Sun is getting into music mode with what it terms is the biggest statewide, inter-district singing competition in Tamil Nadu.

Held in association with New Age Entertainment, the contest will cover 29 districts of the state and Pondicherry. Over 100,000 singers are expected to take part in the auditions at an average of 3,000 per district.

New Age claims that the show's USP will be its mascot, Subudu, a well known music critic in Tamil Nadu. He will appear masked during the promotions to help enhance the brand equity of the programme starting from ground level in much the same way that Apple Singh promoted the 1999 Cricket World Cup on ESPN Star Sports. Plans are being finalised to rope in a press partner which will devote coverage to the event in terms of advertisements, contests and flyers.

The auditions will air on Sun TV's sister channel KTV on the prime band from Monday to Thursday. Three pre-finals conducted as mega events will take place in Madurai, Coimbatore and Pondicherry. Chennai will host the grand finale at the end of the 60th week.

Sun TV is also beefing up its programming with a family drama serial on the prime time band - Mughangal (Faces), a weekday series that premieres 24 June and airs between 10 and 10:30 pm. The show has been jointly produced with Sa Re Ga Ma, the Chennai based production house whose Soolam and Velan have already had a successful run on the channel. The serial, that marks the debut of Telugu film actress Ravali on the tube, revolves around a woman's battle to recover the family prestige back from a vengeful man. The story is the brainchild of novelist Sivashankari and has been directed by K Rangaraj of Kudumbam fame.

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