News Broadcasting
‘Kittie Party’s success is a victory for women: Shobhaa De
MUMBAI: Women from smaller towns have reacted favourably to Kittie Party’s theme of female bonding! This statement by celebrity novelist, script writer, journalist and socialite Shobhaa De said it all on the occasion of the celebration bash of Kittie Party’s century of episodes on air.
Sidhant Cinevision organised a get together at Mumbai’s Onyx resto pub for the entire unit of the serial which is aired on Zee TV in the prime time night slot. Spotted were the likes of Shobhaa De, Shveta Salve, Poonam Dhillon, Kavita Kapoor, Deepshikha, Kunika, Kiran Kumar, Raza Murad and several others adding to the glam appeal.
Zee had launched Kittie Party on Monday, 19 August 2002. It revolves around the lives of eight women who meet every month. The serial explores their individual lives through these meetings. It is not just about bored rich hausfraus splurging their excess cash on the phenomenon called the ‘kitty party’.
Shobhaa De with the cast of Kittie Party Writer Shobhaa De has sensitively brought out their honesty even as she brutally exposes their frailties, their obsession with class and their weakness for the rich life.
While speaking to indiantelevision.com, writer De says: “People have reacted in a favourable manner and this response has come from metros as well as smaller towns such as Indore, Nagpur and Coimbatore. I have been surprised by the response from people in different walks of life. This proves that the premise of female bonding and women meeting one another to discuss their lives is being accepted in several places in the country.”
Actress Poonam Dhillon echoes this sentiment and says that her role has been appreciated by women audiences including her near and dear ones. “Kittie Party reflects the aspirations and dreams of today’s Indian women,” she adds.
Manish Goswami’s Sidhant Cinevision has left no stone unturned to give the show top notch production values. The look as well as the background score is of a uniformly high quality and certainly seems to have done justice to the estimated Rs 450,000 per episode cost of the series. Sidhant also hired a special art director to bring in the required element of gloss.
“In this age when viewers tastes are changing rapidly, it was a challenge for us to create and sustain interest. Kittie Party is a unique serial and its characters are refreshingly bold, convincing and comfortable with their selves,” adds Goswami.
“Since the situations are from every day life, audiences are able to identify the characters and the conflicts they deal with,” says a Zee spokesperson.
De also took a swipe at the kind of fare that dominates prime time television, saying that the story was about issues relevant to today’s women and not the “saas-bahu sagas where the protagonists’ mindsets were 50 years behind the times.”
Actor Kiran Kumar who plays the character of Manoviraj in Kittie Party adds: “It was dream come true to be associated with Shobha De as I am a great admirer of her work. My character is that of a progressive male who gives space to his women without being too dominating.”
“As far as Kittie Party is concerned, the eight women appealed to me. Their characters are very identifiable. It’s like we see these women around us especially in urban society,” director Tamara Nedungudi.
“No, I won’t say it has a limited appeal. I would say that every household will be able to strongly relate with at least one of the main characters in the show. That is what makes it appealing overall,” Nedungudi adds.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
