MUMBAI: Controversy seems to be following Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray even after his death. Two girls who commented against the "Bandh" following Thackeray?s demise on social networking site Facebook were arrested and later released on bail, enough fodder for liberals to voice their strong opinions.

Former Supreme Court judge and Press Council chairman Justice Markandey Katju has protested against the arrest of these two girls and demanded the suspension of the cops who arrested them.

Katju first wrote to the chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan questioning the authority on why the girls were arrested. He also demanded suspension and arrest of the police officers responsible for this.

"To my mind it is absurd to say that protesting against a bandh hurts religious sentiments. Under Article 19(1) (a) of our Constitution, freedom of speech is a guaranteed fundamental right. We are living in a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship. In fact this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act, since under Sections 341 and 342 it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime," the letter stated.

He also wrote that if the facts reported are correct, the chief minister is requested to immediately order the suspension, arrest, chargesheeting and criminal prosecution of the police personnel (however high they may be) who ordered as well as implemented the arrest of that woman. "Failing this I will deem it that you as chief minister are unable to run the state in a democratic manner as envisaged by the Constitution to which you have taken oath, and then the legal consequences will follow."

On not receiving any reply from Chavan, he wrote a second letter that silence was not an option. "I once again request you to tell me, and through me the entire nation, why this arrest of a woman was made in Mumbai just for putting up an apparently innocuous material on the Facebook, and what action you have taken against the delinquent policemen and others involved in this high handedness and blatant misuse of state machinery."

The girl, a resident of Palghar Mumbai, was arrested for posting a comment that read "People like Bal Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that." A friend who liked this comment on Facebook was also arrested. However, they were released on bail on Monday.

MUMBAI: Disney?s youth entertainment channel bindass will premiere Video Wars on 19 November. The show will be aired at 7 pm from Monday to Thursday.

Video Wars, powered by Airtel, will introduce a new format that calls for the contestants to maintain a video dairy of their best candid moments. The new show will have five contestants a week putting up videos of their daily life. Every day, the programme will show slices of life from the five contestants as documented by them on camera. At the end of the week, viewers get to choose the top four videos, eliminating one participant.

The popularity of the contestant on the social media space and through the missed calls mechanism will determine the fate of each contestant on a weekly basis. The more number of ?likes?, chances are that the contestant gets to stay longer. Whoever manages to stay the longest will win the ultimate battle of fame. A new contestant will be added every Monday to join the four remaining from the previous week.

Disney UTV executive director youth channels media networks Nikhil Gandhi said, "We thought we should come out with a show that provides a daily connect to the consumer apart from the weekend dose of shows. We wanted the engagement to happen on a daily basis through which this whole concept of Video Wars was born. It would have been easier to do a fiction show perhaps, but we have to do something which engages with the TG on a daily basis literally. So Video Wars is one such concept. The youth are given a camera to shoot a slice of their daily life. It is an empowerment for the youth to get famous basis the content you shoot about self."

bindass earlier took the tagline ?What I am? and got in shows that the channel says took it to the number one slot. In the second round of positioning, the channel adopted the motto ?Rest less Do More?. Video Wars is a way of furthering this motto. The channel realised that to engage the TG and empower it with the attitude of being bindass and to live up to the positioning of ?Rest less?, it was eminent to provide shows, content and properties which the youth relate to in their current space.

"Having been at the top, we realised that we need to innovate and take the product and the brand to the next level," said Gandhi. The channel will also have some additional small shows like Beg Borrow Steal and the recently introduced daily half an hour Bollywood based show called Filmy Leaks. The idea is to build more content and engage at a different level.

Video Wars will be heavy on online collaborations. Viewers will be able to see not only the show but also engage with it online, follow the contestant and see their popularity through the virtual space.

"We are looking at using Facebook, YouTube and Google for engaging the viewers online. For us in this case, YouTube makes a lot of sense as it is ultimately user generated content that we are dealing with and we are already strong on the social viewing portal. Every show we do will be present online as well and it won?t be a replication of the on air content, but a value addition particularly for the online audience. For Superdude we have the Dudeschool which is an online property," said Gandhi.

The marketing of the campaign too will focus heavily on internet along with the usual ATL mediums like TV, outdoor and radio. The channel has been making on ground engagements by collaborating with music concerts and events like the Enrique Iglesias concert and the NH7 Weekeneder.

bindass will also be making changes in the format of its successful reality show Emotional Atyachar. "The show has reached iconic status and we still get mails from people to be featured on the show. Having said that, yes after three seasons, we did find a need to innovate and that is what we will be doing in the forthcoming season. We are looking to introduce some twists in the show in the coming season," informed Gandhi.

MUMBAI: Sab is launching a board game SABurbia.com. In order to engage its viewers, Sab already runs the game SABurbia.com on Facebook. This board game is an extension of that.

According to the channel, SABurbia.com is made with the belief that given the right flow, old-fashioned board games are still enjoyable and entertaining in the age of console and online gaming. This game is channel?s attempt to personalise fiction content and provide a chance to the fans to interact with their favourite characters in their characteristic styles.

The main objective was to create a game where the entire family comes together and plays, thus going with the brand belief "Asli Mazaa Sab Ke Saath Aata Hai!".

Sab business head Anooj Kapoor said, "Consumers now have come to a point where they expect that they will be exposed to various activities of television channels. With this SABburbia.com and its board game we are trying to create more touchpoints for the consumers. The idea is to give the consumer a brand experience in a way that he was not expecting."

Kapoor added that Sab will keep looking at fresh initiatives to engage with existing and prospect consumers. The channel has also planned apps of its various characters. They already have cartoon strips printed in newspaper. But there will be Sab shows? characters who will be talking in their way like popular Tom cat does. The apps will be available for androids and Smartphones.

SABurbia.com has its premise set in the city of SABurbia, which is inhabited by all the popular Sab characters like Jetha, Daya, Taarak Mehta, Gadha Prasad and Chandramukhi Chautala. The city is in search of a Mayor ? one who bonds well with all of them and gains their goodwill. In the game, the players compete to become the Mayor of SABurbia.

Another feature of the game is the introduction of mobile zones. These are "special" zones in the way that when a player lands on them, he has the option of SMSing saburbia to 52525. As a response, he may be rewarded, penalised or given a task. It is like a wheel of fortune with myriad options.

Sab has joined hands with Pegasus International (Indian toy and board game maker, operating with the brand name ?Toy Kraft?) for the manufacturing and distribution of the game.

The game will be available in 42 major cities in leading stores like Landmark, Crossword, Hamleys, Shoppers Stop, Planet M. The cities include key markets like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Bhopal, Indore, Baroda and Jaipur.

In its initial roll-out, a total of 2000 pieces will be available in stores.

The game will be promoted on television, print and outdoor digital media. Moreover, on-ground activations will also be carried out in malls to generate curiosity and buzz around the product.