News Broadcasting
DD-Prakash Jha call truce; JP film to air on Dec 4
NEW DELHI: Indian pubcaster Doordarshan and Prakash Jha have called a truce, after the film-maker agreed to most of the cuts suggested by the broadcaster relating to a film on Emergency and freedom fighter Jaiprakash Narayan (JP).
The film is now slated for airing on December 4, bringing to rest a controversy that had politicians and supporters of freedom of expression feature in a slanging match for over a fortnight.
Announcing the truce today, DD’s director-general Navin Kumar said, “The film will be shown on a prime time slot of DD National at 9:30 pm.”
He, however, clarified, “The basic structure of the film remains unaltered, even though a little bit of fine tuning is being made to make it appropriate for a national telecast.”
Playing down the issue, which had made Jha threaten at one time that he would play the film at private screenings, Kumar said, there was “no controversy per se between Doordarshan and Mr Prakash Jha over the screening of the film”, as made out in a section of the media.
Jha, who was in Delhi today also expressed satisfaction over the slotting of JP’s film on DD National, saying this will enable the whole nation to watch the biopic of the veteran leader Jaiprakash Narayan.
According to him, as a creative person he is satisfied with the Prasar Bharati decision to show the film as it was made. Still, he did concede that he has agreed to make small changes pertaining to representation of geographic map of undivided India and a personal reference to Sanjay Gandhi, a brother-in-law of the present Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and son of late PM Indira Gandhi, in the film.
The one-hour- 45- minute film was commissioned by Doordarshan on behalf of the ministry of culture during the year 2003-04 when a Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government was at the Centre.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
