| MUMBAI:
Colors, the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from Viacom18, is set to
launch its Sunday morning slot ‘Sundaywali Subah,’ with two new shows,
from 17 May. The
channel will air Sarvopari Shri Swaminarayan Bhagwaan, a mythological drama,
and Vikram Aur Betaal. The hour-long shows will air at 10 am and 11 am
every Sunday. Says
Colors programming head Ashvini Yardi, “The shows chosen for this particular
lineup reflect the taste of everyone in the family. We have Swaminarayan
– a mythological serial for the older generation, while at the same time
we have Vikram Aur Betaal stories that we have grown up with. I’m
sure this show will entertain the kids and definitely make the elder generations
very nostalgic. All in all it’s an exciting package deal that no one would
want to miss.” To
add to the offering, the channel has stitched an eight-film syndication deal with
Disney Movies, to woo kids during the summer holidays. The channel will air movies
like Finding Nemo, Chicken Little, The Incredibles, Tarzan, Aladdin, Hercules,
Monsters Inc and Toy Story, just after Vikram Aur Betaal i.e.
at 12 noon. Says
Colors CEO Rajesh Kamat “After strengthening our prime time slots, now was
the right time for us to expand to other time bands. The new weekend block is
our effort to bring fresh programming for consolidating weekends. And the Sunday
block is just the beginning. We have many more innovations lined up for the future.
The idea is to create shows that everyone in the family enjoys.” Swaminarayan,
produced by Moti Sagar's Sagar Pictures, is based on the life of an 18th century
saint who is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Krishna. The story begins as
Rishi Vairatyanarayn prays to Lord Swaminarayan to manifest on earth and save
the humanity engrossed in sin. The story brings forth the interesting facets of
the saint’s life in human form.
Prem Sagar's Vikram Aur Betaal is based on 'Betaal Pachisi', written nearly
2,500 years ago by Mahakavi Somdev Bhatt. These are stories told to King Vikramaditya
by the ghost Betaal. Each story ends with a witty question for Vikramaditya that
he answers correctly. The series presents these stories one by one. First aired
in 1985, the show has been revamped with new computer graphics and special effects
so that it could appeal to younger audiences. | 
