Drama, Romance, Comedy, Entertainment - 9 Times More on 9X

Riding on the biggest ever launch campaign for a channel in the history of Indian television, the INX Network has announced details of all the engrossing world class entertainment it will unveil on its flagship Hindi General Entertainment Channel 9X, starting Monday, the 12th of November 2007, at 9 pm.

Indrani Mukerjea, Founder and Group Executive Director,INX Media Pvt Ltd., said, “Our aim is to make 9X the one-stop shop for fiction and non-fiction entertainment, and our content will be distinctive and compelling. It will have the very best of global production standards customized for the Indian audience. 9X will provide world class fiction and non-fiction programming, the best of Bollywood blockbusters and more.”

Prime time from Day One:

9X will unveil its prime time starting 9 pm on Monday, the 12th of November. Mondays to Thursdays, the lineup will include the engrossing Ekta Kapoor drama series -- Kahe Naa Kahe (9pm), starring the new girl Krystle D’Souza. Ekta Kapoor's Kya Dill Mein Hai,starring another new face Abigail, which was slotted for 9.30 pm from Monday to Thursday, will now be moved, owing to the objection from Star, sighting the contract that Ekta had signed for the channel, that she would not slot any of her serial in the same time slot on a rival channel. With Ekta's show Kasturi running on a 9.30 pm slot on Star, 9x is now looking for a change in time slot, and it is said that the discussions are on..

The gripping romantic daily drama, Jiya Jale, produced by the undisputed king of non-fiction programming, Siddhartha Basu, which was earlier put in the 8.30 pm Mondays to Thursdays slot, will now replace the Ekta serial, at the 9.30 pm slot. Jiya Jale stars the beautiful and talented Sriti Jha, and marks Siddhartha Basu’s debut in the genre of fiction programming.

Smriti Irani’s mega family drama, Mere Apne, will follow at 10 pm. The series marks the TV debut of Bollywood Superstar Vinod Khanna, and also features Smriti along with a talented star cast. The show is scheduled to air Mondays to Thursdays. At 10.30 pm every night Monday to Thursday, 9X will bring its viewers a daily dose of comedy with four weekly shows as follows:

Mondays -- the Supriya Pathak-Deven Bhojani starrer Remote Control;
Tuesdays -- the Tanuja-Gaurav Gera starrer Babban Bhai v/s Bimla Tai;
Wednesdays – the Mihir Mishra-Mona Vasu starrer Jamegi Jodi.com and on
Thursdays, the romantic comedy Dhak Dhakk in Dubai starring Shruti Seth, Chandana Sharma, Puneet Vashisht and Tarun Khanna. The show is being shot in Dubai and Mumbai.

From the 14th of January 2008, 9X viewers can look forward to a very special Afternoon band. It will be home to vibrant family entertainment, and will air original dramas and lifestyle shows, Bollywood Blockbusters, Gen 9X, and more.

The kids’ band, called Gen 9X, will be full of fun and adventure for the little ones. Mega Bollywood Blockbusters too will form an important part of the programming. 9X will provide complete Bollywood entertainment for the movie buff, ranging from a large mix of the most recent and the biggest hits like Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Jaan-e-man, the under-production Mission Istanbul, Cheeni Kum, Omkara, Eklavya, Parineeta, Partner, Namaste London, Golmaal, Baghban, Waqt, Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Viraasat, Aashiq Banaya Aapne, and others, to classics that have become milestones of Indian cinema, such as Guide, Deewar, Jewel Thief, and Satte pe Satta, among numerous others. The biggest and best Bollywood movies will air on Saturdays and Sundays at 8 pm, and at 5 pm on Sundays.

On the non-fiction front, 9X will introduce not only scale, dramatic power and glamour, but will connect with its viewers in a multiplicity of ways. The non-fiction lineup on 9X includes mega-mass-entertainment reality shows, including Mission Ustaad, which marks music maestro A.R. Rahman’s television debut and will feature some of the biggest names in musical entertainment in a show that is designed as an entertaining and musical mission to touch the nation’s heart.

Riding on the best of popular entertainment, the show will promote awareness of the UN Millennium Goals across the length and breadth of the country. There will also be a morning show, Good Morning Zindagi, an infotainment-packed magazine presented by Shakti Anand and Gurdeep Kohli, to air Mondays to Fridays at 8.30 am. 9X also plans to bring its viewers distinctive and new-generation events created specially for television. The first such unique event, to be aired on the 17th November at 8 pm,is called Dhamaal Express. It features 20 TV superstars in an innovative show based on high-energy live performances set to specially created songs. Non-fiction programming on 9X will also feature unique game shows and engrossing talk shows with spicy and intelligent conversations between the most interesting hosts and guests.

Regarding the broadcast, Anthony Pettifer, Group Director – Brand & Communications, INX Media Pvt Ltd., said, "I am pleased to announce that from Monday the 12th of November, all the exciting programming of 9X, in addition to being widely available through cable across the country, will also be available on the nation's premier DTH service, Tata Sky, whose subscribers can start viewing 9X's complete family entertainment starting on that day."