Did you know that Delhi is the unofficial hub for hot air ballooning in India? Have you checked out Joe’s Bikers, an informal club set up exclusively for bike lovers in Bangalore? Or would you want to be a witness to the fast and furious pace of arena polo in Hyderabad? Do you really think you know the city you live in? If not, check out the Discovery Travel & Living for such nuggets on your beloved city.
Foreign channels are airing advertorials and dedicated shows on Indian metros and their lifestyle in an effort to grab more attention.
Indian Rendezvous, a six-part series on six metros in India —Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai, is aired every Thursday. The show features interesting vignettes of the cities like unique cooking styles, art and music, travel and adventure, et al. The channel has roped in celebrities like actor Sushma Reddy, singer-actor Vasundhara Das, director Nagesh Kuknoor, and actor Konkona Sen to anchor the shows based on the cities they hail from.
“I agreed to do the show because I love Mumbai and it was about showcasing Mumbai to the world through my eyes,” says Sushma Reddy, anchor for the Mumbai. She chose to showcase things she considers special about the city. “I went back to places that I had visited as a child like the Hanging Gardens and the boot house there. It was a nostalgic trip down my childhood years,” reminisces Reddy.
Besides India, the series will also be aired in the UK and Asia. Buoyed by the success of Great Indian Weddings which featured weddings of rich and famous Indians, this is Discovery Travel and Living’s second attempt to showcase India.
Says Aditya Tripathi, VP-Lifestyle Discovery India, “The topics covered in the show are relevant to people living in the city and to tourists. We have included both wellknown features of the city along with unconventional ones in the show.”
Actor-singer Vasundhara Das, who is hosting the Bangalore episode says, “Bangalore is a versatile city and this is what I have tried to showcase in the episode. There is so much happening there at any given point in time.”
In an attempt to take India to the world, the ministry of tourism along with CNN, has produced 60/45/30 seconds advertorials on India reflecting six different facets of India. Enhancing the glamour quotient on these snippets is ace golfer Jeev Milkha Singh who is promoting golf tourism in India, designer Tarun Tahiliani who will be hosting the fashion and shopping segments with model Saira Mohan.
Monica Tata, VP, advertising sales, India and South Asia, Turner International India, says, “India has always been a key market for CNN and will continue to be so. We have been covering issues intrinsic to India. We also have a series called Eye On focusing on nuclear energy, Bollywood, outsourcing, etc.”
