News Broadcasting
Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Aap Ki Adalat: Actresses like Hema Malini are goddesses
Mumbai: In a recent episode of Rajat Sharma’s India TV show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, BJP leader and chief of Kalki Peeth – Acharya Pramod Krishnam expressed his views on female actors, stating, “for me, all female actors like Monica Bedi, or Hema Malini, or Rati Agnihotri are Devis (goddesses).” He asserted that Monica Bedi, who was arrested with gangster Abu Salem, “did not commit any crime and yet she suffered more punishment than the terrorist.”
Reflecting on his early career in the Mumbai film industry 40 years ago, he noted, “Actor toh sabhi banna chahte hain, kuch ban patey hain, kuch nahin ban patey hain.” He confirmed investing family money in films, stating, “Yes, I did not become a faqeer (mendicant) today. I was a faqeer since childhood.” He reminisced about his lyric-writing, saying, “Not tried… I wrote several lyrics,” including a song sung by Kishore Kumar.
It is to be noted that actor Monica Bedi and terrorist Abu Salem were arrested by Interpol in Portugal in 2002, where they served prison sentences for entering the country using forged documents. Two years later, a Portugal court cleared their extradition to India for Abu Salem to face trial in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Both of them were handed over to India in 2005. Monica Bedi was convicted of passport forgery by an Indian court in 2006. In 2010, the Supreme Court upheld her conviction but reduced her prison term to the period that she had already served.
When asked about female actors visiting his ashram, he stated, “Main in sab mein Devi Ka Darshan Karta Hoon,” referencing the belief that “Yatra Naryastu Pujyante, Tatra Ramantey Devata.” On Monica Bedi’s situation, he reiterated, “Monica Bedi ne koi gunaah nahin kiya… Monica Bedi ko Monica Bedi hone ka privilege mat do. Lekin Monica Bedi ko Monica Bedi hone ki sazaa bhi mat do.”
Acharya described his ashram as sacred, highlighting Lord Vishnu’s prophesied Kalki incarnation and recalled Hema Malini’s desire to perform a dance drama there. He also addressed the disruption by then UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, stating, “On 6 November 2016 night, Akhilesh Yadav’s government clamped restrictions… His own tent (government) got uprooted, and till today, he is yet to come back to power.”
News Broadcasting
News TV viewership jumps 33 per cent as West Asia war draws audiences
BARC Week 8 data shows news share rising to 8 per cent despite T20 World Cup
NEW DELHI: Even as individual television news channel ratings remain under a temporary pause, the genre itself is seeing a clear surge in audience attention.
According to the latest data from Broadcast Audience Research Council India, television news recorded a 33 per cent jump in genre share in Week 8 of 2026, covering February 28 to March 6.
The news genre accounted for 8 per cent of total television viewership during the week, up from 6 per cent the previous week. The spike in attention coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have kept global headlines firmly fixed on West Asia.
The rise is notable because it came at a time when cricket was dominating television screens. The high-stakes stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including the Super 8 fixtures and semi-finals, were being broadcast during the same period.
Despite the cricket frenzy, viewers appeared to be toggling between sport and global affairs, boosting the overall share of news programming.
The surge in genre share comes even as the government has enforced a one-month pause on publishing ratings for individual news channels. The move followed regulatory scrutiny of the television ratings ecosystem.
While channel-level rankings remain temporarily out of sight, the genre-level data suggests that when global tensions escalate, audiences continue to turn to television news for real-time updates.
