NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has directed the central government to take action within a week against television channel Colors for using the national anthem to promote its reality show `Bigg Boss 6` - the Indian version of the British ?Big Brother? - in cinema halls across the country.

A division bench of Chief Justice D. Murugesan and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw gave the directions after hearing a public interest litigation against the channel for running a commercial of the Salman Khan-hosted show wherein an audio demanded that all present in the halls should "stand up for the national anthem" as Big Bigg Boss wanted it.

The judges said: "In the wake of serious allegations levelled by the petitioner that the national anthem is disrespected, we direct the central government to treat this PIL as a representation and the grievances be dealt with in accordance with the law."

The court added that "necessary action would be taken by the Ministry concerned against the respondents within a week".

"The allegations will be looked into and action will be taken", Additional Solicitor General Rajeev Mehra told the Court.

The PIL filed by lawyer Jeetender Gupta alleged that Colors has "disrespected" the national anthem by using it to promote the realty show in various PVR multiplexes in the city as well as in other parts of the country.

"The Colors channel randomly displayed an advertisement inside the movie theatres and the said advertisement was in the form of a visual displaying the logo of its programme `Bigg Boss 6` followed by an audio demanding all present in the hall to stand up for the national anthem.

"`Bigg boss chahte hain ki aap rashtriya gaan ke liye khade hon`, (Bigg boss wants you to stand for the national anthem) and then the Indian National Anthem was played," the petition stated.

It further added: "The respondent (TV channel) is trying to associate itself with the national anthem solely for commercial purpose of promoting its latest TV programme."

The plea said: "The acts of TV channel and PVR amount to possible violations of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971 and the Emblems and Names (prevention of improper use) Act 1950."

"We have utmost respect for national anthem, and we don?t see any violation when ?Bigg Boss? in his voice asked audience in theatres to stand up for the national anthem" a spokesperson of COLORS said.
Earlier also the reality show had run into controversies with the I&B Ministry asking Colors to telecast ?Bigg Boss Season 5? after 11 pm last year when complaints were received about violent gestures and inappropriate language used by the participants.

MUMBAI: Colors has launched reality TV tour which will give common people an opportunity to access the Bigg Boss house aimed at connecting its flagship property to the common man.

As part of the initiative, Bigg Boss fans will get to unravel all the live action direct from the house, experience the reality and magnitude of the production and the complex set up besides other attractions associated with the format.

The broadcaster has also introduced special buses that are designed to simulate the Bigg Boss experience and give fans the ride from Mumbai to the Bigg Boss House at Lonavala. The project is managed by Bollywood Tourism for Colors.

Colors CEO Raj Nayak said, ?Bigg Boss has a great fan following and creates a nationwide frenzy with every season. With the launch of Bigg Boss Tour, we have broken the barrier between the viewer and the show by extending an opportunity to families from across India to visit the Bigg Boss House. We have also diversified our engagement model ? moving from televised content to reality. Taking their favourite show offline, we aim to strengthen our bond with the viewers by bringing in a human connect and making it personal. In real terms, by bringing live action to the viewers, Colors is connecting with the audiences in a unique way, providing them with a memorable experience.?

The cost per head for a full day tour including transport is Rs 1799 from Monday - Wednesday and Rs 3299 on Friday which includes an opportunity to view the shoot of the eviction episode by host Salman Khan. The cost of full day tour on Saturday and Sunday is Rs 2299. A half day tour excluding transport will be Rs 1299 per person from Monday - Wednesday and Rs 1799 on Saturday and Sunday.

The attractions will include a House Tour via a secret passage, Hall of Fame, Control Room, and Confession Room.

MUMBAI: Star Plus is extending the telecast of its leading fiction shows ?Diya Aur Baati Hum? and ?Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai? to Saturdays as part of its ploy to combat against non fiction properties on other Hindi general entertainment channels.

The shows, which air at 9 pm and 9.30 pm respectively, will compete on Saturdays against Colors upcoming show Bigg Boss-6, Zee TV‘s ?Sa Re Ga Ma? and Sony Entertainment Television‘s ?Kaun Banega Crorepati-6?.

Star Plus is not looking at reality programming to contend against these shows and is banking on daily soaps that are slot leaders during weekdays.

"India is a single TV household. Star Plus is extending its fiction programmes to Saturdays. Bigg Boss is coming with a different format this time but Star Plus is taking two very strong properties to Saturdays. KBC and Sa Re Ga Ma are also there. It will be interesting to observe how audience fragmentation takes place," a media agency executive said on condition of anonymity.

The shows will be replacing ?Teri Meri Love Stories? which will end on 7 October. The show, which launched on 11 August and narrates love stories from urban India, has averaged around 1 TVR.

In the past too, channels have aired ?mahaepisodes? (mega-episode) of their fiction shows during weekend to attract eyeballs. Star Plus had once increased the airing-time of its popular show ?Bidaai? from 30 minutes to one hour. The show was a leader in the genre for quite some time and worked well for the channel. It was produced by Director?s Kut, the producers of ?Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai?.

Talking about the extension of the airing of ?Yeh Rishta?? to six days a week, producer Rajan Shahi said: ?Extra content is needed by the channels at times. We have done that in the past with shows like ?Bidaai?, ?Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai? and ?Kuch To Log Kahenge? (Sony). It is the channel?s call; they must be having some strategy in mind.?