MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel today announced that it has crossed the 40 million-mobile customer milestone.According to the Wireless Intelligence, it has become the first Indian mobile service provider and the tenth in the world to join a global list of telecom operators with more than 40 million mobile customers from a single country. This figure was reached in 12 years, making it one of the fastest companies to make it to the list.

Bharti Airtel president for mobile services Sanjay Kapoor said, "This is indeed a remarkable achievement not only for us at Airtel, but also for the country as it clearly underscores the coming of age of Indian companies in the international telecom arena."

The company‘s overall wireless market share increased to over 23.2 percent as of April 2007 from 20.4 percent as reported in FY 06. The company plans to aggressively roll out more than 30,000 cell sites in FY08 to increase its population coverage to 70 percent.

MUMBAI: After the entertaining and heartwarming audition episodes of the third season of Indian Idol, the Theatre Round began with 123 participants who were selected from nearly 25,000 who auditioned from all over India and overseas. The journey of these 123 excited youngsters (some of whom are visiting Mumbai for the first time) began with the Theatre Round in last week‘s episode held at the prestigious NCPA theatre. The task of short-listing the 123 contestants to 66 (in round one, held on May 19 th) was tough. Normally the number is 60, but because of the excellent talent this year, the number has been increased to 66!

This Friday, the episode (25th May, 2007) will showcase great singing, some fresh talent and the viewers will get to see bonding and friendship that makes Indian Idol so special to all. As we move on to the next level in the theatre round the competition only gets tougher! The contestants will be divided into groups of twos and threes and synchronisation with each other and the musicians will be their real test. This will be an acid test for the contestants as most of them will be performing with the musicians for the first time. As the 66 participants prepare for the duet round the air is filled with emotion and suspense, anxiety and fear. While all the participants have found their comfort zone to practice their duet, there are a few others who cannot find the right nook to practice.

Some interesting moments from the episode?

Hum saath saath nahi gayenge?? Richa from Amritsar and her partner, the cool cop from Kolkata, Prashant, have a major showdown. Richa first refuses to practice in her room (as her roommate is already there), then she point blank refuses to go to Prashant‘s room (as she says she won‘t go to other people‘s rooms!) and finally when they compromise and reach Prashant‘s room, she decides to practice with Prashant‘s roommate and not Prashant! Tough times ahead for Richa and Prashant. Will the two actually sing together in the duet round?

Time waits for no man or woman? Once again Uma from Delhi (in the 1st Theatre Round she was late due to her exams) and Maya from Chennai (she said it was not her fault!) are late. Even after being late and almost out of the show in the first Theatre Round they are late once again. What would be the reason this time? Have they not learnt their lesson? In spite of judge Annu telling them that this is serious and they must not be late again?they have done it again. Will the two make headway this time around?

Is participant ko gussa kyun aata hai? Suhit Gosain from Bhopal and Charu Semwal from Delhi is one of the singing jodis for the 2nd Theatre Round . While they bonded brilliantly and practiced the song in perfect rhythm back stage, on stage, the nervous Charu simply forgot her lines. Suhit tried his best and failed?but once they were out of the theatre an angry and disappointed Suhit blamed Charu for the lost opportunity. The episode got ugly when Suhit started raising his voice. They signed a peace treaty only after anchor-cum-friend Mini intervened and cooled down the two. We know you are here to win, but remember losers are also winners, in their own right! You both have made it to the top 123 and that it is a big win. What say?

Singing can make your knees go weak ?Saswata Bhattacharjee from Kolkata was all excited to be in Mumbai for the Theatre Round. A professional singer he came to conquer his dreams in the ‘city of dreams‘. Unfortunately while he was singing, before the judges, he forgot his lines. It is only human, but the goof up shattered Saswata and the youngster fainted on the stage. Exhaustion, excitement or disappointment?it was not Saswata‘s day. Don‘t lose heart there‘s always another chance!

Jodi hamari? Meiyang Chang from Kolkata and Aisha Sayed from Mumbai came, sang and conquered the judges!. They made for one of the most popular singing pair of this season. Also, very popular and an instant hit with the judges were Harshida from London and her partner Padmanav from Delhi. They were so perfect with their rhythm, in sync with each other while singing and were voted the ‘cutest jodi of Indian Idol‘.

Watch the 2nd Theatre Round on Friday 25th May at 9.00 p.m. for some great singing and some tearful heartbreaks. The stage gets tough and judging tougher. Stay tuned to Sony Entertainment Television for moments that you will cherish forever.

Stay tuned to Indian Idol every Friday and Saturday at 9.00 p.m. only on Sony Entertainment Television.

MUMBAI: Zoom in association with Coca-Cola is launching ‘Coca Cola Speed Jamming‘ This contest follows the theme ‘Sabka Thanda Ek‘ Coca-Cola and aims to hunt a cool couple.

Coca-Cola Speed Jamming Contest is the perfect place to find the perfect patner. Auditions for the nation‘s best couple will be held at 5 cities - Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. Starting with Delhi and Chandigarh, followed by Bangalore and the Mumbai and Pune the selection will take place with first round of auditions and then the regional rounds before coming to the city of dreams, Mumbai for the finals. Contestants will be judged not only by experts on overall appeal, attitude, sense of humour and presence of mind but also by each other through a rapid fire interactive session. Coca Cola Speed Jamming is a platform to walk away with new friends and a chance to win gifts such as bikes and a dinner with Hrithik Roshan.

The Coca-Cola Speed Jamming contest gives an opportunity to interact with fellow coke pals and earn Coke points and crowns to make it to the popularity list.
Interested aspirants can apply at the following:

Mumbai:-

Audition: 2 June

Venue: Planet M, The Times of India Bldg, Ground Floor, D. N. Road, Mumbai - 400 001
Planet M, Shoppers Stop, 4th floor, S. V Road, Andheri - (W), Mumbai - 400 058

Regional: 3 June

Venue: Squeeze, 15 Khar Road, Mumbai-4000052.

MUMBAI: The women of Mumbai turned out in full strength and in all their glitters to participate in a sizzling Mirchi Kitty Party organised by Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM on Saturday, at Imperial Banquet, Raghuleela Mall. There was dancing, contests, singing, great food and a whole load of fun for the 1500 women who participated in the event. They had come from every part of Mumbai to let their hair down and sway to the latest tunes with their favourite RJ‘s Sana and Harsh.

Special contest and games were organised and winners got to take home exclusive household items, attractive jewelry and beauty kits. Beginning with Mirchi-Eat-Mirchi contest, Radio Mirchi listener Matilda took home an exclusive pearl necklace and designer bed-sheets. The dance contest winners were presented a microwave oven and a pearl necklace.

Host and MC, RJ Kunal joined the ladies for a jam session. RJ Harsh sang one of his favourite number Kajra re, kajra re? on request from the ladies in the house and in addition, both RJ Harsh and RJ Sana interacted, played games, contest and danced to the latest music with women participants. In between, a session on ‘How to make money while at home‘ was also organised.

NEW DELHI:Come June 2nd, hysteria will grip Bangalore city as music overs congregate at the Palace Grounds to rock to the sound of Aerosmith - the greatest band in the history of rock and roll.

MUMBAI: National Geographic Channel presents the Indian television premiere of the Academy Award winning film ‘Penguins, A Love Story‘ on Sunday, 27th May at 8 pm. Narrated by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, this critically acclaimed film presents an extraordinary glimpse into the life of the Emperor Penguins. It is far more than a story of survival; it is a heart warming love story from the coldest place on earth. Apart from the coveted Oscar statuette for Best Documentary Feature in 2006, the film has won a plethora of awards including a Cesar for Best Sound 2006 and a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography and Editing 2006.

The film follows a flock of Emperor Penguins as they embark on a truly remarkable journey in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica in search for their love, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a journey which has taken place for millennia. Braving icy winds, freezing temperatures and starvation, this is an incredible true story of the quest to bring new life into the world.

Speaking about the film, Rajesh Sheshadri, Vice President - Marketing, National Geographic Channel, India said, "Penguins, A Love Story takes you on an incredible journey of the Emperor Penguins as they march under the most impossible conditions to find their mate. With brilliant cinematography, editing and a poignant narration by none other than Amitabh Bachchan the film will surely strike a chord with our audiences".

National Geographic Channel has created a special microsite www.nationalgeographic.co.in/lovestory which has interesting trivia about the film, factoids on the Emperor Penguins and their incredible journey, Save the Egg game, downloadable Penguin images and an innovative contest - ‘How far have you gone for your love?‘ To participate in the contest, all the viewers have to do is log on and enter the whackiest thing they have done for their soul-mates. The whackiest entry will win a romantic trip for two to France.