'Antakshri' makes 400th episode splash for Gujarat's earthquake-affected
(Posted on 23 February, 6:00 pm)
Close Up Antakshri, the successful game and entertainment
show from Zee TV which completed its 400th episode this week,
has just added another feather in its cap.
As part of the celebrations marking the occasion a series of
special shows have been organised, the proceeds of which are going
towards the rehabilitation efforts in earthquake-hit Gujarat.
That is not all. Children from Aasra, a home for underprivileged
orphans in Mumbai, also benefited and took away Rs 100,000 in
winnings from the show on Wednesday at Water Kingdom in Esselworld,
Mumbai's premier amusement park.
Shooting for the forthcoming 14 special episodes of Close
Up Antakshri are being shot at Water Kingdom to mark its seventh
consecutive year on air. Though the children from Aasra won a
total of Rs 200,000, half of the winnings went towards the earthquake
relief fund and the remainder to Aasra, a CRY-funded (Child Relief
and You) organisation. The winning amount was presented by model
Aditi Gowatikar who recently lifted the Mrs World title, another
one of India's rapidly increasing tribe of international beauty
pageant winners. Half of the winnings of all the episodes are
going towards earthquake relief.
Close Up Antakshri introduced the game format in October last year, and has given
out Rs 12.8 million as winning amounts since joining the bandwagon
of game shows dominated by the likes of Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Anchored by Anu Kapoor and actress Rajeshwari Sachdev, the
show had its lows and highs. The audience went dead silent at
times when the pace of music slowed and had to be rescued by Kapoor
who is an old hand at this. Kapoor has been on the show since
its inception. Nevertheless, with the serene ambience of Water
Kingdom, the show received a good response from people.
The brainchild of director-producer Gajendra Singh, the stage
was created amidst the waves. Also participating in the event
were personalities from the film world like Asrani, Sashikala,
Joy Mukherjee, Johra Sehgal, Vishwajeet, and Shobha Khote.
Zee is all geared up for the grand finale episode where Maharashtra
deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal will be a participant. Various
aerial camera angles of this show will be shot though the Deccan
Aviation-sponsored (India's largest helicopter company) helicopters
on Friday when the fund raising will rest on Bhujbal's shoulders.
Fourteen earthquake-affected families will be benefited from the
contributions collected.
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