GECs
Broadcasters’ New Year gift to its viewers
MUMBAI: If you haven’t decided on your New Year plan, don’t fret. Your all time source of entertainment, ‘the Idiot Box’ will be your medium of happiness. With so many stories in the television basket, broadcasters are gearing to encapsulate them all through a slew of special programmes for the New Year’s Eve.
Star Plus brings in the New Year with its fifth edition of Big Star Entertainment Awards, a TV and Bollywood awards show on 31 December, 8 pm onwards till 12 midnight. It honours personalities from the field of entertainment across movies, music, television, sports, theatre and dance.
Audiences will get to witness B’town celebs right from Salman-Jacqueline Fernandez to Sonakshi Sinha-Arjun Kapoor setting up the stage on-fire with their spectacular performances. The awards function will be hosted by personalities of different nationalities – Gutthi aka Sunil Grover from India and Pakistani actor Imran Abbas.
Rival channel Colors has a special treat planned for its viewers. Got Talent World Stage Live, hosted by the charming Shah Rukh Khan and suave Manish Paul, will entertain viewers as they prepare for the final goodbye to 2014 and welcome 2015 with open arms.
The ‘Got Talent’ franchise owned by Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment, takes entertainment a notch higher as the event brings together outstanding talent not only from India but also impactful global ones. The stage, designed by Omung Kumar, will look stunning as the performances compliment his work of art.
The talent from across the world will captivate the audience with their special demonstrations involving magic, stunts, dance and acrobatics. Amongst superlative and bright Indian talent whose brilliant and inspiring performances will awe the audience will be of the Prince Dance Group, chhota packet bada dhamaka Akshat Singh, Hip hop sensations Suresh and Vernon Group, aerial performers – Mukesh and Tanya, painter extraordinaire Vilas Naik and many more.
From the International talent circuit, troupes like Aerosphere will present an aerial Balloon Show, Crystal and Ring Dancer Hu Qi Zhi from China who will fascinate people with her skill, Russian Brothers and Kalutskih Danila and Kirill Brothers will showcase Acrobats and the Craz_E_Crew will perform some incredible stunts. The cherry on the cake, however, will be Magician Aldo Nicolini and Illusionist James Mores who will hypnotize the audience with shocking tricks which will further create an aura of excitement and intrigue.
Also joining the celebration will be Bollywood bigwigs Priyanka Chopra, Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandes who will perform with much vigour to popular numbers while creating jaw-dropping and wondrous moments. The choreographer extraordinaire who will add zing to the evening is dancing legend Shiamak Davar. The event will be aired at 10 pm on Colors.
Stringing together loads of fun and excitement for its viewers this New Year’s eve, Zee TV is planning a two-hour special telefilm – New Year Dhamaka on 31 January at 11 pm. It will star Riddhi Dogra, Raqesh Vashisth, Anurag Sharma, Ravi Dubey, Pooja Bose and various other actors who will be seen playing key roles.
The two-hour film will take the audience through the world of glitz and glamour and the secrets that lie shielded between the buzz of parties and the dazzle of the flashbulbs. It is set against a glamorous backdrop of a calendar girl pageant.
The channel has roped in Cadbury Oreo as its presenting sponsor and Vaseline Total moisture and Maggi as the powered-by sponsors.
With most channels airing stage shows, Life OK has something different to offer. The channel is ready to bring in the New Year with a fun-filled joyous ride with Comedy Classes. It aims to make it a memorable one this year as Bharti Singh, Krushna Abhishek, Siddharth Sagar, Bruna Abdullah, Madhura Naik and all other Comedy Classes actors get set to entertain viewers with their own talent.
Actors will turn their ‘Achhe Din Institute’ into a News channel making it a unique concept on the show, as they talk about this year’s biggest news headlines.
Bharti and Krushna will play the news anchors and take the audience through the big headlines related to Bollywood, politics, TV, sports and more playing on ‘The Year that was’. Television viewers will also get to see a dhamakaa performance by the girls of Comedy Classes.
Last but not the least, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) will air the repeat telecast of Umang Police Awards from 11 pm to 2.00 am.
Media analysts believe that television viewing is high on the New Year’s eve. Channels showcase special programmes which not only cater to the existing base but also helps to draw some additional numbers. “Events like these bring Bollywood closer to the television audiences and are also highly rated in the entertainment space,” says a media analyst.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
