GECs
Q Marathi announces its new show ‘Q Marathi YouthFull Mahakarandak’
Mumbai : QYOU Media India’s channel Q Marathi has announced first-of-its-kind non-fiction programming initiative Q Marathi YouthFull Mahakarandak.
Mumbai: The maiden non-fiction offering will showcase more than 25 handpicked One Act Plays popularly known as Ekankika. Q Marathi YouthFull Mahakarandak will premiere on 7 October and air daily at 7:30 p.m.
The show is presented by Veet and co-presented by Lizol and Garnier along with the short-format app Chingari as a digital partner.
In Maharashtra, theatre is a popular storytelling format, and this post-pandemic initiative is designed to encourage and provide a platform for emerging talent to present entertaining, relevant, and thought-provoking plays.
Q Marathi conducted city-wise judging and screening of the semi-final rounds across key cities of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and Aurangabad to bring the best of the plays and received a tremendous response of over 70+ entries across young theatre groups of multiple colleges and independent theatre groups. The handpicked plays will be judged by eminent marathi veteran actor Dr Girish Oak; Director, Writer, and Actor Chandrakant Kulkarni and renowned Marathi actress Aditi Sarangdhar, allowing the youth of Maharashtra to present their stories.
Q Marathi will present awards in categories such as Best Ekankika, Best Actor Female and Male, Best Writer, Director, Light, Set Design, and Music to promote these Ekankikas and encourage young talent.
Furthermore, to increase viewer engagement, the channel has launched ‘watch & vote,’ which will award one of the finalist’s plays as the ‘viewers’ choice winner.’
Speaking on the launch of ‘Q Marathi YouthFull Mahakarandak’, QYOU Media India’s CEO Simran Hoon said, “At Q Marathi, we have always innovated to launch new and meaningful ways of entertaining and engaging our viewers. Theatre takes one back to their culture and the Marathi theatre industry is rich in culture and storytelling. Through our first non-fiction show, Q Marathi YouthFull Mahakarandak, we aim to empower the real storytellers and the youth creators of Maharashtra by creating a platform that sets benchmarks and captures the ethos and love for dramatics at its best. We are very happy to have already earned Veet as the presenting partner on this initiative along with Lizol and Garnier as co-presenting partners. True to our unique approach to engaging brands, this show will offer an integrated solution for advertisers to target youth on multiple platforms, be it television, digital, radio, on-ground, and curated branded content to leverage the power of upcoming digital creators in the Marathi space.”
Q Marathi business head Neeta Thakare, said, “At Q Marathi, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to connect with our audiences across interesting and engaging initiatives. The launch of Q Marathi’s first non-fiction show, Q Marathi YouthFull Mahakarandak provides an opportunity and platform to the young creator economy, making it a notable value-driven property. Staying true to our core DNA, we are delighted to rope in Chingari as our digital partner for this show, as we look forward to leveraging the might of digital creators to further amplify and promote this initiative to take it to a wider base of youth audiences. With this launch, we are hopeful to create new benchmarks in entertaining and engaging our existing viewers as well as captivating new audiences.”
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
