MUMBAI: The Remo Paulson Mithun da connection

The common thread which binds the three generation of dancer?s gets revealed quite unexpectedly in the forthcoming episode on Saturday, March 21st at 9:30 pm.

This week will see the return of everyone?s darling Paulson Thomas who got evicted a couple of weeks back on medical grounds. The most excited amongst all was of course mentor, Geeta Kapoor, because after the retreat of most of her pupils except Siddhesh Pai, Paulson is the only trump card on whom she is banking the most.

Paulson teamed up with Nonie gave a very endearing performance on ?aapdi podi?. Said an ecstatic Geeta, ?Both Nonie and Paulson are very dear to me. We share a relation beyond mentor and student. They all are my extended family. I had selected this song specially for Paulson and its Terence?s favourite too.?

?I am so grateful to God, to Mithun Da and Zee TV for giving me a second chance?. Back home nobody took my passion for dance seriously. Being an electrician by profession and my dark skin only added to my woes?.? said a teary eyed Paulson when Saumya complimented him on how handsome he was looking.

Hearing this young guy?s doleful outburst an otherwise reticent Remo could not contain himself and gave out his similar past when he was slated in the film industry for his dark skin. But his patience, perseverance and dedication towards dance paid off eventually and today Remo is a name to reckon with in the industry.

It seemed like history was repeating itself on Lux Dance India Dance when Mithun da narrated his struggling days in the industry when he was too condemned for his dark and unconventional looks amongst his peers. His rags to riches story was a proof enough to proclaim the fact that hard work and dedication can never let down anyone. ?Paulson buddy?aajkal zamaana hai tall, dark handsome ka?.fair skin is just a myth?? chuckled the veteran actor.

Shubho Das ?.

Why Mithun da keeps getting miffed with this fellow Bengali ??

Shubho Das, is the youngest participant in Lux Dance India Dance and also the first one to get evicted. Mithun Da had received a lot of flak from the Bengali audience when Shubho got eliminated. Shubho Das felt betrayed when his idol, Mithun da, announced his name for elimination. For a moment even Mithun da was on guilt trip seeing Subho crying and howling incessantly. He too had to mull over his decision after having passed one?

Where Shubho had thought that he would earn brownie points from dada for being a Bengali, actually was caught off guard when he was adjudged as not that great a dancer.

This week?s episode (Saturday, March 21st at 9:30pm) will see dada giving Shubho a second chance but not without giving him a piece of his mind. ?Main tumhe doosra mauka de raha hoon, issliye nahin ki tum Bengali ho par issliye kyonki mujhe tum main woh dance ka junnon aur dewaanapan dikhayi de raha hai?.?, (He makes it very clear that he is getting this second chance only for his passion for dancing and not because he is a Bengali) said the dancing King, Mithun Da.

Guess Shubho will have to dig out more ways to impress dada rather than just revel on the fact that he is a fellow Bengali. Hope he makes better utilization of this opportunity and makes his fellow Bengali feel proud of him.

The strength of a woman ?

Mandakini kept struggling till the time she proved herself

Mandakini Jana from Bhubaneshwar Orissa did not get a very hearty welcome into this world because of her gender. Since her childhood the fact was reiterated that a boy would have added to the family in more than one way. The situation somehow strengthened Mandakini from inside and she pledged to prove to the world that a woman is at par with the men folk. With 3 elder siblings in the family but still never got treated as the youngest. For her struggle started at a very young age. ?And today her family specially her father is very proud of her achievements. She is the only daughter who is allowed to work, not for money but for her passion towards dancing.

An ordinary Mandakini, in years became not only extraordinary but also multifaceted. She learnt six forms of dance all at her own cost. Being a dance teacher in a school, she is the sole bread winner of the family. Not only that she has also mastered the art of tycondo and trained herself in other forms of martial arts. So guys better watch out for his headstrong girl ..

After getting evicted once in the previous episode, the girl is leaving no stone unturned to prove the strength of a woman once again on the stage of Dance India dance with the wild card entry on Saturday, March 21st at 9:30pm?

Mangesh ka adhura sapna..... shayad poora hoga?

Mangesh Mondol, a cocktail of Maharashtrian and Bengali who has never had a roof of his own always dreamt of giving his mother a home of her own. His mother, a domestic aid and his father a cook at ONCG could not do enough for Mangesh and his dancing aspirations given their limited means. But the young lad?s passion and dedication made him an excellent dancer.

When destiny opened the doors in the form of dance India Dance, Mangesh?s only desire was to buy a roof for his mother. But Alas! As ill luck would have it, destiny failed him badly and he got evicted on every minuscule grounds.

Destiny gave him a second chance in the form of Wild card entry but unluckily the guy got crams on his leg and was unable to move. A worried Remo ran to take his side, his nervous mother watched him helplessly sitting in the audience, Mithun da shook his head in disbelief because somehow Mangesh reminded him of his younger days?. but Mangesh could not stand.

Will destiny give him another chance to resurrect his dream?? Watch the drama unfold on Saturday, March 21st at 9:30 pm

MUMBAI: On March 18, 2009, a grand opening ceremony was held for Delphi Product & Service Solutions (DPSS) Authorized Wholesale Distributor?s sales outlet in Coimbatore. Delphi?s wholesale distributors, dealers, workshop owners, mechanics and consumers were among the attendees at the event. With the opening of this outlet with Delphi brand identity, Delphi will further strengthen the awareness of its OE heritage and technological expertise in the Indian aftermarket.

?This initiative in India is in line with our strategy in Asia Pacific to support our partners with the strength of Delphi?s brand, technology and products,? stated Dominic Seto, Managing Director, Delphi Product & Service Solutions (DPSS) Asia Pacific and Vice President, Delphi China. ?It is an excellent platform to further enhance Delphi?s brand image and global presence.?

This sales outlet at Stanes Motors (South India) Limited will provide hands on displays of Delphi?s complete product portfolio available for Indian aftermarket plus the unique experience of featuring both replacement parts and the car audio & video products under the same roof. It will be used for the development and growth of business by showcasing Delphi products; supporting dealers in and around Coimbatore; launching promotion campaigns and customer loyalty programs; training dealers? salesmen & workshop mechanics; and also attracting new channel partners to join Delphi aftermarket network.

?We are going to take similar key initiatives across other regions of India during 2009,? said Ramesh Rao, Director, Indian Subcontinent, DPSS.

As a world leader in automotive systems and components, Delphi provides comprehensive product solutions to vehicle manufacturers around the globe. That same technological expertise is now available to the aftermarket. With increasing business and network development, DPSS devotes itself to more OE quality parts and better services to the Indian aftermarket.

?We are proud to be associated with a premium brand like Delphi,? said R. Ramakrishnan, CEO, Stanes Motors (South India) Limited. ?It symbolizes OE heritage and technological expertise in the aftermarket world wide.?

Delphi?s aftermarket product portfolio in India includes four major product lines - Chassis (shock absorbers, brake pads, half shafts and power steering pumps), Vehicle Electronics (in-tank fuel pumps, fuel pump motors and ignition cables), Thermal (compressors, condensers, evaporators & radiators; and retrofit AC kits) and Consumer Accessories (Car Audio & DVD Players and LCD/TFT Monitors, etc.).

Delphi?s manufacturing and engineering capabilities in India are situated in three major automobile hubs ? Delhi, Bangalore and soon in Chennai. The company has been operating in India for the last 13 years and has established four manufacturing sites and a technical center. Delphi has been supplying to Indian and global OEMs in the country and is committed to supporting the growth of its customers.

MUMBAI: naaptol.com, India?s premier comparison based social shopping portal, has announced the appointment of Hari Trivedi as its President with immediate effect. Based in Mumbai, Trivedi will responsible for overall sales and marketing at naaptol. He would also be initializing lowest price offers and deals on naaptol for its users. Hari?s thorough experience and naaptol?s budding business enterprise would be apt to meet the need of the consumers and sellers.

Hari Trivedi who until recently spearheaded Aksh Optifibre as Head of IPTV business and prior to that Times Internet Ltd as the National Head for e-commerce, is acknowledged as an expert in managing retail, sales and software development for e-commerce. He is famously known as the Godfather of Readers offers in India which has now become an industry in itself.

Speaking on his appointment Manu Agarwal, CEO and Founder naaptol.com said, ?Hari has been in the industry for over 24 years and has oodles of experience in E-commerce and E-governance platforms. We are proud to have him onboard and believe his experience will do wonders for naaptol. We are a growing company and we wanted someone like him to pace our operations and fulfill our ambitious targets.

?naaptol has well established itself as a pioneering comparison shopping portal within a year of its launch. The online business in India has a scope to quadruplicate itself in 2 years. Being with naaptol I see myself as contributing to the overall growth of the e-commerce industry. I would like to go for a more innovative approach to double the current Readers Offers industry. It currently stands at 350cr per annum but my aim is to cross 1000cr in 2 years time from now,? says Hari Trivedi.

Hari has a MBA degree in Marketing from Indian Institute of Business, Chennai and has explored and touched varied areas of marketing, promotion and business development. He is an avid reader, loves listening to music, travelling and meeting new people.

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel Limited today announced the first winner of its mega promotion ?Bring Home the Magic? for its DTH service ? digital TV. Mohammed Rafi, an Engineer from Bangalore, is the lucky Airtel digital TV customer who hosted Airtel Brand Ambassador A R Rahman at his home.

Congratulating the winner, Mr. Deepak Srivastava, CEO ? DTH, Bharti Airtel, said, ?Airtel digital TV has redefined the digital home entertainment experience in the country. This promotion is an endeavor to get closer to our customers and to bring home our core service proposition of service, trust and quality. With this unique offer, we are giving our customers the opportunity to experience magical entertainment at home with their favourite stars and thousands of other exciting prizes.?

An ecstatic Mohammed Rafi said, ?When A R Rahman won the Oscars, I had a dream of being able to congratulate him in person. This dream is now a reality thanks to Airtel digital TV. This day will forever remain truly unforgettable.?

The ?Bring Home the Magic? promotion offers Airtel digital TV customers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win a chance to bring home their favourite stars - A R Rahman, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir. In addition, customers stand a chance to win a number of other exciting prizes including Samsung LCD TVs and Nokia phones. The offer is valid till 31st May 2009 and is open to customers across India (except Tamil Nadu).

Airtel digital TV has brought in many firsts like a Universal Remote for operating both the set top box and TV and the only MPEG4 standard with DVB S2 technology that gives exceptional picture clarity and consistently high quality audio. The Airtel digital TV service is available across the country and is supported by 24x7 customer care available in 8 different languages and a team of 800 professionally trained service engineers. For further details, visit www.airtel.in/digitaltv

MUMBAI: With the launch of its new show ?Sabki Laadli Bebo?, STAR Plus now extends its support to educate underprivileged young girls and announces an annual property Laadli Week. This is in association with the KC Mahindra Educational Trust NGO- the Project Nanhi Kali. Thee show ?Sabki Laadli Bebo? is based on the story of a family whose life revolves around their daughter ?Bebo?. A girl child born to them after three sons was an occasion they looked forward to with great hope and anticipation, and an event that changed their whole world and filled it with happiness, laughter and sunshine.

Speaking on the show Sabki Laadli Bebo and the Project Nanhi Kali initiative, Anupam Vasudev, EVP, Marketing, STAR India Pvt Ltd. said, ?STAR Plus has always stood for the empowerment of women and our women viewers have endorsed it by making it the leading Hindi GEC in India. Our show Sabki Laadli Bebo is a tribute to the families of today who respect, adore and educate their daughters and this will now translate into the tie-up with Project Nanhi Kali to educate a larger number of girls in India and also involve and educate audiences through the medium of the Laadli week. We will support approximately 600 Nanhi Kali?s in the first year.?

?We at STAR believe that education for women plays a very important role in the overall development of any country. It not only helps in the development of half of the human resources, but in improving the quality of life at home and outside. Educated women not only tend to promote education of their girl children, lead healthier lives, but also can provide better guidance to the children and ensure the progress of society in general. Moreover educated women can also help in the reduction of infant mortality rate and reduce population growth? he added.

The Laadli Week will see a series of fundraising and awareness creation events for the Laadli Project. STAR Plus will also raise money from the viewers to support the cause of the education of the girl child, and help create an empowered generation. The activity will be promoted through on air contests wherein the viewers will be invited to send in pictures of their ?laadli? daughters and a message for them, in addition to public service messages and a fund raising drive. The best messages will be aired on the show Sabki Laadli Bebo during the Laadli Week. This week of celebrations will also be promoted through radio, outdoors and the print media across various cities in the country.

Sheetal Mehta, President, Project Nanhi Kali, "Today, India has at least 21 million children who are out of school, and majority of these are girls. Due to cultural and economic barriers, girls face far greater obstacles to education than boys, and special initiatives are required to overcome these. One such initiative is the Project Nanhi Kali, managed by K C Mahindra Education Trust and Naandi Foundation. Media can play an equally important role by using its power to influence attitudes, habits and mindsets in a society. We are therefore happy to associate with Star TV who have always portrayed women in a positive manner through their various shows depicting strong and independent women. Their new serial ?Sabke Laadli Bebo? continues in this direction, and conveys how fulfilling it is to have a girl in the family."

Co-produced by Endemol and Sachidanand Productions, watch ?Sabki Ladli Bebo? on STAR Plus every Mon- Fri@ 10 p.m., and be a part of the ?Laadli? movement to educate our little girls and make our contribution towards a thriving, healthy and educated India.

NEW DELHI: Chaitanya Datla, a 28-year old, human resources executive from Bengaluru is all set to create history by becoming the first woman to sail on an Indian Navy Warship. Chaitanya is chosen as the winner of National Geographic Channel?s ?Mission Navy: Lehron Ke Sartaj? from over 50,000 civilians who participated in the landmark docu-reality series.

For the first time in the history of Indian television, Nat Geo?s Mission Navy showcased the hitherto uncharted world of the Indian Navy, replete with warships, submarines, missiles and much more. The landmark series gave an insight into the lives of the brave men who patrol and protect the country through seven visually stunning episodes. With this initiative, Nat Geo provided five civilians including three women, the unique opportunity to be a part of the Navy, training and imbuing them with the courage, grit and determination.

With over 50,000 entries from all across India, only five finalists were selected for the mission after a series of physical and mental tests conducted by the Navy. The finalists included 28-year old, Chaitanya Datla from Bengaluru; 20-year old, Sakshi Havanoor from Pune; 25-year old Suranjani H R from Bengaluru; 23-year old, Arjun R Shetty from Bengaluru and 21-year old Sudhanshu Budakoty from Mysore.

Chaitanya, along with the other finalists got the opportunity of a lifetime to be a part of the Indian Navy for over a month. It all started from being introduced to the academy life and undergoing basic training, to setting their first step ever on board an Indian Naval ship. She not only got to learn the science behind the submarines and other warships but was also trained in beaching operations, got to perform the difficult jack stay, underwent a G-Force test, amongst other tasks.

At the end of the series, Chaitanya proved to be the most resilient, deserving and valiant of the five finalists and will have the honour of sailing on an Indian Navy Warship for an international tour. The decision by the Indian Navy was based on various exercises, tests and experiences the participants went through during the month long training period.

Speaking about her achievement, Chaitanya said, ?It has been a pride and privilege to be part of this unique Nat Geo endeavour and experience what it takes to be in the Indian Navy. I have always aspired to be a part of the armed forces and Nat Geo?s Mission Navy helped me realise this dream that was unfulfilled till recently. I also feel that this is a triumph for all the Indian women for whom nothing is impossible?.

?At National Geographic Channel, we are proud of our landmark series, Mission Navy: Lehron Ke Sartaj through which we took our viewers inside the incredible world of the Indian Navy. We received unprecedented response from viewers across the country and are delighted on our winner Chaitanya Datla?s remarkable achievement?, said, Nikhil Mirchandani, Managing Director, National Geographic Channel ? South Asia