The dust just refuses to settle for Zee Telefilms after its decision last week to suspend its much maligned game show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka (SDCK).

Following sacked anchor Anupam Kher?s filing an arbitration petition on Tuesday in the Mumbai High Court, it remains to be seen whether co-host Manisha Koirala will follow suit. Manisha has also received her marching orders.

If that were not enough , the channel?s decision to drop 16 serials, as reported in The Times of India, can only vitiate the climate further.

Kher?s suit urges the court to restrain Zee from discontinuing SDCKwithout him as one of the hosts on the ground that the company had committed breach of contract, according to Press Trust of India.

On 7 December, the actor?s petition raised an apprehension on the basis of press reports that he would be removed from anchoring the show. On 9 December, Zee Telefilms Ltd informed him officially that his services were being discontinued.

Kher then urged the high court on Tuesday to allow him to amend the petition since he had already been removed from the show, and got permission from Justice KK Baam.

Kher might file an amended petition by December 21 because Zee has declared that it has already shot six episodes that would last until then.

The actor contends that Zee cannot terminate his services without a 60-day notice one of the conditions of the agreement entered into between the two on October 13.

It all started ten days ago when Gajendra Singh, Zee TV?s star producer (Antakshari, Sa Re Ga Ma) paid Anupam Kher a visit. SDCK just wasn?t working, said Singh. Zee was bleeding to the tune of Rs48 lakh an episode, and something had to be done.

"I got the feeling that he was trying to tell me to leave the show. So I asked him: do both Manisha and I quit?" Kher told The Hindustan Times? website. Singh said yes. The two, according to Kher, parted after an emotional hug.

But a few days later newspapers informed Kher that Zee had dropped him from the show because of his poor performance and the fact that he and Koirala weren?t gelling.

Zee?s spokesman Sainath Aiyar says the network has never tried to run Kher down. "The two of them didn?t get along and it reflected in the show," says Aiyar.

Kher, however, says that between Manisha and him, there was no doubt about who the better half of the show was. "I had to constantly cover up for her during shoots," says Kher.

Manisha has not commented yet publicly on her rapport with Kher on the sets of SDCK but she stresses the point that since Zee has decided to go in for a complete revamp of the show clearly indicates that the SDCK format was a failure. Blaming the anchors or their lack of chemistry on the sets was simply because Zee refused to own up responsibility for the lack of planning which went into the creation of SDCK.

She makes a valid point there. SDCK suffered enormously when its production values were compared with Star TV?s super-slick Kaun Banega Crorepati. The lack of rehearsals was also brought quite clearly as the shows went on air.

The reported lack of chemistry between the two anchors only added to the inherent problems with which the show suffered from the start.

The media feeding frenzy that has surrounded SDCK?s unending woes has only served to highlight another potential public relations disaster for Zee TV?s executives. There are rumblings in the industry over its decision to drop 16 serials which has heightened the feelings of insecurity all round.

How this finally unravels remains to be seen.

Zee TV?s decision on Sunday to suspend Sawaal Dus Crore Ka, its answer to Star TV?s Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), elicited suitably gracious reactions from rivals Sony and Star. Both channels refused to gloat, at least in public, over the new turn of events.

Rekha Nigam, Sony?s head of programming, said it was always sad to hear of the death of a programme, for whatever reasons. Nigam, however, expressed confidence that the same fate would not befall Sony?s Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke (JCPK) which is slated to go on air in January. She said enough preparation had gone into the creation of the programme to make it a success. While comparisons to KBC would inevitably follow, JCPK will have its own unique pulling power, she added. "The experience is what will make JCPK survive rather than purely the money aspect." Sameer Nair, Star TV?s Head of Programming, saw the development as an interesting one and according to him, inevitable considering the overall deficiencies Sawaal had when compared with KBC. "It will be interesting to see what Zee comes up with. After all Zee?s new show will have to contend not only with with KBC but Sony?s Chappad Phaad Ke too, he said."

Queried about reports that the enthusiasm for KBC itself was starting to wane, Nair said that what had happened was that viewer support was now at a steady level. The initial craze was bound to taper off, he clarified. Nair said that Star had a long-term commitment to KBC but might look at short breaks in the show in future as per the situation. This was the norm abroad also he asserted. He denied there were any plans for a Junior KBC aimed at kids.

Following the success of the show which aired Bollywood?s Aamir Khan and Sonali Bendre, discussions are on to rope in Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee for an episode, according to The Asian Age. The Shah Ruk episode is likely to be aired on January 1, 2001.

Zee TV, finally deciding that discretion is the better part of valour, has decided to discontinue for the present its much criticised game show Sawaal Dus Crore Ka. In the process Manisha Koirala, co-host along with Anupam Kher, has joined him on the casualty list.

However, Manisha?s parting of ways doesn?t appear to have the bitterness which surrounded the sacking of Kher last week from the programme. Kher went to town badmouthing Zee for the manner in which he was taken off the show.

Initially touted as Zee?s answer to the runaway success of Star TV?s Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Sawaal had acceptance problems from the beginning. The two anchors didn?t come off well in comparison with KBC?s Amitabh Bachchan and the programme itself was seen as an unwieldy and poor imitation of Star?s product. This was reflected in the TRP ratings Sawaal generated. It could only manage a rating of four against KBC?s 14.

According to a press release Zee put out on Sunday, the channel is in the process of chalking out a new version of the game show with a new theme, new composition and a new anchor and, possibly, revised prize money. It is slated to go on air from the first week of January. The question that begs an answer is whether a month will give Zee enough time to come up with a worthwhile challenge to KBC. Another hasty effort could really prove disastrous to Zee?s fortunes. Especially since Sony?s answer to KBC, Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke, will have taken off by then. Sony?s programme has been under development since August. As Sameer Nair, Star TV?s Head of Programming, put it: "It will be interesting to see what Zee comes up with. After all Zee?s new show will have to contend not only with with KBC but Sony?s Chappad Phaad Ke too." Nair did not take into account Doordarshan?s Knockout which will be hosted by Kabir Bedi on Sundays and is set to launch next month. Neither did he mention Sabe TV?s Jab Khelo Sab Khelo hosted by the irrepressible Shekhar Suman.

Sainath Aiyar, Zee?s VP Corporate Communications, was noncommittal when quizzed for further details regarding the changes being incorporated in the new game show. He also denied that Ashutosh Rana had been finalised as an anchor to replace Kher and Manisha. An interesting possible name that the industry grapevine has thrown up is that of Abhishek Bachchan. Now that would be a really mouthwatering clash of personalities. Using the son to take on the father.

Karan Thapar, Indian chat show host and head of production company UTV‘s current affairs division, has won the Asian Television Award 2000 for Best News/Current Affairs Special for his controversial interview with Pakistan‘s Chief Executive Pervez Musharraf. He won the coveted award at a glittering ceremony in Singapore on Thursday night which was broadcast by Singapore Television.

Thapar‘s one-hour interview with Musharraf was aired on Doordarshan in February and became a subject of controversy with critics questioning whether the state broadcaster should have given a platform for Pakistan‘s military ruler.

Thapar had bagged the Best Current Affairs or Magazine Programme Presenter along with CNBC Asia‘s Bettina Chua Abdullah at the 1999 Awards ceremony.

Another winner from India was in the Best Magazine Programme Category. Wheels (Episode 6 - SeriesIV) produced by Miditech (P) Ltd for Star TV took home the award.

In the Best Game Show or Quiz Programme category, Zee Network‘s Bournvita Quiz Contest took the runner-up slot. And in the best Infotainment Programme category too, We The People produced by United Television for Star Plus was runner-up.

Other Indian programmes and presenters were highly commended. They include: *Hard Talk India featuring Kapil Dev (Best Current Affairs Programme; UTV for BBC World) *MTV Gai Bab Gao (Bast Game or Quiz Programme; MTV India) *Niret Alva (Best Current Affairs or Magazine Programme Presenter for Miditech Ltd). Alva is getting a high commendation for the second year running.

Competition in the Kannada TV firmament is all set to heat up with the launch of a new Kannada Channel from Ramoji Rao?s Eenadu TV (ETV) stable on 10 December.

Its launch comes just about a year after news of such a channel first surfaced in December 1999. The new general entertainment Kannada channel faces a stiff test from the well settled Udaya of Sun TV, as also the comparatively more recent Ushe and Suprabhat. Udaya at present hogs a whopping 70% share of the Rs850 million worth of ad spending in Karnataka.

The channel will be a 24 hours free to air channel with the programming pattern on the same lines as other ETV regional channels like ETV Marathi. Transmission is through Intelsat 704 at 66?E. The trial run started on 3 December. On Launch day two Blockbuster movies will be shown, one starring Kannada matinee idol Raj Kumar.

Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, an executive of ETV?s Mumbai office said: "The Kannada audience is very discerning on the quality front. This IT savvy, educated audience will not accept just anything that is dumped to them. But our experience in successfully running Marathi and Bengali channels will definitely help us to deliver the best to our Kannada audience."

For Ramoji Rao, after ETV Kannada, the next on the list is an Urdu channel which will be launched sometime in March 2001. The programme compilation has been going on for the last few months. Other regional channels are also in the pipeline.

Star TV India is bringing in television industry veteran Altaf Ali Mohammed to look after its digital platform - DTH and broadband - in India. Mohammed was earlier looking after the network?s distribution operations in India, west Asia, and south Asia before the job was handed over to Arun Mohan, current cable TV distribution head in India. Star TV has recently taken a 26 per cent equity stake in one of the three largest cable TV MSOs in the country, Hathway Cable & Datacom. According to Star TV CEO Peter Mukerjea, Mohan will continue in his present position increasing penetration for Star?s channel bouquet, while Mohammed will be responsible for Hathway and broadband properties. In DTH, Mohammed will be replacing Urmilla Gupta, who recently quit the company.