GECs
Star Plus gears for ‘MasterChef India 4’
MUMBAI: A necessity or a luxury, what we eat in our daily lives has turned around from something edible to ‘delicacies’ over the centuries.
Taking into consideration the seriousness of this knack of cooking experience worldwide, right from the most secluded house where the artist is the woman of the house to the delights from the chefs of the best hotels in the world, Star Plus has brought this art into every kitchen with the launch of MasterChef India.
Just when you thought the culinary juggernaut that is MasterChef couldn’t serve anything tastier, it goes and plates up perfection.
After the immense success of the first three seasons and Junior MasterChef, Star Plus is back yet again to embark on a culinary journey to find India’s next MasterChef. Come January 2015, viewers will witness a journey of looking for ordinary Indians who can cook extraordinary food.
Being produced by Colosceum Media, the series is known to help the ordinary Indian change their destiny and fulfil their dreams through food. While the fourth season is back, it comes with a twist.
A source close to the development reveals that this season promises to draw on the success of the past three seasons, delivering even more stunning challenges, contestants that one can relate to and judges that one just won’t let go of.
It will be judged by the biggest food icon of the country – Sanjeev Kapoor, Chef Vikas Khanna and Chef Ranveer Brar. The format remains the same with top 12 contestants competing against each other to win the title of MasterChef India – Kitchen Ke Superstar. The only change that the season will undergo is that it goes ‘Vegetarian’.
The same source further says that India has a rich heritage of vegetarian food which has not been celebrated so far. The current season will give chance to the vegetarian cooking enthusiasts who have not been able to participate in the last three seasons.
Does that mean only vegetarians can participate? “No,” comes a quick reply from the same source. “Even non-vegetarians will get the opportunity to come and showcase their cooking skills in vegetarian food.”
The audition phase has already been canned in 24 cities. It began from 16 October with Ranchi followed by several other cities like Udaipur, Dehradun, Rajkot, Bhopal etc with the last city being Mumbai on 16 November.
After receiving entries of around a lakh from 24 cities, top 60 contestants have already been shortlisted and now the channel is making its way to find the top 12 cooking enthusiasts for the season. The shooting will begin from January 2015 first week at Filmcity, Mumbai. Though the time-slot and date is not yet finalised, the channel will continue to target it as a weekday property.
GECs
Sebi sends show-cause notice to Zee over fund diversion, company responds
Regulator questions 2018 letter of comfort and governance lapses; company vows robust legal response
MUMBAI: India’s markets watchdog has reignited its long-running scrutiny of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, issuing a sweeping show-cause notice that drags the broadcaster and 84 others into a widening governance storm.
The notice, dated February 12, has been served by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to Zee, chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra and managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka, among others. At its heart: allegations that company funds were indirectly routed to settle liabilities of entities linked to the Essel Group.
The regulator’s probe traces its roots to November 2019, when two independent directors resigned from Zee’s board, flagging concerns over the alleged appropriation of fixed deposits by Yes Bank. The deposits were reportedly adjusted against loans extended to Essel Group entities, triggering questions about related-party dealings and board oversight.
A key flashpoint is a letter of comfort dated September 4, 2018, issued by Subhash Chandra in his dual capacity as chairman of Zee and the Essel Group. The document, linked to credit facilities availed by certain group companies from Yes Bank, was allegedly known only to select members of management and not disclosed to the full board—an omission SEBI believes raises red flags over transparency and governance controls.
Zee has pushed back hard. In a statement, the company said it “strongly refutes” the allegations against it and its board members and will file a detailed response. It expressed confidence that SEBI would conduct a fair review and signalled readiness to pursue all legal remedies to protect shareholder interests.
The notice marks the latest twist in a saga that has shadowed the broadcaster since 2019. What began as boardroom unease has morphed into a full-blown regulatory confrontation. The final reckoning now rests with SEBI—but the reputational stakes for Zee, and the message for India Inc on governance discipline, could scarcely be higher.
