Zee has been my first home. I learnt everything there. I totally owe it to Zee and specially, to Subhash Ji. The entire team at Zee has taught me so much and today when I see Zee completing 20 years, I feel so proud and want to thank everyone who was a part of my journey.

Whatever I did while at Zee TV was an experience of a life time. I was always supported by the creative, production and the entire unit. I want to thank Subhash Ji specially for believing in me. Every time I was trusted with more responsibilities, I had to live up to the expectations and that in turn motivated me to give my best.

Zee has been a pioneer in giving any formatted reality show to the viewers. In my journey, we made landmark shows and made artists who are now superstars in their own genre. I am proud of being a part of a team which made formats which are now globally known. We created customised formats for Zee so that the audience here feels the show is for them and by them and that is the reason for the success of such formats.

Any format which is there to entertain and give something new every time to the viewers is a hit. One can‘t say that a particular format will only be a hit or not, because I feel if any show/idea/format is made keeping the local liking of viewers in mind it does well.

Zee has always given viewers something new and the viewers have definitely accepted it. Whether its fiction or non-fiction anything which is about the viewers or around them works. I feel the present bouquet of shows at Zee is really good and has variety entertainment. There are a few fiction shows which were no. 1 in their times and became a trend for others to follow.

I have literally seen the channel grow from a toddler to where it is today. Way to go Zee TV! We have even seen how from being a channel, we branched out and went to almost every country across the globe. There is so much of entertainment under one name and to give viewers entertainment at their doorstep (is commendable). I am so proud of Zee as it is now one of the top channels and the most talked about channels in the country!

MUMBAI: Sahara One has decided to have Colors as its simulcast partner for its expensive singing reality show Sur-Kshetra, making it the first occasion in India that two Hindi general entertainment channels from rival companies have tied up to telecast a show together.

This will also mark the entry of Colors into the singing reality genre for the first time. Rival channels have popular seasonal properties in this genre. Zee TV has Saregama, Sony Indian Idol and Star Plus Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar.

Says Colors CEO Raj Nayak, "Music has the unique ability to unify people and today, it has brought two channels together. Sur-Kshetra will mark Colors? foray into the singing genre non-fiction content segment and we are extremely excited about this new venture. By adding the show to our bouquet of offerings, we are working towards fulfilling our commitment to cohesive viewing while providing our audiences with unique content keeping them engaged."

Sahara was earlier in negotiations with Star Plus for the simultaneous telecast of the show. However, the two channels could not reach an agreement and the show was put on hold.

Produced by Sahara One in association with Gajendra Singh?s Saaibaba Telefilms, Sur-Kshetra is a cross-border musical battle between the Indian Team, captained by Himesh Reshammiya, and the Pakistani Team, captained by Atif Aslam. Evaluating the teams and judging the musical flair will be Asha Bhosle (India), Abida Parveen (Pakistan) and Runa Laila (Bangladesh).

The show will be anchored by Bollywood actor Ayesha Takia and will also have musical stalwarts like Ghulam Ali, Hadiqa Kiani and Sajjad Ali from Pakistan, and Suresh Wadkar, Ismail Darbar, Alka Yagnik and Sapna Mukherjee from India. Sources say out of the 30 episodes, 28 have been shot in Dubai already and the finale might be shot in London.

Says Sahara One asst director worker Suresh Mishra, "Even though the boundaries have divided the two nations, music has always fostered a common and harmonious bond. With this legendary Indo-Pak musical grandeur, viewers from both the nations and across the globe will witness a new generation of gifted singers from the two most melodious talent pools of the world. We are excited about this strategic tie-up with Colors giving Sur-Kshetra a combination of two large platforms that does justice to the stature of the show."

Media analysts think Sahara?s decision to simulcast the show is a practical step. "The best way for Sahara to monetise an expensive property is by sharing it with another channel. Sahara One has low ratings and by letting a more popular GEC air it the show will get a wider exposure and gain in stature. On the negative side, it could be an opportunity loss for Sahara to turnaround its weak ratings," says an analyst on condition of anonymity.