NFAI adds Notable Foreign Films to its Collection

In another significant acquisition, National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune has added a number of foreign films to its rich collection!

The acquired titles are all internationally acclaimed, having been honoured at festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes Award, the British Academy Film Awards and the Robert Awards (Danish equivalent of the Academy Awards). The titles include three films from France (Lemming – 2005, Invasions Barbares – 2003 and The Beat That My Heart Skipped – 2005), one from Belgium (l’enfant – 2005), a gripping political thriller from Denmark (Kongekabale – 2004) and one film from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Gori Vatra – 2004). The plot of Lemming (2005) follows a strange dinner party after which the attendees make discoveries about their seemingly well-ordered hosts. Invasions Barbares (2003) revolves around a terminally ill professor whose illness helps him reunite with important people in his life. Gori Vatra (2004) depicts the aftermath of the Bosnian War and the U.S. President’s impending visit.

                    

It is notable that the film The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) by the path-breaking French filmmaker Jacques Audiard is also part of this collection. The film follows the life of a deceitful young realtor and whether he will grow out of his ways to fulfil his dream of becoming a concert pianist. The Dardenn brothers’ film l’enfant (2005) was a winner of the Palme D’Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, and revolves around a young couple trying to fend for themselves by committing theft. These 6 films were acquired from Mumbai resident Shri. Narayan Srinivasan.

Another lot of Iranian films was acquired from the Iranian Embassy in Mumbai. The collection includes celebrated Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s highly acclaimed film The Peddler (1989) and the documentary ‘The Afghan Alphabet’ (2002) by Makhmalbaf. The acquired titles also include Pouran Derakhshandeh’s Wet Dream (2005) and Shahram Assadi’s Avinar (1991).

"We are proud to have a representative collection of world cinema, and thrilled to acquire these notable titles which have enriched our collection”, shared Shri. Prakash Magdum, Director NFAI. He also appealed to the public to submit any such rare, archival film material and join us in our mission to preserve India’s cinematic heritage.

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Can Doordarshan Regain Its Glory?

Think of it. 66 studio centers spread all over the country, out of these 23 centres are either already digitalised or being digitalized,  39 studio centers, 91 percent area covered all over India. Still Doordarshan is often called poordarshan because of its style of functionning. It seems it likes to work as just another government organ.

Ambika Soni, the minister for information and broadcasting informed the Lok Sabha yesterday through a written reply yesterday that massive plans are on for the modernisation of the national TV channel. "An amount of Rs. 1209 crore has been set aside for digitalization of Doordarshan out of an outlay of Rs. 1369 crore approved for the new schemes in the 11th Plan," she said.

All this information is only a technical one. There is nothing on the content side. The steady decline in the viewership gives a hint of the downward journey of Doordarshan. It is more pathetic considering that this is the golden jubilee year of the channel. Even though today it has 30 channels and a DTH service, Doordarshan does not figure anywhere in the TV map of India. What a pity?

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Another Censor in Maharashtra

We Should Welcome It

Another censor board is in the offing in the Maharashtra. The state government is contemplating on creating a monitoring body for the content beamed on satellite channels. Rana Jagjitsinh Patil, minister of State for Cultural Affairs told the state legislative council that the Government is planning a comprehensive policy to check violence and indecency in television programmes.

"A meeting would be called to dwell on issues like setting up a censor board at the state level to monitor television programmes," he said.

Speaking on a non-official bill was mooted by Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gorhe demanding stringent laws to curb violence and indecent shows on television, he said that the Crime Branch of Mumbai police took a serious cognizance of some TV programmes and action was taken in these cases.

The programmes included 'Split Wild' on MTV, an advertisement of Virgin Mobile and the 'Big Boss' show on Colors channel, he said. The Cable Act provides for curbing indecent programmes and the Collector can take action, he added.

"The state government should have a censor board on the lines of the central Censor Board for movies and dramas to monitor TV shows before telecast," Gorhe said.

This is the second such move by Maharashtra government. Yesterday, it proposed to prosecute television serial producers who have hired child actors to work in their soaps.

Labour Minister Nawab Malik informed that cases will be filed against the producers in the Judicial Magistrate First class court in a day or two. The producers include makers of popular serials "Jai Shri Krishna", "Uttaran", "Balika Vadhu", "Chhote Miyan" onColors channel and "Chak de Bachche" (9X), "Chhota Packet Bada Dhamaka" and "Maayka" (Zee).

If the government is serious, we should welcome. On account of its glamour and influence, the Tv and film industry seems to get away with anything it does. Maha government has failed on many fronts in implementing its announcements. If this announcement too goes that way, it will be bad enough.

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If You Want Entertainment, Look No Further

_{All YOU HAVE TO DO IS WATCH NEWS CHANNELS}

India is a country rich with history. Many people have inhabited here living their lives full or void of any action. I wonder how they passed their time when there was no television or to be specific, news channels. What sort of entertainment exactly filled their existence surpassing other forms of pastimes. Being born in an era when even tape recorders, forget the idiot boxes, were hard to be found, one can easily ask for the details to this creature. But that was far away in the locked doors of my memories. They have already been blurred by the continuous bombardment of images in the aftermath of that age of innocence. One reason why I cannot recall the things people did to amuse themselves was that I was a mere child then. Most of my waking time was spent in worrying about my studies and it was proved beyond doubt in later period that the worrying was not uncalled for, because I could never do anything memorable in my academic career.

By the time I was accustomed to the torment on account of the studies, a tape recorder entered the life to accompany an old radio set. Poor thing radio, it worked on vacuum tubes. But its efficiency was never surpassed by any instrument which tried to fill the vacuum which was apparent there when the radio set did not blare any program. The arrival of tape recorder set the tone for influx of the audio cassettes by all and sundry in the household. Each member tried to bring the cassette as per his own choice. Shortly thereafter, the television arrived on the scene.

From the day the TV set came in, confusion has prevailed on the viewer as to what is entertainment and what is not. The foremost use our TV set was put to was to watch the live cremation ceremony of Indira Gandhi, late prime minister of India. Whole of surrounding areas thronged our old house then to catch the glimpse of young Rajiv Gandhi setting fire to the sandal pyre of his slain mother. Sobs could be heard from the each and every corner of the room where the TV set was put up. That was my first experience of surround sound!

As the days followed, the same confusion prevailed. The programs which Doordarshan, the only boradcatser at that time which has only a meager airtime of eight hours a day, beamed thinking that people will relish them were discarded without any hesitation. Programs which were supposed to educate the people were instantly lapped up as being most entertaining. Films Division’s documentaries always fell in the latter category. I remember we younger lot always looked forward to the election time because DD had a knack of turning into a movie channel when results were declared. That habit was in vogue till as late as 1990s. Bosses in DD thought that people in Maharashtra will be dying to know who was elected from the Hardoi in Bihar or viewers in Uttar Pradesh will be deprived of valuable knowledge nutrients if they do not know who was defeated in Thiruchchi. So they always intertwined old movies in between the programs which gave shape to the careers of Pranav Roy and Vinod Dua.

The same fate has now befallen on the news channels which are supposed to relay newer information. But seeing these channels is no less than an amusing distraction for a common man like me. They have all the spices to fill your dish making sure that you are never short of amusement nutrients. Like when a simple act of launch of party manifesto is turned into major serial for three consecutive days stretching the every corner of imagination’s limits. In addition to the sundry details of promises in the party’s ritualistic paper coming out at every election, the reporters of the channel do not tire of reminding you what the party piece has been missing in it.

Their latest muse seemed to be fixed not on the elections but shoes. About a month ago, each alternate two days, we heard of someone throwing his shoe at someone. The moment such an incident took place, you were bombarded with the clippings of past such incidents ranging from Iraq to China. You are not forgiven if you dare to question the authenticity of the information or the limits to which the coverage can go. It is okay to say that you have the remote control in the hand and you can change the channel anytime. But what can one do when every channel is playing the same footage and playing same nonsense game.

After the election results, it was proved that predictions from all channels were gone awry. Not to learn anything from this, the channels starting blaring one dose of sycophancy after another. One particular family in the country is labeled as the sovereign leaders of the land. As if it is not sufficient, the clips from Bollywood movies are played in between. It has become a staple for the channels. So much so that the entertainment and news are mixed irrevocably. That is why, if you want entertainment, do not go further. News channels are here.

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How can bend backwards for an old actress

Actresses hardly get old...at least in their own eyes. That Maharashtra government was forced to change the name of prominent award is testimony to this fact. All this just for the sake of an actress's sake.

Bollywood icon, who was the top actress in the Amitabh era and still appreciated for her long lasting beauty, Rekha refused to make any compromise on her image of an evergreen actress. About a fortnight ago, the state government announced to honour her with the Raj Kapoor Jeevan Gaurav award (Lifetime Achievement award in memory of first showman Raj Kapoor). But officials of the state cultural ministry were in for a shock when Rekha told them to change the name of the award. According to her, Lifetime Achievement is supposed to be given to someone who has spent his entire life in the service of the industry. But she thinks she is still active in the field.

To honour her sentiments, the government has now amended the title of the award to "Raj Kapoor Pratiba Gaurav" (Raj Kapoor Talent Award), putting an accent on the creative aspect of the artist.

Now, the renamed award will be presented to the actress on the occasion of 46th Maharashtra state film award distribution ceremony slated for May 30 in the city.The fact was disclosed by none other than the Maharashtra cultural affairs minister Harshwardhan Patil। It is also to be noted here that the state government has also doubled the award amount this year to Rs two lakhs. The award ceremony is to take place on May 30.

Now, the question arises should government have give in before an old actress, who is now 55 years old? This is one of the flagship award of the state government. Earlier, actors like Rajnikant have received this award without any fuss. After that, he went on to create new records with the release of Sivaji-the Boss. So who is Rekha to make such a demand and can government just nod with her? Was not there anybody else as worthy and less exacting? One can understand if someone extracts the benefits when he is in prime. But to throw tantrums even after fading away to natural oblivion is an act that only Bollywood can do. Only the minister can tell what type of cultural activity this is.

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Deutsche Welle Rocks

Deutsche Welle is the national broadcaster of the Federal Republic of Germany. The reason why I wrote Germany this way is that the organization originally belonged to erstwhile Western Germany until East Germany was accommodated in the former. Accordingly, the broadcaster company of East Germany was merged in the DW. I first listened to the station sometime in 1992-93, three years after the merger. In that respect, I can never compare the two stations. DW immediately caught my fancy because of its reporting and presentation. There were two more reasons for me to like the broadcast: it offered service in Hindi also and its broadcast quality was far more superior than the other ones.

As time moved fast forward, I lost the touch with DW. But not before I  learned some German through its programs. I could gather some sentences and basic phrases in German thanks to DW. It is myinability that I could not keep the tempo and garner some proficiencyin the language. In the meantime, I had become a journalist myself
and I rediscovered my favorite radio station. Though the medium ofthe contact had changed: it was on the internet mostly that I visitedDW nowadays. This allowed me the comfort of listening at my leisure and in as many languages as I could. Since I was a old fan of Hindi service, it was obvious that I refer to it on the net. Englishservice was irreplaceable to get a flavor of the international
developments. DW had also shifted its focus extensively from being a Germany centric station to a Europe centric one. In addition, I was also able to refer German and French service pages of the broadcaster to brush up my knowledge of the languages.

Aprominent feature of DW's Hindi service was program in Sanskrit language. It used to last for 15 minutes and appeared each alternate Mondays. The program is not in service today. It was discontinued two years ago. But I used to listen the program enthusiastically. DW was the only radio station besides All India Radio to broadcast Sanskrit programs regularly.

It was not that I was listening to DW alone. I used to listen many overseas radio stations at that time. But I was hooked to this station mostly because I always thought it like catering personally to me.

It was long ago that DW ceased to be a radio broadcaster only. It started TV programs in late 90s. Though the reach of the programs was limited in my country or at least in the area where I live. For this reason, I could only imagine the kind of programs offered. However, that difficulty also is now overcome with DW available on most DTH platforms. It is available on DD Direct Plus, Dish TV and other leading service providers. This has really increased the visibility of the channel in India though I really doubt as to how many viewers are 'attached' to it.

There are reasons why I am posing this doubt. First off all, it is not an entertaining channel. It is to its credit that DW never comes forward as a government broadcaster. But that has not helped it from being a mere informative channel. In India, where even the news channels are fast turning into entertainment machines, it would be hardly appreciated by the common public. Presumably, intellectuals and people with liking for serious content will fast take to this
channel. But the documentaries and news with a European perspective will hardly appeal to the viewer trapped in the TRP games.

I for myself liked the programs offered by the channel. Especially the kind of travel based programs are always to my liking. Previously, the programs came alternatively in English and German having one hour slot for each language. Now, I notice that it has considerably altered the programming with Asia Plus. German language programs, even though mostly comprising of news and documentaries, are less now. For last two days, I could watch only two to three hours of German programs on the channel. I wish it could have been more. But in any case, I am with DW. DW rocks!

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Happy Birhtday…..Boss!

He reigns supreme in the hearts of those who, with a stomach for reverence and thirst for entertainment frequent the darkness of the film theatres. His mannerisms have survived the criticisms of the detractors and the onslaught of the time. Through thick and thin, from touring talkies to multiplexes, Tamil superstar Rajnikant rules the box office and the minds of cinegoers alike. This is not a new eulogy in the light of the recent success of the Sivaji the Boss, but a time tested praise the actor deserves most.

Rajnikant is celebrating his 58th birthday today. As I write this, he would be celebrating this occasion with the same modesty and charm that he is always known for. He will retreat to one of the holy places that only he knows, visit some orphanages or old people’s home, distribute some sweets or meal to students and many other charity deeds he do often. But for the millions of his fans worldwide, 12th Dec. is the day for commemoration every year. The reserved attitude of their idol notwithstanding, they will also be involved in welfare activities.

Why Rajnikant holds this charisma and influence on so wide an audience is a question that a large no. of critics and viewers have pondered on alike. I would hardly like to add this leaf in the already heavy pile of life stories available on the net. What I would like only to add here, besides wishing him Happy Birthday of course, is that whenever an enjoyment-hungry man will take his place in the darkness of the theatre or in the comfort of his home moving his eye on the TV screen in search of the stuff that he wants, the brimming activities of Rajnikant will be there to amuse him.

People call him desi James Bond or Amitabh Bachchan of the South India. I think and insist that it is passé. Rajnikant is Rajnikant…his own citations of Superstar and Style King fail to appropriately describe his personality. So, the best thing we can do is to watch his movie and say………Repeat


Wish him again Happy Birthday Rajnikant.

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Sivaji reigns, as always, but…

Sivaji-the entertainment personified
· Rajnikant’s latest flick Sivaji-the boss has hit theaters. After watching the movie seven days after its worldwide release, one is bound to be thrilled. The same emotion grips me as I remember the last night’s venture. First of all, I must say the film did not let me down. All the Rajni theatrics and elements were there to give every value for my money. It was down and down a Rajni movie and the whole three hours and twenty minutes of the movie does not allow you to forget that any moment. Rajni means entertainment…and the Boss shows that in the most entertaining way in his inimitable style and styles.
Sivaji-the director’s dilemma
· One has to remember also that it is Director Shankar’s film who has given us such memorable hits as Gentleman, Kadhalan, Jeans, Indian and the best of all Anniyan. Sadly though, in Sivaji, Shankar has failed to live upto his name. It is as though, he has reeled under the stature of Super Star Rajni than making the movie his own. All the scenes, barring those song pasteurizations where classic Shankar touch props up unstopping. The breathtaking locations, much larger than life exquisite sets, the zing thing orchestrations …you name it and Sivaji have it. But in the movie, right from the story no traces of director’s skill are evident. For once, comedy is the Rajni’s bastion and it does not take Shankar to make the comedy sequences memorable. Vivek and Rajni steal the show in their comedy scenes in the first half of the movie.
Sivaji-the momentous moments
· What overcomes the failings of the director have been compensated by the some very fast, really brilliant and full confrontation scenes wherein whole experience of watching the movie assumes new meaning. For example, the scene where Rajni blackmails Adisheshan (Suman) for his black money. You have to see to believe the unchallenged confidence of Rajni on the screen while he orders Bhajia and Tea for the twosome. After finishing the taling and (eating), he tells Adi, “Pay the bill for all this. We will settle it from 100 Crores.” Wow! Man! That sets the screen on fire. Equally astounding scene is in climax, where the students vying for the falling money trample Adi. That’s what we want to see in a Shankar movie. A social message, a kind of common man’s revenge in a very symbolic way, in a manner fit for the commercial flicks.
Sivaji-the unsung movie
· One big letdown of the movie is the music score by AR Rehman. One expects from the ‘Isai Puyal’ a thumping, vibrant and humming songs, the kind of which were present in Muthu and Padaiyappa. Even Baba score would fare better in comparison with the Sivaji. Except for Vaji Vaji song, no song clings to the nerves. Even the background score also do not match to the stature of Rajni film.
Sivaji-the boss of box office
· What Sivaji has achieved will be the subject of discussion for long in future. But it has indisputably bought to Indian regional cinema to the notice of the world cinema. After all when did you saw big queues lined up outside the theaters in the north India for a Tamil movie? When did you saw multiplexes in Mumbai increasing their no. of shows for a Tamil film in its second week? When did we saw a Tamil film finding its place in the top 10 films in UK? As I write this from Pune, five multiplexes and one single screen are running 16 shows daily for Sivaji, which is a feat for any regional film. It has wakened up to the fact that good or quality successful films are not the monopoly of the Hollywood or Bollywood. It has also shown the world that Rajnikant is not a subject of internet jokes only, but that he has far more substance than any other actor/hero in this country. In that sense, I think he is the most underestimated hero in India. Please check this and this to prove this point.

Sivaji-fumbled fairy tale
· Shankar seems to have fumbled while transferring the story from the storyboard to celluloid. While most of the half is spent in portraying the love story of the hero and heroine, second part tries to deal with three menaces at one go…i. e. black money, bribery and the menaces in the education system. That has created an unnecessary burden on the cinema as well as hero. Shankar’s earlier films centered on one theme and that ensued a big success for the flicks. Gentleman handled the problem of commercialization of the education system as Indian handled the bribery system of the country. Anniyan focused on the lawlessness in the citizens of India. It seems Shankar has tried to bundle all these themes in the one film. To be fair, he has succeeded in not making the affair a repetitive one. But it would have been better had he handled the one subject in this film. For that matter, one again thinks that had Mudhalvan been done with Rajni, we could have a movie of the lifetime. Sivaji leaves a lot to be wished.

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Pokkiri : Vijay has one more success

If one prefers only to look at entertaining value of a film, Pokkiri stands quite a good chance. In Mumabaiyya parlance, it is a paisa vasool film. Coming from the ‘Ilaiy Dalpathi’ Vijay, it has all the elements that make Tamil films dear to every film buff. One expected a thrilling, action and romance saga for Vijay, who had been on a search out for a hit for a year or so. The initial response and thereafter also has shown that his search is over now and there is talk now of his being the next superstar of Kollywood. Undoubtedly, Pokkirri makes all Vijay fans happy with its stylish treatment, eye-catching stunts, an out of the blue story and witty dialogues. There are many plus points in the Pokkiri. The most prominent being that it does not hide violence. It does not either hide its intention of being a violent story. It takes us through the dark and sullen underworld where killing is the thumb rule.
This is a remake film and it shows all through the film. But adding some true blue Vijay elements like stunts and comedy, Prabhu Deva has done it refreshingly new. Why he has kept some ‘overt’ features in the movie is an open question. The opening scene of Vijay dreaming of being a batsman and the lady in the villain gang fascinating herself with Vijay was such scenes. Thank god, the number of such scenes are limited.
Vijay shines in the movie from the word go. He was the same, dancing, acting and fighting the way he does. We are entertained like we do always. Still there was something missing this time in Pokkiri. As the one who relished and relish even today the Ghilli in 2004, this film is stops short somewhere near the expectations. While in Ghilli, Vijay carried the film on his shoulders, in Pokkiri, the film sways somewhere between the action and romance genres. I watched this film expecting it to be a action thriller. Thriller it is, but not the usual action thriller. The thrilling scenes come in as a concession the director has agreed to give to viewer so as not to make the film a run of the mill kind.
Prabhu Deva has tried very much to make Pokkiri as spicy as possible. But he has failed to keep a balance between the romance of lead pair and magnetic fight scenes of Vijay, the lead protagonist. One more flaw is in storyline itself that the sudden twist in the tale comes very late. A basic opportunity to dwell on this twist and make use of it, to stuff it in the confrontation scenes between main protagonist and villain is lost in the process. To say the least, there are not a single confrontation between Vijay and Prakash Raj after the latter learns Vijay’s true identity diminishes the entertainment value of the film. Even the protective element of Vijay for Asin is used only as a vehicle to make the film running. No use of this angle is done from the angle of Prakash Raj.
While watching Pokkiri, one is always reminded of Ghilli. Even some indications to that effect are provided in the film here and there. As if Sivakasi and Thirupachi never happened. Even some actors in that film appear here in different roles. That’s why a kind of anticipation was built as if this was the second part of Ghilli. But whereas in Ghilli, Trisha was shown harassed, hounded and sought by villain, in this film, the hero covertly does all this. In Ghilli, the story had ingrained human angles making it dear to all and sundry. In Pokkiri, when the main hero himself is ruffian, the human emotion are bound to take a back seat. As a effect, his tantrums also fell off. In the ruthless criminal world it it only bullet and guns that do all the talking. To compensate this loss, a separate comedy track is imbibed in the form of Vadivelu and he does it with a large effect. This part of the films gets 100 per cent marks. Especially are the comic scenes where Vadivelu tries to urinate in front of a wall and one where he opens the water tanker mistakingly.
Heroine Asin looks good throughout the film. She looks the perfect match to hero Vijay and glamour girl for the audience. But this romantic angle overshadows many times other happenings in the film. She acts like she has no clue of what’s going on screen in her absence. This comes out so starkly when the Inspector comes and harasses her mother, or when he sends goons to her house. Even when she knows that Vijay appreciates her and is ready to do anything for her, she not once tells Vijay about all this. This is a very weak character in the film and its only justification seems to be filling the need of glamour in the story.
Pokkiri seems to be one of the biggest successful films in Kollywood. It might come second only to Shivaji-the Boss starring Rajinikant, which will be released in April. Till then, it will bask in the glory. That is the thing I fear most. Since Vijay has tasted success with two of the remade Mohan Babu flicks, he might go for a third one. That will be really sad for the Tamil audience. Because he has the capability to deliever original hits which he have proved in the past. So let us hope that his ‘Alagiya Tamil Magan’ will be an original and as engrossing film as we are accustomed to. That will be the real success for Tamil filmdom’s next superstar

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Shahrukh Ban Gaya Joker

It is official now. However Shahrukh might try to ape Big B, he alwasys turns out to be a damp squib. First he tried to step in the Bachchan's shoe was when he acted in the remake of Don. His pubilcity machinery worked overtime and managed to proclaim that film as a hit, but the truth is that the film failed totally. Not satisfied with that misadventure, he jumped on the hot seat as anchor of the popular show Kaun Banega Crorepati on Star Plus. This time also he has got a bitting and in the attempt to crown himself as the new ruler of Bollywood, he has proved himself a joker. Even figures substantiate these observations.
A recent report in Hindustan Times tells how Khan has failed in recreating the magic that Bachchan created six years ago. There is a sheer absence in the overhyped performance of Shahrukh khan of the aura weaved by Bachchan. His popularity as host of KBC is no match for his predecessor Amitabh Bachchan, the report says. The data compiled by India's Television Audience Measurement for the first four days showed a television viewership rating, or TVR, of 12.33. Bachchan, 61, had a bigger four-day audience in August 2005 with a 19.75 rating, the daily said. The paper did not provide the margin of error, and the show remains India's most popular.
Originally based on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" from the USA, "Kaun Banega Crorepati" was started year 2000 as the main attraction og the relaunch of the Star Plus. The grandesque image and persona of Bachchan catapulated it to the heights unknown to the Satellite TV shows till then. It soon caught imagination of the millions of viewers across India. SO much so that this show played a big role in reviving Big B's film career. The show ran in two parts, but was halted abruptly following Bachchan's illness.
It was resurected last week with 41-year-old Khan at the helm. As with his filmy image, Khan brought with him a lot of hoopla in the form of songs and dances in this show, which was not the part of the show in its prior run. The Show started on Jan. 22, and a random survey shows that audiences have given Khan, one of the biggest Bollywood heartthrobs of the past decade, the thumbs down, the Hindustan Times has said.
Expectedly enough, Star Entertainment India doesn't agree with the findings. The number of people "reached " on Khan's first day was 23 million compared to Bachchan's 18 million, Paritosh Joshi, the network's president in charge of advertising and distribution said, according to the Hindustan Times.
Joshi's figures are based on those who watched the gameshow for at least a minute. The TVR, on the other hand, gives the number of people who sat through the hour-long program. If that does convince the anyone, here is some figures given by a portal moneycontrol.com.
TAM numbers for the opening week of Kaun Banega Crorepati with SRK are in. It looks like Shahrukh Khan has lost out in round one, reports CNBC-TV18. While Shahrukh's KBC debuted with a 12.3 rating the first episode of Amitabh Bachchan’s KBC had garnered 19.75.
But there's good news for Star Plus as well. The channel's relative shares in the general entertainment category is up from 37.7 to 55.9 percent in the primetime in the 9-10 pm band in the KBC launch week.
A closer look at the TAM data for all four episodes last week, however, shows a dipping interest in the show after the opening episode. Especially so on day three which was the 24th of January when KBC went head-to-head with the India-West Indies ODI in Cuttack. The show seems to have borne the brunt then, losing viewers to cricket.
That settles the matter for once. The reality is that Shahrukh is no match for BigB.

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Pune fast becoming Pollywood
Pune : The city of pensioners has long become city of IT peoples. And now Pune is emerging as a rival to its neighboring city Mumbai. Yes, the Mayanagari of Mumbai is slowly but steadily moving to Pune and the trend is limited not only to Bollywood but to Hollywood and Kollywood also.
The month long sojourn by Brangelina for the shooting of ‘A Mighty Heart’ has put Pune on global entertainment map. In the frenzy and hype of this film, famous Southern director S. Shankar also canned some dance and song sequences for his forthcoming film ‘Shivaji-the Boss’. A Rajinikant starrer, ‘Shivaji-the Boss’ had its previous schedules in Spain and Japan also. Then the crew landed straight at Panshet Dam, a 25 KM or something tourist destination from the city. The shooting was also held at various places including ‘Magarpatta City.’
Ram Gopal Varma, Priyadarshan, Gautam Menon…these are some prominent names in Bollywood who have worked repetitively in Pune and continue to do so. What’s more, Ramu’s ‘Vastu’ was based solely on a bungalow near Lonavala.
There was a time when only Marathi cinema was produced in Pune and most of the Marathi producers were based here. Historic vicinity of Pune provided ample ambience and limited motion ensured cost-affordability. All the while, Hindi cinema flourished in Mumbai. The scene has changed in the last decade and major production houses, both of big and small screen varieties choose Pune as a favored destination. Increasing facilities of transport, closeness to Mumbai, relatively low cost of work is some of the reasons why Bollywood is increasingly coming to Pune.

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