~ The Battle of the Music Genres begins this June only on NDTV Imagine ~

The uniqueness of Junoon is in the individual talent of the contestants, each with a strong grasp of their respective genres, and also that the audience will be voting for a genre of music and not for individual singers.  The format of the show is as follows:   The show will feature 3 teams, who will represent a genre each:   Sufi Ke Sultan – Sufi music   Maati Ke Lal – Folk music   Bollywood Ke Baadshah – Filmy Music   Each team will have 6 contestants and will be mentored by an eminent personality from the music industry, namely:   Ustaad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Sufi Ke Sultan   Ila Arun  - Maati Ke Lal   Anand Raj Anand – Bollywood Ke Baadshah   Every week, the participants from all the teams will perform a song from their respective genres.   The elimination process:   Is based on the performances.  Each week, viewers will send in their votes, not for the individual performers, but for their most favorite genre!   Once the votes are tallied ever week, the weakest genre will be identified.   The mentor from that particular genre will then need to make the difficult decision to eliminate one of the contestants from his/her team.   There will be 3 voting lines, one for each of the genres.  The decision on the genres will be based on 100% audience votes. The show will air twice every week with a performance and elimination episode. Announcing the launch of Junoon, Shailja Kejriwal, EVP Content, NDTV Imagine said, “In India, we are not just passionate about music, we are passionate about specific genres of music that appeal to us as individuals. With Junoon, NDTV Imagine presents a fresh concept in this popular genre of music talent shows, creating a differentiated experience for our viewers.  We are very pleased to team up with Gajendra Singh for this new initiative.  This partnership promises to deliver a complete entertainment package for the entire family. ” Adds Producer of the show, Mr. Gajendra Singh, “Junoon is passion, purity and madness. This show is all about, ‘Junoon…kuchh kar dikhaane ka’. India is a diverse country with music for every occasion and emotion. Junoon will bring out the very strong and popular styles of music especially Sufi and Folk in an interesting and unique way. I am very excited about this show, the concept, and working with NDTV Imagine” Watch out for the unique musical entertainer, ‘Junoon’ this June, only on NDTV Imagine!

About NDTV IMAGINE

NDTV Imagine is the new entertainment initiative from NDTV Ltd.  Spearheaded by Sameer Nair, the company has planned strategic forays into key businesses in the media and entertainment space. Ace director and producer, Karan Johar is a creative consultant and brand ambassador of this initiative.  This is further strengthened by the experience of Dr. Prannoy Roy and other seasoned professionals.  The company launched its Hindi General Entertainment channel, NDTV Imagine on January 21st, 2008, which promises to 'Entertain and Delight' audiences with a whole new world of Hindi entertainment. Catering to the needs of the entire spectrum of television viewers, the channel offers a wide variety of fresh programming across genres ranging from light-hearted family soaps to period dramas and from music based shows to the most glamorous events of the industry. As part of its larger plans for this dynamic and exciting business, the company has also recently launched NDTV Lumiere, an initiative which will bring contemporary cutting edge world cinema to discerning Indian audiences.

About NDTV

NDTV Ltd, founded in 1988, is India's largest news and infotainment network. It is home to the country's best and brightest reporters, anchors, camerapersons and producers; 23 offices and studios across the country host India's most modern and sophisticated production, newsgathering and archiving facilities. NDTV has an unmatched track record of successfully launching three news channels in India and two abroad: NDTV 24x7 is a clear leader in the English news segment, NDTV Profit, a 24-hour business plus channel, is India's number one business news channel, NDTV India is amongst the country's leading Hindi news channels, and NDTV MetroNation is fast emerging as one of the most watched city specific channels. It is credited with pioneering several broadcasting and programming initiatives in Indian television and has expanded into one of the nation's biggest broadcasting houses by growing beyond news broadcasting and venturing into non news verticals.