Hunt for a calender girl on Good Times
As we had reported last week, NDTV Good Times has for the first time conceptualised a 15-episode reality show to hunt for a calendar girl. The Zuri White Sands Goa, Resort & Casino has been chosen as the venue for the grand finals of the Kingfisher Calendar Girl Hunt. The chosen one will be from the final 12 girls selected from over 5000 who auditioned in major metros across India. The 12 finalists have checked in to The Zuri White Sands Goa Resort & Casino, and they will be judged by Shobha De, Atul Kasbekar and Milind Soman who will also be anchoring the show. The elimination rounds which are currently underway were judged by Milind Soman, Dino Morea and R.Madhavan. Three fresh new celebrity judges will officiate each round. The next episode will have Cory Walia, Saahil Shroff and Ali Hakim as celebrity judges. The show will also have the crowning of The Zuri Queen before the final Kingfisher Calendar Girl is chosen. A weekly show, it is being aired every Friday at 10 pm.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa nears 1000 episodes
Now that Li’l Champs is over, Zee has introduced another variant of its popular brand Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in the form of a Mega Challenge that brings together all the best of its contestants from the earlier seasons. As the show approaches the 1000th episode, the channel gears upto celebrate the landmark event with a seven week competition between eight teams representing eight different states and will consist of one captain and two participants each. The best four teams then would head towards the semi finals thus concluding the finale on December 12, which will be the all-important 1000th episode of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Prominent singers and musicians of the industry are expected to grace each of the episodes. They will also be judging the show for that episode. Says Nitin Vaidya, COO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., and Business Head Zee TV said, “The completion of 1000 episodes with a brand in a competitive scene is a great achievement in itself. We owe this success to all those who have made Sa Re Ga Ma Pa a winner with their exceptional talent and dedication. Hence we decided to celebrate the 1000th episode with our talented participants.”

A deadly stunt
Bull-fighting, sword-fighting, snake-charming: Ratan Rajput aka Laali seems to have done it all. The latest stunt that the 17-year-old pulled nearly cost her life. A bullock-cart race was being shot when Laali fell down and injured herself badly. In the shot Laali had to run along with the bullockcart, which Shekhar was riding against his brother Rannvijay. After the brothers begin the race, Lali realises that the wheel of Shekhar’s bullockcart has been tampered with. She immediately rushes for help, takes the reins of the bullockcart herself and helps Shekhar win the race. But in the process she sustained grave injuries and lost consciousness. Says Ratan, “It was very hot and we were shooting for a long time. I was running behind the bullockcart without chappals. My feet got hurt and finally I think the heat got to me. They rushed me to the hospital and now I am fine when my mother got to know of it, she was very upset.” Her mother has sternly asked the production house to do away with such sequences because this is having an adverse affect on her. Yet the girl continues to shoot without her mother’s knowledge. There’s also talk that Laali will die in the serial but make a comeback later. “I don’s know about coming back but if the audience wants me I think something will be done,” she smiles.