MUMBAI: After the grand success of CBF Stunner 10 presented by Bindass and Honda, the finalist position was a tie between Jigar Bhagaria from Gujarat and Aamran Khan from Mumbai. The prize for the winners was fixed at Honda Stunner bikes, a mega cash prize and the opportunity to host a show on UTV Bindass. Now a new surprise has come their way, UTV Bindass has given them a once in a lifetime opportunity to audition for a part in the forthcoming films from the UTV stable.

UTV Motion Pictures has Produced Mega hits like Jodha Akbar, A Wednesday, Dev D, Welcome To Sajjanpur, Aamir, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, etc. UMP has a slate of around 16 movies scheduled for 2009 with a pool of some of the best directors of the country like Ashutosh Gowarikar, David Dhawan, Vishal Bhardwaj and many more.

Zarina Mehta, CEO of Bindass says, ?During the shoot of CBF Stunner 10 we realized that these two boys have tremendous potential. So keeping with UTV Bindass?s trend of encouraging youth, we are delighted to present Aamran and Jigar with a chance to showcase their talent and audition for one of our films.?

Alpana Mishra of UTV Motion Pictures said that, ?I saw the show and was quite impressed by potential of both the winners. Aamran is a great dancer and has amazing energy levels and Jigar for his confidence and earthiness. I find them quite interesting and am happy to give them a chance of auditioning for my movie.?

MUMBAI: This weekend MY FM‘s special show MY KA LAAL got a starry glimpse when Balika Vadhu‘s small wonder Avika Gor graced the show. Bubbly and excited, Avika was in the studios of MY FM Bilaspur on the 15th speaking about her show Balika Vadhu, her life and dreams, likes and dislikes and things that matter to her. Avika was accompanied by her doting father who also spoke to MY FM listeners about his daughter, how she manages between being herself and her character Anandi and how life has changed for her after becoming a celebrity.

MY KA LAAL‘s regular listeners were thrilled to have their favourite young star on the show and MY FM got a wonderful response especially from the younger lot. Avika‘s special show was also quite in line with the crux of the MY KA LAAL show which features aspiring and talented children from city schools to host shows on MY FM.

Speaking about her life and dreams she said she has big plans with hopes to continue in the industry and play several characters, but she‘s equally focused on her studies. She also spoke about her love for Bollywood songs and movies, Indian clothes and her co-stars on the show.

Apart from MY FM Bilaspur, the special show was aired in rest of the 16 MY FM Stations. Speaking about Avika Gor‘s appeareance on MY KA LAAL, Mr. Harrish M Bhatia, COO - 94.3 MY FM, said "MY KA LAAL is a very special show for young achievers and Avika was a perfect fit for our show. With her bubbly and cheerful talk, she really made the day for our listeners, young and old alike. MY FM wishes her great success and joy in all her endevours.

MUMBAI: RED FM has found Malishka‘s biggest fans! This Valentines day, RED FM, the station for expression, put their ‘dewaangi‘ to test by bringing the craziest dares on air from February 9. The three lucky winners, who proved their ‘dewaangi‘ for Malishka met their favorite RJ on Valentines Day and spent an evening with her.

The three winners were treated like superstars! A Mercedes picked them up from the RED FM office and took them shopping at a leading apparel store. This was followed by a relaxing session at the Spa at Taj Lands End. The winners then attended a Valentine‘s Day party, with lots of masti and fun with the RED FM team, where they finally met their favorite RJ - Malishka, who were bowled over with her wit and humour.

MUMBAI: Hollywood?s biggest names will gather at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles for the 81st Annual Academy Awards. STAR MOVIES will televise the star-studded event ?live? on Mon, 23 Feb at 6.30 am (IST).

The primetime encore at 8.30 pm will include an exclusive, on-the-ground Red Carpet Special hosted by CHANNEL [V]?s Dominic Lau.

This year?s ceremony promises to be a memorable one with first-time host Hugh Jackman fronting the telecast.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is this year?s frontrunner with 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and a Best Actor nod for Brad Pitt. The Golden Globe-winning Slumdog Millionaire scored 10 Oscar nominations and is in the running for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.

The other contenders in the Best Picture category are the inspirational biopic, Milk, which landed eight nominations, the Holocaust drama The Reader, which scored five nominations, and the based-on-fact Frost/Nixon, which also earned five nominations.

In the Best Actor competition, Brad Pitt will face off against The Visitor?s Richard Jenkins, Frost/ Nixon?s Frank Langella, Milk?s Sean Penn and The Wrestler?s Mickey Rourke.

One of the closest contests will be in the battle for the Best Actress trophy. After winning a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for her turn in The Reader, Kate Winslet is the odds-on favourite to take home the Oscar. But she faces stiff competition from Oscar winner Angelina Jolie (Changeling), awards darling Meryl Streep (Doubt), veteran actress Melissa Leo (Frozen River) and Anne Hathaway (Rachel Got Married).

Viewers can look forward to a change of pace this year with Australia?s Hugh Jackman taking over hosting duties. The Emmy-winning star promises the 2009 ceremony will be less formal and more fun than previous years. ?We?re in the world of showbiz, and the Oscars have to be more show than business,? says the actor. ?The fact that they?ve hired me is a sign they?re taking a different route.?

Will the feel-good fable Slumdog Millionaire beat out the all-star cast of Benjamin Button? Will Brad Pitt win his first Oscar? Will Kate Winslet finally take home a statuette after six Oscar norms? When the envelopes are opened, be among the first to know who the winners are when STAR MOVIES brings you the 81st Annual Academy Awards? ?live? on Mon, 23 Feb at 6.30 am (IST) with a primetime encore at 8.30 pm.

MUMBAI: The crowd in Surat went into frenzy as the home team crushed Ludhiana to win the inaugural Rin T-10 Gully Cricket Championship in a thrilling finale witnessed by around 25,000 spectators at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium. The icing on the cake was the fact that city boy Nilesh Patel got a call for try-outs from the Mumbai Indians IPL team, a testament to the fact that there is enough and more talent waiting to be explored in the country.

This unique and a first of its kind initiative was conceptualized by the Wadhwa brothers Anoop and Ashok and sponsored and supported by Rin, a popular detergent brand from HUL. Rin T10 Gully Cricket was created with a clear mandate to provide a much needed opportunity to thousands of young aspiring cricketers in small town India to showcase their talent in front of a national audience.

Both, Rin as well as the directors of the tournament are overwhelmed by the excitement that the tournament has generated. Around 25,000 budding cricketers appeared for the trials across 8 cities. Anoop Wadhwa, Director of T-10 Gully Cricket, says, ?The response of the people has been absolutely phenomenal and that has inspired us to think about holding such an event more often. We actually plan to hold this event twice every year. The tournament has given a lot of confidence to the players who have now become heroes of their cities as a result of all the recognition that they have deservedly received.?

Samardeep Subandh, Marketing Manager Premium Laundry, Hindustan Unilever said, ?The event has been a huge success and we are very satisfied to have given a platform to talented and determined cricketers to prove themselves. We wish Nilesh Patel a very successful future.The event was a perfect fit with Rin?s DNA of giving consumers the confidence of achieving their ambitions and married seamlessly with Rin?s new campaign of Dugni Safedi, Dugni Chamak which shows a confident young cricketer proclaiming ?Doosra ball bhi Sixer hoga?. This is exactly the spirit of in which Rin T-10 Gully cricket was played.?

With exciting innovations ? Rin Dugne Run Power Over where runs scrored off the bat would be doubled and Tenner where 10 runs are awarded if 2 consecutive sixes are hit saw some truly explosive cricket being played. The entire event was supervised by none other than former manager & coach of the Indian Cricket Team, Mr. Lalchand Rajput and renowned commentator & cricket specialist Charu Sharma. The event was promoted by Ishant Sharma and eminent cricketers like Harbhajan Singh who attended the Ludhiana leg, expressed their support for the event.

Last but not the least, the finest 11 players were given the Rin Chamakta Sitara award along with a cash prize of Rs.25000. These Rin Chamakta Sitaras have been selected to appear in a reality show called ?Rin Aashayein - Iradon ki dugani chamak?, which talks about his life and his ambitions with Lalchand Rajput and Charu Sharma commenting on his future potential. The show has been spread over eleven episodes and is being telecasted on DD National at 8:30 on Saturday and Sunday.

MUMBAI: As India goes through elections soon, the current Finance Minister presented the Interim Budget to the parliament. The past year was full of uncertain and unexpected events that were fuelled by global economic slowdown. In turbulent times like these, Interim Budget was seen as the government‘s last chance to make its presence felt on the economy. CNBC AWAAZ took a step back this season to analyse how the UPA Government has performed in the last year.

As a part of its multi-faceted programming at the juncture of the Interim Budget, CNBC AWAAZ presented special shows to help the viewers understand the interim budget better. The Channel focused strongly on adding value to the viewer experience and building interactivity on the day of India‘s most important economic event of the year.

Kaisa Raha Yeh Saal Aur Poora UPA Regime: The panel discussion included panelists from the Government, the opposition and independent experts on the economy. The show revisited the Government‘s promises, its great success, its mammoth failures and its plans if re-elected.

What say Mr. Minister?: An interview based show with ex- finance ministers, likely finance ministers in the next Govt. and financial experts, about the economic decisions, the recession in the backdrop of the looming election and the Interim Budget. Met top politicians, policymakers and influencers like the Finance Minister, P.Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh, Sitaram Yechuri and Montek Singh Ahluwalia to find out how this Interim Budget can craft the election agenda.

Corporate India waiting for a New Tax Regime: Even as the industry trudges its way through a global slowdown, it eagerly awaited policy decisions on tax among many others. The show in the form of a panel discussion with industry captains and experts debated about the possible future.

Taxation - For Individuals: Although we know that taxes are inevitable, it is every tax payer‘s undying wish to have his tax burden reduced. CNBC AWAAZ provided a platform to the common man on the street to air his opinion on the most detested three letter word.

Tax SME‘s And Business: SMEs form a significant part of India‘s production capacity as they account for over 40% of India‘s industrial production. But many of these units have taken the biggest hit in the global recession. This special show focused on how provisions and reforms for this sector gave them the much-needed boost.

Employment Generation: Employment generation has always been a challenge for any government. However, with the global recession setting in and the specter of unemployment looming large, the government and industry have their work cut out. How can we cope in these trying times to boost employment?

Economists: The Key Challenges ?
Agriculture, Health, Education & Infrastructure: The UPA government laid stress on many initiatives like the mid-day meal programme, rural development schemes and scholarships for needy students & investing Rs.1,74,000 crore in infrastructure & telecommunications in rural areas. Have these programmes actually made a difference to the common man? This show tried to understand if the basic needs of the citizen were addressed and what measures the government could undertake to correct itself.

Markets: In a global economy, no stock market is decoupled. The past few weeks have seen unprecedented measures across the world to keep financial institutions afloat. Regulatory reforms are eagerly awaited and measures to inject liquidity in the market will be welcomed. Where does the ordinary investor stand in the midst of all this? This was brought out in a special feature show only on CNBC AWAAZ.

VOA-Speech: FM‘s Speech Live In Hindi: The landmark speech was followed by analysis and detailing of the implications of the same on the economy, citizens and the government over the next few months

VOA Analysis: On the eve of the Interim Budget, CNBC AWAAZ presented a unique show with a panel of experts demystifying and analysing the Interim Budget speech for the common man. This panel brought out the expectations and impact of Interim Budget to the nation.

Rail Budget: The Rail Budget speech by Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav detailed what all was done to improve a common man‘s rail travel, what new trains and router were added and the common man‘s take away from it. The show also went on-ground and displayed views of the public of the announcements made as a part of the Rail Budget.

Rail Budget Analysis: On the new Rail Budget, CNBC AWAAZ presented a show with a panel of experts analyzing the year‘s performance of Railway under Lalu Prasad Yadav and its impact on the common man. This panel brought out the road ahead for Indian Railways and impact of Rail Budget on the nation.

The New Agenda: Has the global recession put brakes on the Indian juggernaut? What critical economic decisions can be taken to shield the economy from it? CNBC AWAAZ went on-ground to the youth that‘s driving the economy for their take on what needs to be done to bring the nation‘s economy back on track.

Budget Ho Toh Aisa - Aage Ka Agenda: CNBC AWAAZ went to the taxpayer to find out what his expectations were from the government-in-waiting. Whether an investor or a consumer, every economic policy decision brings along many expectations and predictions that the taxpayer hopes, will change life for the better. What does the man on the street expect from the government? CNBC AWAAZ brought his voice to the powers by giving him a platform in Aage Ka Agenda.

Meri Naukri Mera Budget: With the economic slowdown spreading its tentacles across India, the organized workforce now has something new to worry about ? Retrenchment - the aam aadmi‘s nightmare & the youth‘s fear. CNBC AWAAZ brings to you the trials & the tribulations of the common man.

SME Agenda: Is the SME growth story still intact? Has the drying up of liquidity stemmed the Indian SME dream? What is that the governments needs to do to reinforce confidence & empower India‘s fastest growing community

Corporate Wish List: A series of vignettes with top CEO‘s expressing their fiscal policy expectations from the government.

Speaking on this, Mr. Neel Chowdhury, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, CNBC-TV18 & CNBC AWAAZ said, "Our economy is at a very crucial juncture. The decisions that the present government has taken now will be crucial as they will be the starting point for the next. On this occasion CNBC AWAAZ has presented its viewers with comprehensive view of the vote and what it meant for all the stakeholders."