MUMBAI: The countdown to the finals of SaharaOne television?s musical reality show JJHOOM INDIA has started.This 12 January, viewers will get to watch the final singing performances between Jodi No 5 Sachin ? Madhushree and Jodi no 2. Varun ? Akriti. Basis on this final battle the first actor singer jodi will be declared the Jjhoom India champion jodi of season one to be announced on the grand finale episode to be aired on 18 January.

Jjhoom India provided platform to television artistes who thought they couldn?t be actors and singers at the same time. Viewers were treated to stage performances by 10 dynamic jodis of popular television actors paired with professional playback singers where they got along in the hope to make some beautiful music together. It was all through a mesmerizing journey for all the 10 jodis who competed in the show and tried their best to make it to the top. But jodi no.5 Sachin - Madhushree and Jodi no.2 Varun ?Akriti finally made it to the finals. Both these jodis have been the most commendable and appreciated by one and all. It isn?t just hard work; there is lot of time, energy, patience, perseverance and determination that drove them to be among the best two ? the finalists of Jjhoom India.

Having reached the grand finale, Sachin believes that the key aspect to remember now is stay relaxed and be more focused. ?I always got good points. Just once I didn?t receive great remarks and I was voted out. But what happened at that juncture only helped me come out of the competition sphere. The fear of losing went away. From the time I am back, I have sung all my songs in a relaxed manner because I am no more scared of consequences. I am in fact giving my throat ample rest so that I don?t over exert. Having reached the top two, Madhuji ? my mentor and I are only concerned about jury and audience liking our song selection.?

On the other hand Varun Badola always thought he knew a lot about music until he participated in Jjhoom India to realize that how much ever one learns music is less. ?I haven?t had formal training in music but have learnt listening to Lataji, Ashaji, Kishori Amonkar and several such veterans. The last two months have been extremely enriching due to the musical knowledge acquired. The credit for my success this far is because of Akriti ? my mentor, Ananth Vaidyanathan ? Vocal trainer and Rajeshwari ? my wife and my best critic" Varun too agrees on the song selection part, saying, ?The confidence to attempt a particular song comes only with practice. I love the song Naina Thag lenge from Omkara and wanted to sing it from day one. But I was shown the mirror and advised to sing it only when I had achieved a certain distance in music. If I had attempted to sing Naina in the first or second round because it is my favourite song, I would have been out long back."

The 12 week of intense battle fought between the 10 participating jodis have churned out the top two extremely talented jodis competing for the Jjhoom India crown! It?s now the final chance for them to give everything to see their dream of becoming a singer come true. So don?t miss to catch the final performances by our awesome twosome jodis this Saturday January 12 at 9:00 pm on SaharaOne Television as they render songs in three different rounds from three different genre namely songs from Black and White era, songs from Colour era and Sufi music. For voting your favourite jodi to win them the Jjhoom India crown kindly refer the details below.

For Voting Sachin ? Madhushree TYPE SJI 05 on your mobile and send it to 59090 and landline users can dial 1862 4249 090 05

For Voting Varun ? Akriti TYPE SJI 02 on your mobile and send it to 59090 and landline users can dial 1862 4249 090 02

So India, watch the finals of Jjhoom India on 12 January at 9 p.m and vote for your favourite jodi to make them the Jjhoom India champion, to be announced at the Grand Finale episode on 18 January at 9p.m.

MUMBAI: A climate change programme for India was launched in Mumbai today by HSBC, the world?s first carbon neutral bank, together with four world-class environmental organisations - The Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and WWF. The programme in India forms part of the HSBC Climate Partnership - a five year US$100 million initiative of the HSBC Group, to respond to the urgent threat of climate change worldwide with the same four partners - launched in May 2007.

• Through its partners HSBC will work with research institutions, businesses and individuals to combat the impact of climate change on forests, freshwater, cities and people. Of the US$100 million contribution by HSBC, the partners will spend US$12 million for work in India. The HSBC Climate Partnership India programme expects to achieve the following results in India by 2011:
• Freshwater: WWF will help reduce the impact of climate change on people and livelihoods by promoting action in the Ganga river basin in northern India. This will lead to the development of a sustainable water and energy management framework for critical parts of the Ganga Basin.
• Forests: STRI?s Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) will conduct the largest-ever field experiment to understand the impact of climate change on the world?s tropical & non-tropical forests. Research will address how carbon is stored in forests and how this storage capacity will change in the future. CTFS will also investigate the role of forests in regulating fresh water in the environment, assessing in particular how floods and droughts will impact tropical ecosystem. Earthwatch will conduct research to understand how human activities affect the resilience of forests to climatic variability, thereby helping to find the best forest management strategies for the future.
• Cities: The Climate Group will assist leading businesses and the government in India to respond to the risks and opportunities of climate change and work with industry, governments and consumers to help Mumbai and Delhi become low carbon cities of the future.
• People: Earthwatch will provide specialised training to over 3000 HSBC employees in India and give them the opportunity to participate in local volunteering projects in their workplace and communities to become ?Climate Champions?.
  

Sandy Flockhart, CEO HSBC Asia-Pacific inaugurated the HSBC Climate Partnership India. Speaking on the occasion he said, "With a majority of India?s population living in rural areas whose livelihoods depend on agriculture, forests, and fisheries which are climate susceptible, there is a growing consensus on the need for understanding the environmental challenges facing India. The HSBC Climate Partnership in India will play a role in finding practical solutions and alternative means of low or no carbon development and growth, for the benefit of the Indian economy and people."

Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group said, "India will play a pivotal role in determining whether the world can avoid dangerous climate change. The challenge here is to limit emissions growth without compromising economic growth or human welfare development. World cities - concentrations of capital, decision makers, opinion formers and consumers - are where many of the solutions to climate change lie. Through the HSBC Climate Partnership we will work in Mumbai and Delhi to share best practices developed by our international corporate and government network, and to support local solutions"

Nigel Winser, Executive Director of Earthwatch (Europe) said, "We must act quickly if we are going to combat climate change. This partnership unites five different organizations, all with the single goal of making a difference and inspiring others to do the same. The Earthwatch task is to bring together top scientists - HSBC staff - and local communities - to speed up the knowledge required to understand the complex issue of climate change and to make clear and firm recommendations. We believe in inspiring action, not apathy. This programme will demonstrate that individuals can play a key role in protecting our planet."

Dr Ira Rubinoff, Director of STRI and Acting Under Secretary for Sciences, Smithsonian Institution said, "The Smithsonian has studied tropical forests for nearly one hundred years. We are setting up a network of new Global Earth Observatories, based on the longest running standardised forest monitoring programme, covering all the major tropical rainforest areas of the world. HSBC?s donation will enable the Smithsonian to deliver key scientific data in the hands of decision makers responsible for global carbon policy and water management."

Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF India said, "Never has it been more critical to recognise that we live in one world and the impacts of climate change will be felt by all, particularly vulnerable communities dependent on India?s freshwater systems. The Ganga, which is the lifeline for over 200 million people in this country, is in crisis due to a combination of climate impacts and human action. WWF India, as part of the HSBC Climate Partnership will build awareness and mobilize action at all levels to ensure that we have a living Ganga for future generations"

HSBC?s US$100 million partnership is the largest donation made to each of these charities and demonstrates HSBC?s ongoing commitment to sustainability.

MUMBAI: Recognized as India?s leading music channel, Channel [v] continues to set benchmarks in youth programming and TV content. And now the cutting edge creative innovation conceptualized by the channel has been recognized by the prestigious Proggy Awards. The most animal friendly TV channel was conferred upon [v] for running animal-friendly youth programming that creates awareness and educates the audiences to get more active on animal right issues. Over the past few years PETA and its affiliates have given these awards to those who have played significant role in educating and inspiring people to feel compassionately about the needs, nature of animals while promoting respect and empathy for animals.

Commenting post winning the award, Amar K Deb Head Honcho Channel [v] said,? It is an honor for us to win this prestigious award. We at Channel [v] have always been promoting the cause of animal right issues in India and we hope our contribution awakens the mind set of youth towards the same?

Channel [v] has a permanent PETA page on their website which is choc-o-bloc with features of animal rights and issues. Channel [v] also ran an enlightening spot about protecting dogs from the noise and chaos of Diwali. PETA acknowledged the contribution of Channel [v] towards raising animal right issues the [v] style!

MUMBAI: Star Plus is all set once again to give its viewers a reason to celebrate. All the favorite Jodis of Star Plus? popular afternoon shows ? Kumkum, Bhabhi, Saarthi and Karam Apna Apna get together to celebrate the special occasion and make it an afternoon to remember.The most adorable onscreen television couples - Sumit & Kumkum; Dev & Suhana; Rudra & Bhoomi; Shiv & Gauri gear up to present their best performances on Star Dopahar Dhamaka event, Fri, 11 January, 1-3 p.m. only on Star Plus.

But that?s not all? There are much more suprises stored for the day. This will include a stunning performance by the two sisters of Bidaai ? Ragini & Sadhna, a sensational act by the popular television actress Roshni Chopra and many many more performances that will keep viewers glued to their television screens.

Stay tuned & watch the very special Star Dopahar Dhamaka event, Fri, 11 January, 1p.m. ? 3p.m. only on Star Plus!!

MUMBAI: There is a big surprise in store for viewers of K for Kishore. The show which is a big hit with all Kishore Kumar fans has now inspired a singer to join the show as a celebrity contestant! The singer in question is popular Marathi singer ? Milind Ingle.What could possible make a popular singer take part in a reality show? A household name in Maharashtrian homes, Milind says the reason he decided to join the show is not to ape Kishoreda‘s style of singing but to sing keeping in mind Kishoreda‘s style of portraying emotions in his singing. Says Milind, "From childhood I have been a great fan of Kishore Kumar. I have never had the opportunity to meet him in person but yet I consider him to be my guru."

Milind is a multi-talented singer. "I have always sung my own compositions at my performances. And on K for Kishore too I am going to sing my own compositions, sung in my own voice but in Kishore da‘s style. I look at it as an opportunity to dedicate the songs to him. I think the show is not looking for an imitation of Kishore Kumar‘s voice but a talented singer who can sing as good as Kishore Kumar!"

With that interpretation Milind has not only given a whole new meaning to the show but an incentive to viewers to watch the show with renewed enthusiasm. Viewers are going to love this new entrant

Watch K for Kishore on January 11th & 12th at 9.00 p.m on Sony Entertainment Television.

MUMBAI: After the 2004 chiller The Grudge earned over $188 million worldwide, director Takashi Shimizu and writer returned to work on the much-anticipated screenplay. Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn and Edison Chen make sure you catch the exclusive premiere of ‘The Grudge 2‘ on Friday, 11 January at 9 p.m. on Star Movies.

Aubrey Davis (Tamblyn, Joan of Arcadia) learns that her sister, Karen (Gellar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), is in a hospital in Japan. She is also told that Karen is under investigation for the death of her boyfriend in a fire she started in a Tokyo house.

Soon after she arrives in Tokyo, reporter and photographer Eason (Chen, Infernal Affairs) seeks out Aubrey to warn her that her sister is the victim of vengeful spirit.

"The Grudge 2 plenty of moments that will linger in your nightmares." - Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News.