EPIC SHOWCASES THE MAGNIFICENCE OF INDIA

BRINGS THE WORLD TV PREMIERE OF THE INTRIGUING WILDLIFE FILM ‘JUNGLE KE BAAHUBALI’ AND CURATED SPECIALS – WORLD TOURISM DAY AND WORLD ARCHITECTURE DAY

EPIC continues its quest of bringing the wonders of India to its viewers and raises the bar by airing multiple global award-winning film "Jungle ke Baahubali" for the first time on television. The world television premiere of this film will air exclusively on EPIC, split into two parts - first one airing on 22nd September and the second airing on 29th September. On both days the film will air at 3pm, 5pm, 7pm and 9pm.

"Jungle ke Baahubali", is an odyssey into India’s picturesque and unique wetland canvases and the spectacular wildlife in them. It’s exploration of the theme of protection of flagship, and keystone wildlife species, by forest departments and governments, with support of locals and researchers has won it recognition at the prestigious Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, New York, Isla Earth Conservancy Award of Merit, Catalina Film Festival, Avalon, California among several others.

The project entailed 7 years of research that involved observing and filming the wild Asian Elephant and the One Horned Indian Rhinoceros in its natural environment. The film’s director Sumesh Lekhi along with his crew spent time with villagers understanding how their daily lives are affected and how they have to work along with the forest department to keep elephants away from their crops and homes.

Along with this special film premiere, the channel will pay tribute to World Tourism Day and World Architecture Day by showcasing marvels of India with a curated playlist of select programming.

The EPIC line-up for World Tourism Day will bring out the international theme of ‘Creating Sustainable Tourism’ and celebrate India and the tourism potential India has to offer. The programming for the day are curated episodes from an array of shows like Indipedia - a foreigner exploring and understanding India, Ekaant - a show on historically significant abandoned places, EPIC Specials -Andamans - Jewels of the Sea anchored by Tom Alter, Nandadevi - a pilgrimage feature show hosted by Vivek Oberoi and Wilderness Days - a series on India’s rich and diverse wildlife. The special will showcase on 27th September from 1 – 7 pm.

Close on the heels of World Tourism Day is World Architecture Day on 1st October where EPIC  will air episodes from its popular shows – Sanrachna and Made In India that showcase and tell the stories of India’s ingenious structures and architectural marvels. Among the most-renowned monuments to be seen in this spectacular tour on-air are the Lepakshi temple in Andhra Pradesh and the Vitthala temple of Hampi in Karnataka, 'Jhulta Minara' in Ahmedabad, Gol Gumbaz in Hyderabad, Konark Sun Temple in Orissa, Jantar Mantar in Jaipur, Vijay Stambh in Rajasthan, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu and Ajanta-Ellora caves in Maharashtra along with Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat - the prominent archaeological sites belonging to the great Indus Valley Civilization in India.

The show will air only on EPIC on 1st October from 1- 7 pm.

Battle lines drawn as Bigg Boss 12 makes a roaring start

Even as Bigg Boss 12 completes its first 48 hours, the seventeen housemates -- Dipika Kakar Ibrahim, Karanvir Bohra, Nehha Pendse, Shree Santh, Shrishty Rode, Jasleen Matharu and Anup Jalota, Kriti Verma and Roshmi Banik, Nirmal Singh and Romil Choudhary, Somi Khan and Saba Khan, Sourabh Patel and Shivashish Mishra, Urvashi Vani and Deepak Thakur -- are already at loggerheads.  

Megastar host Salman Khan may be happily boggled that the contestants made up of five singles and six jodis (pairs) have brought down the house with their infighting, bitching, crying and back-biting, apart from beginning to create lobbying for friends and forging new friendships.

"Bigg Boss is not just another brand. It's Indian television's biggest and best reality firebrand. If anyone was expecting anything less from the show, I'd say the person was in delusional fairyland," smirks Bollywood's only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar, who has handled the media for celebrities such as Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Vivek Oberoi and films like Don and Rock On!! 

"If you mark minutely, most of the BB12 contestants have very defined personalities with varied nuances to their characterizations. The distinctive differences in their nature would soon create a psychological minefield, which would trap them in their own images," he analyses.

Apart from being the top Bollywood publicist, Dale is considered by the press as an authority on Bigg Boss. Having handled the publicity for a full 20 contestants who have been on the show, he is also the guy who spearheaded the media hype for Shilpa Shetty during her iconic win on Celebrity Big Brother in the United Kingdom. 

But the Mumbai-based publicist feels there is a slight drawback in Bigg Boss Season 12. Dale points out, "Almost 13 of the 17 contestants are strong and can hold on their own, which is a very high percentage to have right at the start. However, I feel that the chemistry which was expected out of the jodis, is almost missing." 

The Bigg Boss specialist adds that this 'missing chemistry' element between the pairs may not change soon. "But as equations shift, there will be new pairs of friends and frenemies, and these can well make up for the loss of chemistry which we may feel now. Plus, eventually, since there has to be one winner, the Boss may be forced to break up the pairs anyway." Oh yes, amidst all the hype about jodis, we never thought about that!

Harshvardhan Rane to shake a leg with 70 female Russian dancers at St Petersburg!

Harshvardhan Rane, whose debut film Sanam Teri Kasam was screened at the Bollywood Film Festival in Russia in 2016, has been invited by the organisers of Colors of India festival in Russia to represent Indian cinema at the coveted film festival, scheduled this month.

The talented actor, who visited Russia in 2016 during the release week of Sanam Teri Kasam had a memorable experience of watching the movie with his Russian fans. Interestingly, this time he will be watching his highly-anticipated war drama J P Dutta’s PALTAN along with them.

Besides representing Indian Cinema at the global level by inaugurating the ceremony with other artists and embassy people, Harshvardhan, during his trip, will also be part of a flash mob activity and have an interactive and engaging session with his Russian fans and also shake a leg with 70 gorgeous and talented dancers.

A source informs, "Harshvardhan had witnessed a grand and warm welcome in Russia when he visited in 2016. The actor is hugely popular among the Russians and especially the Indians residing there."

"With his latest release, PALTAN, his Russian fans are quite excited to celebrate that as well and probably watch the movie with Harshvardhan. So it's a double whammy for him," the source adds.

Harshvardhan says, "It's indeed a proud moment to be part of such a huge festival and represent Indian cinema at the global level. It would be a huge honour to interact with our fellow countrymen residing there and also my Russian fans. I'm really looking forward to be part of the event."

Richa begins shoot for Inside Edge 2's Georgia schedule

Richa Chadha, whose last film Love Sonia received critical acclaim and has been quite a topic of discussion due to its brilliant depiction of an issue as sensitive as that of sex trafficking, has just landed in Georgia to start filming for the 2nd instalment of Excel Entertainment’s Inside Edge, which will see Richa reprising her role of Mumbai Maverick team owner, Zarina Malik.

The show, which also stars Vivek Oberoi and Angad Bedi in pivotal roles, will begin shooting its first international schedule in the European country. Richa, who is also simultaneously shooting for the Indrajit Lankesh directed Shakeela, which will see the Richa essaying the role of the Southern icon, will be shuttling between the two countries due to her tight schedule.

Speaking of the show’s international leg of shooting, Richa commented, "We are all pretty excited to shoot in Georgia. I carried vegetarian snacks so I could survive here. It's a beautiful country with a lot of character. I am happy that season 2 is going to be bigger and better!"   

Karanvir Guides HouseMates In Cleanliness & Hygine

Actor Karanvir Bohra we hear has always been a stickler for hygiene which of course is extremely important.  The actor who is locked up inside the house was seen guiding the inmates on the segregation of dry and wet garbage.  While in the leaked video, Dipika and others are seen laughing away, Karanvir looks to be very serious as he goes around and explains to everyone about disposing waste properly.  The actor we hear has always been like this and in fact he makes sure that proper hygiene and cleanliness is followed at his house as well. 

Karanvir, prior to entering the house, was also working with environmentalist and lawyer Aftoz Shah for the cleanup of Versova beach. He used to go pick up garbage every Sunday and hence Versova Beach is pretty much free of garbage now.

Going back to the leaked video, what really strikes out is that towards the end of the video, Karanvir is also heard speaking to Bigg Boss saying that it would be nice if we could set aside the extra food and Bigg Boss can distribute it to those in need.  Now that's very thoughtful of the actor!