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Posted: 16 years ago
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Zee on the right track

ee TV which had displaced Sony from its No.2 position is posing a serious threat to the numero uno STAR Plus. Soaps like Saat Phere and Kasamh Se... got the numbers while their protagonists Saloni and Bani became icons. Banoo Mein Teri Dulhan and Maayka launched this year, grabbed eyeballs too. Maayka though saw a change in the production house mid-way through the show. Initially produced by Classic Studios, the production house was sacked as they weren't providing a bank of episodes well in time. Unhappy with the incident, some of the actors like Nandita Puri, Sudhir Pandey and Neelima Kanetkar walked out of the show as a mark of support to the production house. Dheeraj Kumar's Creative Eye took over as the producer and roped in Aroona Irani to play the role of Durga initially played by Neelima. Now, Shoma Anand who is essaying the same role as Aroona has opted out. Some of the other launches this year include Teen Bahuraaniyaan, Parivaar, Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai, Naaginn, Chaldi Da Naam Gaddi and Aladdin. Teen Bahuraniyan, a Paresh Rawal production, was recently in news for roping in Smriti Irani in her Tulsi avatar. The soap is pitted against Star Plus's Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Chaldi Da Naam Gaddi is the first JD Majethia show on the channel while Naaginn produced by Aroona Irani is a throwback to the era of Icchadari Nagin films which Sridevi ruled. The original talent hunt of Indian television, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007, reached a high with TRPs of 8.4 when Salman Khan appeared on it. Also, for the first time, the channel roped in Aditya Narayan, son of singer Udit Narayan, to host the show. It was also talked about for its greatly talented singers in Raja, Aneek, Sumedha and Amanat. What's more, most of the singers have been signed by established composers like Ismail Darbar, Vishal-Shekhar and Bappi Lahiri for playback singing. With top composers of today's times, Himesh Reshammiya, Vishal-Shekhar, Ismail Darbar and the self-styled Disco king Bappi Lahiri as judges, and special judges like Asha Bhonsle and Khayyam gracing a few episodes, the show was a ground for controversies, fights and makeups. For the first time this year, Zee had its own awards Rishton Ka Utsav, a la Star Parivaar Awards, where-in all their actors and technicians were felicitated after a viewer voting.

http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=18436

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