MUMBAI: Good news for couch potatoes. With five new shows slated for a launch this week, there is something for absolutely everybody.
Already, with the 'guess who's Jassi' drama tickling the viewers' curiosity, the serial Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi , -- an Indianised version of the Hispanic Yo Soy Betty La Fea -- has become one of the most awaited launches in the coming weeks. The show will be telecast in Sony.
Also airing next week is Sahara's Arzoo Hai Tu, Star Worlds's new season of That 70's Show, MTV's Khamosh and NDTV's World This Week..
Sony's Jassi..., a drama on life in the fashion world, is a story of a plain Jane with an extraordinarily good sense of humour, who learns to deal with and triumph over the glitzy world of fashion.
The show targeted at the average female audience launches on 1 September at 9:30 pm. A special one hour preview show has been scheduled for 31 August.
According to the Sony sources, Jasmeet 'Jassi' Walia's strong values will appeal to the middle class while her career goals will draw the modern Indian woman. The reworked Cinderella is likely to offer tough competition to the Sahara's big ticket Karishma - The Miracles of Destiny, which airs in the same time band.
Meanwhile, Sahara Manoranjan is ready with its next launch Arzoo Hai Tu. The show, produced by Sahara India Mass Communication Ltd in association with Sagar Entertainment, will launch on 1 September at 10 pm.
This daily boasts of big names in the television industry like Mohnish Behl, Aman Verma, Mrinal Kulkarni, Lata Sabharwal, Uday Tikikar, Sheetal Thankkar and Suddha Shivpuri. Based on a story about family values, conflicts of ideals, ambitions, aspirations, jealousy and hate, Arzoo... is essentially a dramatic love story.
Next in the pipeline is Star World new season of That 70's Show. Set in the era of Led Zeppelin 8-tracks, Tab colas, and Farrah Fawcett posters, the nostalgic and funny flashback to the "Me" decade, starts on 1 September at 8 pm.
Set in the Wisconsin suburbs, That 70s Show is about 18 year old Eric Forman (Topher Grace), who lives with his parents -- Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and yearns for his independence. Also in the frame is Eric's ex-girlfriend and neighbour, Donna (Laura Prepon), a knock-out who's been forced to deal with her parents' recent split and her dad Bob's (Don Stark) new life as a swinging single.
Beside there are his friends, who spend most of their time hanging out in the Forman basement and pondering their lives, their parents and their future.
The gang includes Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), a good-looking but gullible guy, especially when it comes to dealing with his controlling on-again, off-again girlfriend Jackie (Mila Kunis); Hyde (Danny Masterson), a conspiracy theorist who thinks Xerox will take over the world; and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), a foreign exchange student who's soaking up American culture like a sponge.
This season finds the gang maturing during their senior year of high school as they prepare to graduate and head off to college. Eric and Donna are back together again, while Jackie and Kelso have finally split up for good.
Kelso meets a new California girl, played by guest star and pop singer Jessica Simpson, while Jackie finds comfort in the arms of Hyde, much to the gang's dismay. Fez even finds true love when he shifts into high gear and falls for an older woman who works at the DMV.
As for MTV Roadies , they are still roaring on the road, making some good television coverage. Viacom's music arm has dished out yet another music band to their programming line up Khamosh , which launches on 1 September. Khamosh will replace MTV Bolti bund from Monday to Friday at 9 pm.
Last on the list is NDTV's flagship show The World This Week, which was previously scheduled to launch on 29 August at 9:30 pm. After exactly a week's delay, it will finally be out on 5 September in the same time slot.
Voted as one of the five all-time best shows in India, the original anchor Dr Prannoy Roy will make a comeback on NDTV 24x7. The show, back on popular demand, will take a look at international events from a clearly Indian perspective.
