Ravina Raj Kohli is stepping into high gear. Back from a month-long tour of News Corp‘s news operations in the US, the UK, east Asia, she is charged up and raring to go all out in hiring professionals - both editorial and management - for her most challenging job yet. Setting up Star News India afresh from ground up in Hindi. News head Sanjay Pugalia - a steal from Zee News - is expected in Mumbai to begin a round of interviews in the coming week.

"I‘m looking for a new kind of broadcasting professional who comes without any baggage," says Kohli. "We would like people who think out of the box. Innovation is going to be the key word. I want new people, I want the best of talent because I believe if you want to be the preferred channel to watch, you have to be the preferred channel to work in as well."

According to her, she has hired a single professional agency to rope in the best of talent. She reveals that Star News India will have two major streams: the news side and operations. Pugalia, as stated earlier heads editorial and news, and the operations head

has already been appointed from within the Star India network in Vynsley Fernandes. Operations will handle broadcasting and technology matters that make for a quality service, she says.

"News as a genre is no longer going to be the same," says the tough-as-nails lady. "What we are looking at is relaunching the brand to broaden its horizons and perspective. We are the most fertile news market in the world. We can generate more news per square foot than anywhere else because of the sheer diversity and population that this country offers. And that is what Star News aims to tap."

Central to Kohli‘s vision is Mumbai, India‘s commercial and entertainment capital. According to her, the very act of centralising news operations in Mumbai is a huge paradigm shift of perceptions because Delhi is India‘s political capital and all national television news organisations are hqed there.

Why Mumbai? "Because the city encapsulates the cosmopolitan Indian sensibility," says Kohli.

"News as a genre is no longer going to be the same. We are going to be a channel deeply rooted in in Indian sensibilities, which has an international flair, look, and quality." (Picture courtesy rediff.com coverage of The Indian Telly Awards 2001)

What is the channel she is offering? "We are going to be a channel deeply rooted in Indian sensibilities, which has an international flair , look, and quality," she states with absolute conviction.

Mumbai Doordarshan kendra director Mukesh Sharma was recently felicitated by film star Aamir Khan at the suburban MIG Club.

Mumbai ex-sheriff Nana Chudasama (second from left) stands alongside Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan as he felicitates Mumbai Doordarshan Kendra director Mukesh Sharma at the suburban Mumbai MIG Club. Next to Sharma is DD Mumbai technical director GC Rai.

Both Sharma and technical director G C Rai were honoured for helping DDK Mumbai bag the Doordarshan Kendra Award for 2001. Khan who presented the mementos to Sharma and Rai said it was a rare occasion when government officials perform despite stringent rules and regulations within which they operate. "So, if someone is doing good work, society should appreciate it."

Responding to the felicitation, Sharma said: "A pat on the back is needed. If the work is recognised, then there is some incentive to work hard. DD Mumbai has produced excellent programmes in past and is continuing to do so. But in the early nineties, after the invasion of cable TV, it lost its viewers. Two years back, the viewership of DD Mumbai was two million which has now gone up to 20 million. It now reaches more than 70 per cent households in Maharashtra."

After three months the curtains finally fell on MTV‘s third VJ Hunt last night in Mumbai. It was an action packed night at Mikano‘s in Worli Naka and for the final five who were crowned VJs - Anusha, Aditya, Sophiya, Vivan, Ramona - it was a time to let it all hang loose and party.

Proceedings to choose five VJ‘s were conducted within a squared circle made up like a boxing ring. The idea was to give the VJs who appeared on the stage in pairings of two a chance to verbally spar against each other.

All smiles are MTV India‘s new VJs (from left) Aditya, Ramona, Anusha, Sophiya and Vivan.

The 14 finalists were introduced through video clips showing them hosting the various shows on the channel from 24-30 June like Loveline, talking a bit about themselves and snippets of them chilling out on the beach in Goa. The introductions were interspersed with performances by Anamika who was accompanied with a dance troupe, Indipop singer Shaan and Pakistani singer Adnam Sami.
The channel chose the finalists from 12,000 entries, which were received not just from the metro cities but also from small towns. Fans could vote online on indiatimes.com, on air and for the first time they could send SMS messages on 688 indicating their VJ preference. Newly crowned VJs Anusha, Aditya, Sophiya, Vivan and Ramona were duly "christened" by having their faces smeared with cream pie.

The programme will air on the channel before the end of the month.

Eternal Dreams, that took on the unenviable task of turning around Broadcast Worldwide‘s Tara Marathi in March this year, seems to have found its forte.
Buoyed by the success of its distance education programme in cooking and baking that the company launched to target SEC B audiences two months ago, Eternal Dreams is now going Hindi in prime time. From 6.30 pm to 9 pm weekdays, the new look Tara Marathi will air distance learning shows in Hindi, imparting instruction in English speaking, customer relations, housekeeping as well as international cuisine. The move, says the channel management company, has been necessitated by an overwhelming response from viewers, particularly non Maharashtrians. The company is now negotiating with Doordarshan to air the series on DD Metro. If the deal is pulled off, says chief operating officer Bonnie Jain, the programme, that has taken up nearly 40 per cent of the channel‘s programming budget, will be aired in Hindi on DD Metro and in Marathi on Tara Marathi.

Admitting that "it is a big risk" taking on mainstream entertainment channels at prime time with a distance learning show, Jain says the series is a "do or die" venture, a calculated risk aimed at weaning away viewers from the ubiquitous soap and slapstick comedy on rival channels. Eternal Dreams is also negotiating with a "major channel" in South India for broadcasting the series in Tamil, as well as with other channels in north and western India for dubbing in regional languages.