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June 19, 2000 |
INDIA TODAY | DAILY NEWS | ASTROLOGY | HOME |
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 Bolo
tara ra ra
It
was no ordinary sarson da saga. Continuing with his series of hardcore
parochial partying to launch his regional channels, Rathikant Basu of
Broadcast Worldwide chose Delhi's Taj Palace as the venue of a vigorous
Tara Punjabi Channel bash. Emcee Divya Dutta (she acted in Train to
Pakistan) kept the crowd entertained with a stream of Punjabi chatter. The
overload of bhangra beats, with the vivacious Usha Uthup singing Kali teri
guth te paranda tera lal, had most of the 300-strong crowd including Basu,
Neena Gupta, Kiran Joneja and I.K. Gujral fighting for space on the dance
floor. (The other most sought after spot was the bar, well-stocked with
champagne and Patiala Pegs). Not even a tediously long AV on the channel
dampened the spirits of the enthusiastic guests -- the celebrations went
on way into the night with most of the jitterbugs simply refusing to let
go. Kishwar Ahluwalia, CEO, wants the channel to change the stereotypical
image of the state. "We're targeting the 'intelligent' Punjabi viewer
with a mix of news, sitcoms and music," she explains. So police
officer Kiran Bedi will host a talk show on alcoholism and drug addiction.
"There's so much more to Punjab than the bhangra," insists
Ahluwalia. You don't say.
-Leher Kala
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