MUMBAI: Always known for its innovative concepts, UTV Bindass, the fun, frank and fearless youth brand presents India?s first ever ?Mocumentary Style? fiction show - Meri Toh Lag Gayi.... Naukri. The show is unique concept distant from the regular soapy way of narrating a story into an interesting mocumentary style narrative of a ?Dramady? (comedy + drama). The show?s essence lies in the story of the coming of age of 5 youngsters and their point of view on the most important phases of their lives ? their first job, in a light hearted and fun way. Post the success of their iconic shows ? Emotional Atyachaar, Dadagiri Series and Love Lockup, the channel brings yet another innovative concept to relate and connect with the youth. The daily show would be telecast from Mon-Thursday for half hour at 7pm time starting 28th March 2011.

Meet Ayaan Walia, Ravi Ranjan, Cherry Chawla, Sonika Tomar and Ami Shah.. representatives of today?s youth that epitomizes the 5 F?s generation ? Fashion, Friends, Food, Facebook and F you see K. Each with a distinct personality and mannerism but with a common dream that of making it big. The concept of the show will present an interesting array of emotions, drama and comedy presented in truly Bindass style. The transition of every youth from college to a trainee in their first job, aiming to make a mark in the ?job world? is ridden with insecurity, vulnerability, high drama, low bank balance and all manner of emotional ups and downs. UTV Bindass provides you a chance to peep into the real world where bosses tighten their reins, life is not hunky dory as imagined and relationships come with every possible twist that Shakespeare could imagine!

A first- of- its kind, real fiction show where through the eyes of 5 interns, who are different from each other in taste, sense, and life, we explore not only the larger theme of coming of age, but also individual stories of hope, love, drama, and various other mess ups the young face at their first job. There would be no choice, but to prove themselves as better than others to get ahead in the eyes of the 3 bosses who give them a taste of reality.

Commenting on the launch of the show, Keith Alphonso, Business Head, UTV Bindass said,? UTV Bindass has in the past achieved phenomenal success in the fiction space. Our first fiction show Sun Yaar Chill Maar was based on life in college and saw an instant connect with the youth as they were able to relate with it. Our latest offering Meri Toh Lag Gayi.. Naukri is in a way a natural progression as its depicting the journey of interns in their new job. The show narrates a panoramic view of the simplest to the most complicated emotions youngsters face in the backdrop of a Naukri. While conceptualizing this show we realized that this very crucial phase of youngsters and their angst, anxiety and hope hasn?t really been captured and we are intending to depict this in true Bindass style!?

Block your dates and gear yourselves for a lovely journey of these five individuals and how life and careers pan out for them in this dramedy starting March 28th every Monday ? Thursday at 7 pm.

The show is being produced by DJ?s creative unit who have in the past churned out successful shows like Banegi Apni Baat, Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin and Left Right Left. The show is directed by Meesha Gautam with creative inputs from UTV Bindass? programming head Shalini Sethi and creative director Kavita Bala.

MUMBAI: ET NOW, the 24hr English Business News Channel, launches ‘Global Mantra - London Calling‘ a series of 10 interviews that brings together the leading Global Fund Managers based in London who will help you navigate tomorrow‘s economic swings and share their views on where the emerging markets are heading towards.
This exclusive ten part series will be anchored by Tanvir Gill and will focus on topics ranging from Outlook on Emerging Markets & India to Prospects for Equities & Commodities to their views on the crisis affecting the Global Economy and Markets.

Understand the global market outlook from the most influential fund managers of the world starting 24th March, 2011.

Episode 1: March 24, 2011 - Jim O‘Neil; Goldman Sachs Episode 2: March 29, 2011 - Bart Turtleboom; GLG Partners Episode 3: March 30, 2011 - Mark Artherton; Aviva Investors Episode 4: March 31, 2011 - Glen Finegan; First State Investments Episode 5: April 5, 2011 - Sanjeev Shah; Fidelity International Episode 6: April 6, 2011 - Dr Jerome Booth; Ashmore Investments Episode 7: April 7, 2011 - Sam Mahtani; F&C Investments Episode 8: April 12, 2011 - Nick Timberlake; HSBC Global AMC Episode 9: April 13, 2011 - William de Vijlder; BNP Paribas Investors Episode 10: April 14, 2011 - Jitesh Gadhia; Blackstone Group.

Catch ‘Global Mantra - London Calling‘ every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday at 6.30pm & 11pm.
 

MUMBAI: CNN-IBN* India?s No.1 English News channel today announced the much awaited mega winner of the ?CNN-IBN@5 Cricket Quiz with Harsha Bhogle?*. Charandeep Singh, 32, a businessman from New Delhi was declared as the Mega Winner of the contest. He won an Audi A4 2.0 TDI sedan the grand prize of the quiz. The quiz was initiated marking CNN-IBN?s 5 years of News Leadership. CNN-IBN brought this contest to its viewers in partnership with Audi, Omega & HomeShop18.

CNN-IBN had earlier announced this 40 day contest which stared from 10th Jan
2011 & was hosted by none other than India?s ace cricket commentator & cricket expert ? Harsha Bhogle. The contest had a lot to offer to the viewers as it gave away aspirational prizes daily. Apart from the an Audi A4 Sedan which was offered as the Mega Prize, Omega Seamaster Watch was the weekly Prize while a Dell Streak phone (sponsored by Homeshop18) was the daily prize.

Speaking about the initiative, Dilip Venkatraman, CEO CNN-IBN said, ? CNN-IBN brought cricket enthusiasts closer to the game through the contest held to test the cricketing quotient of sports enthusiasts. We are delighted with the response to the contest. *The contest also gave our viewers an opportunity to walk away with aspirational prizes daily. We would like to thank our partners Audi, Omega & HomeShop18.?

Clemens Ollmert, Head of Marketing, Audi India, said, ?Audi India & CNN-IBN share the same league of brand leadership. We cherish our association with CNN-IBN for this contest and would continue such association to bring value to our consumers. Heartiest congratulation to the winner and we welcome him to the Audi family?.

Charandeep Singh, Mega Winner of CNN-IBN @ 5 Cricket Quiz, said,?Many Thanks to CNN-IBN to present such an initiative. I am really excited on being declared the Mega Winner. I had constantly followed the contest and expected only a daily or at best a weekly prize, I never thought that I could be the Mega Winner of an Audi A4. Thanks again to CNN-IBN.?

MUMBAI: Times of India called to substantiate wild claims of corruption or issue immediate retraction. Following the publication of a false article by the Times of India correspondent Mr Prashant Dayal in the Ahmedabad edition on Tuesday, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat has made the following statement.

?An article by Mr Dayal in yesterday?s newspaper made a number of claims about an ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 match between Australia and Zimbabwe that can only be described as fictional.

?We do not comment on the activities of the ICC?s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and for good reason. However, after several misleading and downright false stories appearing in recent weeks it is time for us to show our displeasure and expose those responsible for affecting the integrity of the media.

?It is also patently false of the reporter to claim that the ICC ever suggested to it that the match was corrupted. The ICC confirms that, in terms of its policy, at no stage did anyone from the ICC speak to the journalist on this topic. To uphold the integrity of the media I expect Mr Dayal and the Times of India to retract such baseless stories.?
 

MUMBAI: Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are in India, to convince the super-rich of the nation to part with their wealth for philanthropic causes, as part of their ‘The Giving Pledge‘ campaign which started off in the United States of America. CNBC‘s Becky Quick & CNBC-TV18‘s Shereen Bhan will be alongside the duo for the entire trip with exclusive inside access.

Buffett is first slated to visit TaeguTec‘s factory near Bangalore‘s Electronic City, while, Gates will join the Ministers of Health, HRD & Science to mark World Tuberculosis Day. Gates and Buffett will then persuade Indian billionaires to join The Giving Pledge.

The Oracle of Omaha will be talking to Betty Quick and Shereen Bhan about the reason for his visit, the plans for the continent, the new investment opportunities he is looking at and more. Bill Gates who has been involved with philanthropy via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in India, will be taking about his involvement & experiences in India over the past few years and his plans going forward. Additionally, CNBC-TV18 will carry interviews, exclusive updates on how their trip is progressing, their thoughts on India and all the breaking news around their visit.

Becky Quick is co-anchor of CNBC‘s signature morning program, Squawk Box. Previously, Quick, a seven-year veteran of The Wall Street Journal, covered the Wall Street beat for CNBC. She is one of the select journalists who Buffett speaks to and has chosen Quick for key interviews and interactions over the years.

Shereen Bhan is the Executive-Editor at CNBC-TV18, she has been producing and anchoring flagships shows like India Business Hour, Business Center and Young Turks for the past decade.

MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network‘s live entertainment arm BIG Live basking in the lineage of its national, extremely successful properties like the BIG STAR Entertainment Awards and the more recently concluded BIG STAR IMA Awards, is all set to take on the regional entertainment space. The Company announces, the biggest entertainment extravaganza - ‘BIG Marathi Entertainment Awards‘, ‘BIG Punjabi Entertainment Awards‘, ‘BIG Tamil Entertainment Awards‘ & ‘BIG Kannada Entertainment Awards‘. Backed with its extensive network of its radio division 92.7 BIG FM with its trained personnel spread across the regions and its deep understanding of the entertainment industry, the business is set to take the regional entertainment industry by storm and step up the excitement quotient. The ‘BIG Regional Entertainment Awards‘ will celebrate the enormity of talent and diversity the region has to offer. The entertainment properties are slated to be hosted across the 4 regions over the months of March and April 2011.

The first-ever ‘BIG Regional Entertainment Awards‘ will bring together the biggest names from each of the industries for their respective events to honor the best entertainers across the fields of television, music, movies, sports and theatre. Each of the industries - Marathi, Punjabi, Kannada & Tamil are rich in each of these entertainment offerings and deserve recognition and applaud for the work that they do. The award will have eminent personalities from the respective fraternities as the respected jury members, to ensure unbiased results.

A key highlight of the awards will be the BIG sports personality of the year and BIG dancer of the year.

Conceptualized and marketed by Reliance Broadcast Network Limited‘s live entertainment arm BIG Live, the ‘BIG Marathi Entertainment Awards‘ will be promoted extensively across the media verticals of Reliance Broadcast Network Limited - 92.7 BIG FM (radio division) and BIG Street (out-of-home division).

Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Rabe .T. Iyer, Business Head, BIG Live and BIG Street said, "BIG Regional Entertainment Awards‘ are the only IP properties that celebrate regional talent across their respective diverse genres. This entertainment extravaganza will create a unique platform of excellence, while salute outstanding talent for their contribution to the respective regional entertainment industry. The glitterati event will especially appeal to the regional belt of each of the regions and will set a milestone within each regional entertainment industry. This is just the beginning, and in the coming months, we aim to launch several regional entertainment awards to recognize talent from across the country."

Witness the excitement, celebrations and accomplishments with ‘BIG Regional Entertainment Awards‘.