As the red-robed Santa Claus sledges down from the North Pole with a jingle of bells to fill stockings to the brim with gaily wrapped gifts and the Xmas trees festooned with garlands, ribbons and glass sparkles brighter than the stars, Amrita TV tinsels the day with a bounty of programmes that celebrate the spirit of sharing and giving.

Back home after attending the special Xmas mass, viewers can tune in to Arike at 9.00am, a well paced realistic love story that never once strays into the maudlin or sentimental, starring Dileep in a serious avtar alongside Mamta Mohandas, Samvrutha Sunil and Vineeth in a significant cameo. Based on a story by noted Bengali writer Sunil Gangopadhyay, Arike is a vintage Shyamaprasad film that has coaxed steller performances from all its leading actors.

As the Xmas turkey roasts to fine crispness in the hearth, Mammootty enters the scene at 12.30 pm in Swantham Mammukka, touches upon his role in Face to Face, a film that holds a mirror upto society and censures both parents and children equally for the problems facing youngsters today; is all admiration for the cool professionalism of the new generation actors who shared screen space with him in the film; generalizes on the difficulties of parenting, the rights of children who are entitled to all the privileges enjoyed by an adult and is shocked at the prison sentence handed out to an Indian couple in Norway, persecuted for scolding their son over his misbehavior.

In the post lunch session the viewers can help themselves to Cocktail, at 2.00pm. A thriller
directed by Arun Kumar and co-scripted by Anoop Menon, it deals with an extramarital affair and vengeance-of a different sort- meted out to the culprits by their jilted spouses, which leaves the audience breathless with suspense till the climax. With a star cast headed by Jayasurya, Anoop Menon and Samvratha Sunil, Cocktail is credited with the distinction of setting of the New Wave in Malayalam cinema.

At 7 pm ,Amrita TV will be hosting Dazzle Nite, a 3 hour long Christmas special pageant held to usher in the season of carols and St.Nicholas. A spectacular gala evening resplendid with music, dance and comedy, it will present a line-up of the best artistes from Mollywood’s playback pantheon: the dynamic young turk of Mollywood music, Afzal; the indefatigable, live-wire, darling of the audience, Anwar Sadat; the soulful melodist, Gayathri versatile in all genres; the vivacious, crowd puller Sayanora; dance numbers from the demure beauty Sayanora, sizzling hot performances from the ‘Chattakari’ heroine, the sensuous Shamna Kasim ; rib tickling comedy skits from Kalabhavan Prajod and team –these are just a few of the entertainers roped in for the mega event .

Smitha Sivaji, Amrita TV