We’re a little less than a month away from the season of renewal, but the spirit of spring is already alive and well on the Glow TV.
The channel’s Eastern-inspired content has undergone a bit of a shake-up this month, with the introduction of more shows for children, premium lifestyle magazine shows and all the soapies an addict can handle.
What’s more, the soaps can now be enjoyed in English and Hindi. This dual language function is available to viewers on both the DStv and Openview HD subscriber packages.
Says Glow TV Channel Manager, Naz Khan: “We are excited to offer viewers this option.
“We launched as an Eastern-inspired channel for the South African market in 2013. Everything that is not in English is sub-titled or dubbed into English.
“With universal storylines and compelling themes, our content has had broad appeal. Viewer feedback is important to us and we want to maintain the high- quality programming our audience has become accustomed to.”
That viewer feedback Khan refers to also played the deciding hand in the changes to Glow TV’s programming.
Soaps will now run from 5.30pm to 10pm on weekdays and the extended line-up sees the intro-duction of a new show called Young Love, which tackles the sensitive issue of child marriages. It tells the story of Anadi, who is married off at a young age and battles to find her identity as an adult.
It airs from 7.30pm to 8.30pm and is followed by the very dramatic and viewers’ favourite, Parichay.
“In the feedback that we’ve received, across all demographics, our soapies are some of the most-loved shows. It made sense for us to dedicate a chunk of the weekday evenings to this genre of enter-tainment,” said Khan.
There’s also something for the kids with an animated show Mighty Raju, and a comedy series, Little Bheem, which centres on a boy and his friends and their attempts to save their town from scheming villains.
Saturday mornings have been set aside for the moms, with the highlight undoubtedly being the popular wedding makeover show, Band Baaja Bride.
For the uninitiated in Indian wedding culture, this quirky programme is an eye-opener, a celebration of luxurious fabrics and jewellery from which any prospective bride can draw plenty of inspiration.
If you cannot resist the lure of Bollywood’s biggest stars, then Up Close & Personal with PZ (Sunday, 8.30pm) is what you need. The “PZ “in the title refers to the former Indian cinema “it” girl, Preity Zinta.
The show is an intimate sit down and chat with the biggest names in the industry, interspersed with dancing and tom-foolery. It’s not quite as polished as the show it replaced, the wildly entertaining Coffee With Karan, but it is fascinating to watch bona fide stars open up about their lives without having to sell their latest movie.
l These shows and more air on Glow TV, DStv channel 167 and Openview HD, channel 108.