MUMBAI: Big 92.7 FM has introduced its plans to celebrate Republic Day across its stations with different shows and competitions.

The FM station with its tag line Suno Sunao Life Banao has plans for cities Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Chandigarh, and Bangalore.

In Delhi, Big 92.7 FM will organise a slogan writing competition in some schools, where winner of the competition will get a chance to go on-air with Big FM RJs. In a similar activity it is also putting up a graffiti walls at some malls, where in people will be invited to write their messages for the country and Big FM RJs would take live links from the mall on the 26 January evening.

In Kolkata, station is coming up with a heritage quiz on the constitution throughout the week at various locations in the city, culminating on Republic Day in a day long on -air contest. The winner will be selected on air from those who send the maximum number of correct answers throughout the day on 26 January.

Kanpur-ites would be seen saving electricity this Republic Day. Listeners have been invited to pour in their creative ideas to save electricity. 15 listeners with innovative ideas of electricity saving will get a chance to share their ideas with Kanpur DM Alok Kumar and Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation (KESCO) MD Nand Lal.

Big FM will offer soldiers and their families of Chandigarh a platform of ‘self expression‘ to come forward to spread the message of maintaining harmony on the prestigious day. Apart from this, the Big RJs would also spend some time with the war widows. RJ Meenakshi, RJ Arsh, RJ Anubhav and RJ Pankaj would talk to the war widows taking them live on air and playing their favorite numbers and messages.

In Bangalore, Big FM will talk about things that should or should not be done in public and an on-air contest on how much do people know about their country will be played. The winners of the contest will get a chance to watch RJ Sindhu shoot along with Darshan for their upcoming movie.

In Mumbai, Big 92.7 FM has lined up singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya singing ‘Vande Mataram‘ for the station followed by outdoor broadcast links of flag hoisting from different schools of the city.

RJ Rishi will interact with kids from the Smile foundation on his show ‘Chal Kalti Maar‘. The kids from the TV show Sa re ga ma pa will also be taken on-air playing Antakshari with RJ Lavanya. RJs Archana Jani and Vrajesh Hirjee will be interacting with cricketer Rohit Sharma and Rakesh Salunke victim of the Mumbai train blasts.

MUMBAI: TIMES NOW, India‘s No 1 English News Television Channel is packing in all the action this week in the special preview of the forthcoming episode of Lead India, an initiative of The Times of India to identify new leaders for a new India.

Viewers can catch the special preview on TIMES NOW, the news partner for the Lead India campaign. The previews will run on news bulletins all day on Friday and Saturday before the episode airs on Star One at 8 pm on Saturday 26 January 08.

What happens when you have to be the Finance Minister or the Home Minister for the day and are grilled with some of the toughest questions while an entire nation watches you? A complete exhilarating experience!!! This episode will give contestant a larger-than-life view of a Parliament session with the theme ‘Mission Zero Hour‘. The Parliamentary session will have guests like Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Senior Congress Leader and Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has been the spokesperson for the BJP twice before. The three contestants will battle it out by each playing the role of a Minister for the day and go through a grueling round of questions that will be put forth by the judges and the two ‘Opposition Party Leaders‘ and conducted by ‘Speaker‘ Anupam Kher.

A vox-pop of viewer‘s opinion will be conducted of who amongst the Lead India contestants is capable of being the Leader. While RK Mishra will play an External Affairs Minister and Devang Nanvati the Finance Minister, Sanjiv Kaura will don the role of the Home Minister in this episode.

The discussions range from issues like the need to have trade partnerships with China to introducing a uniform and modern Police Act, the contestants will feel the heat. The contestants will argue and fight it out in true Parliament spirit. The feel of the episode brings the actual parliamentary sessions to life for the viewers.

MUMBAI: B4U Music will air a REPUBLIC DAY Special on their programme B4U Express on 26th Jan at 17.10 hrs .

B4U Express is a request based show where you can mail or fax your request and it is played on the show.

The show has incorporated bytes from the youth talking about Republic day and their views and feelings about it. B4U VJs Salil and Khushboo in true patriotic mood share their feelings of Republic days and relive their childhood memories of this day.

All this is interspersed with excellent patriotic tracks from Bollywood. All in all a programme to look forward to.

MUMBAI: Airtel Bol Baby Bol on Star One gets bigger with star studded episodes beginning this weekend. Fans will be in for a treat as Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan is all set to mesmerize the viewers this Friday in Airtel?s Bol Baby Bol.Watch Salman Khan make a grand entry amidst great cheer and applause which resonates over his Super hit chartbuster Do You Wanna Partner booming in the background!

The episode only gets bigger as Adnan and Salman sing Sun Zara as a team (composed by Adnan).They both do an unplugged gig of Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein where Adnan plays the Piano and Salman croons on. The episode goes on to reveal his fans singing with him and also a female fan getting to peck Salman on his cheek!

The Salman Saga stretches to two episodes and closes with a Bollywood style presentation ceremony planned just for him on 1 February, 2008.

How quickly does he scale the money ladder? How much does he mange to take home with him? All this and more only on Airtel?s Bol Baby Bol on 25 January and 1 February at 9pm only on Star One.

MUMBAI: On asked about being bullish on India, Gordon Brown says that India is moving ahead in every sphere in the world and every continent is aware of the underlying strength of India‘s achievements.

Gordon Brown showed utmost concern for issues like terrorism across the globe and his interest in combating terrorism in India.

"We are going to host the next Common Wealth Games and we will learn from you (India) on how to plan the Commonwealth Games in Britain".

Catch all the action on Frankly Speaking with Arnab Goswami this 26 January at 7.30 pm and 27 January at 2.30 pm & 8.30 pm

Stay Hooked to TIMES NOW!!!

MUMBAI: Not many filmmakers in the industry have had as colourful a career as that of Rajkumar Santoshi. In his capacity as director and producer, he has had his fair share of ups and downs, meeting with much critical acclaim and box office success in the process. It is this long association with Bollywood that goes under the microscope as Santoshi shares memories of times past with Kabir Bedi this 27 January, 2008 at 8:00 pm, only on Zoom ? India?s premier glamour and entertainment channel.

Creator of memorable films like The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Andaaz Apna Apna, Ghayal and Damini, Santoshi starts off with an interesting confession: ?When I look at my films, I feel like correcting them.? He also admits ? a rare admission for any director to make ? to feeling ?ashamed? when watching the work of great filmmakers. ?I feel like I haven‘t done anything yet,? he says. Considering he is one of India?s finest directors, it still comes as a surprise when he admits to feeling very small while looking up at posters of Bimal Roy, Akira Kurosawa, Charles Chaplin and Guru Dutt on the walls of his office.

The talented filmmaker speaks passionately about his work, and zeal to change the way people think. He calls himself a dreamer and says films keep him alive. He also explains why he doesn?t want his children to get into filmmaking, describing it as a shaky profession where one?s luck can change every Friday.

There are a fair number of revelations too, as Kabir Bedi gets into Rapid Fire mode. For one, Santoshi reveals the secret about his love ?Meenakshi Sheshadri!

Director?s Cut is a weekly, one-hour series of thirteen episodes on Zoom. It pays tribute to Bollywood?s directors ? those who give shape to our unique world of entertainment, while offering much pleasure to the lives of movie lovers worldwide. It tracks, in a sense, the long and interesting journeys some of our respected filmmakers have made, from obscurity to hard-won admiration.

Watch Rajkumar Santoshi in a t?te-?-t?te with Kabir Bedi on 27 January, 2008, at 8:00pm Only on Zoom, Isko Dekho!