MUMBAI: US comedian Jay Leno has come under strong criticism from India for his comment on the Golden Temple of Amritsar, the holiest Sikh shrine.

The skit appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC television on 19 January. It showed the temple as the summer home of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The derogatory depiction of Sri Darbar Sahib as the home of rich is contrary to the reality and hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikhs. As a follow up, the Sikhs of America have protested en-mass by calling up the studios of the show and voiced their concern.

On the other hand, the visiting NRI affairs minister Vayalar Ravi, on Sunday, objected to the remark and has directed Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao to take up the matter with the State Department.

"It is quite unfortunate and quite objectionable that such a comment has been made after showing the...Golden temple," the minister said. "Golden temple is Sikh community?s most sacred place. Even our Prime Minister went there for praying in the New Year. I believe that the person who has shown is not that ignorant. The American Government should also look at this kind of thing.

While the Sikh community has launched an online petition, an Indian minister called the comments objectionable. The online petition, organised by members of the US Sikh community, drew the attention that Leno has been pronounced guilty for passing derogatory comments on Sikhs earlier.

Leno has yet to comment on the matter.

MUMBAI: Truck expert Robb Mariani will feature on Discovery Turbo?s new show ?American Trucker?, as he hitches a ride to talk about this highly demanding profession. He unveils some of the most iconic trucks, the famous routes they followed, and the cargo missions that made history.

The show kicks off on 11 January at 9 pm.

Discovery Turbo?s new series American Trucker will showcase big rigs and people who drive them. Trucking enthusiast Mariani takes viewers on a journey across the US into the world of the American Trucker. He spends endless days driving amidst mind-boggling traffic, dangerous roads and difficult deadlines.

Viewers will hear firsthand from the truckers about this intriguing job and lifestyle, as they navigate dangerous routes and face the many challenges on the road to deliver their cargo to untold destinations. Mariani visits factories that manufacture large size heavy haulers, rides with "push rigs? - the heavy trucks that help trucks stranded by snow and ice, drives a truck with a traveling carnival, and showcases best custom rig shops and their decked-out rides.

MUMBAI: The documentary team behind ?Planet Earth? and the co-production partners of ?Life? will present ?Frozen Planet? in March 2012 on Discovery Channel in the US. The series will be narrated by actor Alec Baldwin.

Discovery Channel, TLC group president Eileen O?Neill said, "Discovery Channel is very excited to have someone as passionate and talented as Alec Baldwin to lend his voice to such an important landmark television event."

A Discovery Channel/BBC co-production four years in the making, the show aims to provide the ultimate portrait of earth?s polar regions, where the scale and beauty of the scenery and sheer power of the natural elements are unlike anywhere else on the planet. The show will reveal a world filled with creatures, variety, colour and spectacle including the birth of an iceberg bigger than the largest building on earth, a caterpillar with antifreeze in its veins, the greatest concentration of sea birds on the planet, and tiny baby polar bears, who at birth are 25 per cent smaller than human babies. Never-before-filmed sequences will include the growth of a saltwater icicle (brinicle) that freezes everything it touches and orca whales working as a team to create killer waves that wash seals off ice floes.

To capture nature?s majestic power - as well as its ultimate fragility the filmmakers utilised the latest cinematographic techniques and technology to capture groundbreaking imagery both above and below the ice in some of the most extreme and remote regions of our planet. Combined, the team filmed in every nation inside the Arctic and Antarctic circles during a record 2,356 days in the field, 1 1/2 years at sea, more than 6 months on the sea ice and 134 hours beneath that ice, filming in the polar oceans.

MUMBAI: The Asia Television Forum (ATF) which takes place in Singapore from 7-9 December 2011 has announced that Dick de Rijk will deliver a keynote.

He created formats like ‘Deal or No Deal‘. In collaboration with MIPFormats, the keynote session by Rijk will focus on the creative process of developing and producing original reality formats that appeal to a variety of viewers in as many different cultures. The formats industry today holds great commercial potential but to harness commercial success, producers and broadcasters alike must also be able to anticipate the strategic potential of multi-territorial developments of a hit show.

Using his latest game show format, "You Deserve It", as an example, Rijk will analyse the makings of a hit reality show - packaging, game play and promotion. ‘You Deserve It‘ is a new studio-based family game show with a reality twist and was recently bought by ABC in the US.

He will dwell on the factors needed to for a reality television show to be a hit. ATF project manager Yeow Hui Leng said, "The ATF is the most important content market in the region, where we present an impressive lineup of international content providers, Asian production companies and TV networks. We want everyone to gain a new perspective on today‘s market and increase their value because of our lectures, which are given by the industry‘s most important players."

In addition ATF in partnership with uniFrance will bring the Soci?t? G?n?rale Private Banking 1st Rendezvous With French Cinema. The film ‘The Artist‘ will be screened. Carole Bouquet will be leading a delegation of actors and directors to this Red Carpet Event. It will serve as a networking opportunity.

There will also be a Spotlight on Malaysia. ATF will present a four-panel discussion featuring executives who together, will open the window into this Asian market.

Also in order to gain first-hand insight into China, the world‘s largest TV market by audience, how its TV industry works, content buying and production as well as generating international collaborations, ATF and CMM-I will bring together two panels to share case studies in cooperation and offer new thoughts on upcoming trends.

One panel ‘Co-producing with China‘, will feature senior producers from the drama, animation and documentary sectors as they introduce recent co-production projects and take part in a discussion on what worked and what did not. The second panel, ‘What do Chinese Buyers Want‘, will see Chinese media executives presenting the content popular with local audiences and international buying trends by Chinese companies across TV and new media platforms. Both panels will be moderated by CMM-I research director, Kristian Kender.

Another highlight of ATF will be the Asian Animation Showcase. In line with the rising animation industry in Asia, ATF 2011 will showcase the latest and most talented animation content from the various Asian countries. A panel discussion led by representatives of ATF‘s Asian animation delegations will offer country-specific insights, future market trends and what they are look for in terms of content import and potential co-productions.

This industry session will also offer extensive business opportunities between Asia animation companies and a wide range of global buyers as well as create dialogues that will spur further cooperation and partnerships, both regionally and globally.