Regional
Regional channels line up special Diwali shows
The festive mood has caught up with the regional channels of the country. The five day long Diwali festival is being imitated on the TV screens to keep the audience engaged and in the feel of festive fervour.
Star Vijay, the Tamil general entertainment channel (GEC) and ETV Marathi, the Marathi GEC have created snippets of their TV celebrities wishing viewers a happy Diwali that will be aired throughout the Diwali week. Suvarna TV will also have clips wishing viewers.
Primetime shows will have Diwali themes incorporated in them. ETV Marathi is keeping the show stories for the week on a light note with no negativity in it. A special show has been introduced at 6:30 pm with film starts Swapnil Joshi and Sai Tamhankar for six days themed around Diwali. Promoting their upcoming show Pyaar Wali Love Story, the duo will be speaking to industry couples about their love stories.
The day will begin for Star Vijay viewers with their TV anchors celebrating the festival with fun filled activities with a special song. Naan Sigappu Manitha and Maan Karate will be premiering on the channel. At 6:30pm, the show Mom’s Diwali will see actors Priyamani and Vijaylakshmi take part along with their mother.
Suvarna is banking on movie premieres to create impact. Every Sunday of October, the channel has been showcasing various impact properties to maximise Diwali viewership. Big Magic Ganga has launched a series of special shows on the sentiment of ‘devotion’. Its popular shows Big Memsaheb, Big Bahuriya and Police Files have special versions on 23 October.
Advertisers will be keen to tap into this mood with TV being the best audience reaching platform. ETV Marathi has seen a host of new advertisers such as Everest Masala, Ferrero ocher, Berger Paints, Domino’s Pizza, GS Tea, Xrbia and Voylla at a 45 per cent hike than the normal ad rates. Other channels are also glad with the lineup of advertisers that they have got.
The Marathi GEC has created a ‘Shubh Deepawali’ logo that will stay full time. Big Magic Ganga did a customised logo from September itself for Dassera and Diwali titled ‘Big Magic Ganga Maha Parv’. Star Vijay and Suvarna TV have also changed the look of the channel for Diwali week.
Regional
GTC Punjabi launches Sweety Beauty Parlour, a bold small-town drama
New show blends ambition, love and grit in a story rooted in Punjab’s heart
MOHALI: GTC Punjabi has premiered its latest fiction series, Sweety Beauty Parlour, a coming-of-age drama that places the dreams and dilemmas of small-town Punjabi women firmly in the spotlight.
Airing from today at 6:30 PM, Monday to Friday, the show follows Sweety, a young woman determined to build her own beauty parlour and carve out an independent life despite social pressures that quietly push her to aim lower. The narrative blends ambition, love and vulnerability, offering a portrait that feels both intimate and familiar.
At the heart of the story is the dynamic between Sweety, played by Mannat, and Goldy, portrayed by Navdeep. Their relationship adds emotional texture to the show, shifting between warmth, tension and tenderness as their lives intertwine.
The series is directed by Gaurav Rana, known for his work on acclaimed Punjabi films Chauser and Mohre. Rana brings a cinematic sensibility to television, with a focus on character depth and understated storytelling. The beauty parlour setting becomes more than just a backdrop, doubling as a space where personal stories unfold and unspoken truths surface.
Speaking about the show, GTC Network founder and MD Rabindra Narayan said, “Sweety is not a character. She is every girl from every small Punjabi town who has sat in her room at night and imagined a bigger life and then woken up the next morning and actually tries to build it. Gaurav Rana has brought cinematic craft to this story that Punjabi television has never quite seen. Mannat and Navdeep make you believe every word. We are proud of this show the way you are proud of something that tells the truth.”
The launch also signals a broader content push by GTC Punjabi. The network has announced a new singing reality show, Surtaaj of Punjab, and confirmed additional fiction series and short film projects in development, pointing to an ambitious programming slate ahead.
Available across DTH platforms and streaming services including JioTV and YuppTV, the show is positioned to reach both domestic and global Punjabi audiences.
With Sweety Beauty Parlour, GTC Punjabi appears to be betting on authenticity over spectacle, telling stories that feel lived-in rather than staged, and in doing so, giving voice to a generation that refuses to shrink its dreams.
