Television gears up for the festival of colours

In India we have loads of occasions to celebrate and share happiness with our loved ones in terms of events and festivals. The year has just begun and the festival of colours and fun is already here to spread cheer and happiness in our midst. Holi, is definitely incomplete without the delicious snacks specially prepared for this festive season, and most importantly the dance music and colours without which the festival is incomplete.

Now let’s see how our favourite entertainment channels be it Hindi or English GEC’s are all set to provide us with the right dose of entertainment. This year with Holi  falling on Monday 17, 2014 and being a weekday Hindi GEC’s such as Zee, Colors, Sony, Sab and Life OK are  ready to entertain audiences right through the weekend prior to the festival.

Celebrating the festival of colours this year, Zee TV brings you ‘Ladakpan Ke Suhane Rang’ – A 3 hour Holi special on Sunday 16th March at 6 pm and Monday 17th March  at 4 pm. Bringing together the entire Zee family, the Holi special this year will showcase celebrations of three different states. While Shail (Vaishnavi Mcdonald) of Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke will celebrate Holi UP style, Neetu ( Tuhina Verma) of Ek Mutthi Aasman and Saavri Bua (Asheta Dhawan) of Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya will showcase Holi celebrations in Punjab and Rajasthan. While the three women showcase Holi traditionally, Shivani (Mansi Shrivastav) of Do Dil Bandhe Ek Dori Se will shake a leg with Rachna (Mahima Makwana) and KT (Piyush Sahdev) of Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke after intoxicating them with bhaang.  This year the ZEE parivar will also have ‘Babuji’ Alok Nath showing some dance moves to Urmi (Neha Marda), Samrat ( Mohit Malik) of Doli Armaanon Ki and Pakya (Siddhant Agrawal) of Ek Mutthi Aasman fame. Putting together a fun act on the theme of Sholay, the four of them will be seen donning costumes representing famous characters from the movie. While there is action and fun, telly land’s favorite couples will bring in some romance too. Asad (Raqesh Vashisht) and Zoya (Surbhi Jyoti) of Qubool Hai and Avni (Kaanchi Singh), and Raj ( Mishkat Verma) of Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, and lastly Mayank (Ankit Gera)and  Gunjan (Roopal Tyagi) of Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke will enthrall the audiences as they perform on mesmerizing numbers.

This year, the Holi Mahotsav on Zee will be a celebration of sheer diversity of content the channel offers as a broadcaster. Some of the interesting highlights viewers can look forward to is the presence of Hasya Kavi Surendra Sharma who will add a sprinkling of humor to the proceedings.

Colors too has lined up a bouquet of colourful programmes to delight its viewers. Popular show Beintehaa, will host the Holi party with the protagonists of all their prime shows participating in the celebrations. Audiences will see Alia organizing the festival this year and how Suraiyya, Shazia and Nafisa make every attempt to foil it.

Amidst this, Zain has challenged Alia that he will apply colour on her and the whole episode will revolve on the hook as to whether he is successful in his endeavour. Alia has also invited orphan kids to this Holi party and most characters from all other shows will be seen attending it. The channel has also planned a week long story line up for the show Sasural Simar Ka, which will begin from Monday 17, 2014 where Khushi will be seen attending the festival by applying color on herself to make sure that no one recognises her and will be shown mixing  bhaang in the thandai and this track is expected to stretch  till Friday 21, 2014. 

In Sony’s, Ekk Nayi Pehchaan, the entire Modi family will gather under one roof to celebrate the festival of Colors. In the festivities a mischief monger mixes alchohol in the Bhaang and Sakshi mistakenly drinks the concoction and misbehaves with Dadi who is averse to playing holi.

In CID, Dhenchu (the dwarf informer) will be seen celebrating Holi at a chawl with his circle of friends on the night when the Holi fire is lit and amidst the festivities, he overhears two people who are planning to kill Abhijit. What is in store for Abhijeet? Is his life in danger? Watch CID to learn more about how this track takes shape.
On Sunday, 16th March 2014, Boogie Woogie will have a double dhamaka episode wherein  one amongst the six contestants will get the ‘Ticket to the Finale’ along with the celebration of the festival of colours on the show. The episode begins with Sagar’s performance on ‘Tum hi ho’ followed by Mumtaz’s performance on the song ‘Give me Sunshine’. Choreographers Sumit and Vinod are all set to entertain all present on the sets. For the first time ever, Aryan’s horror act on the song Aaja Nindiya will elicit reactions from Jaaved Jaffrey, Naved Jafri and 3 rounds of standing ovation from the audience for his performance. Furthermore, Aryan’s best performance will earn him the ‘Ticket to Finale’ and he will be the first contestant to do so. The entertainment quotient will rise a few notches higher when the contestants, hosts and judges will be seen getting into the mood for Holi. Sargun and Rakshit will set the stage on fire with their performance on the song ‘Balam Pichkari’, and will later be joined by  judges and immerse themselves in the spirit of Holi.

The family entertainment channel, SAB TV this year will celebrate a Bollywood style Holi with all its actors. Sab Ki Filmy Holi will ensure that viewers shake a leg alongside as they watch it with their family. The loveable television couple, Daya & Jetha will anchor ‘SAB Ki Filmy Holi’ which will comprise of star-studded performances by Daya – Jetha, Taarak - Anjali, Bhide - Madhavi, Babita Iyer, Indu-Mukundi, Koel-Ghotak, Jeannie-Juju, Bagha-Bavri, Chukku-Lily, Machli-Kapi who will dance and entertain the audience to foot-tapping popular Bollywood movie songs of all times. Tapu Sena too will showcase their talents in engaging performances and will tickle the funny nerves of spectators through special gags and acts performed by Aamir Ali, Sayantani, Kamya Punjabi, Kiku Sharda, Rajesh Thakur and many more. ‘SAB Ki Filmy Holi’ will entertain all the family members and will be aired on 17th March at 9.00 pm only on SAB TV.

Following are quotes from SAB TV actors on this special occasion: Rajesh Kumar aka Dara Koyla from Pritam Pyaare Aur Woh said, “Holi reminds me of my Delhi university days. My friends would always be busy planning the entire celebration weeks before the festival. One fear that always gripped me was that the exams would happen around the same time and falling sick was not an option. Nevertheless, I always had immense fun playing Holi with all my friends every year.”
Kavita Kaushik aka Chandramukhi Chautala from FIR avers, “Holi is one festival that has to be celebrated with gusto. I have been the most rowdiest amongst all my friends & family while playing Holi. I would chase people and throw them in tanks filled with colored water. I believe this is the only festival where people can forget all their animosities and grudges and become friends again.” 

Ali Asgar aka Juju from Jeannie Aur Juju had this to say about the upcoming festival. Ali said, “Most of us actors are busy all the time and rarely get leisure time to spend with our families. Holi is one occasion where I always stay at home with my family and spend time meeting friends and other extended family members & exchange pleasantries.”

Life OK  has come up with a special show named ‘Holi Hain… Life OK Hain’ which will focus on comedy, dance and music and will be telecast on Monday, 17th March 2014 at 8.00 pm. Bharti Singh and Karan Kundra will host the show and Yo Yo Honey Singh will be seen as the main performer. Joining the festivities will be Life OK’s popular crime series Savdhaan India’s hosts, Sushant Singh and Pratyusha Banerjee, as they talk about safety of women while celebrating their Holi with Life OK. Vibhav Roy and Parvati Sehgal will win your hearts with their fun acts, while popular jodi Gaurav Bajaj and Sukirti Kandpal will recreate romance on the small screen. The show stopper for this mad, rib tickling, fun and absolutely bombastic Holi will be none other than rapper and musical sensation Yo Yo Honey Singh with his special renditions of Lungi Dance and Aaj Blue Hai Paani Paani! This musical magic will get a comedy tadka as Yo Yo Honey Singh and Bharti Singh slug it out in a Punjabi versus Bhojpuri rap!  

English GEC Romedy Now  adds a dash of colour to your lives with a special selection of the most vibrant and exciting movies all day long. Starting 9am on March 17th,  Romedy NOW has a little something for everyone with its colourful bouquet of movies from animation, dance to movies of pure joy and laughter. Go green with the animated ogre love story Shrek as he rescues Princess Fiona and defeats a dragon along with the favorite fairytale characters. Don’t miss Step Up: 3D as New York street dancers have a dance showdown with the world’s best hip hop dancers in an exciting face-off. Shallow Hal has Jack Black playing a narrow-minded Hal who falls in love with a 300 lbs woman Rosemary under a hypnotic spell. Percy Jones is a sardonic father always mistrusting of his daughter Theresa’s (Zoe Saldana) boyfriends in Guess Who. All hell breaks loose when her new white boyfriend Simon (Ashton Kutcher) meets her judgmental dad. Indulge in the dance of colors with cutesy penguins tapping their feet and discovering life in Happy Feet. The antics of the cute pooch Marley will keep you glued to the screen in Marley and Me as his owners John (Owen Wilson) and Jenny (Jennifer Aniston) go through their own misadventures.

Celebrating the festival of colors, stand-up comedians Sugandha Mishra and Saloni Daini announced a special Holi extravaganza - “Rangon Ka Magic”, hosted by the light-hearted entertainment channel BIG MAGIC and India’s No.1 FM network 92.7 BIG FM. The  sprightly celebrity stand-up comedians along with BIG MAGIC’s characters Shiv and Gauri celebrate the much-loved festival with children from NGO Angel Xpress. As a part of a unique initiative by Reliance Broadcast; ‘Rangon ka Magic’ encourages viewers and listeners to celebrate the festival of fun, bonding and colors in a special way - by befriending someone they normally wouldn’t be friends with. AXF works towards the education of underprivileged children living in slum areas by connecting them to educated, affluent adults within their locality through free classes organized in public spaces.

Celebrate the festival of color with BIG MAGIC and 92.7 BIG FM, starting 15th March. This festive season, audiences are in for a treat with BIG’s Rangon Ka Magic featuring an exclusive Hasya Kavi Sammelan, special segments with celebrity comedians and high engagement activities across both platforms ending in a three day-long scintillating Holi showcase.  The celebration will also be extended to the channel’s prime time shows – Raavi, Mahisagar, Nadaniyaan and Love Dosti Dua – where the channel’s favourite characters will be seen revelling in the spirit of the festival.  

On 92.7 BIG FM, listeners are sure to have a peppy start to their day with comedians Sugandha Mishra, Rajiv Thakur and Ehsaan Qureshi featuring in the breakfast shows from 15th – 17th March respectively. RJs will encourage listeners to befriend and acknowledge people in their life and share their stories on-air. Additionally both platforms will simulcast a Hasya Kavi Sammelan on 16th and 17th March at 7pm where renowned Indian Kavis such as Ehsaan Qureshi, Shambhu Chaudhuri, Deepak Gupta and Chirag Jain along with the lead cast from BIG MAGIC’s most popular shows will entertain audiences like never before.

Splash color, gorge on sweets, and enjoy the festival of colours and if not in a mood to venture outdoors celebrate Holi at home with visual treats on your television screens with your loved ones.  Happy Holi!