The court of metropolitan magistrate GM Patel on Thursday sent five persons, accused in the 26/7 Ahmedabad serial blast case, to seven-day police remand. The five, identified as Nasir Ahmed Patel, Sakil Ahmed Mali, Nadeem Abdul Syed, Dr Astaullah HA and Mohammed Sami Raj Ahmed, were produced before the court after the city crime branch brought them here from Karnataka jail.

All the accused had participated in the training camps at Vagamon in the Idukki district of Kerala during December 2007-January 2008. At these camps, members of the banned terrorist organisation, Simi, along with bomb experts, taught participants how to assemble explosives with easily available materials. Simi activists had used IEDs with ammonium nitrate and mechanical timers in the Ahmedabad blasts.

The prosecution lawyer sought their remand on grounds that the police are yet to arrest the other accused who participated in the training camps. They therefore wanted more time to interrogate the five for acquiring details. Earlier, the prosecution lawyer pleaded for 14- day remand of the accused, but they were sent to remand till July 31.

What would happen if you combined television’s hottest new shows Rakhi Ka Swayamvar and Sach Ka Saamna? The reason I’m asking is because often, when I watch Rakhi Sawant on television, I wonder: who exactly is she trying to fool? Don’t get me wrong, I’m as addicted to the show as all of you are, but at times the show seems more fiction than non-fiction.

And what about all those contestant-grooms who keep saying they would do anything for Rakhi? Hmm. Now that Sach Ka Saamna has gone on air, I’m sure NDTV Imagine’s kicking themselves for not thinking of the idea–they could easily have made all contestants undertake a polygraph test where they had to answer one question honestly to be part of this show: Do you really want to marry Rakhi Sawant?  As for Rakhi Sawant, I can think of lots of questions Sach Ka Saamna host Rajeev Khandelwal could ask her.

Did you think the show would be such a hit?

Were you planning to get married when you started this show?

Now that the show is a hit, have you changed your mind?

Will you actually marry a poor man?

Do you want to have sex with Manmohan Tiwari?

Are those real tears?

Is this the real Rakhi Sawant?

Do you enjoy playing the part of demure bride?

Do you like wearing all these Indian outfits?

Do you find Toronto businessman Elesh Parujanwala boring?

Isn’t he the most likely to win because he is wealthy?

Do you think Indian men are boring?

Have you undergone botox treatments for your swayamvar?

Did you know beforehand that the Kashmiri policeman contestant on your show was already married?

Did you drop Luv from the show for shock value?

Is the show rigged?

If your ex-boyfriend Abhishek proposed, would you marry him?

Is he going to come on your show?

Do you think Manas is too young?

CNN-IBN’s sister channel Viacom 18’s General Entertainment Channel Colors celebrates its first anniversary on Tuesday, July 21. Colors made an impressive entry by heavily promoting Akshay Kumar’s first small screen appearance in Khatron Ke Khiladi. Within a year, it has cemented it’s position with reality shows like Bigg Boss 2 and daily soaps like Balika Vadhu. The channel thought out of the box and made Saas Bahu soaps passé and halted Star Plus’ 9 year continuous dream run at the top. CEO, Colors Rajesh Kamat says, “Fear factor and Big Boss served the purpose of I would say buzz and getting us on to the radar and getting colors talked about. Balika Vadhu, Krishna, Uttaran and Laddo are the shows which are the bread and butter and the staple diet of the channel and that is pretty much the healthy mix of all of them.

The strategy worked like a charm. When Colors launched in July 2008, it had 81 Gross Rating Points, making it number 3 in week 1. In September it had a share of 217 GRPs and in April 2009 Colors became the Number 1 GEC with 292 GRPs. With competition within the GEC space getting tougher and no single steady market leader, there’s a lot in the pipeline, which the channel hopes will help keep itself ahead of the crowd. Programming Head, Colors Ashvini Yardi says, “We want to better our prime time in terms of the story and characters that we have developed. We also want to extend our afternoon band, time slot extension is also what we are look at. With the second season of KKK starting this Diwali and Big Boss 3 starting soon after, the programming schedule sure looks Colorful.

The Lahore High Court today adjourned the hearing of controversial pacer Shoaib Akhtar’s 18-month ban and fine case till tomorrow after listening to arguments of legal counsels of both the parties. Justice Imtiaz Siddique adjourned the hearing till tomorrow because Akhtar’s legal counsel, Abid Minto, had to appear before a bench in connection with another case. “The matter would be taken up again tomorrow afternoon after initial arguments made by me and the legal counsel for Shoaib,” Tafazzul Rizvi, the legal counsel of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), told PTI.

He also said Akhtar was not present at the court for the hearing of the case, which is being held again after a few months. Akhtar had filed a writ petition in the Lahore HC challenging the 18-month ban and fine of seven million rupees imposed on him by an appellate tribunal last year. The controversial fast bowler had been initially banned for five years by the disciplinary committee of the PCB for violation of the players’ code of conduct at various occasions.

He had appealed against the ban and the appellate tribunal had reduced it to 18 months, besides the fine. The High Court had later lifted the ban. There is uncertainty over whether Akhtar would be selected for the one-day series in Sri Lanka starting later this month as the interim chief selector, Wasim Bari, has said the fast bowler’s match fitness is in doubt. Since the High Court suspended the ban, Akhtar has played very few matches. He featured in three Indian Premier League (IPL) matches last year for the Kolkatta Knight Riders.

Finally, my hunch has come true. How can a choosy hottie like Rakhi actually marry someone on a TV show? Ofcourse, it’s a first on Indian television and makes for some riveting entertainment (in parts), but I was not able to reconcile with the fact that the finalists on the show happened to be worthy suitors for her. If one was a Casanova in his small hometown, another was just a Road Romeo who had nothing worthy to his credit. For a self-made ‘item girl’ like Rakhi going for something ludicrous like this didn’t gel with me.

My hunch was that even if she actually marries someone, she will do so only because her show promises that she will marry someone. So it will be just a show-off. A few months later, she will divorce him on some ground and that’s the end of that. While my hunch that the show was a sham is right, my conclusion wasn’t.  News is now out that Rakhi will NOT marry anyone. Pray, why? Because the suitors will be asked to choose between potfuls of money and Rakhi. And when their disclosures (for money) are made known to Rakhi, she dismisses all of them and escape her swayamvar. Neat idea!

So yes, I knew that we were being taken for a royal ride by Rakhi. But that, people actually sat through the months-long drama goes to show that we are ready to digest anything in the form of entertainment. However mindless or unethical it is. I have fallen prey to it as well, though I must admit that I have only watched only two full episodes so far. In hindsight, what else did you think would come out of Rakhi Sawant? Some real swayamvar with some real multi-billionaire? P.S: I have an idea. The next show can have Rakhi looking for a male maid. That would be cool because many hopefuls will turn up at her door, and they would make for more riveting viewing than this sham. What’s more, Rakhi might actually take home more than one male maid with this one. After all, who doesn’t like things with no strings attached?

Manas Katyal, Chittiz Jain, Elesh Parujanwala and Manmohan Tiwari in the final race to win Rakhi’s heart. Rakhi visits their respective houses to get close to their family and friends. The countdown has finally begun…the journey that began with sixteen prospective grooms has now culminated to the final four. All eyes are now glued to the bride-to-be Rakhi Sawant, who will now set out on a journey to the hometowns of the final four grooms she has short-listed. Join Rakhi as she visits the families and friends of her prospective grooms in order to get an insight into their lives.

This Monday onwards Rakhi will visit the homes of Chittiz and Manas in New Delhi, Manmohan in Rishikesh and interact with Elesh’s family from Toronto. Rakhi’s voyage begins in New Delhi, where she spends some quality time with the families of Chittiz and Manas. Rakhi tries to impress the Katyal family with some finger licking Suji Ka Halwa that she cooked, while she impresses Chittiz by bonding with his adorable nephew and niece. While North Campus lad Manas took Rakhi for a Dilli Darshan at places like the Qutub Minar and India Gate, Panchsheel resident Chittiz took Rakhi to the school he had studied.

After a hearty reception in New Delhi, Rakhi heads to Rishikesh, where the Tiwari family welcomes her. The entire neighborhood was overjoyed and excited to catch a glimpse of the Tiwari family’s would-be Bahu. Like any traditional mother in law, Manmohan’s mother scrutinized Rakhi right from her culinary skills to household chores to respecting the family values and traditions. As Manmohan had promised her, he took her to visit his deity Ganga Maiyya, where they also performed an Aarti, one of the most auspicious and once in a lifetime moment.

As Elesh was new to Mumbai, Rakhi promised him that she would take him out instead. They went out for a movie, had fun at a gaming zone, and spent some romantic moments with each other at the beach. On meeting her prospective in-laws Rakhi said, “A surprise visit to their hometowns gave me an opportunity to know them even better, and get acquainted with their lifestyles and cultures that they have grown up in. Their parents made me feel like a close member of their family.”

Kambli is the first celeb contestant on the show. Kambli, we hear, has answered tough and edgy questions with poise. Host Rajeev Khandelwal put across personal questions about his cricketing career, his well-known friendship with his pal of 26 years – master blaster Sachin Tendulkar – and more. As usual controversy has followed Kambli here too. Recently, there were reports that he has spoken against Tendulkar on the show. Kambli even called a press conference to clarify matters. Well, the truth will be revealed tonight (Monday) at 10.30 pm on Star Plus. So, what were the questions put to the flamboyant cricketer? DT did manage to find out…

Questions Kambli was asked:

Have you ever resorted to stealing to get something you badly wanted?

Have you ever used your celebrity status to get away from traffic police?

Do you feel that, you been a victim of discrimination by the selectors in the Indian cricket team?

Do you hold your first wife responsible for your failure in your professional life?

Could you forgive your father for beating you as a child?

Do you think Sachin could have done more to stop you on your way to self-destruction?

Two new reality shows, “Sach Ka Saamna” and “Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao”, have hit the Indian small screen in quick succession, adding to the list of programmes adapted from tried and tested international formats. Industry experts say it isn’t lack of originality that makes producers and creative heads of channels adapt foreign formats; they do so because it provides a convenient reference point and also makes business sense. “In a highly competitive field, producers are always looking for a killer application. The appeal of an international format is that if a show has been tried and tested and proved to be a success elsewhere, it seems a better investment,” Siddharth Basu, the pioneer of quiz and game reality shows in India, told IANS.

Namit Sharma of Wizcraft Television agrees. “International formats come with a certain learning like target audience for the show, time required to produce it, per episode cost, etc. And once you have these things in place, you don’t have to start from scratch…I think buying a format gives you that strength,” said Sharma, the business head and chief creative director of the production house. Wizcraft has produced home-grown shows like “Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega” and “Nach Baliye”.

“The disadvantage with home-grown formats is that they don’t come with any reference point and it’s like shooting in the dark – you have to go with your instinct completely,” said Sharma. Of the latest two reality shows, “Sach Ka Saamna” hosted by actor Rajeev Khandelwal on STAR Plus has been adapted from “Moment Of Truth” while Sony TV’s “Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao”, which shows several celebrities camping in a jungle, is the Indian version of “I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here”.

Besides these two, the small screen has seen a slew of programmes inspired by western entertainment formats. These include “India’s Got Talent”, an adaptation of “Britain’s Got Talent”, while the idea for “Rakhi Ka Swayamvar” has been taken from “The Bachelorette”. Similarly, “Dus Ka Dum”, which saw Bollywood star Salman Khan play host, was a copy of “Power of 10″ and “Sarkaar Ki Duniya” was modelled on “Survivor”. Sharma feels the demand for varied content has forced producers to adopt more and more global formats.

“The audience wants to see something different. In the last two years, we have doled out too many song, dance and celebrity-based shows. So it’s time to change the paradigm. I think the overall mood in the business is to do something fresh and exciting that engages and excites the audience,” he said. But adapting international gameshows started right in the 1990s. In 1992, Roshan Abbas hosted the programme “Wheel of Fortune”, modelled on an eponymous American game show.

However, the trend of adopting global formats intensified after the success of “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (KBC). The 2000 show, which was hosted by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, was based on American show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”. Its third instalment had superstar Shah Rukh Khan sitting in the host’s seat.

Though some original shows like “Saanp Seedi”, “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa”, “Antakshari”, “Tol Mol Ke Bol” and “Boogie Woogie” did surface on the small screen before 2000, but post- “Kaun Banega Crorepati” producers started lapping up foreign entertainment programmes. Some of the other shows that made their way to Indian television post-KBC are “Indian Idol” (”American Idol”), “Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa” (”Dancing With The Stars”), “Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain” (”Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader”) and “Bigg Boss” (”Big Brother”).

Although producers are lapping up foreign formats, Basu points out that they usually don’t buy the rights to adapt them. “There are not many Indian broadcasters who actually license international formats. Rip-offs with a few tweaks are more the norm and so it is difficult for licensors to sue (the channels),” said Basu.

What is common between Jagdish Tytler, Vinod Khanna, Renuka Chowdhury, Ram Vilas Paswan and Shakeel Ahmed ? All of them are among 36 former MPs who are unauthorised occupants of government accommodation in Delhis Lutyen’s zone, a Right to Information (RTI) application has found out. The RTI application was filed by Delhi-based activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, who had asked for the list of unauthorised occupants in government accommodation, including those parliamentarians who had lost in the 2009 elections.

In its reply to the query, the urban development ministry’s estate department said it has prepared a list of 36 “unauthorised occupants of general pool bungalows”, including many high profile former parliamentarians. On the procedure and present status of evicting the unauthorised occupants, the department said: “Cancellation of allotment is made against the allottee in case of unauthorised occupation and eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, are initiated to get the accommodation vacated. All such cases have been referred to litigation division for necessary action.”

Asked if electricity and water supply has been stopped to such unauthorised occupants, it said this was the responsibility of the civic agency concerned – the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Agrawal said these former MPS should take inspiration from Shabana Azmi, who went to attend her last day in Rajya Sabha after vacating her government-bungalow allotted to her. “They should also take lesson from healthy tradition in Britain where new Prime Minister enters his official residence at 10 Downing Street (London) just after taking oath, because the outgoing Prime Minister immediately vacates it after quitting as Prime Minister,” he added.

Noting that the supreme court had been passing strictures against politicians staying on in their official accommodations, he said the apex court should ask other courts not to be soft towards petitions requesting permission to retain government accommodation when not entitled to it. “Apart from amending Section 441 (criminal trespass) of Indian Penal Code as suggested by the apex court, the government can stop pensions of retired parliamentarians for overstaying, apart from disqualifying them from contesting elections or having some official post like of governor or chairperson of a commission,” Agarwal said.

The ex-MPs or ministers who are unauthorised occupants of general pool bungalows are A. Narendra, Jagdish Tytler, L. Ganeshan, Saleem Sherwani, Basanagouda R. Patil, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Jual Oram, Kashiram Rana, Santosh Gangwar, Vallabhbhai Kathiriya, Vinod Khanna, Charanjit Singh Atwal, S.N. Jatiya, S.S. Badal, Subhash Maharia, K. Yerran Naidu, George Fernandes, V. Radhika Selvi, Naranbhai Rathwa, Raghunath Jha, Renuka Chowdhury, Shankersinh Vaghela, Kanti Singh, Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Taslimuddin, Mahavir Prasad, Mani Shanker Aiyar, Suryakanta Patil, Ram Vilas Paswan, Santosh Mohan Dev, Subbalakshmi Jagadeesan, Mohd Ali Ashraf Fatmi, Jai Prakash Narain Yadav, Shakeel Ahmed and P.R. Kyndiah.