Himesh Reshammiya FaNcLuB ! - PART 4 !!! - Page 99

Media News
MUMBAI, January 6

CNN-IBN announces the nominees for the final three categories of its illustrious award title – CNN-IBN Indian of the Year. The Judiciary Council in accordance with the TV 18 Editorial team has submitted its choice of the final candidates for the Entertainment, Public Service and NRI categories.

The most laudable individuals for the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in the Entertainment group were found to be: Shah Rukh Khan - for continuing to deliver hits and being one of the most versatile showmen of today; Raj Kumar Hirani - for creating 'Munnabhai', the most loved film character of this year and prompting a lingua revolution; Himesh Reshammiya - for rewriting the rules of success in playback singing; Gajendra Singh - for being the man who has created TV revolution in terms of contests shows and reality TV; Aamir Khan - for being an actor, an activist and much more; and last but definitely not the least Priyanka Chopra - for being one of the hottest sensations in the Indian film industry!

Those short-listed under the Public service discipline of the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year are: Arvind Kejriwal - for making the Right to Information a true movement; Kishore Tiwari - for putting the issue of farmer's suicide on the national radar; S. Manjunath - in whose death, the nation woke up to the menace of petrol adulteration; Jean Dreze - for his significant contribution to the Right to Food Campaign and in the field of basic education; Dr Abhay and Rani Dang - a pioneering couple which used innovative ways to improve the health of the poor in Maharashtra and reduced infant mortality rates by over 75 per cent; Sabrina Lall, CL Mattoo and Neelam Katara - for displaying unprecedented courage in taking on powerful authorities and making us believe in the power of the middle class voice.

Even though they do not live in India, the nominees for the NRI category of the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year are Indian at heart and have made the nation proud of their achievements across the seas. They include: Indira Nooyi - for becoming the worldwide chief of PepsiCo; Laxmi Mittal - for making the world begin to acknowledge and respect Indian businessmen; Kiran Desai - her Booker this year having reaffirmed Indian writing had arrived on the global stage; Shashi Tharoor - the Indian who dared to contest the UN Secretary General position; Deepa Mehta - for being voice of Indian film-making in the international community; and Sunita Williams - for becoming the second woman of Indian origin to be part of NASA's space odyssey!

"With this we have declared the nominees for all six categories of the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year. Having set the ball rolling it will now be upon the Electoral College and the public to decide who are the most deserving of the Indian of the Year title for each of these groups. Regardless of the winner, each of these 36 candidates should be lauded for their efforts and achievements in their respective disciplines." says, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN and IBN 7

"A property like CNN-IBN Indian of the Year is sure to be alluring and lucrative to all sorts of advertisers. This esteemed title recognises and felicitates the contributions of Indians not only nationally but internationally as well and is therefore something advertisers will take pride in being associated with." says, Sanjay Dua, National Sales Head, CNN-IBN and IBN 7.

As part of 60 years of Indian Independence celebrations, CNN-IBN is instituting an annual award "CNN-IBN Indian of the Year", that will recognize the Indians whose contribution to the country in 2006 has strengthened the foundation of our society and has helped build Brand India in the process. The objective behind such a prestigious initiative is to create the highest, non-governmental, civilian award conferred on an individual. Additionally, it will provide both a national and international platform to recognise, showcase and revere Indian achievements across different walks of life.

The awards will salute the best and the most dynamic Indian icons across six main categories: Politics, Business, Entertainment, Sports, Public Service and NRI. Votes from the public and the Electoral College, both holding equal weightage, will then decide the most superlative candidate to be the Indian of the Year.