Those were the days, my friend

THERE is something magical about school and college days. And that’s the bygone golden period of life which the serial tries to captures.

The School Days, the new serial on Doordarshan, begins with the opening day of a modern convent school with class XI as its focus. The students are all in a relaxed mood after the 10th board exams. The serial portrays various facets of school life, peeping into the dreams and ambitions, crushes and teenage romances, success and failure of young boys, girls.

The serial touches upon both traditional and modern Indian family values and the influence of western culture on the youth in a dramatised fashion. For once Doordarshan has a well-enacted serial which portrays the realities from the eyes of young people. Which is why The School Days will appeal to grown ups as it is bound to bring back memories of an era gone by in their lives.

Growing up with baby!

It’s a look at life through the eyes of a baby. A baby who can’t even speak! But who says a baby can’t think. This baby thinks and thinks aloud. Chota Muh aur Badi Baat on Zee is a hilarious journey into the mind of a baby. How he reacts to the things that go on around him... how he communicates, manipulates, blunders, wonders... and how he learns a lesson in survival everyday.

The serial is a return to innocence. It re-creates a baby’s first encounter with life and his adventures in the new world he has just entered. As he tries to make sense of the complicated world around him, grown ups re-discover the art of living.

It’s all about the first burp, the first smile, the first word, the first step of a baby and how he uses his limited resources and simple reasoning to tackle situations and deal with his paranoid father, doting mother, hysterical maid and over enthusiastic grandparents.

A fascinating concept which should keep you glued to your TV set week after week.

Sophiya’s Choice

Remember Maryl Streep in the Hollywood blockbuster, Sophie’s Choice? Now forget that and take a look at Sophiya’s Choice on Channel V and expect the unexpected from Veejay Sophiya. It’s her choice, her views, her take-off on the world. What’s in, out or roundabout. Sophiya claims that once you are on this roller-coaster ride you won’t want to go off!!

Be prepared for anything — because it could mean anything. It speaks of her ideas on trends, culture, people and more. It’s a show with no structure and no format — a sort of chameleon-esque quality that makes it different week after week. It primarily focuses on the best videos ever made, but the does not mean she’s not going to show you that worst, and she’ll have a lot to say about them too.

But what is Sophiya’s choice? It’s anything she wants it to be! says Sophiya," I ain’t just talking music, I’m talking fashion, filmstars, food, fun people, untapped talent... anything goes. You are you gonna go my way. It’s a show with no boundaries... Oh! unless it’s beyond my cerebral perimeter". Considering the cerebral perimeter of a VJ you’d know what to expect!

Poonam is back

One just hopes the serial and the stars live up to the hype they have created.For over a year now Shoorveer Maharana Pratap has been creating news first over its treatment of the storyline and then the choice of its lead star who would play Maharana Pratap. Then, after an ‘intense’ search Vinod Khanna was given the role.

The serial which went on air on the national network last year coincided with the 400th death anniversary of the great warrior, Maharana Pratap. Shot mostly on location in Bikaner, Udaipur, Chiattisgarh, Kumbalgarh and Jaipur, it covers eight decades of the rulers of Mewar and Rajputana.

Directed by Gufi Panital (Shakuni Mama of Mahabharat the serial is planned for a whopping 156 episodes. Now Poonam Dhillon has been signed to play the royal consort against Vinod Khanna. "It is an important role so I decided to take it up," says Poonam who, like Vinod Khanna, has been out of reckoning both from films and television for sometimes now.

Will two aging stars add up to a great epic? Only time will tell.

Remains of an empire

More than two millennia ago, Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, made her home in the fable city of Alexandria — a city that, until last year, was buried beneath the sea and centuries of muck and mud.

In an expedition co-sponsored by Discovery Channel and the Hilti Foundation, an underwater exploration team has used advanced scientific methods to locate the remains of Cleopatra’s sunken palace as well as the entire submerged Royal Quarters in the harbour of modern Alexandria.

Screen legend Omar Sharif, who was born in Alexandria, narrates the programme Cleopatra’s Palace: In search of a legend. Though it was premiered worldwide on March 14, it is going to be repeated several times. So don’t miss this most fascinating underwater adventure as modern explorers shine the twentieth century lights on an ancient empire.

— Mukesh Khosla