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| With confidence: Derek O?Brien with Shonal Rawat on the show |
This Friday onwards, the backdrop of Cadbury Bournvita Confidence Champion moves from the sets in Mumbai to the skyscrapers in Singapore. The top six finalists of Sony?s talent hunt show for gifted children, along with hosts Derek O?Brien and Shonal Rawat and judges Kavita Krishnamurthy, Dr L. Subramaniam and Rohini Hattangadi, were in the Lion City recently for the shoot.
The hunt, which started with more than one lakh school students is now down to six and as the weeks go by only two will be left. The duo will be up for voting by the audiences, besides being marked by the judges.
The final six includes Delhi?s visually impaired Diwakar Sharma, a talented singer, Bangalore?s Kiran Pathakota, an international-level mridangam player, Mumbai?s Palak Muchhal, a National Award winner for singing, Mumbai?s Tanmay Shah, an international-level skater, Delhi?s Sahaj Grover, an under-10 chess world champ, and Chennai?s singing sensation Vignesh Chandrasekar.
Once in Singapore, the kids had to do quite a lot, including embarking on a treasure hunt throughout Singapore. Not just that, they had to adapt their skills locally ? the singers had to sing in Chinese while Kiran had to play a local instrument. Finally, they had to act as tourist guides of Singapore showcasing various locations to foreigners.
?It was a very emotional experience,? Derek, who is also the show?s producer, tells Metro. ?After being with these children for eight weeks, to see them being eliminated one after the other is really sad. In fact, I choked on TV for the first time in 13 years.?
The Singapore episodes start on Friday, 7.30 pm on Sony, with a repeat telecast on Sunday at 10.30 am.
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| Fun filler: Suniel Shetty |
After weeks of laughter clubbed with high levels of anticipation, the much-awaited finals of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge ?Dwitiya? is here. The seven contenders ? Khayali Saharan from Chandigarh, Rajkumar Javkar, Tushar Shah and Rajeev Nigam from Mumbai, Pratap Fauzdar from Agra, Rauf Lala and the comic duo Ali Hasan & Irfan Malik from Pakistan ? get ready for the war of wits to win the ?Hasi Ka Shahenshah? title and a Chevrolet Aveo!
In the celebrity guest hot seat will be Bollywood star Suniel Shetty, alongside Navjyot Singh Sidhu and Shekhar Suman. The first episode airs this Friday, June 16, at 10 pm.
The second season of this hit show started with a bunch of 60 contestants, which has since been whittled down to seven.
The first episode will be a performance of all seven finalists, where they will be judged on their spontaneity and flair for comedy.
So, Tushar Shah?s subtle comic delivery will be pitted against Rajeev Nigam?s political satire, Khayali?s witty one-liners and punches against Rajkumar Javkar?s heroic muppet Ranchoo. If Rauf Lala bowled everyone over with his spontaneity and comic timing, Pratap Fauzdar has clearly turned out to be the audience?s favourite. Adding to the laugh riot will be the pair from Pakistan ? Ali Hasan and Irfan Malik ? displaying the chemistry of Laurel & Hardy.
Previous guests on the show include Sameera Reddy, Soha Ali Khan, Koena Mitra, Priyanka Chopra and Hrithik Roshan.
The performers will have to garner as many viewer votes as possible from the first episode. Viewers will have to key in the first three letters of a contestant?s name followed by the first letter of his surname and SMS it to 7827. For example, to vote for Rajkumar Javkar, SMS ?RAJK? to 7827.
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| In the cell: Abhishek Bachchan |
One of the biggest stars of world soccer and one of the brightest actors of Bollywood. Mobile giant Motorola has signed up David Beckham and Abhishek Bachchan as its global and Indian brand ambassadors, respectively.
The three-year collaboration with David Beckham will kick-off with major activities across Asia including advertising appearances and retail promotions. Exclusive Beckham content such as screen savers and video clips of the star in action will also be embedded in Motorola handsets.
Beckham will also be supporting Motorola initiatives including the newly launched (MOTO) RED mobile phone created to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.
Abhishek, on the other hand, will support marketing and branding efforts for the entire mobile device product range. According to Allen Burnes, corporate vice-president of Motorola Inc: ?India is a significant and exciting market for Motorola, where... we are bringing customers and consumers not only high quality products but also innovative and unique services and brand collaborations. Abhishek is a stylish and sophisticated actor who appeals to all segments of the Indian society ? young and old, urban and rural, fashion conscious and the intelligentsia.?
