Twinkle, twinkle, big star

Last year, it was just a speck. This year, Star One is set to take on the giants. When the Rupert Murdoch-promoted Star India Private Ltd launched the Hindi entertainment channel in late 2004, little did it know that it had a winner in its bouquet. But within a year of being on air, Star One is posing a serious challenge to India’s number two Hindi entertainment channel, Sony. The two are now neck-and-neck in terms of total audience share in the genre, thanks to a couple of programming coups The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and Nach Baliye. Ajay Vidyasagar, executive vice-president (marketing & communications) at Star India, is confident that Star One will displace Sony in 2006. “Audience drivers such as Laughter Challenge II and Nach Baliye II are in the pipeline as are other events and daily soaps,” he says. “Two programmes don’t make a channel. We will fight back with our new shows,” counters Sony Entertainment Television’s chief executive officer, Kunal Dasgupta.

Poll star over Bengal

It’s deja vu once again. Elections are being held in Bengal this year ? and there’s talk of a Mahajot.

Trinamul leader Mamata Banerjee is reviving her old idea of a grand alliance with all opposition parties. Those hoping to take the Marxists on in Bengal ? where they have been ruling for 28 uninterrupted years ? are doing all that they can to prevent a division of opposition votes.

But it’s not as easy as it sounds. The Congress, for one, wants no part of an alliance the BJP is part of. And, not surprisingly, the Marxists are rejoicing. “Our strength is our Opposition,” chuckles a Marxist minister.

Cup runneth over

Surprise packages are what mark the forthcoming edition of the Fifa Football World Cup, slated to kick off in Germany in June. As many as four countries from Africa ? Togo, Angola, Ghana and Ivory Coast ? have qualified for the tournament for the first time. Other first timers include Trinidad and Tobago and Ukraine, while Australia have ended a 32-year jinx to stage a comeback to the tournament.

On the other hand, heavyweights such as Argentina, Italy and England are all hoping to make amends for their poor performance in the 2002 World Cup. Hosts Germany, which lost the crown to Brazil in 2002, have redemption on their mind. And Brazil, clearly, is in no mood to hand the trophy over to anyone else. Put all that together, along with a keg of ale and sauted sausages, and prime time television gets a whole new meaning.

‘Jodi’ of the year

He is Mr Perfect; she, Ms Natural. And year 2006 will, for the first time, see the two pitted opposite each other in Yash Raj Films’ Fanaah. Directed by Kunal Kohli, Fanaah features Aamir Khan in grey shades and Kajol as a simple Kashmiri girl. Though the two worked together in Ishq in 1997, they have never been paired together. To be shot in Kashmir and Delhi, the film brings the much-loved Kajol back to the silver screen after a long sabbatical of four years. “The Kajol factor, the lead pairing and the banner have all created a hype around this movie much before its release,” says Komal Nahata, editor, Film Information.

Rings on your fingers

Don’t be surprised if your auto-rickshaw driver starts flashing a mobile phone this year. In a bid to reach out to the mass market, the world’s second largest mobile handset manufacturer, Motorola, has unveiled its ‘Made in India’ model (C 115) priced at Rs 1,700. At its launch late December, communications and IT minister Dayanidhi Maran said he hoped that companies would soon be able to break the Rs 1,000 barrier and offer handsets below that price.

Maran may be pleased to know that semi-conductor companies that manufacture chips for mobile handsets are already vying with one another to make them cheap. Texas Instruments has promised to produce single-chip, ultra low-cost mobile phones for emerging markets such as India. Germany’s Infineon Technologies is also betting big on its recently launched cheap mobile chip platform for ultra low-cost handsets.

Telecom experts believe that with affordable phones, cellphone companies could tap India’s vast rural markets that may be looking for basic phone applications such as voice and sms. Did we hear you say, hello?

Grand new Indian Idol

If Indian Idol became a plank to stardom for a boy-next-door, this year’s Indian Idol may just end up being a more grand plank for the small-town Indian. And the emphasis is on the word “grand” this year. “Indian Idol 2 is a far more glossy and glamorous version of Indian Idol. We want it to be more appealing and cut across segments,” says Tarun Katiyal, vice-president, programming, Sony Entertainment Television.

The channel has pumped in more money this time, roughly one-third more than the investment for Indian Idol. Also, the male and female contestants will fight it out separately ? till the very last final round. “The last time, all the girls got voted out. We want to ensure that they get a fair chance this time,” says Katiyal.

Making headlines

With 14 English and Hindi language national news channels in the country, news buffs have never had it so good. But 2006 promises to be even better. “India will have at least 20 national news channels in early 2006,” predicts Partho Dasgupta, vice-president and business head at Times Global Broadcasting Company which will shortly launch its English news channel Times NOW. Global Broadcast News, floated by TV18 and Rajdeep Sardesai, has already launched its English-language news channel, CNN-IBN. Expect at least two news channels each from the promoters of Aaj Tak and NDTV India in the coming year.

Muse-worthy

Varun Gandhi may still have a baby face, but he’s no longer his Mama’s boy. Two years on, he’s not had much luck in the BJP, but now the only son of Maneka and the late Sanjay Gandhi seems to have a few ‘meaty’ plans in store. Varun is eager to take his political role very seriously ? despite the opposition he faced when his name was recommended as a general secretary of the party.

But if politics doesn’t work out for the youngster, his passion for penning verse may come in handy. The grapevine has it that he has found his muse. Varun is believed to seeing a Bengali girl who, in keeping with the family tradition, is a veggie. And going by Bengal’s cultural tradition, she may, in all probability, have a voracious appetite for poetry! Talk of a perfect match.

Licence to drive

‘Have money, will drive.’ Cooked up as it may seem, the adage does make sense ? ask the car makers. Some 30 new car models are slated to be launched in India through 2006, and if the swish Rs 1.5 crore Lamborghini, the BMW Phantom and the much-talked about Audi A4 are slated to mark one end of the rainbow, affordable models such as the diesel variant of the Maruti Swift would bring up the rear.

True, most cars would come with a fat price tag. But experts say that wouldn’t be a dampener for the Indian motorist, who sees the steering wheel as an extension of his arm. “Consumers are moving up in the value chain and a Rs 5 lakh-plus car is no longer a deterrent as it once was,” says auto expert Ranojoy Mukerji. “The middle-class and the upper middle-class will be the biggest beneficiaries of this boom, though the super-rich will be spoilt for choice,” says the editor of Auto-India.