MUMBAI: Pubcaster Prasar Bharati bid adieu to chairman A Surya Prakash in its 159th board meeting. Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javdekar expressed his thanks and appreciation on Prakash’s completion of two consecutive terms in the office & felicitated him by remembering his valuable contribution to the organisation.

The pubcaster's CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati expressed, “On behalf of the entire @prasarbharati family would like to thank Chairman Dr A Suryaprakash for his leadership, mentorship, sagely wisdom and uncompromising commitment to the Institutional Integrity of Prasar Bharati over the past several years.”

He further said, “India's public broadcaster was adrift for more than a decade after it came into being as a statutory autonomous corporation. It was only after Prakash’s chairmanship that it has been firmly put on the path of modernisation as a 21st Century Public Media Corporation. This has been possible singularly because of Prakash’s progressive creed to infuse professional talent into the public broadcaster and his forward thinking on the need for the public broadcaster to be come digitally savvy.”

Vempati also expressed that many of Prasar Bharati's long pending knotty problems have been solved under his stewardship over the past few years with the board, ministry and management working in synergy with the oneness of mind and purpose. He will always be remembered for having stood like a rock in preserving Prasar Bharati's autonomy during testing times with the Institution emerging ever stronger as it strives to modernise and transform itself.

“Personally Prakash was a source of strength during turmoil and a voice of caution during impetuous moments. He will be sorely missed as he looks ahead to his next innings in public life with several more books and columns waiting to flow from his pen. Our best wishes to him and thanks and regards to his family who were kind enough to spare him for the cause of Public Service Broadcasting over the past several years,” Vempati concluded.

Prasar Bharati twitted, “Prasar Bharati Parivar conveys its warm wishes to its Chairman @mediasurya, who served two consecutive terms as the head of the Board. CEO @shashidigital & Member (F) @raj3eev felicitated him with a token of appreciation."

MUMBAI: Flipkart Video is all set to launch another original Zindagi inShort on 19 February. Zindagi inShort comprises seven short slice-of-life films. The cerebration of the anthology is to showcase bittersweet episodes of life in miniature configurations. 'Chajju Ke Dahi Bhalle', 'Nano So Phobia', 'Sunny Side Upar', 'Swaaha', 'Pinni', 'Sleeping Partner' and 'Thappad' are the seven short films that constitute the anthology. 

Basking in the success of the digital show 'Backbenchers', India's homegrown e-commerce marketplace is gearing up to stream its collaboration with Sikhya Entertainment on Flipkart Video, which is available on the Flipkart app itself. 

The anthology is produced by Guneet Monga's Sikhya Entertainment. Some of the most impactful and acclaimed productions to Monga's credit are Gangs Of Wasseypur - Part 1 and Part 2, The Lunchbox, Masaan, Tigers, Dasvidaniya and Haraamkhor. Not to mention, her filmography as a producer includes the Oscar-nominated short film, Kavi, Oscar-winning short documentary, 'Period. End Of Sentence' and the Bhuvan Bam-starrer Plus Minus that won the Filmfare Award for Best Short Film. 

The seven short slice-of-life films touch upon online romance, the innocence of childhood, the confusion of old age, the construct of being loved in a marriage, infidelity, a woman owning her role in the family and standing up for yourself when it's the hardest to do so. Themes as powerful as these have been crafted and explored in the films in small doses, that offer a bittersweet flavoured entertainment. 

Speaking about the 'first look' of the upcoming Flipkart Video Original, Flipkart Growth and Monetisation VP Prakash Sikaria says, “Zindagi inShort is a unique collection of heartwarming stories, that everyone will be able to relate to, in one way or the other. Every story represents different stages of life, and bittersweet moments that can at times, accompany them. We are excited about this partnership with Guneet's Sikhya Entertainment and we are thrilled to provide a powerful storytelling platform for these young creators.”

Says Guneet, "As the title suggests, Zindagi inShort has been an endeavor to capture various nuances of everyday life in short. Our anthology comprises of seven extraordinary stories, drawn from everyday lives with a promising twist, directed by seven unique voices. We are excited to bring our fresh slate of Sikhya shorts on Flipkart Video, which will help us connect with over 200 million Flipkart customers across India."

Starring Neena Gupta, Shishir Sharma, Srishti Srivastava, Sanjay Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Deepak Dobriyal, Isha Talwar, Jitin Gulati, Nakul  Mehta, Manjot Singh, Nidhi Singh, Jagdish Nandi, Hiral Parekh, Aayan Modi, Abbas Syyad, Ajmal Khurshid, Aisha Ahmed, Geeta Agarwal Sharma, Rytasha Rathore, Rima Kallingal, Swaroop Sampat, Shafin Patel, Vedika Nawani and Arun Kushwah among others, helmed by directors Punarvasu Naik, Tahira Kashyap, Rakesh Sain, Gautam Govind Sharma, Vijayeta Kumar, Smrutika Panigrahi and Vinay Chawwal and produced by Sikhya Entertainment in association with Flipkart Video, Zindagi inShort is slated to stream on the video platform on the 19 February 2020.

MUMBAI: To raise funds for the victims of the bushfires in Australia, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired the broadcast rights in the Indian subcontinent for Cricket Australia’s Bushfire Cricket Bash, which will be played at Junction Oval, Melbourne on 9 February 2020.

The Bushfire Cricket Bash is a T10 format match that features two teams, one coached by Indian legend, Sachin Tendulkar and led by Ricky Ponting, and the other coached by current Australia Test captain Tim Paine and led by Adam Gilchrist, said the press release.

The match will have cricket legends and former players like Brian Lara, Wasim Akram, Courtney Walsh, Yuvraj Singh, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge, Brett Lee, Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Dan Christian, Peter Siddle, Fawad Ahmed along with women cricketers like Alex Blackwell, Phoebe Litchfield, Elyse Villani as well as Australian Football League players Luke Hodge and Nick Riewoldt, among others, take the field for this cause.

The charity match will be a part of The Big Appeal as it will be one of the four cricketing events scheduled between 8 and 9 February 2020. All match profits and funds raised across the weekend’s Big Appeal will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

Sony Pictures Networks India chief revenue officer, distribution and head - sports business Rajesh Kaul said: “We are extremely supportive of Cricket Australia’s initiative, the Bushfire Cricket Bash, a relief effort for the bushfire crisis in Australia and proud to telecast it on our network.”

“It is truly heartwarming to see legends and some of the biggest names in cricket from all around the world come out of retirement in aid of those affected. Sports has always brought people together and the love for cricket will transcend boundaries with some of the biggest rivals standing arm in arm to assist the affected communities,” he added.

Cricket Australia chief executive officer Kevin Roberts said, “We are absolutely honoured to be welcoming Sachin and Courtney back to Australia where they both enjoyed a lot of success as players, and we can’t wait to have them involved in what is going to be a special day.”

Roberts further said, “Both in the ICC Hall of Fame, Sachin is the greatest run-scorer of all time in international cricket, and we all remember what Courtney could do with the ball, taking more than 500 Test wickets. We’re looking forward to our people at CA and the entire Australian cricket family coming together for The Big Appeal.”

The Bushfire Cricket Bash will be Cricket Australia’s major fundraising initiative to support Australians impacted by the recent unprecedented bushfire emergency. 

MUMBAI: It’s been raining premium originals on streaming services such as ZEE5, Hotstar, Netflix, Hoichoi, Arre, ALTBalaji and MX Player. The genres have been varied, but what makes the shows stand out is the quality of storytelling, production values, and casting. The good ones have a cinematic quality about them. Some of them hide behind pay walls and some are on free services, dependent on advertising. But there’s no doubt they are generating buzz amongst subscribers and viewers – some more than the other.

What’s also working well on a handful of broadcaster-linked streaming services is the catch-up shows which either debut on their OTTs or on television. Some of these get larger audiences and watch times than do the premium originals made for OTT.

They also serve to bring viewers back almost daily to watch the release of new episodes or catch up with the ones they have missed. Most of the top notch premium originals are on SVOD services, which release data when they want to.

Choosing the most popular ones without any metrics or data to rely on is therefore  a challenge. However, we at indiantelevision.com took a shot at drawing up a list of shows on advertising video on demand (AVoD) platforms that we think made an impression and were a favourite amongst the OTT-bingers.

The list is not definitive, is in random order, and it is subjective without any malice intended towards those who do not feature in it. Read on to find out.

Kumkum Bhagya :

Kumkum Bhagya is a ZEE TV drama series about a star-crossed couple Abhi and Pragya, who are now separated. Ranbeer falls in love with their daughter Prachi, while their other daughter Rhea vies for his attention. The show with a very high BARC rating has been running for the past five years on television, but it attracts viewers on Zee TV’s ZEE5 service as well.

Thinkistan:

Made by Rajnish Lall of Jigsaw Pictures, it is the story of the Indian advertising world in an era when the industry was just beginning to stand out. Created and written by Paddy, set in an ad agency in the 1990s, it chronicles the journey of two advertising professionals in an entertaining manner. It also touches upon one of the most prevalent problems which was deep-rooted in the industry - inherent bias against languages other than English. India’s answer to Mad Men has already launched its second season too.

Kundali Bhagya:

Kundali Bhagya is a ZEE TV drama television series starring Shraddha Arya, Dheeraj Dhoopar and Manjit Joura. The story revolves around the two sisters of Pragya, from Kumkum Bhagya. Her sisters are Preeta and Shrishti who discover the existence of their mother Sarla and sister Pragya, after their father’s death. The sisters try to unite with their mother and sister.

Big Boss:

The saga of friendship, betrayal, love, bonding, feud, laugher, tears in a house full of celebrities – the formula to keep the audience glued to a show even in its thirteenth edition. Big Boss changed the meaning of reality shows in the country since its first season. The star-studded contestant list, and the association of Salman Khan with the show for more than a decade have favoured it to sustain the excitement, engagement among its fans. While the 100-day reality show is being aired on Colors, it gets millions of viewers on Viacom18’s digital arm VOOT as well.  

Sembaruthi:

Sembaruthi is a ZEE Tamil romantic drama TV series about circumstances that force Parvathy and Aditya, the son of an affluent woman, Akhilandeshwari, to get married secretly. But will the shrewd Akhilandeshwari, who has high hopes for her son, learn their secret? If you are not able to watch it on TV, you can definitely go to ZEE5 to find the answer.

Queen:

The MX Player original Queen has really ruled the web-entertainment space after it was launched in December. Shakti Seshadri, the central character of the web-series, bears strong resemblances to the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. In the course of portraying a majestic political leader, the narrative does not glorify the character. The realistic emotional tonality of the story makes viewers connect to it. Along with a strong storyline, Queen offers a brilliant screenplay to from its  writers.

Fuh se Fantasy:

Fuh se Fantasy , the VOOT original is about the delight in modern relationships that dare to explore their deepest, quirkiest and most exciting desires. The 10-episode series which started streaming on VOOT last year features popular faces such as Karan Wahi, Plabita Borthakur,Naveen Kasturia, Anshuman Malhotra , Gaurav Pandey and Anupriya Goenka. The millennial audience will certainly connect to the anthology as it takes a look at the tabooed and unsaid desires.

Feet up with the Stars:

You may like to peep into the lives of your favourite celebrity but all the quintessential interviews make you wane. VOOT has a brilliant alternative, Feet up with the Stars  – a chat show which has caught word of mouth for its intimate and personal conversation. The celebrities here talk more about themselves in a personal and cosy set up rather than taking a dig on others in the B-town. After its first season cut through the clutter of chat shows, the one of its kind chat show came back with the second season last year.

Agga Bai Sasubai:

Agga Bai Sasubai on ZEE Marathi tells the story of the loving bond Asawari shares with her daughter-in-law, Shubhra. The women stick together during good times and bad and help each other face the challenges life throws at them. A refreshing and unique take on saas-bahu relationships is also available anytime anywhere on ZEE5.

Rani Rashmoni:

Rani Rashmoni is a Bengali television period drama series starring Ditipriya Roy in the lead. The show on Zee Bangla revolves around the life and struggle of Rani Rashmoni, widow of Babu Rajachandra Das of Janbazar, Kolkata. She took charge of the zamindari and business, after her husband's death and proved herself as an effective leader. The show has created a buzz in the Bengali market and has become a part of daily routine in many Bengali households.  If you are keen to look back at the life of a fierce lady of the colonial era, it can be watched on ZEE5 as well.

Kalyana Vaibhogam:

Kalyana Vaibhogam is a ZEE Telugu drama television series that also lures viewers to ZEE5 platform too. The Suryadevara Family is cursed and the first wife of all their first sons are bound to be chomped by the jaws of death. While Nithya and Jai, the current heir of the family, fall in love, Nithya’s mother is aware of the curse and replaces her daughter with a lookalike, Manga, an innocent village girl. How things fall in place between Jai, Manga and Nithya forms the crux of the story.

Hello Mini:

Someone has been watching, following every move of a girl living alone in Mumbai. Does it sound terrifying? MX Player’s thriller drama series Hello Mini revolves around her life. The protagonist Rivanah Bannerjee who moved from Kolkata to Mumbai seems to have everything at the place in the beginning – a good job, loving boyfriend but as the story goes on her life also goes topsy-turvy. The mystery around the stalker, however, prevails throughout the series making it binge-worthy.

Gattimela:

Gattimela is a drama television series on ZEE Kannada starring Sudha Narasimharaju, Rakshith Gowda and others. The story revolves around Vedanth and Amulya, 2 people with contradicting personalities, who are constantly at loggerheads whenever they meet. Whether both of them will turn their sour relationship into a loving one forms the rest of the story. The local users love sampling the show on ZEE5 also. 

MUMBAI: Sports is the most preferred genre by viewers and advertisers after GECs and movie channels, and cricket most-watched sport all of them. This had become more evident during the third T20 match between India and New Zealand due to the marginal increase in the viewership of Sports channels, according to the Broadcast Audience Research Council India week 4 data.

Out of the top five sports channels, STAR Sports 1 Hindi has bagged number one spot in week 4 (25-31 January) of BARC, and has received at least 378958 weekly impressions. On the second spot on the chart, DD Sports that achieved 103110 weekly impressions, all thanks to India and New Zealand's nail-biting third and fourth T20 matches that were broadcasted on the government-owned channel.

Though STAR Sports 1 Hindi was ranked first, the other two channels of the Star group such as STAR Sports First and STAR Sports 3 have been positioned at third and fifth spot respectively in the list of week 4. Dominating the sports genre, STAR’s all three channels combine have gained over 5 lakh weekly impressions, according to the latest BARC data.

Apart from cricket, the other important sporting event -- Australian Open was also televised in week 4. Precisely, the quarter and semi-final matches took place in the week 4 data of the BARC. Australian Open 2020 helped Sony Pictures Networks’ Sony Ten 1 to gain viewership, which received 62824 weekly impressions in the latest BARC report.

The marquee sports events that are scheduled at both domestic and international this year are ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, IPL 2020, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Olympics 2020, UEFA Euro 2020. 

Even as the digital medium is emerging as the most preferred way to consume content, the big box at home or the movie theatres are also finding ways to retain viewers. Hence, striking the right balance between all the verticals is one of the basic premises on which Zee Studios is building itself. An old hand at the content-driven film-making is now also looking at providing content for the streaming services. ZEEL’s content creation arm is also not overlooking producing shows for TV under the head of Essel Vision Productions.

In a recent interview with Indiantelevision.com, Zee Studios CEO Shariq Patel shared the guiding principle of the studio’s overall mandate. He did not play with words but simply said – the philosophy is to see engaging stories in the most entertaining manner. Sitting at his sunny cabin full of books on storytelling, Patel speaks about Zee Studios’ overall content strategy for the year, its partnership within ZEEL, outside the network, regional blueprint.

Edited excerpts:

What is the philosophy of content creation of ZEE Studios?

So I think the philosophy is to see engaging stories, that really is the heart of anything that we are looking at doing, and then saying it in the most entertaining manner possible, that really should be at the heart of any production house.  There'll be certain people who will look at more. So as a film studio or as a content creator, you have to cater to everyone, we are not a specialised content creator in terms of that we will only do a particular kind of movie or a digital original show or TV show, or non-fiction show.  We do everything at different budgets and different skills, for the entire audience, the mass or class. So, it really is making sure that any story that we pick up, especially when we are talking about films, who is the primary audience for it. The smartness comes in is that how do you make sure that it reaches out to the audience that you've made it for in the most cost-effective and efficient way. That really is I would say winning philosophy.

How do you strike the balance between films, TV shows, digital content?

When it comes to films, we choose the ones we want to do. In the case of digital and television, it's all commissioned and so there has to be a broadcaster or a platform which, which has to buy into the idea. It's fairly distinct the different arms that are there. Zee Studios is the flagship brand for the films and Zee Studios Originals, which makes content for ZEE5 and as well as other platforms, which are there so we've got about three shows with ZEE5 which are in the process of pre-production and  going on the floor and then there's, of course, the TV broadcasting which so far predominantly has been with the ZEE network, so whether it's Dance India Dance or Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champ is going on the floor now. We are doing Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Punjabi and a couple of fiction shows in the newly launched Zee Punjabi channel there are about three fiction shows that we're doing between Zee and &tv. In the TV space, we have done so far, hundred percent work with Zee. There are the broadcasters we started the conversation with but it's all commissioned. So whatever the story idea, there someone has to gratify it as a client and may bring some changes. The channel people also kind of help guide the storyline and things like that wherein films it's all ours so for that there's a separate team. The creative team is more of  collaborative here.

How are you synergising Zee Studio with other segments of the network?

The legal entity is Essel Vision which is 100 per cent subsidy of ZEEL. On the film side, we pretty much are independent. However, having said that the films that we produce, our music most of the time is with the ZEE music and so the synergies are very strong, across different and each of the verticals. Our films go to our network channels, we'll get on to ZEE5 so that is pretty much the basic. In the off chance that the commercial value it derives from an outside platform is of higher value, we go for that. We have in the past done that, for example, Manikarnika has gone to Amazon so because of a higher value realisation. Having said that,  the business is standalone, I mean, the individual project has to recover money. More often the buyer is ZEE for our product that's there, but it does not preclude us, from doing deals that allow us to maximise revenue from an outside. Synergistically, there is an understanding, and we are mandated to, to try and make sure that we are feeding the pipeline for the TV channel and ZEE5 and the music.  So it's actually a fairly arm's length transaction with, of course, synergies and certain understanding which is there but the idea is that on a standalone basis, ZEE studios and whatever we do has to be, as profitable it is, is making sense for the business to run on its own.

Are you looking at working with other OTT platforms than ZEE5?

We are in conversation with all of the other platforms for various shows from the biggest international name to the newest entrant. We are in conversations with everyone, and at different stages of pitching is there are certain cases we've actually agreed on everything and then failed through budget expectations and things like that. So we are engaging with everyone and we are also looking at.  A lot of them are actually asking us for like regional content right both either as a movie or as show as regional is the next big frontier that everyone's looking at.

What are the regional markets you are looking at?

Marathi for sure, we will make shows in Bengali, Punjabi. Lot of the shows we are doing is going to be in partnership with other. As a studio, as a production house, we spread our net wide and we're talking to the talents of different regions. So, we are engaging with the South but not so much in the south languages. Having said that, there are some Telugu shows that we pitched but I think we are a little bit more confident in these other markets that we mentioned now- Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi for sure.

Can you talk about your overall content strategy of 2020?

We will release about almost 20 movies between Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi. Out of these 20 films, our in house productions will be about four or five, which would be like fully produced by us. Now, the six-seven will be co productions with other partners. And then the balance will be, pure distribution just to ensure that, we are distributing to other production houses just on the commission base. On the TV part of it, I think for the ZEE part of itself, we get the big four or five non-fiction shows including DID, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. We've already got three fiction shows which are on air. In the Hindi GEC, there are two more shows. There's a fairly set calendar. We are trying to break through to other broadcasters and conversations are happening with other broadcasters to for us to produce and similarly in the OTT space, apart from whatever we're doing with the ZEE5, we are in conversation with other odd platforms are at different stages and we're hoping that in 2020, we will do original for one of the outside broadcaster or OTT platform. So that's the strategy.

What are the challenges in the ecosystem you are facing currently as a content creator?

Not specifically as such challenges but I think there are opportunities in the overall ecosystem. It's just that anyone with the right scripts and the right set up can make a film. Selling of concepts now has better possibilities because there are so many different avenues. I think it's an extremely exciting time for content creation, we as a studio are partnering with many and are open to multiple different opportunities. We have got a very strong development pipeline as well. So currently the challenge is everyone chasing the same writers, right? So finding the right talent to write the shows, write the films, because everyone's got it after a long time, especially writing talent has got the opportunity. So that's the only real constraint on the supply side. However, I wouldn't call it a challenge, I think these are opportunities. It's just an exciting time for anyone in the content creation space, if you get your development pipeline, if you get your scripts right, there is a market for it, and I think everyone's depending on what stage of evolution your company, your studio or production houses that some of them hit the jackpot earlier, some of them are hitting it later, but it all depends on us getting your raw material has to be in place, right. So I think really the constant self-constraint in terms of how do you make sure that the content that you are curating or creating is amongst the best, so that when you are putting it out there in the market, especially for OTT, it's picked up by the platform, and that really is the immediate challenge.

Will there be any significant change in your capex for next financial year?

We don't really have a CAPEX, our CAPEX is basically investment into acquisition of movies or signing off talent and producing and things like that. So won’t really call it CAPEX. In terms of cash-flow, of-course, as we are going more aggressive this year, we are looking at higher investment this year than what we did last year.
 

MUMBAI: Come Valentine's Day and brands will try to woo all the couples out there. Even as cakes, flowers and chocolates are the most common ideas, Melorra’s Valentine’s Day film is attempting to break this stereotypical idea.

The endorsement created by Dentsu India Slingshot has a bunch of women asking men to ‘up their game’ and gift something that lasts more than one day.

While speaking to indiantelevision.com Melorra head of marketing Sharat Krishnan stated, “Valentine’s Day is a gifting season, and most of the time people gift something that doesn’t have a life beyond Valentine’s Day. People usually gift chocolates, roses, and wine so we wanted to take away this concept and bring something which is more lasting. The whole concept is to gift something which is more relatable and brings a sense of joy to the person. We have tried to give a musical treatment to our ad which you will not be seeing in any other endorsement. We are trying to narrate the whole gifting scenario that happens during the Valentine’s Day and then suggesting users to up their gifting game.”

Whether you chose to love it or hate it Valentine’s Day is an occasion of love and commercialisation. Hence, it becomes an important selling season for brands. Running a promotional campaign on products that can be seen as gifts is a traditional move.

“We have been using YouTube, Facebook and Hotstar for this particular promotion. As the nation is going digital the idea is to grab consumer attention while they are on the platform. We also look at good engagement rate across all channels for our video,” stated Krishnan

It’s not enough to only run a campaign, it is also important to measure the performance with metrics.

Krishnan commented, “After the end of campaign we look into the uplift that we have got since the campaign has started. We also look into factors like brand metrics and sales metrics and see how things have gone up because of this particular campaign.”

Krishnan adds that in today’s time, women are not looking at jewellery from an investment perspective. They have started seeing jewellery from an accessory perspective. "Women are more inclined towards lightweight and fashionable jewellery rather than the traditional ones you get. From millennials to everybody else they all are going to this direction. The concept of jewellery our parents had and that this generation has, has shifted,” he further added.

The global jewellery market is currently facing high competition. The challenge before every jewellery firm is to differentiate its brands through unique prepositions. Emerging jewelers in the industry have realised the importance of understanding consumer behaviour and incorporating the same in their marketing strategies.

Krishnan echoes, “The jewellery business in India is very huge. Even the largest player has a single-digit market share which you do not see in any other category. There is a larger share for everybody in the market. With every single year, people are moving towards the branded side of the jewellery rather than going to family jewellers. Elements like hallmark are also coming in which acts as a supporting factor. So people are now focusing on organised jewellery and it would be on the rise. Tanishq which is currently the leading single-digit market player in the jewellery business also tends to have Rs 2 to 3 million in terms of revenue.”

Keeping in mind all these changing conditions, Melorra's brand campaign is geared to envisioning Valentine's in a new way

MUMBAI: ShemarooMe’s bollywood premiere to showcase the world digital premiere of the murder mystery thriller Kissebaaz featuring the versatile actor Pankaj Tripathi. The movie will reach a global audience through the platform’s one of a kind offering – “Bollywood Premiere”. The ever dependable and versatile actor Pankaj Tripathi seamlessly essays the role as a henchman of politicians in the political thriller Kissebaaz. 

The movie also stars other stellar actors such as Rajesh Sharma, Evelyn Sharma, Rahul Bagga, Anupriya Goenka, Mouli Ganguly and Zakir Hussain in key roles. Set in Uttar Pradesh in the narrow confines of the city of Benaras, Kissebaaz is directed by Annant Jaaitpaal and produced by Sanjay Anand and Divya Anand.

ShemarooMe’s bollywood premiere showcases critically acclaimed Bollywood movies every Friday, that have a strong story line and great entertainment value that the audiences have missed out on watching during their theatrical release. With an impressive IMBD rating of over 7.5, Kissebaaz is a political drama with a lot of twists and plots and will keep the viewers engaged throughout. The movie revolves around Rahul Bagga’s character Harsh, a small-town Romeo who gets involved in difficult situations. His love interest is played by Anupriya Goenka who portrays the role of Naina. The main character, Chutaan Shukla who is played by Pankaj Tripathi keeps the audience guessing for more throughout the movie. Rajesh Sharma and Zakir Hussain have played strong characters and performances as the supporting cast in the movie.

This unique offering by ShemarooMe, is specially curated for the movie buffs and Bollywood fans worldwide. To satiate the Bollywood cravings of fans, ShemarooMe premieres entertaining and critically acclaimed movies every Friday. The recent line-up of ShemarooMe includes some exceptional movies like Ekkis Tarrekh, Paharganj, SP Chauhan, Gone Kesh, Marudhar express, Marrne Bhi Do Yaaron and now Kissebaaz. 

Taking the legacy of the parent company forward, ShemarooMe understands the pulse of the audience and has been at the forefront to entertain the viewers throughout. Bollywood Premiere has successfully engaged with the audiences and now is entertaining them at the comfort of their homes, through various platforms and hand-held devices. ShemarooMe showcases World Television Premiere of a new movie every Friday living up to the promise of delivering masala entertainment to the Asli fans of Bollywood.

MUMBAI: BBC Studios has announced a licensing deal with Viacom18 Media, which will see the latest series of Top Gear air on the Indian entertainment network’s premium English entertainment channel – Colours Infinity. The deal for the world’s biggest motoring entertainment show, was revealed today at Showcase, BBC Studios’ spectacular trade event held in Liverpool each year.

This multi-platform deal with Viacom18 will make series 27 of Top Gear available to Indian viewers that are looking forward to watch their favorite motoring show.

Top Gear is the world’s biggest and longest-running motoring entertainment show which has had a huge global following across 200+ territories, making it one of the world’s most widely watched factual TV programmes. The much-loved series features gruelling challenges, epic adventures and state-of-the-art supercars with a hint of mayhem, humour and mischief.

Series 27 introduces a shiny new presenter line up, with comedian and TV presenter Paddy McGuinness and cricketing legend Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff joining motoring journalist Chris Harris. Also back in the driving seat is the enigmatic white-suited professional driver, known across the globe as The Stig.  

From the brutal heat of the Ethiopian desert to the sweltering Borneo rainforest, from the wilds of Iceland to the pedestrianised shopping district of a British market town, Top Gear is bigger than ever. The team tackle the fastest, hottest, toughest Top Gear challenges to date, pushing their cars and themselves to the limits. At the world-famous Top Gear test track, a fresh batch of celebrities demonstrate their driving prowess (or lack thereof) and face challenges set by the presenters.

The new presenting line up has been a hit with fans and their debut series on BBC Two in June last year was particularly well received in the UK, with an average consolidated audience of 3.8 million.  Following the success of their first series together, the trio have recently returned to UK screens with even higher audience ratings, with the new series premiere opening to a consolidated audience of more than 4.3 million, the highest in over four years. In between series, they also filmed the Top Gear Nepal Special, which saw Freddie, Paddy and Chris embark on an epic high-altitude voyage from Kathmandu to the Forbidden City of Lo Manthang, thrilling UK audiences when it aired in December.

BBC Studios South Asia distribution vice president Stanley Fernandes says, “We’re thrilled to partner with Viacom18 to bring the latest series of Top Gear to India. Audiences are going to love the new line up taking control of the wheel and taking the series to another level. Expect plenty of thrills, spills and laughs”

Viacom18 Youth, Music & English Entertainment, VOOT Select head Ferzad Palia says, “Indian viewers are big fans of fast-paced and adrenaline-pumping automotive content. Globally, Top Gear is recognised as the most popular motoring entertainment show, and we’re thrilled to showcase series 27 of this iconic show to viewers in India. Adding another genre to our bouquet of offering, Viacom18 continues to deliver the best of English entertainment to its audience.”

MUMBAI: Geometry Encompass, India’s largest experiential marketing agency and a part of WPP Group, has conceptualised a one of a kind on-ground activation for Omnigel - India’s no.1 pain recovery gel from the House of Cipla Health. Acknowledging the spirit of the helpers and workers at the Magh Mela event held every year, the campaign highlights their selfless service, while equipping them with a unique solution that facilitates them with Omnigel to recover from everyday pain.

The annual event is held in the pristine city of Allahabad which hosts millions of devotees. The large gathering is managed by arduous efforts of policemen, boats-men, cleanliness crew and volunteers who come together to make the event a grand success. While the devotees perform their religious duties at their own convenience, it is the Sahayaks that exhibit selfless devotion by making it easier for others to find salvation. Through this activation, Geometry Encompass throws light upon these true ‘Ratna’s’, jewels, of Magh Mela, helpers and workers, hidden in plain sight by bringing out their story and recognising their efforts. 

Geometry Encompass envisaged ‘Rahat Ratna’ - an amulet holding the pain recovery gel that is being facilitated to the workers to wear around their neck. Giving them easy access to Omnigel at the very moment of pain. The activation also involves a support system facility called ‘Dard Mukti Kendra’, Pain Recovery Centres, to distribute ‘Rahat Ratna’ to ‘Sahayaks’. These centres also have a team of licensed physiotherapists that recommend Sahayaks stretching exercises for pain relief.

Commenting on the campaign, Cipla Health CEO Shivam Puri said, “We feel privileged to be a part of the Magh Mela, and to have the opportunity to service the undeterred Sahayaks. Our initiative aimed at generating greater awareness about the brand and informing a larger audience about its multidisciplinary uses, especially the community that usually suffer from body pain but end up overlooking it due to lack of knowledge. We are happy that we could be their ‘friend’ all through the mela.”

Geometry Encompass creative group head Madhurya Alankaar said, “Inspired by ornaments, keeping in mind the cultural significance a ‘Ratna’ holds in every Indian’s life. ‘Rahat Ratna’ serves as an innovative medium of sampling and ensures that Omnigel is always available in times of need for our real-life heroes, Sahayaks." Adding to this Sandeep Gaur, Associate Creative Director, said -"It was pivotal we bring out the Sayahak’s contributions within the journey of devotees in its natural environment and this is what we have tried encapsulating in our film."

Geometry Encompass business director Utsav Parekh said, "The campaign is conceptualised in a way that addresses what is less obvious to the eyes. We wanted to appreciate the real heroes of a massive rural event like the Magh Mela. We and the brand, both believe in the power of storytelling and connecting with our consumers on a deeper level. It is all about using a platform to bring about a change, both from awareness as well as an application perspective."

The entire campaign has been further encapsulated into a digital film which gives a first-hand experience of Magh Mela to the viewers showcasing the true spirit of Sahayaks and the impact the Rahat Ratna is making in enabling their everyday.

MUMBAI: The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences sprang a few surprises at the Oscar Awards today. For starters, it rechristened the foreign language film category to best international feature film. It took that renaming pretty seriously by showering the South Korean film Parasite with oodles of major awards: best picture, best screenplay, best international feature film, and best director (Bong Joon-ho).

For the South Korean entry, it was history in the making as it is the first international film to win an Oscar for best feature. Joon-ho will go down in the history books: he is the second director of Asian descent to take home an Oscar; Ang Lee was the first with English language films Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi. He is also the second helmer of a foreign language film to be accorded that honour; the first being Alfonso Cuarón for Roma. “I will be drinking in the after party,” he said to the merriment of all the Hollywood stars present at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Another surprise was the near total shunning of Netflix’s entries. Estimates are that the streaming giant spent nearly $70 million (ref: The Verge) in its campaign for the Oscar. It was nominated in 24 categories, but it could get its hands on only two of the statuettes: that for American Factory (Best Documentary produced by the former president and first lady Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company) and Laura Dern (best supporting actress for her role in Marriage Story).

The other big winners: Brad Pitt (best supporting actor in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Taiki Waititi (best adapted screenplay for Jojo Rabbit), and Renee Zellweger (best actress for her portrayal of Judy Garland in Judy),  Joaquin Phoenix (for his near-perfect performance as the lead actor in the billion-dollar plus grossing Joker), best film editing  and sound editing (Ford vs Ferrari), original score (Joker, Hildur Guðnadóttir), Best animated feature (Toy Story4), best visual FX (1917), Sound Mixing (1917).

Phoenix spoke about how we need to live responsibly, respect nature, our resources, and how compassion and love can go a long way in his acceptance speech, in a departure from most other speeches which consisted of thanking the academy or peers or the technical, cast and crew of the film.

The Oscar ceremony was telecast on Hotstar and Star World in India earlier this morning with advertisers like Kia Motors, Cred, Amazon Prime Video's Hunters, Lenovo, Dyson, Jack Daniels coming on board.

The full list of 2020 Oscar winners

Best picture

Parasite- Winner
1917
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Ford v Ferrari

Best actor

Joaquin Phoenix, Joker -Winner
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Best actress

Renée Zellweger, Judy- Winner
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women

Best director
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite- Winner
Sam Mendes, 1917
Todd Phillips, Joker
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Best supporting actress

Laura Dern, Marriage Story-Winner
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit

Best supporting actor

Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood- Winner
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

International feature film

South Korea, Parasite-Winner
France, Les Misérables
North Macedonia, Honeyland
Poland, Corpus Christi
Spain, Pain and Glory

Documentary short feature

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)- Winner
In the Absence
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk Run Cha-Cha

Documentary feature

American Factory-Winner
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland

Animated feature film

Toy Story 4-Winner
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link

Music (original song)

"(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from Rocketman-Winner
"I'm Standing With You" from Breakthrough
"Into The Unknown" from Frozen II
"Stand Up" from Harriet
"I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" from Toy Story 4
"Glasgow" from Wild Rose

Music (original score)

Joker- Winner
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Visual effects
1917- Winner
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
The Lion King
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best film editing

Ford v Ferrari- Winner
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Parasite

Best cinematography

Roger Deakins, 1917- Winner
Rodrigo Prieto, The Irishman
Lawrence Sher, Joker
Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse
Robert Richardson, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Best sound mixing

1917-Winner
Ad Astra
Joker
Ford v Ferrari
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Best sound editing

Ford v Ferrari-Winner
1917
Joker
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Makeup and hairstyling

Bombshell- Winner
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917

Best costume design

Jacqueline Durran, Little Women-Winner
Sandy Powell & Christopher Peterson, The Irishman
Mark Bridges, Joker
Arianne Phillips, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Mayes C. Rubeo, Jojo Rabbit

Best production design

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood-Winner
The Irishman
1917
Jojo Rabbit
Parasite

Live-action short film

The Neighbors' Window-Winner
Brotherhood
Nefta Football Club
Saria
A Sister

Best adapted screenplay

Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit-Winner
Steven Zaillian, The Irishman
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes
Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, Joker

Best original screenplay

Bong Joon-ho, Parasite-Winner
Rian Johnson, Knives Out
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

Animated short film

Hair Love- Winner
Dcera (Daughter)
Kitbull
Memorable
Sister

MUMBAI: Harley-Davidson is set to kick off India’s largest parade, the India H.O.G. Rally, in Goa from February 14-15, 2020. The most anticipated date on the H.O.G. calendar, more than 2000 members of the Harley community from all 31 H.O.G. chapters across the length and breadth of the nation will convene at the annual gathering. The event that will be spread out over two full days in the sunny state city of beaches will be held at a new destination this year, Grand Hyatt Goa.

The much-awaited ‘Custom Contest’ at the mega event will feature a stellar display of the country’s best Harley-Davidson custom motorcycles and the annual H.O.G. parade will be a visual treat for motorcycle enthusiasts in Goa on February 15. The coveted H.O.G. awards will be yet another important highlight for H.O.G. members.

On the occasion of the 8th edition of the India H.O.G. Rally, Sajeev Rajasekharan, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India, said, “When you purchase a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, you automatically adopt the Harley lifestyle. The Harley Owners Group perfectly embodies our brand promise of living life the Harley way. We are thrilled to be kicking off the 8th India H.O.G. Rally in Goa this year and would like to take this opportunity to thank Goa Tourism Board for their immense support.” 

India H.O.G. Rally will host special performances, live music concerts, tailormade experiences, immersive brand engagements and of course, lots of riding! While the day will witness on-ground activities from brands including Jeep, Havells, Cred, MRF, American Crew and GoPro, live performances by artistes such as Bollywood Singer Neha Bhasin, Anand Bhaskar Collective, Goan band Raagas 2 Riches, DJ Nasha, DJ Suketu and globally acclaimed stunt rider Arunas Aras Gibieza among other performers will set the tone for the evening.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Harley-Davidson also reached out to brand lovers outside the H.O.G. community to provide them with a slice of the exciting Harley-Davidson lifestyle. The company launched a social media contest to select one winner to go for an all-expenses paid trip to the event. The contest witnessed high engagement across the brand’s social media handles.

Founded by Harley-Davidson Motor Company in 1983, the Harley Owners Group was established to offer motorcycling benefits and services to Harley-Davidson enthusiasts throughout the world and to develop a close relationship between the rider, dealership and the company. A perfect example of community engagement, the Harley Owners Group organizes five marquee rallies annually, including one national and four zonal rides. In India, the H.O.G. community comprises of a 7500-strong member group.

With its inception in 2009, Harley-Davidson became the first premium motorcycle brand to set base in the country. Over the last decade, the company has strongly sustained itself with a record sale of 25,000 motorcycles. Today, with 33 dealers, Harley-Davidson has the largest network in the Indian premium motorcycle category and rules the roost in the country’s 750+ cc market.

Motorcycle enthusiasts who want to experience the Harley-Davidson lifestyle and be a part of the India H.O.G. Rally can get in touch with their nearest Harley-Davidson dealership to know more.

MUMBAI: Angel Broking, one of the largest full-service digital broking firms, recently launched its new campaign Aage Badhne ka Smart Sauda.  The campaign offers the Smart Choice of Angel iTrade prime against perceived stock investment-related barriers, such as high brokerage fee, hidden charges and messy digital experience. Angel iTrade Prime offers its clients an opportunity to avail full suite of broking services including basic research and advisory, absolutely free.

The comprehensive 360* brand campaign aims to leverage the quirky nature of the creative idea. The marketing campaign is built around digital-first approach to target the millennials, primarily in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The video creatives will be promoted on YouTube, as well as on the new emerging channels like TikTok and leading OTT platform such as Jio TV. Further, the communication will be amplified on Social Media and on-ground activation.

Sharing his thoughts on the brand campaign, Angel Broking CMO Prabhakar Tiwari said, “Angel Broking exists to navigate new age India to meet their financial dreams. At Angel Broking, we are experiencing a rapidly growing demand for our flat brokerage offering from the millennial audience, particularly in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Our customers have strong digital maturity, as they seek an uncomplicated, self-service investment experience. Our new campaign ‘Smart Sauda’ is designed around young India’s aspiration to transform their lives.”

Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Angel Broking CEO Vinay Agrawal said, “With the launch of ‘Smart Sauda’ campaign, we aim to promote iTrade Prime that combines affordable pricing, cutting edge technology and end-to-end broking services, thus empowering customers to trade smartly. By slashing the brokerage charges to zero, we intend to promote equity investments as a preferred avenue for retail investors pursuing a long-term growth asset class.”

Angel Broking, a full-service digital broking house has transformed the way retail trading is done in India and offers an extensive range of financial solutions. Be it providing services like easy to understand user interface for mobile applications and desktop platforms or opening an account within five minutes, with just a single click KYC, Angel Broking constantly works to optimize efficiencies of its platform across stages of designing, execution and acquiring customers thereby living up to the promise of being the right choice for new-age traders and investors. 

MUMBAI: Sonic launches the latest edition of its school contact programme, Alpenliebe Pop presents Sonic Prank Sessions with Golmaal Junior, Monday – Friday, 7 pm. This month-long campaign will see Golmaal Jr.’s Prank gang, Gopal and Madhav, reaching out to kids through various interactive games and direct engagement in 250 schools across the country. The campaign would span schools in multiple cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Nagpur, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Surat , Ludhiana , Amritsar and Kolkata.

The latest edition of Sonic’s multi city School Contact Programme will make students’ everyday school routine more exciting through a host of games, trivia, competitions and will also give them a chance to take back some exciting prizes. These Prank Sessions will also bring alive the masti of Golmaal Jr. in classrooms with a series of funny pranks integrated with team building activities.

Viacom18 Hindi and Kids TV Network head Nina Elavia Jaipuria commented, “Every year with our School Contact Programme, we aim to engage with kids through fun and interactive initiatives that are also meaningful.  Kids are all set to enter a very intensive exam season and this year’s school contact programme is crafted to help kids approach the exam season with positivity and high spirits.  We are sure that kids will have a great time taking a break with our toons and recharging themselves for a stress free and successful exam season.”

With high octane promotions on the channel, interesting social media promotions and a larger than life engagement in the schools, Sonic will get the masti back in the lives of kids. Tune into Golmaal Jr. Monday-Friday, 7pm.

MUMBAI: EPIC On by IN10 Media is home to premium India-centric content and a pioneer in creating and telling exceptional stories about the country. Recently, the premium OTT platform’s legacy was reiterated at Xiaomi India’s PatchWall Binge Awards 2019. One of the marquee show on EPIC On – Siyaasat, based on Indu Sundaresan’s novel, ‘The Twentieth Wife,’ was voted the most-watched regional language show (in Tamil), winning the ‘Popular Regional TV Show’ award.

A real-life saga of passion, power and politics, Siyaasat is the story of a girl who charted her way to power and is known by the world as Noor Jahan, the Mallikaa of Hindustan. Produced by Green Light Productions, the show is a ride into the underbelly of the royals and nobles of the Mughal Empire: the politics, the games, the manipulations, and the desires that drove them. Set in 17th century India, the show revolves around the lives of larger-than-life individuals from out of the pages of history - Emperor Akbar, Salim, Mehrunissa, and many others.

EPIC On chief operating officer Souryja Mohanty said, “At EPIC we take pride in telling extraordinary stories in unique ways. Siyaasat is a story that resonates with every Indian and we are overwhelmed it has become the most popular show among Tamil speaking viewers. The appreciation encourages us to continue telling exceptional stories transcending boundaries. We are committed to provide extraordinary India-centric content to enthrall viewers across various demographics and geographic spread in the coming days.”

“The key reason for Mi TV’s success in India for 6 consecutive quarters has been primarily due to our content first approach which led to the development of PatchWall. We are extremely proud to have great quality content partners like EPIC On who further enrich our libraries for our consumers. We congratulate team EPIC On and Team Siyaasat for bagging the Patchwall Binge Award, as it is further proof of the audience’s love for the product we have all delivered,” said Xiaomi India category lead – MiTV Eshwar Nilakantan.

PatchWall Binge Awards 2019 is a user-generated binge award on content first technology across 12 categories, where winners are selected via audience voting and content consumption analysis on Mi TV across categories. There were 12 winners out of 72 nominations across categories. Xiaomi India initiated PatchWall Binge Awards in 2018.

EPIC On app is available as an offering for all Mi TV Patchwall users and other leading platforms like Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, and Android TV.

MUMBAI: HGSi Interactive, a business unit of Hinduja Global Solutions Limited, has developed an engaging gamified microsite for Gulf Oil’s digital campaign - You Get Out What You Put In. The microsite is designed to engage users coming in from various social platforms with a gamified message of the campaigns core thought – a great lubricant enables the vehicles best performance.

The microsite based on a racing game is fully responsive, compatible on desktop, tablets and smartphones, and was developed in less than ten days from ideation to execution. This adrenaline-pumping game is an ultimate test of skills, reflexes and concentration of the gamer. The microsite has a minimalistic interface and the game takes centre stage to set pulses racing! Weaving #YouGetOutWhatYouPutIn around the concept of hard work, the campaign emphasises that without faith, perseverance and hard work, one cannot achieve their goals. The campaign also highlights that Gulf’s range of automotive lubricants unlocks the ultimate performance of vehicles, and the power to become a champion lies within oneself.

“We are thrilled to successfully integrate Gulf Oil products into the gamification campaign for an elevated user experience. If we can make the users feel like they are a part of the brand story, they're going to be much more attached to the brand.” said HGS Interactive business head Sachin Karweer.

“Gulf Oil has been a major supporter of Manchester United and the latest campaign #yougetoutwhatyouputin is an exciting one featuring some of the iconic players of the club. We wanted to deepen the engagement of our audience with the central campaign thought and gamification provided the perfect solution. The microsite is testimony to Gulf Oil Lubricants’ passion for sports, technology and our innovative gamification capabilities,” said Gulf Oil Lubricants India managing director Ravi Chawla.

The game in detail.

In the online racing game, the player can choose between a bike or a car to play the racing game and collect Gulf Lubricant Oil Cans along the way, avoiding obstacles to prevent loss of mileage.

The game showcases how the virtual Gulf Lubricant Oil Cans offers superior performance, similar to how the real Gulf Lubricant Oil Cans provide the same results on real roads.  The gamer can challenge his/her friends, beat his/her score and even beat the highest score. In addition to this, the microsite showcases a range of high-performance Gulf Oil Lubricants that enables vehicles to deliver superior performance.

Playing the game by entering necessary details like email address warrants an entry in a grand lucky draw.

Prizes include a chance to meet their favourite sports heroes and  a chance to win cool autographed merchandise of Manchester United.

There are more elements of the digital campaign. By just a click, viewers can watch videos of Sport Stars like M.S. Dhoni, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Scott McTominay to know the secret formula of their success!

Manchester United, M. S. Dhoni and Hardik Pandya are promoting the microsite on their social media channels, predicted to reach out to millions of people across the world.

Contest closes on 10 Feb 2020. Winners will be declared shortly after.

http://yougetoutwhatyouputin.gulfoilindia.com/

MUMBAI: Nu-Shakti – a Royal DSM brand – has entered the burgeoning multitrillion-dollar e-commerce space by partnering with Flipkart and BigBasket. The brand’s nutritious, locally relevant, affordable food and beverage products are now easily available to consumers online.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and sustainable living. Through Nu-Shakti, it is addressing the need for proper nutrition in daily meals across India by launching a one-of-its-kind pre-mix micronutrient supplement enriched with essential nutrients and vitamins to provide complete nutrition.

Alok Kohli, Business Director – DSM India, said, “Nu-Shakti has entered the growing e-commerce space in India, aiming to make its product portfolio available to consumers in the comfort of their homes. We want to make a positive impact on the health of people across the country via our innovative products that address the widespread nutritional deficiency. Our products enable easy fortification of food at home without compromising on taste or appearance of the food and providing consumers with a nutritious, balanced diet.” 

Besides Chennai, the products have received an overwhelming response from upcountry markets such as Madurai, Coimbatore, Nagercoil and other cities of Tamil Nadu.

Nu-Shakti’s product range includes Powermix for rice (fortified rice kernels), Powermix for atta (fortified atta/flour) and MixMe (fortified orange-flavoured beverage mix). Available at select modern trade outlets and kirana (retail) stores in Tamil Nadu, Nu-Shakti products have been introduced at affordable per-unit prices starting from Rs5.

MUMBAI: FCM Travel Solutions, Indian subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group has announced its association with Bharat Army the official Indian Cricket Supporters Group as an official sub-agent. FCM Travel Solutions’ multiple business travel arms like Travel Tours, FCM MICE, and Travel Air Representations (TAReps) will be helping cricket fans across India to experience the thrill of seeing a match live at both the Men’s & Women’s ICC T20 Cricket World Cup Tournaments being held in Australia.

The company aims to market and promote ICC T20 World Cup Packages to Australia by facilitating travel arrangements for corporate travelers, leisure customers, and also through B2B travel agents.

Speaking about the association, Mr. Manpreet Bindra, Brand Leader, FCM MICE said, “ICC T20 World Cup is one of the most anticipated sporting events in India which offers us immense opportunities to reach out to a wider audience and establish a deeper connect with consumers. We are thrilled to associate with Bharat Army Travel and take on this journey throughout the ICC T20 World Cup series. We look forward to providing our guests with some unforgettable experiences.”

Mr. Vishal Patel, Managing Director, Bharat Army Travel further added; “We are delighted to have FCM Travel Solutions on board as our official travel partner for the ICC T20 World Cup. We always look forward to partnerships that increase value and merit to the brand, and through this association we wish to make travel convenient for our members and Indian cricket fans worldwide.”

Mr. Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia said “Australia and India have a strong bond through their shared love for cricket. While we have been witnessing impressive growth in terms of visitors and spend from India, the upcoming T20 World Cup provides us with a massive opportunity to take this to the next level. We look forward to welcoming our guests from India for an unforgettable cricket experience at our iconic stadiums and giving them a flavor of our truly distinct way of life. As part of our plan to make this one of the largest sporting spectacles in the world, a range of offerings and packages are being introduced for travellers from India in partnership with the ICC’s Official Ticketing Agents and their sub-agents.”

With a focus on creating high brand resonance through premium experiences, FCM Travel Solutions will continue to engage with and leverage all cricket tournaments of ICC T20 World Cup through a 360-degree marketing strategy. As a brand, FCM constantly strives to deliver life-changing travel experiences to its consumers.

MUMBAI: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan has been hogging B-Town limelight for the last two days. One of the major attraction points seems to be the recreated version of the 80s hit track Yaar Bina Chain Kaha Re, which has already taken social media platforms by storm. It seems director Hitesh Kewalya’s debut feature is treating him well.

Kewalya will share inputs on content creation and its business at Indiantelevision.com’s two-day-long event, The Content Hub 2020. The fourth edition of the summit will be graced by the biggest producers, studios, content creators, and platforms involved in the feature film, television and digital, along with the makers of international content that has worked in India.

He is an alumnus of the National Institute of Design, Film Department, started his career as a writer on the radio in 1998. Jumping through various fields like theatre, advertising, cartoons/illustrations for a magazine, he finally found his calling in Mumbai in 2005. Over the years, he has worked across genres like feature films, advertising, television dramas and short films as a screenwriter and director.

Is Modh Pe Kuch Nahin Hota, Rhythmatics, Man Of The Match are among some of his award-winning short films. He has also written for popular shows such as Miley Jab Hum Tum, Is Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, Nisha Aur Uske Cousins.

MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe India announced today the appointment of Deepak Pant as head, data science practice. In this role, Deepak will be in-charge of enhancing capabilities on measurement, research, advanced analytics, digital analytics, data strategy including data integrity and automation, and also developmental work on Publicis people cloud.

Externally, the Data Science Practice provides data strategy and advanced analytics solutions in the area of market mix models, digital analytics and attribution analytics. It works extensively with Groupe clients not only in India but through its centre of excellence also provides services to marketers across the world. With more than 100 experts, it leverages Publicis Groupe’s expertise in marketing, media, digital, data and technology to craft solutions that enable marketers with smart business decisions and predictive models that maximise returns on investment.

Deepak, a B-Tech graduate, and an MBA from Booth School of Business, Chicago, comes with over 24 years of rich experience in data science, advanced analytics, digital analytics, digital transformation and AI/ML across diverse sectors like FMCG, BFSI, manufacturing and logistics. He has worked in Chicago for about 18 years across diverse organisations including long stints with Neilson and 4i Consulting. His last stint was with Cognizant, where he worked as the director AI and analytics - Cognizant Digital Business.

Publicis Groupe South Asia CEO Anupriya Acharya says, “Data is what fuels our marketing transformation solutions across creative, media and tech. In the last six years, we have made significant progress in our Data Science Practice and today it competes with the best specialist shops. While it started as a centre of excellence providing advanced analytics solutions to our global clients, in the last three to four years we have seen increased appetite and hence huge uptake even in the local market. As margins of companies come under pressure the focus on ROI of marketing is only increasing. With 2000+ experts across digital and tech in the Groupe, our Data Science Practice has unmatched ability on multiple domain solutions.

 “It is both an honour and a huge responsibility to lead the Publics Groupe India’s Data Science Practise. The exciting possibilities that the scale and diversity of the Groupe and its clients present are unmatched. I look forward to making a difference here and bringing disruptive solutions that enable strong business results for clients and the Groupe alike”, says Pant.