NEW DELHI: The Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms is exploring the "feasibility" of starting an English language news channel.
"No concrete plans have been made as such things are a continuous process of thinking, but we are exploring the feasibility of whether an English language news channel will make sense to us," Laxmi Goel, director, news group, Zee Telefilms, told journalists today during a press conference to announce the making of a film by the news channel on the 13 December attack on Indian Parliament.
When asked by indiantelevision.com the reason for zeroing down on English for a news channel at a time when others were looking starting Hindi news channels, Goel reiterated that "all this is part of a continuous thought process which any big (media) company should undertake and, at present, there is nothing on paper."
At one time, the Zee-AOL Time Warner combine had been talking to NDTV for a Hindi news channel with participation from all three after the 31 March, 2003 parting of ways between Star India and the Prannoy Roy-promoted company.
Goel also said that the group has been a pioneer in Hindi language broadcasting in India and efforts should be always on to maximise exploitation of existing resources at the disposal of the group.
Beyond this Goel, one of the four brothers of Chandra, refused to divulge any more details.
Meanwhile, while speaking on 13 December , the film made by Zee News team and to be aired on December 13, Goel said, "It's not a film, its real. It's a true story about a terrorist attack that shook the nation. An attack which tried to upset the world's largest democracy. It is also a tribute to those brave soldiers who defended the Parliament against terrorists."
The film has a voice over by Bollywood baddie Raza Murad who, according to Goel, has not taken any remuneration for the assignment.
The film goes behind the scenes of and tries to find where the seeds of the dastardly plot were sown. It is an attempt to go back in time and get to the truth. When did the terrorists come to Delhi....how come they went unnoticed in Chandni Chowk...Palika Bazaar and Mukherjee Nagar in the Capital. "All this in 40 minutes of plain speaking," Goel added.
