The country is gearing up to celebrate Mother India’s 65th Independence Day. The patriotic fervour is in the air. Television channels are also riding on the Independence wave and have a slew of programming content ready to mark the celebrations. exchange4media takes a look at what’s in store for viewers tomorrow.
Commemorating the upcoming Independence Day, Animal Planet will celebrate the country’s incredible wildlife and natural diversity through a month-long programming slot ‘Yeh Mera India’.
Airing every night at 8PM on Animal Planet, from August 15 to September 15, ‘Yeh Mera India’ is a dedicated one-hour slot which will take viewers on a journey through India, from the epic Himalayan mountains, down the mighty river Ganges, and across to the lost world of the North East, to explore its iconic wildlife, secret locations and exotic terrains. To mark the celebration, Animal Planet will also launch ‘Yeh Mera India’ anthem, a three-minute multi-lingual song, composed and performed by music personalities such as Lesle Lewis, Shaan, Mathangi and Monali.
On similar lines, 9XM is celebrating the spirit of India’s Independence with a special version of ‘Vande Mataram’ which is sung in the a cappella style by a US-based band called Penn Masala. The video will be aired once every hour on 9XM on August 14 and August 15.
Moving to the comedy genre, Comedy Central will inject a dose of humour with Indian stand up comedians from all over the world with a two-hour stand up special ‘Happy Birthday’ featuring Russell Peters, Sugar Sammy, Shaun Majmumdar and Aziz Ansari.
To engage children, Nickelodeon would be celebrating Independence Day by thanking the ‘Local Heroes’ who by their daily activities make a contribution towards the country and make lives simpler. Kids will be given the task of thanking local heroes such as traffic police, bus conductors, policemen, etc. who help them in their daily lives. They will then have to send the channel their pictures along with their chosen ‘heroes’ and a small note describing how these people have made a difference in their lives. The best entries will be featured on the Facebook page and on the channel.
The activity will last for a week. Daily promotion for a week will be done on Facebook and Twitter. Happy Independence Day greetings would also run on Nickelodeon and Sonic.
In the music space, Vh1 will showcase the evolution of Indian international music this decade through ‘Vh1 India Rules: Songs of the decade’. The programme will take the viewers on a journey portraying the rise of new artists including Scribe, Alobo Naga & the Band, Bramfatura as well as the return of the pioneers of rock in India including Indus Creed & Euphoria on August 15.
BBC Entertainment will celebrate the patriotic fervor with its special programmes ‘The Story of India’ and ‘Ganges’. Historian Michael Wood’s six-part documentary series ‘The Story Of India’ tells India's dramatic 10,000-year story, which features some of the greatest civilisations, events, ideas and characters in history.
The series ‘Ganges’ tells the story of one of the most extraordinary rivers in the world, following the Ganges’ journey from mountain to sea, and revealing how it touches the lives of every living thing in India.
English movie channel Star Movies will showcase six movies in the ‘Freedom Express’ as a part of the Independence Day celebrations. The movies namely Aladdin, The Incredibles, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, The Karate Kid and Rio would be telecast.
As a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi this Independence Day, Sony Pix will air the film ‘Gandhi’. Movies Now will show ‘Avatar’ as a part of its Independence Day line-up.
Coming to the GEC space, Star Plus will air a special episode of 'Satyamev Jayate ka Safar' on Independence Day. Aamir Khan will return to anchor the episode, which details the story of Satyamev Jayate and how a television series attempted to bring in winds of change over the course of 13 weeks. This episode will also be telecast on Star Pravah, Star World, Star Jalsha, Doordarshan, Star Vijay, Asianet and ETV on August 19.
Colors will present 'Comedy ka Jashn - Hasne ki Azaadi' showcasing a dance and comedy extravaganza that brings together Bollywood and television celebrities.
NDTV India has an Independence Day special of Jai Jawan with Deepika Padukone which will have thrilling feats by the jawans of the Tank Regiment and the J&K Rifles in Jammu.
As a part of the programming line-up for the Independence Day, Zoom will showcase Young India voice their views about how Bollywood movies with a patriotic flavour have influenced them, on a special half hour episode of ‘Main Bhi India’. On a much lighter note, Zabardus Azadi will entertain the viewers with a half an hour special highlighting what one needs ‘azadi’ from in B-Town.
Source: Exchange 4 Media?
