MUMBAI: This Women’s Day, television is pulling out all stops to celebrate womanhood. As a tribute to the fairer sex, Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) will run special tracks on some of their popular female-oriented shows.

As part of its new series, No More Kamzor, Star Plus will honor women who’ve refused to let society defeat their indomitable spirit, empowering others of their ilk through their stories of triumph.

None other than Vidya Balan, who is the epitome of the strong, modern woman, will host the show that will also see issue-centric performances by the likes of Lauren Gotleib, Sayantani Ghosh and Shakti Mohan, among others.

Balan will interact with women who dared to bring about a change while sharing with the audience valuable information (guidelines, laws and help lines) during the course of their stories, the aim being to create awareness and empower women.

“When Star Plus approached me to be part of this show, I didn't have to think twice because as a woman, this is very close to my heart. It is truly an honor for me to be a part of this event, which will inform, empower and inspire millions of women across our country. What better way than this to celebrate womanhood on Women’s day?” said Balan about her participation in the show.

Not just Star Plus, its sister channel, Life OK, too, will be airing women fight back specials as part of Women’s Day celebrations with Pratyusha Banerjee as host.

Not to be left behind in the race to woo women, Zee TV will air Stree Samman special at 7pm. The one-hour show will see Neha Marda aka Urmi of Doli Armaanon Ki taking viewers through a journey where protagonists of Zee TV’s different shows will protest injustice against women, sending out a strong message of naari shakti and women's equality and liberation. Some hard-hitting scenes picturized on Zee TV’s leading ladies will be featured on the show; be it Urmi speaking up against eve teasing, Kamla Bai protesting the demolition of her chawl, Gunjan busting a Bihari gang of thugs or Jodha Bai fighting for justice for the slaves in Emperor Akbar’s harem.

Coming to Colors, with women-oriented shows like Baalika Vadhu and Uttaran already in its kitty, the channel will showcase how Baalika Vadhu’s main protagonist, Anandi, fights for women’s rights along with her sister-in-law, Sanchi. The duo will be seen helping a woman called Avanti in a small village near Jaitsar, even turning to a women’s rights association for help. In addition, the 8 March episode of Bani-Ishq Da Kalma will feature the mother-son bond where the son, in order to make his mother feel better, will prepare a special breakfast for all the ladies of the house, especially his mother.

Sphere Origins producer Sunjoy Waddhwa who produces Baalika Vadhu believes that women are more superior species than men. “Women’s day is very important, because when we are talking about Baalika Vadhu, we are per say talking about women. In our show, we have shown women’s journey starting from childhood. I think in our show, women’s day has a very big significance because the topic and the issue which we had taken five years back and what we are showing right now is all related to women. The stories are connected to women and what they have gone through and as Baalika Vadhu, how it affects women.”

As for Sony Entertainment Television, it will air a women’s day special on its dance reality show, Boogie Woogie Kids Championship, where the small fatakas will dedicate the entire episode to all the women they respect and admire.

For instance, one of the contestants, Abhishek, will dedicate his performance to his mother and perform a stunning dance on the song O naadan Parindey, followed by him humming a few lines of the song Maa from the movie Taare Zameen Par.

 About a whole lot of brands looking to celebrate women this Women’s Day, one media planner says: “There are brands which are targeting to be present on Women’s Day. It helps them to probably improve their presence and therefore better revenues for channels. I am sure they are looking for opportunities which can be leveraged and made bigger.”

While another planner says that channels witness a 10-15 per cent hike in their revenues during special occasions like Holi, Women’s Day and Valentine’s Day. “Channels which have a special line-up, earn some extra bucks, but by and large, regular programming does not see a huge shift,” he adds on condition of anonymity.