9X to launch Sunday prime time with 'Vodafone Yeh Hai Jalwa'
Indiantelevision.com Team
(12 March 2008 7:00 pm)
MUMBAI: INX Media's Hindi general entertainemnt channel (GEC) 9X is launching its Sunday prime-time band "Sunday Dhamaka" from 16 March at 8 pm with Vodafone Yeh Hai Jalwa. This follows the channel's launch of afternoon band in January.
INX Media founder-CEO Indrani Mukerjea said, "This new show will set the tone of our new offering 'Sunday Dhamaka.' We promise to give our viewers a fresh programming that includes a lot of new shows and events, all on Sundays."
Vodafone Yeh Hai Jalwa, which is the second reality show on 9X after Mission Ustaad, is a dance-based reality show. Conceptualised and produced by Eternal Dreams India Pvt Ltd and Cineyug, the two-hour weekly show will span over 13 weeks.
So far, the channel has been airing only films in the Sunday prime time slot. This is the first dance reality show on the channel.
The show will have nine teams and each of them will be mentored by popular faces on Indian TV. Each team has six participants - one celebrity and five people from different walks of life including housewives, slum dwelling kids, professional dancers, white-collar executives and workers.
Eternal Dreams CEO and director Bonnie Jain said, "This is a new show peopled with the most popular faces from television. The teams are composed of the common people and that is the differentiator for the show."
In an attempt to grab the eyeballs, the new show has roped in Sakshi Tanwas and Smriti Irani as anchors. Additionally, each episode will have a performance by a Bollywood celebrity.
The squad of celebrity mentors and their teams are as follows:
Ronit Roy will play mentor to "Bindass Bosses," a team of white-collar workers.
Shweta Tiwari will lead a team of housewives, "Bahu Ki Behnein."
Varun Badola's team of senior citozens is called "Guru Kool."
Rosa Catalano's team of blue-collared workers is called "Rangeele Dilwale."
Rohit Roy leads a lineup of international dancers "Firangi Phatake."
Prachi Desai's team of college students is called "Masti Ki Pathshala."
Hussain Kwajerwala leads a team of aspiring actors and models called "Kal Ke Kalakaar."
Rakhi Sawant leads a team of lovable kids, called "Hillar Party."
Sharad Malhotra leads a team of professional dancers, called "Toofani Toli."
Unlike other reality shows, Vodafone Yeh Hai Jalwa will have the winner determined by 100 per cent public votes. The prize money for the mentor is Rs 2 million while each of the winning team mates will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.