MUMBAI: Colors is gearing up for content, post IPL. The channel is launching a new fiction show, ?Madhubala...Ek Ishq, Ek Junoon?, on 28 May, a day after the Indian Premier League ends.

The channel will also launch the fifth season of celebrity dancing reality show ?Jhalak Dikhla Jaa? in mid-June. Colors had acquired the rights of the show, the first four editions of which got telecast on rival Hindi general entertainment channel Sony.

?Madhubala...Ek Ishq, Ek Junoon? will air at 8.30 pm, a slot which Star Plus? fiction property, ?Ek Hazaron Mein Meri Behna Hai? leads. Sony Entertainment Television airs ?Dekha Ek Khawab? at this time band while Zee TV airs ?Yahaaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli?.

Produced by Nautanki Films, ?Madhubala...Ek Ishq, Ek Junoon? is shot in a ?filmy? manner and is inspired by the blockbuster Bollywood movie ?Sholay?. With this show, the channel is paying a tribute to the completion of 100 years of Indian Cinema.

The show replaces Veer Shivaji, a historical saga based on the life of Shivaji, the great Maratha Warrior.

The channel believes that ?Madhubala...? is not a show, it is a saga. Colors Weekday programming head Prashaant Bhatt says, ?With a show like Madhubala, the gratification is little more because it is a show that has gone beyond story-telling. A lot more effort has been put into it. Here we are trying to take a subject which is very unconventional and trying to give it a language which appeals universally.?

The story begins in the town of Motihari in the interiors of Bihar and shifts focus to Mumbai. Bridging the gap between the simpletons and the superstars of the Indian film industry, ?Madhubala...Ek Ishq, Ek Junoon? aims to take viewers through a ride that connects the ordinary man to the glamour of this ?sapnon ki duniyaan?. From being a nobody to suddenly being somebody, Madhubala, played by Drishti Dhami, sees her life undergo incessant ups and downs that creates a domino-effect taking her down a path she never chose for herself ? she joins the film industry with the help of superstar Raj Kapoor, portrayed by Vivian Dsena, and turns a star overnight.

With behind-the-scenes insights from the industry, this show traces Madhubala?s journey from being a simple girl next door to becoming a superstar.

Nautanki Films producer Saurabh Tewari says, ?Using the canvas of the film industry, the show provides insights into the ups and downs faced by everyone involved in the making and building of a superstar. To amplify the overall experience while highlighting the larger than life film industry, we have shot scenes not only in real locations across Mumbai, but also ventured into Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad.?

Colors has launched three new shows in the last four-five months - ?Na Bola Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha?, ?Chhal...Sheh Aur Maat? and ?Kairee?.

According to Bhatt, ?Chal...? and ?Kairi? got launched just before the IPL ,so they are not fetching good numbers. ?The shows have hardly got their fair share of viewers, still they have maintained a steady TRP. We are now waiting for the IPL to get over.?

MUMBAI: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav today demanded that the Indian Premier League (IPL) be closed down.

?IPL should be closed,? he said outside Parliament House when asked to react on the spat between Shah Rukh Khan and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) officials and other controversies surrounding the game.

The MCA has banned Shah Rukh Khan for five years from entering the Wankhede Stadium.

MCA president Vilasrao Deshmukh said, "If rules are violated, action will be taken. It does not depend who the individual is. It?s a message to everyone whosoever he or she may be that stern action will be taken if there is any misbehaviour,"

Meanwhile, former cricketer and BJP MP Kirti Azad has also said that the IPL should be closed. He said that he would go on a fast against the event from 20 May.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury questioned the tax exemption to IPL which he feels needs to be probed.

MUMBAI: Softening its stance towards Sri Lanka Premier League, the Indian cricket board has said it is open to allowing its players to participate in the tournament.

BCCI president N Srinivasan has said that the cricket board would examine the request by SLC once the proposal comes to the table.

"Last time around, there were specific reasons why the BCCI could not support the tournament. And we informed the Sri Lankan board at that time. This time, if there are any proposals made, we will examine it. And we have to be satisfied that the doubts and problems we had last time will not continue," Srinivasan said.

The SLPL, which will be played from 10-31 August at Colombo and Pallekele, had failed to take off last year due BCCI?s refusal to allow Indian players in the tournament thereby hurting the tournament?s commercial viability in the Indian market.

Last time around, the BCCI had contended that the contract with SEV, the commercial rights holder of SLPL, does not safeguard the financial interests of the Indian players.

The BCCI also suspected that former IPL chairman Lalit Modi had interests in SLPL, a charge that was vehemently denied by both SEV and SLC.

The first edition of SLPL Twenty20 will feature seven provincial teams who will play a total of 24 matches with a compulsory ruling of no more than six overseas players in each squad.

The seven teams for SLPL are Basnahira Bears, Kandurata Kites, Nagenahira Nagas, Ruhuna Rhinos, Uthura Oryxes, Uva Unicorns, and Wayamba Wolves.

However, teams can field only four overseas players in the playing 11, while the remaining seven players will be Sri Lankans, with one player mandatorily being an under-21 cricketer.

All the matches of SLPL will be televised live, with Carlton Sports Network broadcasting the matches in the home market of Sri Lanka. CSN is reportedly owned by family members of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka.