Akshay, Sajid USP of new Hindi entertainment channel Colors

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) A couple cycled into the hall, a young girl dressed as a bride came in a 'palki' and a group of people shouted "Vande Mataram" in unison - this is not the description of a theatre performance but the launch event of the new entertainment channel Colors.

The event held here Thursday was to announce new General Entertainment Channel (GEC) Colors - a joint venture between entertainment company Viacom Inc and India's media conglomerate Network 18 Group.

The shows on the channel, launching July 21, range across genres - fiction, family dramas, chat shows, reality shows and some blockbuster Hindi movies.

One highlight of the channel would be "Fear Factor- Khatron Ke Khiladi", which has 13 female Bollywood celebrities playing contestants. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar will host it. Another highlight would be a chat show by Sajid Khan, titled "Sajid's Superstars".

"We had done a lot of research on market concepts to see what sells and what does not to get an idea of what people want," Rajesh Kamat, chief executive officer,” Colors told IANS.

But why should the audience watch Colors when there are already so many channels running soaps and other entertainment programmes?

"It is a household channel. There is a mythological show, Indian version of 'Fear Factor', which would cater to the youth. We have put 'Fear Factor' at the 10:00 p.m. slot on weekdays. People who watch 'saas-bahu' might just shift attention from it to watch 'Khatron Ke Khiladi'."

The channel is being aggressively advertised in 20 cities across the country and Kamat claimed that every possible media vehicle has been used.

• Television