GECs
‘Swaragini’ captures Kolkata’s hotspots
KOLKATA: Various key locations of Kolkata, the city of Joy, including Howrah Bridge, Victoria Memorial, tram lines travelling to the Kalighat Temple and Millenium Park, have been captured for a new Hindi TV show Swaragini.
The team of the serial, which highlights the cultural conflicts between two neighbouring families, launched the new entertainment show here.
The leading faces of the show include Helly Shah and Tejaswi Prakash Wayangankar who play Swara Bose and Ragini Gadodia respectively.
Swaragini tells the story of how Swara and Ragini discover their true identities and hold onto their family ties amid fractured relationships, which are the result of a certain past.
Swara is a vibrant, fun loving and friendly girl brought up in an open-minded Bengali family. She lives life on her own terms, takes her own decisions and enjoys the small joys of life. She has lived the most part of her life at her maternal house with her maternal grandmother and brought up by a single mother, who is like her friend and confidante.
Talking about playing the character, Helly said, “Swara is very similar to what I am in real life. The only difference is I am Gujarati and she is Bengali. Swara as Bengali is a non-vegetarian eating person, but in real life I am a vegetarian.”
The promos of the show depict the Bengali family cooking fish. For Helly, shooting with the fish was quite an experience.
“I never thought I will hold fish in my hand, but I did. It was very scary, almost like a nightmare but I did it for one of the opening sequences,” Helly said.
On the other hand, Tejaswi’s character Ragini is a simple, down to earth and obedient girl. She belongs to a Marwari family and believes in listening to whatever her elders tell her to do. She resides with her father and grandparents. She loses her mother to illness but holds her memories dear.
Tejaswi added, “There is lot of similarity and dissimilarity. Since I play a Marwari, I can’t eat non-vegetarian but I am hardcore non-vegetarian in real life. Also, I was supposed to be a classically trained singer, so I learnt classical singing and obviously when it comes to family, I follow my elders but I don’t belong to a conservative family, unlike what is seen in this show.”
Swaragini, produced by Rashmi Sharma from Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, also features other characters — Shobha Bose played by Tanima Sen, Sharmishtha Bose played by Parinita Borthakur, Parvati Gadodia played by Alka Kaushik and Shekhar Gadodia played by Sachin Tyagi.
With this show, Bengali actress Tanima Sen is also making her debut in Hindi showbiz.
GECs
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
