Life Gulmohar Style, BBC World Service Trust’s popular radio drama, will now be aired on Dhamaal 24- a popular Indian radio station of the media giant B.A.G Network.  Dhamaal 24 will air the show from 22nd February 2010, according to a joint press statement issued in New Delhi.

Already making waves in several Indian cities, the 156-part drama in Hindi, tells the story of five characters in search of their destiny. Directed by the BBC’s award-winning producer Pervaiz Alam Life Gulmohar Style addresses the issues faced by girls and women in modern day India.

Commenting on the development, Chairperson cum Managing Director B.A.G Films & Media Ltd,  Anurradha Prasad said “The collaboration of Dhamaal 24 with the BBC is the first of its kind in India. We are happy to be broadcasting BBC’s show that aims to build better lives for women. Together, we hope we make a difference to the lives of the listeners of Dhamaal 24”

Reinforcing this view, National Programming Head Dhamaal 24 Mr. Anil Kapoor said , “ Listeners in places like Karnal, Hissar, Patiala, Shimla, Jabalpur, Ranchi, Muzaffarpur, Dhule, Ahmednagar and Jalgaon will be exposed to the show that tackles issues that face women with such sensitivity. We are sure we will be able to create some awareness about the problems that affect women of India through this endeavour. In fact, we are planning a nation-wide debate through our stations on the issues raised by the BBC World Service Trust drama.”

Commenting on the concept, Pervaiz Alam said, “Penned by a team of six writers, Life Gulmohar Style was conceived after having a number of workshops at colleges with students and parents. Life Gulmohar Style may very well be the longest-running radio serial in India designed specially for the city-centric audiences of the FM Networks.”

Life Gulmohar Style will be broadcast on 10 stations of Dhamaal 24 106.4 FM every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1630 IST, followed by an omnibus of the drama on Saturdays at 1330 IST.
 
Over the course of the year, the BBC World Service Trust will be tracking audience reaction to the drama on a dedicated website www.lifegulmoharstyle.org and through research it will measure whether the show has had an impact on changing attitudes towards women.


NOTE FOR EDITORS:

1.    The drama’s dedicated website is: www.lifegulmoharstyle.org
2.    Interviews with Yvonne MacPherson, Country Director, BBC World Service Trust India, or Pervaiz Alam, Director of Life Gulmohar Style,  available on request. Telephone: +91 (011) 4259 1200.
3.    Interviews with Chairperson and Managing Director of B.A.G Network, Anurradha Prasad and Anil Kapoor, National Programming Head  of Dhamaal 24, available on request. Telephone: +91 XXXXXXXXXXXX
4.    Logos of Life Gulmohar Style available on request.
5.    The BBC World Service Trust is the BBC’s international development charity. It aims to reduce poverty and promote human rights in developing countries through the innovative and creative use of the media. Access to information, empowerment and ‘voice’ are at the heart of what we do.
6.    The BBC World Service Trust is an independent charity funded by external grants and voluntary contributions, mainly from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the European Union, UN agencies and charitable foundations. Registered charity number: 1076235
7.    To receive regular updates on the work of the BBC World Service Trust please register for the monthly newsletter http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/


About B.A.G Films and Media Limited
B.A.G Films & Media Limited, one of the leading content creator powerhouses in India, was incorporated to explore new opportunities in Electronic and Multimedia Industry with a vision to raise fundamentals of TV software development to a higher level in an environment that fosters creativity. One of the oldest and most reputed establishments of the country,   B.A.G Films & Media Limited has provided quality service since 1993 and has a rich footage of over 50,000 hours of programming in news, chat shows, current affairs, entertainment, soaps, audience based shows, film based shows & infotainment and thus far boasts of having ‘bagged’ awards from RAPA, Indian Telly Awards, among others. B.A.G Films & Media Limited is now extending its 360 degrees approach to their diversification plan – encompassing TV, radio, convergence, animation, media training and production.