Disney does desi deal

The common man: Pankaj Kapur plays Mussadilal in Naya Office Office

The Walt Disney Company has entered into an agreement to acquire Hungama TV, the children?s television channel, and also take an equity interest in the media company UTV Software Communications Limited.

?India is a long-term strategic priority for The Walt Disney Company,? said Andy Bird, president, Walt Disney International. ?The acquisition of Hungama TV and the investment in UTV will significantly advance our presence in India and allow us to develop a strategic relationship with one of the country?s leading integrated media companies.?

Said Rich Ross, president, Disney Channel Worldwide: ?Disney?s global portfolio of kids? channels seeks to strengthen connections with kids and families in India by developing local creative content that represents and reflects the lives of kids there.?

The acquisition is a result of Hungama TV?s popularity amongst the Indian children, feels Ronnie Screwvala, chairman and CEO, UTV Software Communications Limited. ?In a brief period, the channel has built a strong management team and staked out a leadership position in the competitive children?s television environment,? he said.

Payback time

Mussadilal Malawakar is back with Naya Office Office and he?s got his new set of issues ready. This week he is an angry poultry farm owner, trying to claim compensation from the health ministry for his chicken hit by bird flu.

This second episode of the new series has the health ministry being ordered to kill the chickens because of the bird flu outbreak. The ministry is asked to pay a compensation of Rs 30 per chicken to poultry farm owners.

But Mussadilal has to get the signatures of all the officers in the ministry to claim his compensation. He is not lettered and asks Usha to fill his form, after which she sends him to Pandey. Pandey asks for a cut per chicken to sign the papers... At the end of the ?cut? chain, when Mussadilal comes to collect his cheque, Usha complains that she hasn?t received her cut.

Watch Mussadilal?s fight for justice in the Naya Office Office this Friday, 8.30 pm on STAR One.

Blast like her

When all eyes were glued to World Cup 2006, Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha were busy canning a telefilm on the beautiful game.

Jeet, all of 80 minutes, features Anandi as an upcoming footballer. It stitches together the story of a woman?s struggle to find a foothold in the field of soccer, the way she is wronged, and how she hits back.

?It?s also about female bonding, about how two women footballers get together to fight politics in sport? And the revenge the girl takes to settle an old score is quite shocking,? says Sudeshna.

Surajit Banerjee has penned the script from a story by Rupak Saha.

?Former national-level footballer Kuntala Ghosh Dastidar and the Income Tax Women?s football team have helped us with the technical aspects of the game,? adds Sudeshna, whose cast line-up includes newcomer Mafin (as Anandi?s friend), Debesh Roy Chowdhury, Goutam De and Swagata.

Jeet was shot on the Mohun Bagan grounds and Bharatlaxmi Studio, among other spots, and will be aired on Akash Bangla at 7 pm on Sunday.

Pirates on TV

If you had missed the first Pirates film and are finding it difficult to differentiate between Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones in the sequel on the big screen, you can catch Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl on the small screen.

It is the movie of the month on Zee Studio this July and will be shown on Friday at 9 pm.