chennai Television

This is ridiculous. Was Priyanka visit to Vellore to meet Nalini sponsored by Times of India? How else will you explain that it took nearly a month to unravel a true story about a movement of a high security person to a sensitive cell, to meet a convict, accused of abetting assassination of an ex PM of our country.

The Junior Viketan, Nakeerans and Kumudams have a lot to explain of their colossal failure to bring out this news. The Dozen plus TV channels of the state must be dozing….
Even the vernacular presses of the state both English and Tamil should be ashamed. What kind of Journalism is this? First most of them are not able to find out Priyanka’s visit to Vellore, second one Newspaper gets the news [obviously leaked by the Government for ulterior motives], and it continues its investigation, waits for the grand release of its chennai edition and then publishes it. The motive of TOI is not to give us the news but to use the news to get more readers. That is why I suspect whether Priyanka was a willing partner to this.

Definitely Karunanidhi knew she was coming and why she was coming, because her security is his concern too. Some or many of the Jail staff would have seen her there or known about this. To keep the matter hushed for so long is not good news for our democracy and what kind of press do we have.

Times of India has clearly exposed the impotency of the media in chennai so far. But it did not do any great service to journalism it just exposed the deficiency in it. It must have paid loads of ‘M’ to the Jail and to the sources to keep it tight till it revealed. Even after a RTI is filed in a court the news has not been picked by others is a big shame. By choosing to ‘time’ news as sensitive as this, is a mockery of journalistic ethics and there could not be fair play in getting it postponed for so long.

And regarding the visit itself, I do not understand Priyanka. Is she suffering from some psychological disorder or trauma because of her father’s death, that her doctor advised her to sooth her nerves by meeting the only alive convict? Or did she try to find out some thing new, which CBI and police could not find for so many years? Or is she trying to be a lady munnabhai? If she thought it was so personal and wanted to keep it a secret she could have by saying no comments when queried whether she made the trip. She is entitled to do so. But she revealed that yes she did and she did because she wanted to find out why a good man was killed. This clearly reveals this is a publicity stunt well planned and executed and released in an appropriate time Well probably she wanted to splash news that Rajiv was a good man, nothing else she revealed new.

The Opposition AIADMK had accused DMK’s hand in helping Nalini; it had even shown video clips raising questions on why Karunanidhi gave a directorial chance to a man closely related to her. They also asked whether ‘He’ hand a hand in the plot itself etc. What happened to her nerves then? Just for a question, if the present government was involved some how, will it not stage-manage the visit by briefing Nalini properly? And if she was a hardcore sympathizer of such an enormous crime does she need a briefing to manage herself in front of an immature giggly daughter of a murdered man seeking sympathy?

What she asked and what answers she got is not news to me as the whole episode sound like a practical joke played by Priyanka, sponsored by TOI and DMK jointly as an April fool gift to the nation. The news got postponed by 14 days and the fooling may take a few days longer.

The Chennai Lights out scheduled for May 1st for Global warming awareness is off. The actual plan was to gather as much population of Chennai to switch off lights in Chennai between 7-8 pm on May 1st. In fact a over optimistic Nirmal of Exnora had promised in Late January that they will reach 99 plus percent of Chennai population before May 1st. But now he concedes that they could not reach more than 1% of the population. They did organize some road shows etc plus schools campaign, but now that the exams are over and most children on vacation They feared the worst response. The call by sify for switching off lights on Earth hour between 8-9 on March 29Th was an eye opener for them. 99% of Chennai did not even know that there was something like that. The remaining 1% was also lukewarm in response. Infact I remember TN Seshan had very clearly objected the choice of date. But the rest in Exnora were very hopeful and believed in their organisational skills.

Well the plan is not completely off though. A very diluted version is being planned for August 8Th. 8 minutes starting from 8 pm on 8.8.08 is what they will request the public to switch off. They plan to reach most of Chennai before August 8Th.

“Awareness about global warming is very low in the city… we have only been able to reach one per cent of the people of Chennai so far,” said Exnora chairman M.B. Nirmal last Thursday, explaining why the Chennai Lights Out campaign is being postponed from May 1 to August 8 and reduced from one hour to eight minutes

“Many people aren’t ready to switch off their ACs for one hour in the hottest part of the year,” said campaign coordinator Miriam Chacko, explaining why the voluntary switch-off period is being reduced.

Exnora kicked off the new ‘88888’ campaign with 33 visiting Swedish students riding through the Koyambedu market on a bullock cart.

There was some confusion on what this was supposed to symbolise, with organisers saying it was meant to promote the concept of transport simplicity — reduce greenhouse gas emissions by walking, cycling or using public transport. Several speakers, however, used the slow procession as a cautionary tale — if the world runs out of fossil fuels, we could end up returning to the bullock cart.

Exnora hopes to rope in government support and the endorsement of the film community for its campaign. On April 29, an awareness meeting for film artists will be addressed by Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin, according to Mr. Nirmal.

Transsexual is a person who believes their bodily (sexual) characteristics do not reflect their gender identity. As per medical dictionary the definition is ‘ Appearing as, wishing to be considered as, or having undergone surgery to become a member of the opposite sex’.In Tamil transgender people are referred to most commonly as ‘Alis’, but now members of the community here refer to themselves as Aravanisor Thirunangai’s.

There are over a million transgender in India.Transgender are arguably the most displaced group in Indian society, discriminated against in terms of both class and gender. Like outcasts, they are excluded from all discussions on social welfare. From education to employment to even something as basic as walking on the roads without attracting disgusted or fearful stares is denied to them.

Most transgenders in the country pursue begging or prostitution as their profession because of unavailability of any other source of income. However since the late nineties there are some changes in the perception and acceptance of this third gender.

Hijras were granted voting rights only in 1994 in India. Shabnam “Mausi” Bano, a Hijra was elected member of the Madhya Pradesh State Legislative Assembly from 1998to 2003. She stood as an Independent and won. She was an Inspiration and soon many followed her path. A party for and by Hijaras was also started in MP. Asha Devi, Mayor of Gorakhpur, Heera Bai, city council member in Jabalpur and Kamala Jaan, mayor of Katni followed her success. Kamalla Jaan was ofcourse stripped of her post because our courts ruled that Hijra’s are men and the seat was reserved for women. Her appeal is still pending.

Sylvie is one of Delhi’s leading hair stylists and make up artistes, but she began her specialisation as a doctor at St Luke’s hospital in London, delivering babies. She became popular in the late nineties and was interviewed in many TV channels of today. Many popular actors and personalities are her customers. She is also a Transgender.

Bobby darling the first gay who has done the maximum number of films and serials in Bollywood in gay roles. She participates in many discussions in English news channels and has bought to limelight the life of the third gender.

They made the first steps for some social awareness on Transgender. A gender for ridicule in all forms of their life they were used in our movies for comedy and vulgarity. Bobby and Sylvie made people listen.
Then a Pakistani Begum Nawazish Ali, a TV anchor made the sub continent talk openly and for the aravani’s.

The Department of Social Welfare in Tamil Nadu passed a government order (G.O.) in December 2006 with recommendations to improve the living conditions of aravanis. The G.O. strongly favours counselling as a means to deter families from disowning a transgender child. It also recommends counselling for children with behaviour changes in schools, for which teachers need to be specially trained. The G.O. is clear that there is no ban in admitting transgender persons in schools and colleges and that no discrimination should be shown against such persons on account of their sexual identity. The G.O., however, is yet to be implemented and the welfare board presents an opportunity to put these steps into practice. Ration cards have been issued to them.

In Patna , city officials in Patna have struck upon a novel scheme to shake down tax deadbeats by recruiting scores of eunuchs to collect on the debts. There are also some collection agencies in Delhi who adopt this method.

AND IN 2008, Rose got a hour every week in Vijay TV to help change the life for thirunangai’s.

She started the program Ippadikku Rose with some sensitive topics but dealt with In a very subtle way, to an extent that her first two programs were termed boring. But she is slowly building a repute for herself and the program. The program on 3/4/2008 was about her clan- Thirunangai’s. She roped in Three of them one Vidya, who has written her autobiography and is a serious blogger[http://livingsmile.blogspot.com/], another who is married, an exception for the clan, and the third from a marwari family who all talk about their sorrows and the few happiness in their life. Vidya could present her case very well, articulate and fearless.

They discussed about the ill treatment being meted out to them, their feelings, why they became what they are, and what is their expectation. The program was well conducted though it seemed inconclusive.

How many know that Rose is also writing her autobiography called ‘ My sexuality’ The book will be of about 200 pages, in 14 chapters. “A large part of my book will be about how I discovered my sexuality, my sexual fantasies and experiences and, well, some silly things. The first chapter is about how a man wooed me, how I fell in love with him and how he ditched me. People writing autobiographies want to project the best part of their lives, but I will bare it all.” Rose said in December last. Rose promises to make some bold revelations: how penury forced her into sex work in Chennai, her “kidnap and attempted rape three months ago and the trauma that took her to the verge of suicide”. “Basically, I will be telling tales which a woman does not dare to,” she said then.

Rose chose not to discuss her this past but use the guests and the audience to reveal about Thirunangai’s.

Eight/ten - for the week.

Asianet’s proud Idea star singers has finished Quarters. The following are the marks scored by the contestants.

Devotional Songs (DS)
Remix Round (RR)
Fusion Songs (FS)
Properties Round (PR)

DS RR FS PR
1. Hesham - 80 + 84 + 80 + 79 = 323
2. Amrutha - 80 + 67 + 90 + 78 = 315
3. Vani Jayaram - 84 + 76 + 77 + 77 = 314
4. Thushar - 73 + 82 + 79 + 72 = 306
5. Durga - 75 + 82 + 73 + 85 = 315
6. Najim - 78 + 81 + 75 + 72 = 306
7. Arun Gopan - 72 + 69 + 74 + 72 = 287
8. Vijay Madhav - 73 + 75 + 78 + 71 = 297

Ranks after 11th round (Quarter Finals):
1 - Hesham[323]
2 - Amrutha[315]
3 - Durga[315]
4 - Vani[314]
5 - Najim[306]
6 - Thushar[306]
7 - Vijay[297]
8 - Arun[287]

Only Hesham is safe All the others were in Danger Zone

Vijay was the only one to be eliminated. He was given 75000 rupees worth gift hamper from Godrej which included electronics products from Godrej and a memento.
The remaining seven go to semi finals. Arun escaped because of SMS votes.

See when will we fly? before reading this. Kathipara Junction may be partially open before March 30st says grapevine. Though the deadline is March 2008 they may be delays. A project started in 2004 is already more than a year behind schedule. The reasons being land acquisition problems, labor problems and default by earlier developer[ The Tamil Nadu Road Development Corporation?! ]

And since Defence has not agreed to let out space there is complete change in plan so it will not look like what was envisaged.

It is a reality show. So whatever happens is shot and revealed to us. The participants are aware and have signed a contract with Vijay TV so if they come bad in the final reel it is part of the game. But Vijay Jodi number one is not a dance contest of seasoned dancers. The participants are actors in Vijay TV with a fan following and reputation to guard. So what happened in the sets of Vijay Jodi number one does create some sourness at least for a section of participants and viewers.

How can you make a dance show of mediocre’s, a successful show with more than average TRP? Simple- you add some masala, some guest glamour and lots of comedy and make it watch able. That is exactly what the producers are at. And obviously to make this happen there has to be some scapegoats. Yesterday it was Jeeva and Prajin.

That Jeeva and Ishwarya were not in good terms was evident from the Friday show. Ishwarya had rehearsed for song, which suited her, and Jeeva did not come for practice till a day before the shoot. And when he came he insisted for a song, which suited his style. Since he had limited knowledge in dance, he felt and insisted on a change to this song. Ishwarya’s contention was for continuous three shows they are dancing for Rajni solo numbers, which made her look small. Ishwarya is a dancer and she was good even yesterday. But Jeeva was not very bad and he did perform. But the Friday show was already in the news and the Judges must have seen it too. So their minds were already biased and a decision to remove Jeeva has already been made. The rest was drama.

Sangeetha rightly, tried to avoid this and asked the pair to make amends. But Jeeva was in no mood for a compromise. Their contention that Ishwarya should not miss out like Uma Riyaz did, because of a mistake of her partner, looks fine and judicious but not justice to Jeeva. Ishwaya and their choreographer should have taken Jeeva to confidence before selecting the song. It is evident this was not done. The reasons may have been justifiable but we are not aware. In an age of cell phones and with prior knowledge of his shooting spots it is unbelievable that they could not contact him. Jeeva as he said, does not know to dance for any one else but to imitate Rajini. So his preference is also right. But he should have tried to objectively convince his partner. There is no evidence to suggest this happened. But nevertheless he bulldozed and made them accept. The matter should have ended here and they should have performed but asked for an arbitrator for future shows. Secondly they did not become partners by choice. Infact no pair in the contest had their choice. So now why only Ishwarya is given this right?

As a pair they should have been marked and in case eliminated then they could have tried to bring her back with a new Jodi. In Sun TV Mastana Mastana I remember how Mahendran got Neepa as a new pair after being eliminated. Infact they went on to become winners. There was better justice then.

In this case both failed as a pair but their dance should have been judged purely by performance and the marks should have been revealed.

SJ Surya said that Master was telling that Ishwarya should be given a new pair and Jeeva should not be compelled to find a new pair and if he wishes he can leave. Well I am not sure whether it was right on part of SJ Surya to reveal what Master told in private to him And if it was ok with Master he should have boldly said it so in Mike.

Credit should be given to Jeeva for he handled himself well in the stage and made the correct decision of seconding the Judge’s decision of sending him out. And between the Three Judges, Sangeetha was the best, for first she attempted to keep the pair in the contest, Then to talk to Jeeva and to suggest ways to make amends with Ishwarya, and when finally a decision was made, she expressed openly and argued for the Judgment. Master had made his mind to eliminate Jeeva. He did not see the first dance so he must have felt that Ishwarya a good dancer may be loosing out because she is with Jeeva. But that is not worthy of a Judge, with due respects to him. SJ Surya also tried to convince Jeeva to find a pair. But just like how Jeeva bulldozed his way against Ishwarya’s wishes, Surya did it today and there is more than one instance when he has over powered sangeetha. Was there a collective Judgement?

And Prajin- chandra getting Zero is ridiculous. Of course Prajin was a disaster. Most of the time he was just standing not to know what next but his pair did well so they could have given a mark or two. Now what happened after that is still not in public domain so we will wait? The following are the marks for the members involved in this controversy and like the Judges we need not explain why.

Normally controversies do not mar the career of any artiste but enhances it. Being in News is free advertisement. And Vijay TV has once again proved it is master of shows. That some one some where is spending so much words and time to discuss its show itself is sign of success.
1. Jeeva – 6/10
2. Ishwarya- 4/10
3. SJ Surya- 3/10
4. Master- 4/10
5. Sangeetha- 7/10
6. Prajin- pending
7. Chandra- 6/10[sympathy]
8. Vijay TV- 9/10 [ TRP]

Vijay Tv is famous for trend setters in Tamil. Though many of its new programs are inspirations from star Hindi or abroad, they happen to bring then to Tamil first. And the way they add spice salt and pepper to their show makes them special. Their Game shows and Talent shows are having a size able audience especially in cities and Towns.

Jodi number one became news headlines when Simbu and Prithiviraj fought in Open. In yesterday’s Vijay Jodi number one we saw Lollu Jeeva’s Jodi Ishwarya complaining openly against Jeeva. And Jeeva’s masculine EGO was obviously hurt by her behaviour. Knowing fully well that they are in camera she was playing to the galleries. And Vijay TV happily shot them. And the advertisements in Vijay TV suggest they are in open war in today’s telecast and Kadallike neramillai pair Prajin and Chandra Lakshmanan are fighting with SJ SUrya. One of these pairs get Zero marks. Well Vijay Jodi is pepper show today. Keep water near you when you watch Vijay Jodi number one today at 8.00 PM. Prajin is a popular compere in Sun Music and got married to Sandra Jose another compere and actress on 15th october 2007

Vijay’s menu for Sunday tomorrow has a new entry. Called Isai Kudumbam , hosted by real pair Yugendran, an established playback singer along with his wife Hemamalini. The format is two Music teams will compete each week. Each team will have a popular Senior and Junior. The competition will have the following rounds: ‘My songs’, ‘Comedy round’, ‘Junior Durbar’, ‘Theme thanana’, ‘Adaludan Paadalai Kaettu’. The family that has the maximum entertainment quotient will move to the next round. The final winning team will be crowned Gold Winner Isai kudumbam title.

Coming Thursday and thereafter every Thursday at Ten PM Vijay TV will Have Rose- A Transgender Host an Interactive Show called Ippadikku Rose which will discuss and try to find solutions for emotional human Issues. For the first time in Indian Television a Transgender will host a program. How will she be received by the Tamil audience is the curiosity element.

There is something interesting in every team. Dhoni will bring money, atatus and advertisement revenue for chennai and also crowd. Andrew will be famous by sheer curiosity. So whatever written on his shirt will attract maximum eyeballs. He along with adam and lakshman will bring crowds for hyderabad. Delhi is pinning on sehwag and gambhir. Ganguly will have ricky and shahrukh and they will ensure full stands in kolkatta. Mihali is a young and glamourous team heavy in bowling and depending on Yuvaraj,sangakaree and jayawardena. They also have Tom Moody as coach. Mumbai will depend on Sachin’s magic ans jayasuriya’s batting. Pollock and uttapa should shine to make them formidable. Chennai has mathew hayden, Murali Joginder fleming Oram and others. So so far very good. Now it is just a month and a half away. Hope the franchisee’s work to get revenue. And if they do that will bring more success for this format. The full team selected in yesterday’s bid for chennai Superkings are as under.
M.S. Dhoni
$1.5 million
Jacob Oram $675,000
Albie Morkel $675,000
Suresh Raina $650,000
Muralitharan $600,000
Matthew Hayden $375,000
Stephen Fleming $350,000
Parthiv Patel $325,000
J. Sharma $225,000
Makhaya Ntini $200,000

The Chennai IPL franchisee seems to have the most balanced of teams (again on paper) and what with the possibility of some talented youngsters joining the fray, the Chennai team may perhaps start as the favourites for the IPL tourney when it gets underway.

The hand of V B Chandrasekhar is seen in the choices (though the purse strings must have obviously been controlled by N Srinivasan, the head hocho of India Cements which is the franchisee rights holder of the team).

As a national selector, VB was the one responsible for blooding Mahendra Singh Dhoni into the team in 2002. And it was no surprise yesterday that he upped the ante for Dhoni and fetched the highest amount for him.

How Dhoni was bid is interesting. [Thanks: Newstodaynet.com]

The bidding process was very interesting and very hard fought. Chennai managed to pip Mumbai for Dhoni because of the fact that it (Chennai) had the luxury of not having to pay any ‘icon’ player.

It was part of Chennai gameplan to go for broke right from the start and secure Dhoni as he can end up as the surrogate ‘icon’ player in Chennai.

It was a classic master move, and on a day when a total of $42 million (USD) had been spent on 76 cricketers, the talking point continued to be Dhoni’s buy for $1.5 million.

The bid for Dhoni went down to the last ball, to use a cricketing analogy, starting from the base price of $400,000. By the time the bids crossed the $900,000 mark, only two teams were in the running: Mumbai and Chennai. And then it went for broke, pitching its bid at $1 million. This also kind of set the bar for the rest of the day.

Anway, Mumbai upped its offer too. It is here that the Chennai team, showing skills that would have been great success at a poker table, bid around $1.2 million, and feigned a body language that it couldn’t go further.

The Reliance Mumbai team pegged its offer at $1.3 million, perhaps believing that it had clinched its man.

But Chennai quickly moved for the kill, making abid for Dhoni at $1.5 million, knowing full well that Mumbai would be caught in a cleft stick as it had also take into account its pay-out for the ‘icon’ player (15 per cent more than this).

With Dhoni on its side, the Chennai Superkings can hope to levearge his presence both on and off the field.

Think of the sponsorship deals that is possible with him around, said one leading marketeer.

Player transfers for higher fees is also a possibility later on. This is the fee for just one season, and players can be sold next year.

Andrew symonds the second highest definetly benefitted by the controversies and the eagerness of Mumbai to have him along with Harbhajan raised his bid and again like Dhoni, they lost him because of cash limit crunch but this time to Hyderabad. Cricket is getting more interesting than films. No wonder Shah rukh and Preiti have Joined IPL

The following is the schedule for chennai Superkings in IPL

in the order slno.,Opponent,Venue

1 19 April Mohali Mohali
2 23 April Mumbai Chennai
3 26 April Kolkata Chennai
4 28 April Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore
5 2 May Delhi DareDevils Chennai
6 4 May Jaipur Jaipur
7 6 May Hyderabad Chennai
8 8 May Delhi DareDevils Delhi
9 10 May Mohali Chennai
10 14 May Mumbai Mumbai
11 18 May Kolkata Kolkata
12 21 May Bangalore Royal Challengers Chennai
13 24 May Jaipur Chennai
14 27 May Hyderabad Hyderabad

South African cricketer Keppler Wessels has been appointed coach of the ‘Chennai Superkings’- Feb 28th update.

Vijay Jodi number one will have a third Judge along with Sangeetha and Surya. It is none other than Master Sundaram. Frm today he will grace the stage. We can hear more supers and hope the dancers give him the chance to say so.

A living legend, who has worked with all the senior directors in the South Indian Film industry, has choreographed for over 1000 films. He choreographed the films like Neer Kumizhi for director K Balachander. He has choreographed the maximum number of songs for Bharat Rathna M G Ramachandran and Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan.

He has also choreographed for actor Nagesh, NT Rama Rao, Chiranjeevi, Nagarujuna, Superstar Rajnikanth. He also choreographed the first film of Director Mani Rathnam and movies such as Pallavi, Anu Pallavi, Agni Natchatram, Bombay, Roja, Thalapathi, Mouna Raagam.

He has won the prestigious National Award for the movie Thiruda Thiruda. He was also presented the Tamilnadu State Award by Kalaignar Karunanidhi.

1994, for the first time National Award was presented to the choreographer’s category and Sundaram Master was the first to win this prestigious award. He has choreographed for 6 languages, viz., Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali.

His lineage of dance has been carried out most successfully by his sons Actor, Director and choreographer, Raju Sundaram and Actor-Director, choreographer Prabu Deva, who are the leading choreographers in the South Indian film industry. He is the man behind bringing talented and exceptional choreographers in the South Indian film industry.

NO show in south India has offered so big a prize. And this program has a worldwide audience. With SMS being a parameter for selection in every stage, audience participation has boosted the TRP of this program. Asianet’s Idea star singer 2007 is creating raves and is also a competition for the Tamil television. The first prize is 40 lakhs worth Flat sponsored by Confidence Group.

Sannidanandhan was a star participant. As rightly described in his sent off speech ‘ No other contestant in any reality show has had so much fan following’. Episode after episode he edged out competition even if they were superior singers. Such was his charm. But he is now not in the Quarters. In a marking where SMS got lesser weight age, he lost and was given a standing ovation. Two judges announced that their friends from gulf wanted then to give him cheques worth 25000 and 2lakhs when he was going out. And an emotional Sannidanandhan promised to part 50001 to the family of his deceased Friend.

The final eight of the show are Amrutha Suresh, Arun Gopan, Durga Vishwanath, Hesham Abdul Wahab, Najim Arshad, Thushar, Vani Jayaram and Vijay Madhav.Their rank before Quarter final is as follows:
1 - Najim

2 - Durga

3 - Arun

4 - Hesham

5 - Amrutha

6 - Vijay

7 - Vani

8 - Thushar

The Judges Usha Uthap, MG sreekumar and Sarath have made the program a grand success. Their Comments and unbiased critical analysis of each performance is outstanding. Born in a family of musicians M.G.Sreekumar is one of the most popular playback singers in Malayalam.He gave voice for more than 3000 songs across a number of films in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu.An ardent disciple of Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna Sarath is one of the most popular music directors in the south Indian film industry.Usha Uthup,the popular playback singer of 70`s and 80`s.She sings in more than thirteen Indian and eight foreign languages.One of the first singers to lend dignity to night club singing, Usha’s speciality besides her voice was her style of dressing which remains her signature even today.