News Broadcasting
Manohar Singh, one of Indian TV’s original patriarchs
MUMBAI: Manohar Singh was one of the first major theatre artistes to make the shift to the small screen as early as 1990, while satellite television was still a blink on the electronic horizon in the country.
Best remembered for portraying roles of the iron willed patriarch in several serials, Singh brought a touch of theatre professionalism and acting calibre to Indian television. Producer actor Neena Gupta, with whom he worked in several serials including Dard and Palcchin, remembers him as an actor with a beautiful sense of dialogue delivery.
Described as a shining example of toil, tenacity and talent, Singh was last seen on the big screen in a bit role as Pooja Bhatt’s father in law in Rahul Bose’s Everybody Says I’m Fine. Singh, 64, passed away on Thursday morning at the Apollo Hospitals, Delhi, after a protracted battle with lung cancer.
A graduate of the National School of Drama, he started off with a role in Bertolt Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle in 1968-69 while still in his first year. Theatre director Amal Allana says the integrity he brought to his work was simply stupendous.
Best known for his performances in the Ebrahim Alkazi directed Tughlaq as the despotic king, as Jimmy Potter in Look Back in Anger, in Dante’s Death, Mohan Rakesh’s Adhe Adhure, Sandhya Chaya and other plays such as Nagamandala, King Lear, Mother Courage (where he played Mother Courage) and as “Chanakya” in Mudra Rakhshas, Singh also essayed strong roles in several Hindi films.
TV serial director Feisal Alkazi, who worked with Singh in serials Mullah Nasiruddin and Raj Se Swaraj says he had a very detailed approach to acting. “When I was handling costumes for these serials, he would get into every little bit of his own outfit. From the belt he would have to wear to the wig and down to his footwear he wanted to know everything. And he managed to carry off those outfits, unlike a lot of actors who don’t know how to handle elaborate costumes,” Alkazi has been quoted as saying.
A soft spoken actor, theatre remained Singh’s first love. Among his performances on television are Dard, Gumraah, Palchhin, Raag Durbari and Mahayagya. In a tribute, I&B minister Sushma Swaraj has said that his roles will continue to motivate upcoming film and stage artists.
News Broadcasting
Times Network to air JVC Exit Poll across 5 regions on April 29
Four-hour broadcast spans states and Puducherry with data-led analysis
MUMBAI: Times Network is set to roll out what it calls one of its most expansive election programming efforts yet, culminating in the JVC Exit Poll on 29 April, with a multi-hour broadcast spanning key poll-bound regions.
The exit poll will air across Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, beginning at 5pm and 4pm respectively. Co-powered by Vedanta and Jindal Stainless, the programming aims to combine on-ground reportage with data-driven projections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
The network has deployed over 50 journalists across these regions, gathering voter sentiment and local insights in the run-up to polling. The effort builds on its ongoing election formats such as Election Yatra and Election Premier League, which have tracked campaign narratives and community-level issues.
In parallel, Times Now Navbharat has focused on constituency-level reporting in West Bengal through its Jan Gan ka Mann series, capturing voter opinions across diverse segments.
The coverage has also featured interviews with prominent political leaders. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan have appeared on the network’s election specials. From Tamil Nadu, voices including deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, BJP leader K Annamalai and NTK’s Seeman have also featured in discussions.
On the day of the exit poll, the network’s primetime anchors, including Navika Kumar, Zakka Jacob and Sumit Awasthi, will lead the coverage. They will be joined by a panel of political analysts, psephologists and senior journalists offering real-time insights and interpretation of trends.
The programming will integrate grassroots reportage with analytics from the JVC Exit Poll, aiming to give viewers an early sense of electoral outcomes ahead of the official results on 4 May.
With its combined English and Hindi broadcast reach, Times Network is positioning this effort as a comprehensive look at voter sentiment, blending field reporting, data and debate to decode what could lie ahead when the final mandate is revealed.
