Custom(Ary) Breach

Metro sale

Information and broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley is faced with the classic Shakespearean dilemma: to give or not to give DD Metro to private producers. Since only `Subhash Chandra of Zee and media tycoon Kerry Packer from Down Under have bid for airtime, DD has very little by way of choice. Both bidders have shown their intention to cought up Rs 100 crore each. The dilemma for Jaitley. Chandra is a friend and Packer a foreigner. Earlier, people had criticised `Budha Films;' an' associate company of Zee, for its involvernent in marketing DD's sports programmes domestically. In the case of Packer, the criticism is obvious: DD foreigner ko bech diya (DD has sold out to a foreigner.) Will Jaitley now wait to see if anyone else is willing to come up with an offer?

 

My daddy bestest

What else is a father for, if not bail out his son? Abhey Oswal has set up a company, Lucky Star Entertainment, for his younger son Shailendra who, for a couple of years now, has been trying hard to establish himself in the Indipop scene. Nothing wrong in that - look what Papa Roshan has achieved for his son Hrithik. The young Oswal's talents were first discovered by his parents when he made a video-magazine called Planet Oswal on his sister's marriage. Papa Oswal hopes the new compamy will be lucky for Shailendra and make him a star too. Here's keepmg our fingers crossed.

Editorial ploy

Journos have been stitred by e news that a large a media house has cleaned out its rival's office ahead of the launch of its edition in Chandigarh. It is reliably understood that the count stands at 27, led by the resident editor. Since the press, like the army, needs its rations, it is hardly surprising that the emigration includes the chaiwallah and his two assistants.

The bottomline

The grapevine within the ITC chain has it that despite all the hoopla over President Bill Clinton's stay at Maurya Sheraton; the visit has resulted in a financial loss for the hotel. A sum of Rs 1 crore is being whispered by those who say the emptying of the hotel prior to the visit and the extra facilities added for the President's visit may have been responsible for the loss of revenue. More optimistically, however, the silver lining is the publicity the visit generated for ths hotel - worth much more than Rs 1 crore, wouldn't you say?