GECs
All set for television’s biggest night – the Sangini Indian Telly Awards 2004
MUMBAI: All roads for the television industry will lead to Chitrakut Grounds on New Link Road in Andheri (West) this evening. Reason: the industry’s biggest awards, The Sangini Indian Telly Awards, founded by Anil Wanvari, will be given away at a grand gala tonight.
The awards are to be given away to personalities and programmes that outshone the rest in the period January 2003 to June 2004. As far as personality awards go, both male and females will be recognized and rewarded in the Best Actor, Fresh New Face of the Year, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actor in a Negative Role, Best actor in a comic role, Best Television Personality, and child artiste categories. TV CEO of the year, Best anchor, best news anchor, creative director (production house and channel) are the other categories which will be appreciated on that evening.
In the programming category, awards such as best daily serial, best weekly serial, best continuing programme, best TV programme, and Best Ensemble in a TV programme are being given away. The Highlight of the evening will be the Big Idea Award and the Lifetime contribution to Television Award which will be presented to Dr Ramanand Sagar, the creative genius behind shows such as Ramayan, Vikram Aur Betaal, Sri Krishna and Haatim.
The awards gala has a theme The Nxt Generation and will be replete with performances from about 48 TV artistes including Rajeev Khandelwal, Amna Shariff, Akashdeep Sehgal, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Shama Sikander, Gurdeep Kohli, Sai Deodhar, Amit Sareen, Ejaz Khan, Ali Hassan, Tina Parakh, Ace stand up comic Veerdas. A bhangra band Legacy fronted by Brit Pakistani sex symbol Tariq Khan is being flown down for the awards function to get the audiences rocking off their feet..
“This is one of the grandest galas that has ever been planned for the television industry,” says Wanvari. “The Indian Telly Awards are about celebrating excellence and we want to celebrate the performance of our TV stars in Style. It is our way of saying thank you to them.”
ABOUT THE INDIAN TELLY AWARDS:
The Indian Telly Awards launched 2001 were envisioned by Indiantelevision.com Founder Anil Wanvari as a way to reward, laud and felicitate professionals behind the scenes of the Indian Television business and recognize excellence in television.
The number of categories have consistently grown year on year, and this year over 94 Awards will be given away across Trade, Technical, Programming, Personality and Channel categories.
The Indian Telly Awards have established themselves as the biggest and most respected Awards for the Indian Television industry. The Awards are decided by an eminent jury panel which has in the past included names such as Ashutosh Gowariker, Aanjan Srivastav, Bharati Achrekar, Anju Mahendroo, Kunal Kohli, Kunika Lall, Lekh Tandon, Sam Balsara, Rakesh Sharma, and Rekha Nigam among others.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… connection because this time, the game isn’t just about winning, it’s about who’s with you. Sony Pictures Networks India is gearing up to launch a new reality game show, Tum Ho Naa, expanding its unscripted slate with a format that promises both emotion and engagement.
The show will premiere soon on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony LIV, with Rajeev Khandelwal stepping in as host. Known for his measured screen presence and selective choices, Khandelwal’s return to television adds a layer of familiarity and credibility to the upcoming format.
While specific details of the gameplay remain under wraps, the positioning suggests a reality format that leans as much on emotional resonance as it does on competition, an increasingly popular blend in Indian television, where audiences are gravitating towards content that offers both stakes and storytelling.
Khandelwal, reflecting on his return, noted that his choices have often been guided by instinct rather than convention, describing Tum Ho Naa as a project that feels “close to the heart”. His association also signals Sony’s continued focus on anchoring new formats with recognisable faces who bring both relatability and depth.
The launch comes at a time when broadcasters are doubling down on original non-fiction formats to drive appointment viewing, even as digital platforms expand parallel reach. By placing the show across both linear television and OTT, Sony appears to be aiming for a dual-audience strategy capturing traditional viewers while engaging digital-first consumers.
As the countdown to premiere begins, Tum Ho Naa positions itself not just as another game show, but as a reminder that sometimes, the biggest prize on screen isn’t the jackpot, it’s the journey shared along the way.
