News Broadcasting
Faisal Khan to debut in ‘Chausath Panne’
MUMBAI: Not so long ago, Zee TV President Apurva Purohit had told indiantelevision.com that Chausath Panne was a programme where the entry point was the female of the household.
True to its tradition, here comes the third story of the series titled Aandhi starting 16 November. Aandhi is a story which happens to umpteen girls in real life all over India- a traditional girl Chandni (Simone Singh) torn between Varun whom she loves (Ayub Khan) and her father (Shishir Sharma) who rejects her choice.
Ayub Khan and Simone Singh in Aandhi
The earlier two series were Dil Na Jaane Kyon and Manshaa. For the third, Manish Goswami’s Siddhant Cinevision has taken on the mantle of production, Rakesh Sarang has donned the director’s hat, Vinod Ranganath has penned the script.
Aandhi will see Aamir Khan’s brother Faisal Khan making his debut on television. Faisal plays Siddhant- a happy succesful man any girl would be happy to marry but not Chandni.
Kiran Kumar and Faisal Khan in Aandhi
Speaking at a media meet, today afternoon, Faisal had no qualms in confessing that he has taken to television because he has not been able to make a mark in films so far. “If I wait any longer, I think I will miss all my buses to prove myself as an actor. I signed some wrong scripts and some films didn’t do well owing to bad marketing. I have done some plays in the recent past, but have decided to try my hand at television, which has a much wider reach.”
“Unlike films, television can make me a household name. I have no ego and will approach producers for roles. I will put my best put forward,” he remarked.
So far, Faisal has acted in Madhosh, Mela, Kaaboo and Border Hindustan Ka and Basti. All were box-office turkeys. He still has three films in his kitty- Chand Bujh Gaya, Dushmani and Paltan.
Says Faisal, “The character of Siddhanth excited me. It’s very close to what I am- a cool, calm guy. Chandni’s dad insists upon her that she should get married to me and not Varun.”
Kiran Kumar who claimed that he had a very important role to play in this series was also present, “I come into this story only after five episodes. There is a very strong bonding between Chandni and myself. How we meet, how it happens and where do we go from there, I am surely not going to spill the beans on that.” Kumar is currently working with Manish Goswami on Kittie Party as well.
Ayub Khan chipped in, “My role has a few negative shades. That’s the reason why Chandni’s dad does not approve of me.” Goswami sounded quite confident that he has a powerful story in his hands which would emerge a winner. To a query as to why he has opted for an overdone ‘love triangle’ theme, he answered, “So what? That way, all permutations and combinations have been done and overdone. The characterisation and the treatment is different. That will count in our favour.”
Explaining why he chose Singh as the protagonist, he stated, “I need an innocent face. Singh fit the requirements to a T.”
Singh was conspicious by her absence as she was out of town. The charming actor has recently become the first Indian television star to be a presenter at the International Emmys, scheduled to be held at New York’s Hilton Hotel on 24 November this year.
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:Â 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.
