NEW DELHI: COLORS‘ sizzling and sumptuous dance reality show ‘Dancing Queen‘ is all set to ablaze your television screen with the entry of very sensual and incredible dancer ‘Shveta Salve‘ along with her prot?g? ‘Aashnay‘ into the show on Friday, 6th February 2009.

Shveta trumps her second innings in television with her entry into ‘Dancing Queen‘ after a long hiatus. Shveta has been in the television circuit for eleven years and has been well appreciated for her acting in various soaps on the small screen. Some of her serials include Kittie Party, Kahin Kissi Roz and Lipstick to name a few. But she came into limelight with her participation in ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa‘, in which she lost out the title to Mona Singh.

She was one of the most talked about and the strongest contenders whose graceful movements and incredible dancing skills were widely appreciated by one and all. Currently, she is busy shooting for Dharmesh Darshan ‘Bhanvraa‘.

Says Shveta, "I am very excited about coming into Dancing Queen as I am very passionate about dancing and this show will give me yet another opportunity to showcase my talent. Earlier I was being trained by a choreographer but now I will be training Aashnay and this will be another big challenge for me to prove my capabilities. I am not exactly here to win for myself but indeed to share my experience with my prot?g? and groom her."

With Shveta and Aashnay entry, what will follow is an eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth competition between all the pairs. Watch the sensuous and sassy Shveta Salve along with her prot?g? Aashnay on Dancing Queen, every Friday - Saturday at 10:00 pm only on COLORS.

MUMBAI: The category winners and contenders for the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008 have been announced. Chief Minister (Bihar)- Nitish Kumar, Olympic Gold medallist - Abhinav Bindra, HDFC Bank MD - Aditya Puri, The thinking actor - Aamir Khan, G Madhavan & Chandrayaan team and the Golden Globe winner A.R. Rahman have been chosen by the citizens and intelligentsia of the country as Indian of the Year in their respective fields.

The stage is all set to award the Indians, who with their unflinching dedication and indomitable resolve, have emerged as the best in their respective fields. Promising the audience of a glittering outcome, the award ceremony will be held in the presence of cr?me de la cr?me of the nation in New Delhi on February 02 at Hotel Taj Palace.

Amongst these category winners and role models of a billion Indians, the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008 will be chosen. The awardees in their respective categories are:

Politics: Mr. Nitish Kumar - For his consistent performance in turning around one of the most under-developed states of India and showing that ultimately, every adversity crumbles in the face of vision, belief and resolve.

Business: Mr. Aditya Puri - For steering HDFC ahead on the path of growth under tough economic conditions. His sharp business acumen coupled with the breadth of his vision has inspired countless other Indians to dream big, without giving up ever.

Sports: Mr. Abhinav Bindra - For winning India‘s first ever individual gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and inking a glorious new chapter in the country‘s sporting history. His landmark achievement marks a giant step in India‘s sporting journey.

Entertainment: Mr. Aamir Khan - For being the most versatile and ‘hat ke‘ film personality who commands an inimitable stature in the Hindi film industry because of his immense dedication, outstanding range and steadfast commitment towards the cause of superior, meaningful cinema.

Public Service: G. Madhavan Nair & Team CHANDRAYAAN - For being at the forefront of space research in India through a string of innovations and novel scientific techniques and turning the crucial ‘Chandrayaan‘ project into a huge success with their unparalleled dedication and team spirit.

Global Indian ? Mr. A. R. Rahman ? For being one of the true Indian music composers respected and acknowledged by the whole world and for putting India on the global entertainment map with his Golden Globe Award and Oscar nominations for his indisputable music in Slumdog Millionaire and compositions for hits like Ghajini, Jodhaa Akbar, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN18 Network said "I would like to convey my heartiest congratulations to all the winners for being chosen the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in their respective fields. The category winners were selected for the award after a rigorous and transparent 4-tier selection process. Regardless of the winners, the effort of all the nominees is laudable. We hope to honour many such achievers in coming years through this event."

MUMBAI: Zee TV brings to you a unique dance reality show ? Lux Dance India Dance ? ‘Sabse bade dancing star ki khoj‘, a show about the common man and great dancing. As established with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, the show that aims to unearth the best musical talent, Lux Dance India Dance will endeavor to bring the best dancing flair in front of the viewers. The undisputed disco king Mithun Chakraborty himself is the grand master for the show. The show will be judged by three masters made famous purely by their great work in bollywood ? Geeta Kapur, Remo D‘souza and Terrence Lewis. The Gujarati ‘chokro‘ with the chocolate boy looks, Jay Bhanushali, and the popular radio jockey, Tarana Raja, are the sutradhars. Lux Dance India Dance goes on air from 30th January 2009, every Friday and Saturday at 9:30 pm.

Speaking on the launch, COO Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., Mr. Nitin Vaidya said, "Zee TV is known for creating platforms like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and India‘s Best that allows a common man to exhibit his talent. Where other channels are focusing on celebrity based reality shows, Zee TV goes back to its ethos, this time capturing a different form of art, Dance. We have selected the best dancing talent from the nook and corner of the country. These are common people who are passionate about dancing. That‘s the kind of ardent worship towards this art form that we were in search of. Getting Mithun Da to be the grand master was a step towards ensuring that the final judgment lies in the hands of someone who is tantamount to dance. This format was a big hit on Zee Network‘s regional channels and we are hopeful that the legacy continues on the flagship channel, Zee TV, as well. Our title sponsor for the show is Lux."

The auditions saw some very unique participants who amplified the channel‘s belief that a platform that salutes and explores the spirit of dance was required. Lux Dance India Dance celebrates and presents this very platform.

Lux Dance India Dance is a dance reality show that extends beyond just the individual participants. It is a contest between 18 participants who have been divided into three groups of 6 participants each named after the masters. The units are called Geeta ki Gang, Terence ki Toli and Remo ke Rangeele! The masters have entered the battlefield armed with their respective teams in the quest to find the deserving winners.

MUMBAI: The Lintas Media Group held its annual conference at the Ramoji Rao Film City, Hyderabad this week. As always, the high point of the event was the internal awards to celebrate outstanding work, the collaborative spirit, and committed relationships.

The coveted Unit of the Year award went to the Idea Collective, based on a quantitative count of 17 measured parameters around financial, personnel, work output and relationship related factors. The runner-up Unit of the year award went to the Kolkatta Collective, which handles accounts such as PC Chandra Jewellery, Amul Hosiery, Eveready, Tea Board, Tidewater Oil etc.

Speaking at the awards function, Chief Guest, Prem Mehta, Chairman, Northpoint Institute of Learning, said that he was glad to be among old friends again and impressed by the growth of Lintas Media Group in 2008, not just in business terms, but also in character. He advised the agency to rate their individual growth against three questions every night - "did I make a difference, did I give off my best, and did I embrace a cause larger than self-interest?" He also emphasized the need for non-traditional media thinking and holistic communication solutions in these challenging times.

Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO of Lintas Media Group, while congratulating all the collectives for their outstanding individual and team contributions to the growth of the agency and the brands they work on, and the new business successes, added that the 20 member Idea Collective not only did innovative work of a consistently high quality, but represented true teamsmanship and commitment to the brand. "Sometimes, it‘s hard to say who is from the client and who is from the agency in this highly integrated team".

MUMBAI:Maybe it‘s his new 10 pm nightly show, but whatever it is, Jay Leno has become America‘s favorite TV personality for the first time, moving up from number 3 last year. TV‘s crankiest doctor, or rather Hugh Laurie, the man who plays Doctor House, is number 2 on the list, up from number 4 last year and last year‘s number one, Ellen DeGeneres, is now at number 3. Rounding out the top 5 television personalities are two talk show hosts, Oprah Winfrey at number 4 and David Letterman at number 5.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll(R) of 2,388 U.S. adults surveyed online between December 9 and 15, 2008 by Harris Interactive(R).

More than Two and a Half Men

Next on the top ten list of America‘s favorite television personalities is Jon Stewart, of The Daily Show, at number 6, down from number 5 last year. Then there are two new-comers to the list - Charlie Sheen of Two and a Half Men, and Steve Carrell of The Office, debuting at number 7 and 8 respectively. Finally, rounding out the list and tied at number 9 are Stephen Colbert, down from number 6 last year, and Mark Harmon of NCIS who is new to the list this year.

Some actors are just Lost

As there are three new stars on our top ten list this year that means three people have dropped off of the list, including Fox News‘ Bill O‘Reilly, who was number 8 last year. Also, it seems everyone does not love Ray as Ray Romano; who was tied for number 9 last year. Homer Simpson, who was also tied for number 9, has also fallen from the list.
Different Groups have their own Greatest American Hero, or rather Favorite TV Star
Different groups have different favorites. Men, for example, choose Jay Leno as their favorite television star while women say their favorite is Ellen DeGeneres. Women are also divided among themselves. For single women, their number one is Hugh Laurie, while Ellen is tops for married women.

Different age groups also make different choices. Among Echo Boomers (those aged 18-31) Hugh Laurie is number one, and for Generation Xers (those aged 32-43) it‘s a tie between Hugh Laurie and Ellen DeGeneres. Jay Leno is tops among both Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62) and Matures (those aged 63 and older).

Forget candidates, there are also partisan and ideological differences for favorite television star. Republicans and Independents say Jay Leno is their favorite while Democrats prefer Ellen DeGeneres. Liberals go for the dry political humor of Jon Stewart and Moderates say Jay Leno is their favorite. Conservatives stray from the talk show genre; their favorite is Hugh Laurie.

Just the Ten of Us Broken Down

In this year‘s top ten, there is one predominant group of television stars - talk show hosts. Six of the ten are talk show hosts, two daytime and four nighttime hosts. There are also two sitcom stars and two drama stars.
Methodology

This Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States December 9 and 15, among 2,388 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents‘ propensity to be online. Full data tables and methodology are available at www.harrisinteractive.com

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
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