Sanjeevani gets an opportunity to sing

SHE'S a lady who’s hitting the high notes. Sanjeevani, who was discovered by Vidhu Vinod Chopra to sing those melodious numbers for his Bobby Deol- starrer Kareeb, is all set to co-anchor Picnic Antakshri with Sachin on DD-1.

But television is nothing new for Sanjeevani. She won the first prize in Sonu Nigam’s Sa Re Ga Ma and her talent was instantly noted by Bollywood resulting in the Kareeb break. And now she has producers vying for her fresh voice.

In fact, much before she became the star singer at Sa Re Ga Ma Sanjeevani was a veteran of 400 singing shows in India and abroad. The range of her voice often reminds listeners of the young Lata Mangeshkar but Sanjeevani’s repertoire extends to Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Asha Bhosle, Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamoorthy and more.

" The opportunity to co-anchor Picnic Antakshri is great, says Sanjeevani and adds that her "voice and photogenic face" will be a great asset for the show. Indeed they will be. And if she manages to repeat her singing performance the way she has done in Bollywood, it is certain to light up Picnic Antakshri.

News behind the news

What with all those current affairs programmes on TV ‘many viewers must by now be geniuses. But if you are not, here’s yet another opportunity. Zee India TV has launched a new current affairs series called Fact File. Essentially a news magazine, Fact File will cover some exclusive news worthy stories and go beyond the headlines.

The programme will present three hardcore, exclusive investigative stories per episode. Fact File will bring out the " real picture behind the news."

The programme claims to be different both in terms of the content and the concept. The idea, says a Zee source, is to unmask corruption in high places sometimes with the help of accessories like hidden cameras and mikes.

Dilbert comes to town

The comic strip hero of the 1990’s workplace, Dilbert now comes to CNBC Asia in a 13 episode animated series. Set in the same atmosphere as the Dilbert comic strip featured daily in 1,900 newspapers around the world, the series chronicles the ludicrousness of a typical ‘90s office and the quirks of the luckless hero and lowly cubicle-dwelling engineer, Dilbert.

The episodes are full of mayhem, mishaps and misadventures in the workplace. Those in the corporate world will find themselves able to relate to Dilbert and his colleagues as they encounter the challenges of living in today’s working environment of e-mails, voice mails and office cubby holes.

Viewers will be able to empathise with Dilbert’s frustration with management and laugh at the little everyday irritations at work. The series also features many of the real challenges at work, including the sick-building syndrome and the Y2K problem. So come watch Dilbert and much more every Saturday at 7.30 p.m.

The high stakes girl

When she was crowned Miss Delhi University in 1991 the wheel of fortune started spinning for Pryonka Sharma. She followed that with a triple triumph in the following two years — Miss Delhi, Miss Look of the Year and the Spring Queen.

Not that the petite young lady was a greenhorn before that. Pryonka’s modelling carrer began while still in school when she did an assignment for Citra. Once she had the beauty contest awards under her belt, many more sophisticated assignments followed — Mescos’ and AVI shoes, Khajuraho and DES Denim as also a list of high profile fashion shows.

Now Pryonka is not just a sought after face in the world of advertising but is also being offered television serials. But the young lady’s ambitions go beyond that of roles in TV shows. She wants to become a producer and make meaningful films and serials. And if her track record is any thing to go by, she’ll make her dreams come true. So get set for some good viewing.

Life’s a circus

Flying through the air with the greatest of ease, the ‘Flying’ Wallendas have dazzled audiences around the world. This fearless performing family became an unrivalled sensation with their famous ‘Seven Person Pyramid’ — seven individuals suspended more than nine metres in the air, with no safety nets below to rescue them.

On January 30, 1962, at the peak of their popularity, tragedy befell the circus act, resulting in the death of two members and lifetime paralysis for a third.

Discovery Channel relives those painful moments, but also leaps through new rings of fire as the Wallenda family recounts their performance history, up to their modern-day death-defying acts. Don’t miss The Greatest: The Flying Wallendas, which airs as part of portraits on June 3 from 22.00 to 23.00. The first family of circus will guarantee an hour of edge-of-the seat viewing.

— Mukesh Khosla