The last member to be evicted was ex-cricketer Vinod Kambli.

The eight remaining Big Boss 3 contestants are:

1) Aditi Gowatrikar
2) Claudia Ciesla

Photo: Claudia Ciesla

3) Poonam Dhillon
4) Rohit Varma
5) Bhaktiyar Irani
6)Pravesh Rana

Photo: Pravesh Rana

7) Raju Srivastava

Photo: Raju Srivastava

Vindu Dara Singh

Who’s going to be the Big Boss 3 winner?

Historically, Big Boss winners have been male, be it Rohit Roy who won Big Boss 1 or Ashutosh Kaushik, winner of Big Boss 2.

Will Big Boss 3 break the gender jinx? Assuming it doesn’t and Indian voters stick by male contestants, then the choice would be between Rohit Varma, Vindu Dara Singh, Raju Srivastava, Bhaktiyar Irani, and Pravesh Rana.

Of these Rohit Varma can be safely crossed out, largely because of his unpleasant personality and maybe for being gay, which would be a sad reason, but then Indian audiences are not known to be too kind to transgender individuals.

One of the patterns that has emerged in the eviction choices so far is the audience’s rejection of contestants without any personality.

Bad but vivid is better than good or harmless and wishy-washy. Case in point being Kamal Rashid Khan. TRPs fell when the controversial director was thrown out. He has now been brought back through a wild card entry, which is suspect will only last a week tops.

Another example is Vinod Kambli. He made no impression in the one week that he was there except for flitting around like a specter.

Ditto for Sheryln Chopra, Ismail Darbar, and Jaya Sawant. Sheryln Chopra is also an interesting example. Many expected her to repeat Rakhi Sawant’s performance. Didn’t happen. Why? The girl had no chutzpah. Unlike a vibrant Rakhi Sawant who made her presence felt, Sheryln was practically invisible. Oh Jejus!

Why was the bright Tanaaz evicted then? Most likely because she was nominated with her husband, Bhaktiyar Irani. If there is a choice between a male and a female, the female will go.

So keeping the pattern in mind, Bhaktiyar Irani may be evicted because he is a big bore. The man behaves as though he is acting in a B-grade Bollywood film, crying and wringing his hands.

Then there is Vindu Dara Singh. The chinless wonder can drive anyone mad with his nonsensical chatter. It will stand out even more as the number of contestants dwindle. Therefore, he is likely to be evicted as well.

What we are left with are Raju Srivastava and Pravesh Rana. Here, things get a bit sticky. Raju Srivastava has a very big fan following that he is counting on. But, on the other hand, even though he has been funny at times, he has not really enlivened things.

Pravesh Rana has a decent chance too. He is young and good looking and has street smarts. He is also entertaining to boot; so it could be touch and go between the two. Depends on how many fans Pravesh Rana can acquire.

Coming to the women participants, if, and its a big IF, audiences are not biased against them because they are women, then who would have a good chance to win?

Of the three women participants left in the house, Poonam Dhillon and Aditi Gowatrikar are guilty of a cardinal sin. They are simply too boring. The former is like a proper mother hen (so not good TV) and the latter is too grave. Doesn’t work that way.

Claudia Ciesla may have a good chance to make it the top three but I do not think she will be the winner of Big Boss 3. For if ever there is a choice between her and, say Raju Srivastava, or Pravesh Rana, she will most likely be out.

So, my final three contestants are most likely to be Raju Srivastava, Pravesh Rana, and Claudia Ciesla.

We’ll find out soon enough, I guess.

Oprah Winfrey

The Oprah Winfrey Show is a widely popular US TV show anchored by none other than Oprah Winfrey herself. Winfrey has hosted the TV show since its inception in 1986.

Winfrey is also supposed to be one of the most influential women in the US. The show had been on air for more than two decades.

“We have the greatest respect for Oprah and we wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors, we do know anything she turns her hand to will be a great success,” said a spokesman for the CBS Television Studios, which distributes her show.

Though the decision behind the move is not yet know, it is believed that Oprah Winfrey will announce the reason on Friday’s show.

With a viewership of 7 million, the talk show is a media institution in the US.

It is believed that Winfrey is quitting the show to instead focus on her own channel, OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. The Oprah Winfrey channel is to make its debut in 2011.

The show will come to a close on September 9, 2011.

It is believed that Oprah’s support for Barack Obama during the presidential polls was crucial in his win. Though the Oprah Winfrey Show is still the highest-rated talk show in the US, the viewership has fallen a lot, according to some estimates.

Earlier, music shows accounted for 90 per cent of the channel’s programming, while other shows accounted for the remaining 10 per cent.

New reality shows will include game shows like Exhausted and Kidnap, a blind dating show, Dare to Date, and Lola Sunday, Campus Blog, and School Of Cool aimed at college-going youth.

The Channel has roped in production house, Endemol, to produce their main show, Exhausted. In the show, participants will have to complete a list of tasks for 48 hours, without sleep.

Channel V’s General Manager, Prem Kamath said, “In the first quarter itself, we have launched five new shows. This revamp would help us differentiate far more significantly.”

He also said that music channels have to constantly reinvent to keep their target audience intact.

“We were one of the first few music channels to air reality shows, we have just extended the content keeping in mind the current trend. Also, though we
have reduced the content of music but the percentage still remains high,” he further added.

In a booming TV media market, Channel V has a market share of only 8 per cent, which has increased marginally from 6 per cent.

This is the fifth time in five years that Channel V has gone in for a revamp. A major reason its revamp plans do not work is because it has been slow to respond to audience tastes.

The channel’s  main rival, MTV, was quick to adapt to local tastes after its launch. The channel quickly moved towards Hindi programming when it realized that international music was not drawing in audiences.

Despite being the first channel in India to launch a reality show, Coke [V] Popstars, in 2002, the channel was not able to cash in on the reality show boom.

MTV launched its reality show, MTV Roadies, in 2003, which is in its sixth season now.

Channel V is now making an attempt to reclaim lost ground in reality shows, when the novelty factor has been long eroded.

Rakhi Sawant and Elesh Parujanwala: No Prada, no Jimmy Choos. Babies are the latest accessories!

The show is the Hindi version of the hit international show, The Baby Borrowers, by Love Productions.

Pati, Patni Aur Woh will be produced by BBC Worldwide Productions India.

In the show, five couples between the ages of 16-19 babysit an infant for three days and then move on to look after toddlers, pre-teens, teenagers and finally an elderly person.

The Indian version will see the couples spend one complete month in a closed environment, which will be under surveillance 24X7.

Gurmeet Chaudhary and Debina Bonnerjee, Shilpa Saklani and Apurva Agnihotri, Rakhi Sawant and Elesh Parujanwala, newly-wed Juhi Parmar and Sachin Shroff, Mouni Roy and Gaurav Chopra are the five celebrity couples who will be participating in Pati, Patni Aur Woh.

“‘Patni, Patni Aur Woh promises to be an emotional rollercoaster through many unique situations, each handled differently by the various couples!,” said Shailja Kejriwal, EVP Content, NDTV Imagine, during the launch of the show.

Rakhi Sawant and Elesh Parunjanwala have different takes on the Pati, Patni Aur Woh show.

Elesh has been quoted as saying that “I am glad being a part of these preparations, as eventually it has to happen. The reel-life dad adds that in real life, he’d be happy with either a boy or a girl for his first child as it is God’s gift. I would like to have a baby girl.”

Rakhi Sawant, on the other hand, said when asked about more details of the show, “I don’t know. All I know is that I am going in a house just to have a picnic for one month.”

Mum’s the word about the babies though. I wonder what kind of people would want to pass around their babies on a reality show, especially the kind packed with hysterical celebrities.

iNEWS will allow viewers to access current news and information, short text-based stories, headlines and tickers, powered by content from CNN-IBN, in a complete interactive and user-friendly interface.

With iNEWS, BIG TV viewers will be able to take complete control of how and when they choose to watch news. They can navigate through an eight-window Picture-In-Picture (PIP) mosaic of video feed options with supporting audio feeds.

The user screen includes news and highlight feeds as well an access to sub genre-based text news stories, news headlines, and tickers.

Viewers can choose from eight windows including live feeds of CNN- IBN & IBN 7, Top Headlines, Lok Sabha 2009, Sports and Weather.

Reliance BIG TV viewers will also have access to text news stories via the numerical buttons genre-specific menu. CNN- IBN will ensure the latest and the highest
quality news and content a viewer could wish for.

Mahesh Prasad, President Reliance Communications, said “Reliance BIG TV has always been at the forefront of enhancing customer value through relevant and easy-to-use innovative product features.”

“We are delighted on our partnership with CNN-IBN – India’s leading news channel, with such topically relevant Election Special with interactivity through a 8-
window mosaic framework. This will define a new paradigm of customer experience with quality content,”  he added.

Sameer Manchanda, Joint Managing Director – IBN18 Network, said, “iNews is a pioneering service – a platform that gives viewers the flexibility to consume news
the way they want to.”

He said that iNews combines the richness of television news with the flexibility of a website or a newspaper. Those wanting the headlines only can select that section, while those wanting sports only can go for the sports bulletins.

Its Action Dhamaka would include fast-paced action movies with special effects.

In the first week, Star Gold will air movies like Apne, Rakshak, Haqeeqat and Kranti, followed by action blockbusters Bajrang-The He Man, Aashiq, Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi and Shootout at Lokhandwala.

In the second week, movies like The Fighterman, Ghayal, Dum, Ziddi, and Anth will be shown, followed by blockbusters like Zaalim, Daag The Fire, Main Hoon Na, and Tarazu will be aired.

In the last week, the movies aired will be Jigar, Bhagawat Ek Jung, Zameen and Farz, Star Gold said.

Star broadcasts over 60 television services in ten languages to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries.

The Star bouquet of channels include Star Plus, Xing Kong, Star Chinese Channel, Star One, Star Utsav, Star Jalsha, Star World, Vijay, and Phoenix Chinese Channel).

It also includes sports channels, such as ESPN, Star Sports, and Star Cricket.

Star movie channels include Star Chinese Movies, Star Chinese Movies 2, Star Gold, and Star Movies.

Channel [V] is Star’s music channel, and Star News, Star Ananda, Star Majha, Phoenix InfoNews Channel are Star’s news and current affair channels.

The channels include FOX TV (FX) , FoxCrime and Baby TV. These apart, Real TV and WB (Warner Brothers) channels have also been included in the new channel packaging.

SunDirect said that all the five new channels will be available in all basic packs from April 1, 2009, for subscribers.

FOX TV (FX) is aimed at sophisticated male and female audiences, and has been described by the company as providing bold and edgier content with their cutting-edge programming, and character-driven stories.

FOXCrime will provide crime investigation TV series, intrigue, and mystery entertainment, premieres of riveting drama series, high quality original productions, and biographies of infamous criminals, through the day.

Baby TV is aimed at children under three years, and their parents. It is said to be an innovative creator that is geared towards development, activity, fun and parent-child interaction.

Real TV, which was launched in early March 2009, is a a Hindi entertainment TV channel that will be distributed by Zee Turner

WB, a English movie channel by Warner Brothers, promises to offer Hollywood’s biggest movies and best series.

Sun Direct offers 40 add-on packages, ranging from Rs 6 to Rs 195 per month, of the most viewed channels.

Sun Direct offers a basic package of over 170 plus TV channels and 31 digital radio channels with DVD quality pictures, CD quality sound, for a introductory offer of Rs.499 for 5 months subscription.

The package comes along with free Dish and Set top box, excluding installation charges.

Photo: Anoop Desai, one of the favorites to be the American Idol season 8 winner

Anoop Desai has made it to the top 13 in the American Idol season 8 contest. According to betting site Bodog.com Anoop Desai’s odds (Las Vegas odds) to be the American Idol season 8 winner as 15/1.

The top favorites, though, are Adam Lambert with 2/1 odds, Danny Gokey with 13/4, Lil Rounds 4/1 with odds, and Allison Iraheta with 15/2 odds, are the best bets to win American Idol season eight, according to Las Vegas.

Adam Lambert, top favorite to be the American Idol season 8 winner

Danny Gokey, another top favorite to win the American Idol season 8 contest

But reports have said that, in the popularity stakes, Anoop Desai is ahead of the top favorites in the American Idol season eight contest. He has tremendous Indian support, which is visible in online campaigns and such.
Anoop Desai has the highest number of posts in the official American Idol message boards, at 7,499 posts, while the other favorites have:

-7,499 posts: Anoop Desai, 15/1
-6,169 posts: Adam Lambert, 2/1
-4,721 posts: Matt Giraud, 12/1
-4,279 posts: Danny Gokey, 13/4
-3,068 posts: Scott MacIntyre, 10/1

-1,968 posts: Michael Sarver, 50/1
-1,300 posts: Jorge Nuñez, 25/1
-1,071 posts: Kris Allen, 30/1

- 804 posts: Megan Corkrey, 15/1
- 659 posts: Allison Iraheta, 15/2
- 266 posts: Jasmine Murray, 30/1
- 234 posts: Lil Rounds, 4/1
- 322 posts: Alexis Grace, 12/1

Betus.com has released the following odds for the top eight favorites:

Adam Lambert +200

Danny Gokey +300

Allison Iraheta +750

Matt Giraud +1000

Lil Rounds +1000

Alexis Grace +1200

Kris Allen +1200

Anoop Desai +1400

Megan Corkrey +1800

Felicia Barton +1800

22-year-old Anoop Desai is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He auditioned for the American Idol season 8 on August 8, 2008. He did not make it as a finalist from his semi-final group, but came back as a Wild Card entry.

Anoop Desai has said that he is participating in the American Idol contest to honor his friend, Eve Carson, a fellow University of Carolina student. Eve Carson, a student body president,  was murdered and her ATM card stolen. Anoop Desai said that Eve Carson encouraged him to take part in the American Idol contest.

Anoop Desai was quoted as saying, “When we graduated in May, they passed out to the entire senior class these big buttons that just say ‘Eve’ in Carolina blue letters on them, the buttons are black, and I carry that in my pocket every time I go onstage or go on to a results show just to remind myself that I’m doing it for her.”

Danny Gokey from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is an American singer-song writer and church music director.

Adam Lambert is a singer and stage actor. He comes from San Diego, California, and sings Hard Rock, Pop punk, glam rock, and alternative rock.

Promo image of Mere Ghar AAyi Ek Nanhi Pari

The series ‘Nanhi Pari’ is a story about the family from Delhi’s Chandni Chowk who experience the birth of a baby girl after 18 years of their marriage and is about to welcome Laksmi’s avatar at home.

On the occasion of the launch, Ashvini Yardi, Head Programming, Colors, said, “We at COLORS believe in innovation. Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari is a beautiful concept. It brings forth positive values with a feel good flavor. To have such a show at prime time is the key to standing out of the clutter.”

“We will continue to deliver a strong proposition of differentiation and distinctive content. It helps draw in the attention of the viewer.” Ashvini Vardi said that Colors TV channel is positive that Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari would touch millions of hearts across the country. “We at COLORS have created a benchmark in terms of our programming,” added Vardi.

The daily soap is yet another women-centric drama, and is also socially conscious. In a country where female foeticide is still high, TV serials like Balika Vadhu and Nanhi Pari have been welcomed. http://www.dancewithshadows.com/society/female-foeticide.asp

Roshan Lal, also known as Lalaji, a partition survivor marries another partition refugee Guneeta Kaur and they settle in Chandni Chowk. They are blessed with everything except a girl and when they witness the birth of their daughter after 18 years the family is over the moon. They name the girl Chandni, and everythng that happens in the little girl’s life is given lots of importance. She is never left alone and even the smallest thing like her first appointment with the dentist is becomes a family affair. Her birthday is celebrated as the most important day of the year, every year.

‘Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari’ basically moves around along the life of Chandni and her ups and downs and how the family backs her up in all her bad times. Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari is a celebration of love and life and more importantly it celebrates the girl child and her rights.

Megha Chapekar will be portraying Chandni’s life, Lalji is characterized by Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Guneeta Ramlal Chawla is played by Joyshri Arora. The show is produced by DJ Creation. The show will be telecasted from March 9th every weekday at 9:30 pm on Colors.