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`Saathiya Saath Nibhana’ and `Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain’ brought in the highest ratings for the Star franchise, with a 5.3 TVR each, while `Diya Aur Baati Hum,’ the channel’s gender-stereotype breaker, had a strong 5.2 TVR. `Is Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon’ (4.2 TVR) completed the top 4 sweep. The crowning glory was that nine of Star Plus’ shows were declared slot leaders.

The channel delivered 306 GRPs this week, clearly underscoring its leadership position across channels and categories.

Nitin Vaidya, Business Head, Hindi Channels, STAR India, said, “The consistent performance and popularity of our shows reiterate STAR Plus’ commitment to quality entertainment and world-class programming. Our constant endeavor is to re-invent the ‘nayi soch’ in the society with every show we conceive, design and offer.”

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Survivor India seems to be an eventual game of physical and mental endurance. It’s well encapsulated tagline-‘Jo Tikega, Itihaas Likhega’/ Kya Jee Paoge?’ is a testimony, that only the fittest, the grittiest and the ruthless will survive and will be the ultimate winner of this show.
‘Survivor’ the international series originated in the USA with more than 20 seasons in 11 years and has already been replicated in 48 countries around the world. The promotional buzz has already started. Sometime back Rohit Narang, who faced the thrill, hosted a small party for the contestants; not only that,Star Plus is bringing the Survivor experience closer to its viewers in Mumbai and Delhi.

Adgully caught up with Nitin Vaidya, Business Head, Hindi Channels, Star India to know some insights about the show and the contestants to know more about their experience being on such an exciting show.

Speaking about the show, Nitin Vaidya said, “Survivor India is not just a reality show but a quest of mankind for ages. It’s all about fighting against all odds, a struggle to survive but while you are struggling against nature, at the same time you might get into a conflict or else you might have to compromise something and then finally you conquer. So this is what Survivor India’s journey is all about which depicts the entire journey what mankind has faced over the years. So through this show we captured the entire thing in a small nutshell form.”

Basically the show demonstrates how the emotions of these contestants come out in such a difficult scenario wherein you are just facing the ‘odds’ in your life.

Vaidya refused to share the information related to revenues but when asked about the expectations from the show, he said, “We are just leaving it to our viewers and almighty. Our first and foremost focus has always been to assure and entertain our core viewers and so keeping in mind we are really excited to give this exciting product to them.”
Vaidya believes that the content is the king! If your content is compelling it will obviously affect your business strategy. Your content should be really innovative and persuasive.
Throwing light on the promotional front, Vaidya said, “We are not only promoting through radio, print or outdoor but we are also working with innovations. Soon you will be seeing many ground-breaking steps.”

As far as promotions are concerned there is a buzz all over, whether it’s Delhi or Mumbai. The activity in Delhi saw participants like Payal Rohatgi, Sangram Singh, Rajesh Khera at various hotspots in their Survivor look whereas the upcoming activity in Mumbai will showcase Abhinav Shukla surviving an entire day without the basic essentials for life at a shack created in the Inorbit mall. Many known faces and participants of Survivor India like Payal Rohatgi, Priyanka Bassi, Karan Patel, JD Majethia, etc. will be witnessed performing various show related challenges at the mall in order to help Abhinav win his basic necessities. The shack will be built in the true spirit and feel of the Survivor Challenge with a thatched roof and a wooden structure – it will be a true representation of the reality game show. Mall-goers will be encouraged to participate in a few challenges all day at the venue.

Who else better than the contestants would tell us about the show and their experience?

Sameer Kochar, the host of the show, says, “I am very excited and happy to be a part of such a realistic show. It was an amazing journey of 3 months on Survivor India full of thrill, excitement and adventures. I will always thank Star Plus to give me this opportunity. There was nothing but just nature and our team. This journey made me realize the value of small things like fire, electricity etc. “

Shilpa Sakhlani Agnihotri, one of the contestants, says, “I feel blessed, privileged, honored, happy and excited. I really want this show to do well and I will pray to the hardest for this because it needs lots of courage and hard work to come up and do such a show. Experience wise it was tough, exciting and amazing. We had to fight to survive; no food, no basic amenities, nothing, it was just our team and nature.”

Munisha Khatwani, a bubbly and chubby lady who has been seen reading tarot cards will be seen in her all new avatar. She says, “This is the first time I am being a part of such a show, such a unique show format. So getting this show has been one of the key high points of my life. It has been really amazing being part of this show. I feel lucky to be the part of the show. When I was told about the show I didn’t expected it to be that much tough but still I would say it was a thrilling experience. Everything was real and raw. Nothing was made up or fake. Nothing was scripted.”

Priyanka Bassi says, “It has been a fabulous experience being a part of this show. Such formats are really rare. Yes it was full of difficulties, pain and struggle. We performed extremely difficult tasks there and finally we all survived and are back in 1 piece. The show has been a hit at international level so we are expecting that will create a mark in India as well.”

Rohit Narang, a well known Businessman who is also a contestant of the show, said, “It was one- in- a-lifetime experience. I knew it will be tough as it was really opposite to my existing life style. It is easy to say but going through it is altogether a different story. It was lot more difficult experience for me. ‘I didn’t eat food for one day’, saying this is easy but actually not eating is really difficult; then dealing with people you don’t know, dealing with lack of sleep, dealing with stupid issues was really hard. It was basically man dealing with nature. I would suggest everyone should experience this once at least.”

Rajesh Khera said, “It was an awesome but rough experience. Personally I got to make new friends. Life was really hard-hitting in ‘Survivor India’. It’s going to be so nostalgic that whenever next ‘Survivor’ happens we’ll be so jealous and envious. We were cribbing about the basic necessities but it was like living at the edge wherein you need to push and discover yourself. It was all about pushing your limits and patience and also about respecting things which we have always taken for granted. We were really lucky to be a part of this show.”

Star Plus which has been on a roll in 2011 has redefined the ‘Reality show format’ with such a robust show and fascinating characters. It is totally an unparalleled non-fiction format and keeps the brand promise of Rishta Wahi Soch Nayi that reflects in its content. | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal(at)adgully.com]

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Survivor India, the Indian adaptation of the international series is now set to shudder your heart, January 6, onwards, 9 pm only on Star Plus, India’s number one entertainment channel.

‘Survivor’ the international series originated in the USA with more than 20 seasons in 11 years and has already been replicated in 48 countries around the world.

Survivor India will witness, twenty two extraordinary participants in its opening season, some well-known, and some not so known, some trying to prove their mettle, some wishing to push boundaries. However, all gearing towards the ultimate challenge of’Survivor India’!

Marooned on an uninhabited tropical island of Philippines where even basic minimum amenities aren’t available, Survivor India will be ultimate game of physical and mental endurance. Its well encapsulated tagline-‘Jo Tikega, Itihaas Likhega’/ Kya Jee Paoge? is a testimony, that only the fittest, the grittiest and the ruthless will survive and will be the ultimate winner of this show.

Nitin Vaidya, Business Head, Hindi Channels, Star India, said, “STAR Plus has brought its viewers the ultimate reality formats, whether international or home grown. It was time for us to present another breakthrough concept on the Indian television and hence Survivor India is the perfect New Year gift for our viewers!”

He added:” The series will showcase a life-changing journey of 22 individuals battling for survival, in a do-or-die situation. We firmly believe and hope that our viewers will live every moment of this exciting journey with our participants.”

Star Plus has redefined the Hindi GEC space with a robust fiction line up across all time slots. With contemporary and distinct fiction content, iconic characters, unparalleled non-fiction formats & events to its credit & the renewed brand promise of Rishta Wahi Soch Nayi that reflects in its content, STAR Plus has set the agenda for the Hindi Entertainment genre in India.

The opening season of SURVIVOR India will have some of the known faces like Payal Rohatgi, Shilpa Agnihotri, JD Majethia, Sangram Singh, Abhinav Shukla, Karan Patel, Timmy Narang, Sylvester Rodgers, Priyanka Bassi, Rajesh Khera and Munisha Khatwani – contesting against each other for survival as the battle gets wild and wicked.

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on the occassion of the launch of her new show, ‘Survivor’, Adgully exclusively caught up with Shilpa Agnihotri to know about the show and her life.

Speaking about being of the reality show, Survivor, she said, “I feel blessed, privileged, honored, happy and excited.”

When quizzed about the key high points of her journey till date, Shilpa firmly stated, “I truly believe that it’s been great working in this industry. It’s been twelve years now. I started working since I was 15 years of age. I have been an actor by fault. I never wanted to be into this field because I used to hate make-up. I used to accept whatever came in my way. I totally believe that god has been really kind to me.“

“The best day in my life was when I got married and right after that the best experience has been working with ‘Survivor.’ I don’t have words to describe how I feel being on the show and what it means to me. I just loved being on the show”, she added.

Shilpa, is known as a very hard working girl and comes from a very humble background. She said, “Since my father was not there, if we had to stick around in Mumbai, I had to earn my own bread and butter. I had to work hard, had to be strong and since I started working at the age of 15, it was really hard to understand the difference between your board exams and professional life.”

But Shilpa believes that she is glad that she have been serving well in this industry, and has been enjoying her life with a fantastic husband and great family!

“I really want this show to do well and I will pray to the hardest for this because it needs lots of courage and hardwork to come up and do such a show”, she said.

Stating her sources of motivation and inspiration, Shilpa said, “My husband has been really motivating and my inspiration has been my mom.”

Apart from acting Shilpa loves to paf with her husband and loves to play with her dog.

Shilpa’s hails from Dehradun in Uttaranchal. Her father served in the Indian Navy so most of her childhood she had been travelling the country.

She married actor Apurva Agnihotri in a traditional Garhwali way after dating him for six months. Ending the conversation on a light note, Shilpa said, “Initially people were sarcastic and said that this marriage will not work and this was accepted by Apurva in Nach Baliye when he broke my tooth!”

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STAR Plus topped viewers’ choice in a pan-India survey of over 5,500 viewers in the country. According to the survey conducted by CNBC Awaaz and AC Nielsen in the run up to the awards, STAR Plus emerged a clear leader with maximum viewership in the country and was voted as “The Most Recommended Television Channel of the Year” in the Entertainment Category.

“Viewers are at the core of STAR Plus’s content. They are the force that drives us to constantly raise benchmarks with shows that set a social agenda, while simultaneously improving on the viewing experience through HD channels and Apps that make content available on-the-move,” Nitin Vaidya, Business Head, Hindi Channels, STAR India said, thrilled by the recognition. He added: “To be voted as the most favorite channel is a huge compliment and an honor. We, at STAR, are humbled at receiving the CNBC Story Board Awaaz Awards 2011.”

The channels refreshed brand philosophy “Rishta Wahi, Soch Nayi” is not just a tag line but the operating brand philosophy which is best expressed through the actions of its progressive protagonists. These iconic women characters, reflects India, what’s changing and what’s reassuringly remaining the same. STAR Plus continues to seek to inspire and entertain through strong and stirring content that reflects and propels India forward in its path to fulfillment. It is this vision that has made STAR Plus the leading Entertainment Channel in India, touching the lives of 300 MM viewers a week and earning the place as the most loved channel brand for viewers.

STAR Plus, STAR India Pvt ltd.’s flagship channel, reaches more than 300 mn viewers weekly. The channel has redefined the Hindi GEC space by retaining its leadership position in the Hindi GEC space for more than a decade and introduced innovations like HD recently, consolidated its position as the leading Hindi broadcaster in India. With discerning and distinct fiction content, iconic characters, unparalleled non-fiction formats & events to its credit, STAR Plus continues to set the agenda for the Hindi Entertainment genre in India.

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With iPhone sales topping 100 million and over 25 million iPads already sold, the STAR Plus App is an enriching addition to viewers, who can download the app on to their devices from the iTunes App store and instantly start enjoying the rich and inimitable content from STAR Plus.

“We have always provided our growing viewers with discerning content using cutting edge technologies. Our entry into the iPad, iPhone App store will enable our upwardly mobile viewers to watch their best loved programs on iphone and ipad wherever they are and whenever they want to,” Sanjay Gupta, COO of STAR India Pvt. Ltd., said.

Adds Lalit Bhagia, VP- Digital of Star India Pvt. Ltd., “The Iphone and ipad devices have changed the way people consume content globally. With the Star Plus app discerning viewers will now have access to the best entertainment content available on their personal iphone and ipads. The app allows users not just a great video experience, but also gives details on show schedules, news and updates on their favorite show characters through daily audio blogs.”
The app will offer unique features like, live TV, catch up of missed episodes of last two days, updates/news from STAR Plus current and upcoming shows. A unique, built-in interactive feature also allows users to connect with their favorite Star Plus characters through audio-blogs & pictures.

The application has been launched in India and in over 120 countries around the world. The app also offers unique interface which enable users to browse content either by the show or by the characters.

The launch of the application comes soon after STAR India announced global same-day telecast of its flagship GEC brand in India, STAR Plus, with English subtitles. STAR has been leading the industry in bringing to viewers new and innovative products including Asli HD that is shot, recorded and edited in HD and mixed for 5.1 Dolby surround sound.

Star India has been the epitome of India’s broadcast and entertainment industry for the last two decades with its unparalleled reach and unrivaled leadership position, while staying steadfast in its commitment to viewers – underlined by its motto ‘Rishta Wohi, Soch Nayi’ – in terms of delivering rich entertainment.

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As per TAM data, the simulcast of JUST DANCE’s finale episode on STAR Plus and STAR One was a grand 3.3 TVR. (Source: TAM Panel, Week 40, HSM, CS 4+). The finale was watched by 97 million viewers in the country. (Source: IRS R2 2010, TAM reach converted to IRS).

The star-studded grand finale of the show saw some of Bollywood’s biggest actors like SRK, Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha and Deepika Padukone gracing the occasion.

Also celebrating Duggu’s television debut was his family who came on the stage and blessed the contestants.

Nitin Vaidya, Business Head, Hindi Channels, Star India, said, “JUST DANCE was the most exciting and loved show this year and we are extremely happy with viewers’ overwhelming response. Given the intense competition in the GEC genre, JUST DANCE has demonstrated an outstanding performance thereby setting a higher benchmark for reality shows on television.”

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STAR Parivaar Live, a first of its kind initiative where TV stars will connect with their show’s audience, is aimed at renewing relationships with viewers living far and wide. The event will showcase live performances by the leading artistes from the STAR Network properties.

The inaugural event at London’s Wembley Arena on 16th October will see some of TV’s biggest celebrities — Geet from Geet Huyi Sabse Parayi, Ishaan; Suhaana from Sasuraal Genda Phool; Naitik and Akshara from Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai; Rehmaan and Roshni from Comedy Ka Mahamukabla — performing live on stage, along with the legendary Ustaad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

STAR Plus idols, Rajni and Inder of Sasural Genda Phool will arrive at New York on Oct. 2 to launch the Western Union ‘Main Bhi STAR’ contest at the Association Of Indians in America (AIA)’s 24th Annual South Street Seaport Deepavali Festival, New York. Two lucky contest winners will get an all expense paid trip to Mumbai and a chance to share the frame with their favourite artistes by appearing on a STAR Plus show.

Commenting on the pioneering initiative Nitin Vaidya, Business Head – Hindi Channels, STAR India Pvt. Ltd. said, “It’s an opportunity for us to tell our viewers abroad that we care what they think, and by connecting with them, we’ll be able to bring content that’s closer to their hearts.”

That’s after all what STAR resonates globally: ‘Rishta Wahi, Soch Nayi’.

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MasterChef India is a format that changed many lives in season 1 and showed India how a mundane activity like cooking can be a ticket to fame and success. Themed “Ab Badlo India Apne “Khaane” ka Andaaz” the second season aims to bring a change in the way India perceives food, change in cooking styles, presentation of food as Vikas Khanna’s gastronomic philosophy is delivering innovative & luxurious meals, laying special emphasis on ingredients, taste, flavours and textures, which have won many hearts across the globe.

Vikas started his own catering business, Lawrence Gardens, at the age of 17 and the business is still thriving today. Vikas is the Executive Chef of the highly regarded Junoon Restaurant, a multi-million dollar project written about widely by the New York press. He has also authored several books including The Spice Story of India, Modern Indian Cooking and his latest Flavors First that released on Aug 15th 2011. Vikas, also is the creator of The Holy Kitchens, a series of documentary films that explore sharing food in different faiths. This year in July, Vikas cooked a Saatvik meal for the Dharmic Seva Conference for Hindu American Seva Charities at the White House. Amongst many prestigious awards, Chef Vikas has been awarded “2011 New York Rising Star Chefs” award by Star Chefs for his dedication to the Indian Cuisine and global culinary awareness.

Vikas will start his journey as a judge on MasterChef India 2 soon alongside Chef Ajay Chopra and Chef Kunal Kapoor, our resident chefs from the first season. Besides these three connoisseurs, MasterChef India 2 will be replete with multiple celebrity guests and aspirational & glamorous offsite locations.

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Now Star Plus is keeping its promise and has launched a new show called ‘Chef Pankaj Ka Zayka’ — a dedicated cookery show through which Bhadouria can endear herself to millions of TV viewers by helping the average Indian housewives with kitchen queries.

Talking about the new show she says that she really adores the concept of having real people from amongst the masses coming on the show. “We have a lot of celebrities and celebrity chefs coming on the show too. But I am all the more excited about common people like me coming on the show,” she adds.

Just like MasterChef changed the course of her life from a teacher to the greatest chef on television, Bhadouria, beginning on Sept 12, 2.30 pm, will help the average Indian homemaker change the way they run their kitchen. Bhadouria will play a warm interactive host of ‘Indiagate Basmati Rice presents Chef Pankaj Ka Zayka’ where she will not only solve cooking problems, but also make the task easy and fun, besides work with celebrities and the aam junta. She will don the role of a connoisseur of great food whose review will matter to our gastronomic journey through life.

Bhadouria adds that through the show she will be helping the housewives solve their everyday kitchen woes. “For me the cooking funda is very simple- the food has to be appealing to the eyes, nose and then the tongue. Your food should appeal to all the senses and that is a primary mandate,” she adds.

She further adds that this show in a way will help her keep up her love for teaching.

Talking about life after winning the title, Bhadouria says, “Oh! Life has changed completely. I have received immense love and adulation from people. I had been invited to New York to an Indian Food Festival post winning the title. I was also invited to the Cambridge University’s and Medical Research Council of UK’s conference based on the theme “Sizzling signs with added spice”, where the main aim was to convey that healthy food can be tasty too.”

For Bhadouria she derives inspiration from her mom and dad’s cooking, more so from her dad’s cooking she adds. “My dad was an excellent cook. My mom was 17 when she got married to my dad and it so happened that my mom ended up learning how to cook from my dad,” she adds with a smile.

So how do her children feel about her winning all the accolades?
She says, “They are extremely proud of me. My daughter’s moment of joy came when she was asked in her 7th grade GK exam to name the winner of Masterchef India’s title. While for my son he came on the show when I was a mere contestant so for him meeting Akshay Kumar was a dream come true.”

Star India has also planned to release a recipe book in mid-September, where Bhadouria has written how exotic dishes can be cooked with the help of simple Indian ingredients. “I know of how housewives in small town want to cook exotic international dishes but they end up not being able to find the right ingredients. So this book will be dedicated to them and to help them in their kitchen everyday,” she adds.

While signing off, Bhadouria adds that she would really like to cook something for Amitabh Bachchan, Rahul Gandhi and Dalai Lama. “Oh! I would like to cook again for Akshay Kumar although this time around in a stress-free environment,” she light-heartedly adds. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]