News Headline
Soccer soap ‘Dream Team’ launches tonight on Star Sports
MUMBAI / NEW DELHI: “The Ball’ed and the Beautiful”. That would be an apt tag line for the latest (and surprisingly unheralded) programming initiative from Star Sports. Launching today at 9:30 pm is a prime time daily soap – Dream Team.
The sexy soccer soap, which follows the fortunes of fictional professional football club Harchester United and its Dream Team airs Tuesdays to Friday.
Harchester United is a premiership team based in the Midlands in the UK and follows the football fortunes and the off-field activities of the players as well as the club bosses. The series airs on Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB platform in the UK on the Sky One network where it is into its sixth season. It has also enjoyed popular success in the US, an official release says.
The Harchester United Football Club even has a history – complete with a mascot – ‘Dragons’!
What the series also boasts is a high “babe quotient”. Cast members like Angela Saunders and Nina Muschallik would have fitted in well in Baywatch. If MAX used Mandira Bedi and Charu Sharma’s “angels” to pump up the volume during the World Cup, Star Sports has opted for a full soap series, albeit about football.
Saunders, Rachel Brady, Emma Harding, Jane Campbell, Scott Mean, Dhaffer LAbidine, Chucky Venice, Terence Maynard, Jim Alexander, Muschallik, Louis Decosta Johnson, Neil Jackson, Ray MacAllan, Shaun Scott and Ricky Whittle, are the stars of this daily soap.
Another hook that the series often uses is getting celebrities for walk-on roles. Busty model Jordan was one of the more talked about recent guests on the show, appearing in her first ever cameo role. Other celebrities who have appeared in Dream Team include Tara-Palmer Tompkinson, Gary Lucy, Matt Le Tissier, John Barnes, ‘Big Ron’ Atkinson and Dwight Yorke.
“We are looking at the issue of having entertainment-based programmes related and based on sports on the two channels, including those generated in India,” Manu Sawhney, MD, ESPN Software told indiantelevision.com today over phone from Dhaka where he has gone on an official trip.
Guest actor and glam model Jordan
It may be remembered that indiantelevision.com had reported last year that ESPN is mulling foraying into entertainment-related programming.
Similar programmes would surface on ESPN too, Sawhney says.
ESPN-Star Sports, a joint venture between ESPN (part of the Disney group) and Star Sports (part of News Corporation), has also sounded out some Indian producers on the issue and whether sports-based soaps and entertainment programmes can be generated from India.
“We are examining the issue whether we can do it in-house or such assignments have to be farmed out to other TV producers as we are definitely looking at such programmes made out of India,” Sawhney said.
Will the viewers play ball. This certainly seems like jock territory so that section of the audience seems a cinch.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
