MUMBAI: Aspiring Rock Stars of the city can now look forward to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as IDEA Cellular has announced the City Audition of its unique Musical Talent Hunt ? ?Idea Rocks India? to be held on Monday, September 7, 2009. The talent hunt show will be telecast on the popular TV channel, Colors starting Sunday, September 27, 2009.

IDEA has created a Microsite http://www.idearocksindia.in.com to provide details about the audition and registration process. Interested candidates can register online, or by sending an SMS ?IRI? to 55456 (IDEA customers) or 56882 (non-IDEA customers). Walk-in registrations will be conducted at the venue of audition in Mumbai on September 7th at 8:00 am.

The star studded jury of ?Idea Rocks India 4? on Colors, will comprise of leading male playback singer Shaan, and Vasundhara Das, a versatile singer and actress, besides other celebrity judges from the film, music and entertainment fraternity. The show will be anchored by Karan Singh Grover, a TV serial actor, along with a female co-anchor.

IDEA Cellular launched ?Idea Rocks India? in 2006 to bring the country?s musical sensations closer to its subscribers, and other music lovers. For the last three consecutive years ?Idea Rocks India? has been entertaining the fans with its successful concert tours in Indian cities, packed with performances by the likes of Salman Khan, Lara Dutta, Bipash Basu, Kareena Kapoor, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, and Sonu Nigam. This year ?Idea Rocks India? will traverse the length and breadth of the country to discover the best musicians.

MUMBAI: The verdict is out; the viewers have spoken. JAY HIND!, a standup comedy show with the unique distinction of being the world?s first show on the internet with a television format has touched the whopping one million viewer mark in a short span of two weeks since its release. The experimentation with a full-blown stand up comedy show for the first time on the Internet twelve years after the resounding success of Movers and Shakers on Indian Television, has paid off for producers Abhigyan and Mirnal Jha of Undercover Productions.

The creative team then and now, have retained the essential comic ingredients that hooks audiences on to the show. A lot has changed ? the medium for one. Buzzintown, the leading entertainment portal replaces popular television channel Sony, which aired Movers and Shakers in 1997. Sumeet Raghavan, of the popular Sarabhai vs Sarabhai sitcom reveals his amazing range in comedy and stickiness to the Show with his uniquely pleasant personality and style.? Finally, while stand up comedy was but an element of Movers and Shakers, it is now the mainstay of Jay Hind! , and the audiences love it!

Since its official launch on August 15, 2009, the ?Jay Hind!? has accomplished the challenging task of pleasing the discerning Indian audience with its chutzpah humour, its risqu? banter and bags of funny gags. The current Indian TV circuit has a plethora of comedy shows, varying from slapstick to sitcoms to laughter contests. However, what really gives Jay Hind! the competitive edge is the novelty of the concept, the topicality of the jokes and Sumeet Raghavan?s engaging interaction with the audience during the street interviews ? in which conversations are marked by the exchange of witty retorts and snazzy repartee. The Jay Hind! Success Party was attended by some of the leading actors from the television fraternity, who stood in solidarity to support and congratulate Sumeet on his maiden foray into the internet platform. Sumeet?s performance and his act had everyone in splits.

Abhigyan Jha, the creative brain behind Movers and Shakers and the founder of Undercover Productions said, ?Even though the television space has a comedy show cropping up every second week, we still have a dearth of good and topical content that will ensure audience loyalty in the long run. Jay Hind! has endeavored to fill that space and we are simply overwhelmed with the response we have received for it.?

Dr. Amitabh Saran, co-founder and managing director, Buzzintown said, ?The resounding success of Jay Hind! by way of a million viewers within a fortnight brings to fore the fact that there is an audience that is isolated owing to our compulsive focus on Bollywood and the clutter of soaps and reality shows on Indian small screen. Good and intelligent comedy will find an audience anywhere; the laughs, appearances of celebrities and gags will sweep audiences across the world.?

MUMBAI: 12th Rajiv Gandhi Awards 2009 were recently conferred upon eminent personalities like Vineet Jain, Sam Pitroda, Krushnaa Patil, Avika Gor, Shahid Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Rajashree Birla who have made India proud. The past recipients include Sunita Williams, Ana Hazare, Mukesh Ambani, Adi Godrej, Sant Singh Chatwal, Anand Mahindra, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza, Khalli, Dhanraj Pillay, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Rani Mukherjee, Veer Sanghvi, Barkha Dutt, and many others have received this award in the past.

This is one grand annual ceremony which can be termed as Indian Oscars, for not just the strong & deserving list of awardees but also the way these awards are presented. The felicitations take place on a magnificent stage embellished with advanced technology of sound, lighting, LED projections & latest special effects. No wonder then, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, who won the award for his contribution in the field of Education said, "The ceremony is conducted in such a grand manner that the awardees themselves feel like stars themselves". The felicitations are interspersed with stars performances in order to cater to millions of people watching them across the globe on Sony TV. This year‘s ceremony will be telecasted on prime time Sunday 8:00 pm on Sony and looks like the whole world is actually waiting to get a glimpse.

Though the event company, Momentum Group, that has been doing these awards rope in various film stars for blockbuster performances. But they do admit that they get a strict briefing from Sh. Charan Singh Sapra, Convener - Rajiv Gandhi Awards Committee. Hence all acts are woven around the theme of the event - celebration of modern India.

This award ceremony is one and only of its kinds where young talent of India salutes national achievers on such a grand scale. "We strive to make this award ceremony a thoroughly inspiring & an entertaining experience", says Ms. Aarti Mattoo, Event Director, who has been assisting Sh. Charan Singh Sapra, MLC - Maharashtra Govt. in putting this event together for past 5 years.

Hrithik Roshan who is donning a new look for Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s next film, dazzled the stage with his performance based on the theme ‘Colors of India‘. For the first time he will be seen performing Indian classical dance like Kalaripayattu to Kathakali to his popular track "Baawre" from ‘Luck by Chance‘.

In keeping with the theme, were the anchors Shreyas Talpade & Mahima Chowdhary who gave away real life examples of Indian sentiments and had the audiences in splits. Celebrating modern India were also Vishal & Shekhar with their young vibrant energy on stage that got transported to each & every person sitting pretty in the magnificent auditorium.

Raju Shrivastava performed against a backdrop set by a huge collage of caricatures of famous national & international personalities. He entered the stage and the audiences started laughing without him even having gotten started. His opening line to the guests was "Naha dho ke aaye hain na?"

Hussain Kuwajerwala often known as the Shahrukh Khan of the Television industry did a breath taking thematic act which reflected patriotism, positivity & passion. Esha Deol did a contemporary number, quite different than her usual classical & bollywood stints. Priyanka Chopra had a vibrant energy on stage and off it especially when she came down to shake a leg with Shahid Kapoor who was sitting in the awardees row.

So for all the action watch Sony TV Sunday 8:00 pm !!!!!

MUMBAI: Robert Douglas Houghton, head coach of Indian national football team, speaks exclusively with NewsX on current scenario of Indian football. After winning the Nehru cup for second successive year, it may be Indian football‘s hour of glory but Bob Houghton feels that the coming few months are extremely crucial for Indian football

Showing his detest on clubs spending money on players, he said, ?Clubs need to invest money in infrastructure rather than paying big money to the players. That does not ensure better quality of the football; it only makes the players richer. We can achieve a low amount of success with the current domestic situation.?

He then comments on state associations, ?If the state associations are not willing to change then don?t complain that you are 150 in the world, because that?s where you will be.?

Tune into Bob on the Ball for the full version of this exclusive interview this Saturday, 5 September at 10:30 PM, only on NewsX.

MUMBAI: This week on ?A Journey Like Never Before?, creator of the country?s most popular jobsite ?naukri.com? & India?s most successful Internet entrepreneur, Sanjeev Bikhchandani takes us through his journey to success.

On the show, Sanjeev reveals how this IIM graduate lived off his wife?s earnings initially to pursue his dream. He talks about the success that HARI SADU advertisement got for Naukri.com; the many redefining moments in his life that helped him build India?s largest internet company and his winning mantra to budding entrepreneurs.

Watch Sanjeev Bikhchandani in conversation with anchor Rupali Tewari, on his journey to own India?s largest Internet company on ?A Journey Like Never Before? on 5th September, Saturday at 8.30 pm with a repeat telecast on following Sunday at 10:30am and 5.00 pm only on NDTV Profit.

MUMBAI: Is watching your favorite movie while sipping a refreshing hot mug of coffee & indulging in some good food, your idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon?? If yes, then UTV world Movies in association with Mocha is ready with an exciting treat for all you movie buffs. Mocha of Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt Ltd, were the first to start off with a film club in 2003 among other coffee chains and restaurants. They have now tied up with UTV to put together a brand new film club.

The film club will screen some of the greatest international films from award winning directors giving the audience an experience of tasteful cinema from around the globe. Reaching far beyond Hollywood, UTV World Movies together with Mocha will screen international titles in French, Spanish, Polish, Dutch, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, German, and Persian. The movies will be screened across all Mocha outlets in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad & Mumbai. The screenings will be held at 12 Noon on the first Sunday of every month, starting off on the 6th of September 2009 with Spanish Drama- "Nobody?s Perfect". The first screening will be attended by ace director Piyush Jha who will engage with the audience for an interactive discussion session post screening.

Reaching out beyond the television set to its audience through an array of mediums, UTV World Movies takes another step in this direction by associating itself with Mocha, India?s most loved and welcoming coffee chain. Renowned for constantly innovating itself Mocha always makes sure it provides its patrons an experience that is much more than great food and coffee.

UTV World Movies has an extensive library consisting of 650 titles- from award winning to highly acclaimed movies like Che, The Counterfeiters, Lives of Others, Amilie, Song of Sparrows and many others. For theatrical releases UTV World Movies have now acquired 140 new titles. Through this club UTV World Movies has left no stone unturned when it comes to exploring possibilities of reaching World Cinema connoisseurs.

Talking about the association and the new film club, Riyaaz Amlani CEO of IEHPL quotes, "A great film is always the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon and a hot cup of coffee with yummy munchies simply add to the fun. We at Mocha believe in giving the best to our customers and what better partner for movies than UTV. They are associated with the best films both nationally and globally and have an exhaustive library of fabulous films. We want people to come with friends and family and enjoy at Mocha, it is also a great way to interact with likeminded individuals."

Sameer Ganapathy, Business Head; UTV World Movies commented "We are absolutely delighted to associate ourselves with Mocha which is a renowned chain of brand. UTV World Movies? collaboration with Mocha is a significant move towards the spreading the cause of World Cinema. It?s an absolute pleasure that Mocha is supporting us to promote this category of cinema. It is a very healthy trend where people from various walks of life will be introduced to world cinema. I am sure this wonderful association will be beneficial to both the parties."