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| Rajpal Yadav: Fun times |
After 14 weeks and over 100 hours of rigorous practice, it?s finally time to pick the Hassi Ka Badshah. This Friday, on STAR One, at 10 pm, get ready to laugh yourself silly as the six finalists of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge face off in the grand finale.
The competition is tough. There?s the talented Navin Prabhakar known for his bar-girl mimicry, the wacky Raju Srivastav, the Punjab da puttar Bhagwant Maan, small-town man Parag Kansara and Mumbai boy Sunil Pal, famous for his Bengali line ?Moje mein?.
While the finalists have been chosen by judges Navjyot Singh Sidhu and Shekhar Suman, for the final, big-screen funny men Johnny Lever and Rajpal Yadav will be joining Sherry and Shekhar. And the two new guests had nice, wise things to say about the fun show.
Johnny bhai went all philosophical: ?To understand a mimicry artist, you need to observe. Every tragedy has a comic sense in the end.?
For Rajpal, it was a great opportunity to laugh at other people?s jokes. ?The atmosphere was fantastic and there was some great comedy on the show,? Rajpal told Metro. ?Aur rahi baat doosrein judge logon ki, hum ek doosre ko pehle se jaante hain aur bahut mazaa aaya.?
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Sony is calling it the Last Chance and it is indeed the final opportunity for the six participants who were clearly out of the Fame Gurukul race. But as of now, Kirti Sagathia, Ravi Tripathi, Mona Bhatt, Monica Gadgil, Sandeep Batra, Rex D? Souza are on the same pedestal as the Arijits and Ruprekhas. While three of these six have been recalled from the audition stage, the other three were very much part of the 14 finalists.
?This is nothing out of the box,? said a Sony marketing spokesperson. ?Re-admissions to Gurukul, as we call it, is very much part of the format and was also there in the original show as created by Endemol.?
For headmistress Ila Arun, it was great to have some of her favourite students back at her institution. ?People like Rex had become family. We are really happy they have got another shot at the title,? she told Metro.
Ravi Tripathi couldn?t make the most of the opportunity and has already been voted out and by Thursday only one from Mona, Rex and Kirti will be picked. And on Friday, the eight finalists will be singing RD Burman numbers, trying to impress celebrity guest R. Madhavan. Dil vil pyar vyar?
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Match Ke Mujrim, STAR News?s popular debate series where cricket fans get to share their opinions with former stars of the game, is back.
For analysis on the Videocon Triangular ODI Series, featuring India, New Zealand and Zimbabwe, the programme is being held at popular heritage and cricketing venues.
Noida was the spot for August 26 and Amritsar for August 29. Meerut is scheduled for September 2, Agra for September 4 and Gurgaon (if India makes the final) on September 6, at 9.30 pm, after the completion of the match.
Former spin maestro and ever-outspoken Bishen Singh Bedi plays the role of Public Prosecutor, taking the side of the audience, while ex-wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani takes the field for the Indian team.
Games2win.com, India?s first ?casual games? site, has tied up with AXN India for its programme Game Max. The programme will feature gaming in all its dimensions, while the site will allow surfers to play the special Game Max games.
Four customised cricket-themed games have been specially created for this campaign, and the top three scorers of each game get a chance to be featured on AXN, during a special show of Game Max.
?The games2-win website will also popularise the Game Max show through email and SMS alerts for gamers to switch on their TV and watch the show when it beams,? said Alok Kejriwal, founder of games2win.
Russell Crowe may be facing criminal charges for bashing up hotel people but we just love to see him on the big screen. While it may take some time for his next big release, Cinderella Man, to reach the Calcutta theatres, you can catch clippings of the film and behind-the-scenes footage on the Opening Night special on STAR Movies, Sunday, at 8.30 pm.
Co-starring Renee Zellweger and directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind), Cinderella Man is about a common-man hero James Braddock, who became one of the most surprising sports legends during the Great Depression. Driven by love, honour and an incredible dose of grit, boxer Braddock willed an impossible dream to come true ? returning to the ring in a last-chance bid to help his family.
