced formats and programs related to - politics, sports, entertainment, culture, education, career, real estate, religion, yoga, astrology, lifestyle based programs & reality shows among others. It is little wonder that these programs find themselves amongst the top programmes of the genre.

Dhentedeng - a program that gives you a peek into the business of cinema, from behind the scenes to the main scene, the romance, the dance, all the excitement and commotion of the film industry you wanted to know is packaged in a unique and colorful
program. Khel Majha - is your window into all the nerve wrecking action from the world of sports. Being the heart of Maharashtra, Mumbai would still portray an incomplete image of the state without the cultural inputs of Pune, Nasik, Aurangabad etc. which have grown into independent cities claiming their space under the sun - Star Majha presents this facet of the various cities of Maharashtra through Star City. Mumbai East West - is another such program which highlights the various exciting facets of Mumbai life.

When it comes to festivals and cultural events, Star Majha captured the excitement and fervor of the celebrations across the state, on occasions such as - Gokulashtami, Adesh Bandekar‘s Marathi Dandiya, Diwali, Pandarpur Yatra and Ganesh Chaturthi. Bappa Majha - a 15-day series of programming during Ganesh Chaturthi captured the essence of the popular festival in the state. In addition to the regular highlights, updates and Pandal coverage, this special series showcased activities like Aarti, Haldi - Kumkum, Music/ Bhajans and finally the Visarjan surrounding the spirit of the festival. To boost the excitement and add to the celebrations, Star Majha has also instituted contests. ‘Star Bappa Sarvottam Ganpati Spardha‘: is one such competition among the larger community pandals.

With the journalistic credentials of ABP and the TV pedigree of Star TV; Star Majha has for long been the channel of ideas, innovation and slick presentation. The right mix of news features and editorial coverage has seen Star Majha emerge as the winner of the news arena.

MUMBAI: Spreading the message of love this Valentines Day, Star Plus presents a special performance packed evening called ‘Salam-e-ishq‘ on Sunday, Feb 17th at10 pm.It is an occasion when all your favorite onscreen couples will pay a tribute to the eternal feeling of love. It is an evening where all the Stars of Star Plus will join hands and celebrate love.

Through the performances, the evening will unveil the six phases of ‘love‘ right from courtship to the final phase of living together happily ever after. The six segments of smashing performances will include mere khaboon mein, peheli mulakat, chedchad, pyaar mein mushkil, virah and finally the eternal love. The evening will kick Start with a romantic performance of a dream sequence by the latest entrants of Star parivaar, Anjali Abrol and Kapil Nirmal from the show ‘Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat‘. The next phase of peheli mulakat will showcase Pulkit Samraat and Suhaasi from ‘Ek Chaabi Hai Pados Main‘ depicting the meeting of a boy and a girl for the first time. They will perform on romantic numbers like Kuch to hua hai (Kal ho na ho), Ajab si (OSO) Salaam-e-Ishq (Salaam-e-Ishq).

From the shy Start, the couple heads into the mischievous phase, chedchad where they tease each other and thus make the entire environment fun filled and lively. The ‘Bidaai‘ leads Parul and Sara will perform with the handsome dudes of ‘Santaan‘, Aditya and Gaurav. This phase will also showcase their onscreen parents Alok Nath, Vibha Chibber, Diwakar Pundhir and Samragyi join the celebration. Love has to pass through various testing phases and troubles in love are inevitable. The mushkil phase will show the charming Jennifer Winget from ‘Sangam‘ along with Gautam Rode and Amit Verma from ‘Baa Bahu Baby‘ beautifully portraying a dream sequence where the girl torn between her ex love and present love of her life.

This situation leads to Virah where the couple has to overcome barriers in love. Anas Rashid and Sayongita from ‘Prithviraj‘ will perform on the painful track of Tanhhaiya. But sunset is followed by sunshine; every bad phase has a happy ending. Virah is followed by happiness and this phase will showcase the most amazing onscreen couple Hussain and Juhi from ‘Kumkum‘. They will perform on some of Bollywood‘s most romantic numbers including Tumko Malum Hai (Janemaan), Tere Bina (Guru) and Kehne Ko Jashna Bahar Aaye (Jodha Akbar). That‘s not all the cutest real life couple Aamir Ali and Sanjeeda will also dance their way on the peppy number of Kiya Kiya (Welcome).

Last but not the least, the love filled evening will unveil the surprise element as the stunning television couple Sharad and Divyanka Tripathi will give a special performance on a medley of love songs. The romantic evening will have the vibrant and lovely couple Karan Grover and Kavita Kaushik as the hosts.

Apart from all the astounding performances by the real life & onscreen couples, be ready to meet the love guru who will give suggestions and comments on all the gorgeous couples of Star Plus.

So stay tuned to celebrate love and watch your favorite couples performing their best on ‘Salam-e-Ishq‘, Sunday, Feb 17th, 10 p.m. only on Star Plus!!

MUMBAI: What happens when a divorced father in the hunt of his destiny and impressing his son to keep his family alive??Get ready to catch up with some thrilling moments on your television on Saturday February 16th 2008 at 9:00 pm with the premiere of ?Night at the Museum? (In Hindi) on Star Gold.Starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Carla Gugino, this 2006 American adventure comedy film is based on a 1993 children?s book by Milan Trenc.

So make sure to re-live the you tune-in to the exclusive premiere of ?Night at the Museum? (In Hindi) on Saturday, February 16th at 9:00 p.m. on Gold.

Get ready to enjoy your Sunday with the Emraan Hashmi as Star Gold, India?s Sabsey favourite Hindi movie channel is all set for a world satellite premiere of his latest musical blockbuster ?Awaarapan? on Sunday, February 17th 2008 at 5:00 pm.

Exclusively Shot in Hong Kong and Bangkok, Awaarapan is an intense and compelling drama about love, passion and betrayal. Awarapan comes from the stable of ace movie maverick, Mukesh Bhatt and Mahesh Bhatt, known for crafting Bollywood?s biggest musical hits like Zeher, Woh Lamhe and Gangster.

So don?t forget to enjoy your hot cup of tea with ?Awaarapan? on February 17th 5 p.m. on Star Gold!