MUMBAI: The Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), an initiative combining cinema and cricket, has kicked off in Sharjah, with its first leg between Mumbai Heroes led by Sunil Shetty and Telugu Warriors led by Telugu matinee idol Venkatesh.

The multi-starrer action entertainer is being aired live on Sahara One and Filmy respectively.

This is for the first time that film fraternities from West Bengal, Bollywood and Southern film industry (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam) have come together to play in the T20 format.

Other teams that are participating in the league are Chennai Rhinos, Karnataka Bull Dozers, Kerala Strikers and Bengal Tigers.

Mumbai Heroes will be led by Suniel Shetty as its captain and Ritiesh Deshmukh as vice-captain. While Salman Khan will be the iconic player for the team, Bollywood damsels Sonakshi Sinha, Kangana Ranaut and Genelia D?souza are the team?s brand ambassadors.

The two new entrants to the League this season are Kerala Strikers and Bengal Tigers. Team Bengal Tigers will be captained by actor Jeet and actor Jisshu will play his deputy. Ria Sen and Raima Sen are the team?s brand ambassadors.

The other new entrant Kerala Strikers has Mohanlal as its skipper and actor Indrajith as his deputy. Brand ambassadors for the team are South actresses Laxmi Rai and Bhavna.

MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television (Set) has jumped back to the number two position among the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs), in the first week?s ratings of the new year.

Meanwhile, the three-week-old channel, Life OK, has seen a 24 GRPs (gross rating points) jump and ended with 98 GRPs in the week (last week 74).

As per TAM data for week ended 7 January (C&S, 4+), Set has closed the week with 236 GRPs. Though it is slightly lower than the previous week?s 240 GRPs, it still went to No.2. Set?s flagship crime show, CID has become the third most watched show with 4.97 TVR, while Crime Patrol was at fifth place with 4.41 TVR.

Last week?s number two, Colors slipped to number three after losing 43 GRPs in the week. The channel had come back to No. 2 on the back of Colors Golden Petal Awards in the previous week.

Meanwhile, Star Plus maintained its lead among the Hindi GECs with 311 GRPs in its kitty, even if it lost 14 GRPs.

Zee TV ended the week with 184 GRPs, compared to 194 GRPs in the previous week, while Sab followed with 124 GRPs (previous week 113).

Imagine TV closed the week with 64 GRPs (72 last week), followed by Sahara One with 42 GRPs (35 in the previous week).

MUMBAI: Sahara One?s latest musical offering Sur-Kshetra is a face off between two traditional rivals India and Pakistan.

The competition will scout and train top singing talents in the two nations. The two teams will be headed by Himesh Reshamiya (India) and Atif Aslam (Pakistan). The show is produced and directed by Gajendra Singh?s Saaibaba Telefilms which has to its credit shows like Saregama, Voice of India, Music Ka Maha Muqaabala and Chote Ustaad.

The show will premiere in late January and the channel will soon announce the jury for the same.

Sahara One Media and Entertainment assistant director worker Suresh Mishra said, "Even though political boundaries have divided our two nations, music has always fostered a common and harmonious bond. With our new musical show - Sur-Kshetra, we are making an attempt to revive the golden era and to bring forth the best of talents from India and Pakistan for our viewers."

Sur-Kshetra will be shot in Dubai and the auditions for the show begin today with Lucknow and Kolkata in India. A total of six cities in India and three cities in Pakistan will see auditions. After selecting the contestants, they will be trained by the two mentors and will finally compete on the big stage.

Saaibaba Telefilms founder and MD Gajendra Singh said, "Music has always inspired me to explore new avenues. With ?Sur-Kshetra? we aim to touch newer heights and create a new musical world."