ITV

Category: MAM

  • Shaadi shopping hits jackpot as Omaxe Chowk gifts Rs 1.5 crore house

    Shaadi shopping hits jackpot as Omaxe Chowk gifts Rs 1.5 crore house

    MUMBAI: Who said wedding shopping only lightens the wallet? This season at Chandni Chowk, it might just hand you the keys to a Rs 1.5 crore dream home. Omaxe Chowk has rolled out its one-of-a-kind retail extravaganza Shaadi ka Mota Shagun making bridal trousseau shopping feel more like a game show. Starting 16 August and running for five months, shoppers will get more than bangles and bandhgalas; they stand a chance to win a house worth Rs 1.5 crore, a luxury car, two bikes, travel packages, jewellery, and daily to monthly rewards.

    The timing is as grand as the giveaways. India’s wedding industry, the second largest in the world, hit a whopping US 57.1 billion dollars (Rs 4.74 trillion) in 2023, growing 26.4 per cent year-on-year, according to IBEF. With nearly every sector from fashion and décor to jewellery and automobiles woven into the shaadi economy, Chandni Chowk has always been the bustling epicentre. Now, Omaxe Chowk is taking the tradition into overdrive by fusing heritage with plush retail infrastructure and digital flair.

    Omaxe Group executive director,  Jatin Goel summed it up: “Indian weddings are not just personal milestones but cultural events that drive one of the world’s largest wedding markets. With Shaadi ka Mota Shagun, we’re going beyond discounts, giving shoppers the chance to win prizes as grand as their celebrations.”

    From daily shopping vouchers to life-changing jackpots, the campaign ensures that every swipe of the card or exchange of cash could come with more than just shopping bags it could come with a set of keys, a flight ticket, or even a luxury ride home. For brides, grooms, and families alike, Chandni Chowk isn’t just where wedding dreams are stitched; it’s where fortunes may now be won.

  • Saiyaara soars as July box office scripts 2025’s biggest blockbuster month

    Saiyaara soars as July box office scripts 2025’s biggest blockbuster month

    MUMBAI: The Indian film industry found its monsoon magic in July and the box office is dancing in the rain. After a lukewarm June, July 2025 stormed ahead to become the year’s strongest month yet at the Indian box office, powered by two juggernauts: Hindi romance-drama Saiyaara and the animated epic Mahavatar Narsimha. Together, the duo accounted for more than 45 per cent of the month’s total collections, proving that love stories and mythological action still bring audiences to the theatres in droves.

    Leading the charge, Saiyaara grossed a staggering Rs 392 crore, making it the second-highest earner of the year so far, behind only Chhaava. Close on its heels, Mahavatar Narsimha roared to Rs 259 crore, with the Hindi version alone contributing 75 per cent of the take. Add in Hollywood’s heavyweights Jurassic World Rebirth and Superman & The Fantastic Four: The First Steps and the July box office became a truly global playground.

    The cumulative box office tally for 2025 releases has already climbed 22 per cent higher than the same period last year, keeping the industry firmly on track to cross the Rs 12,000 crore mark by year-end. That would put 2025 in contention to dethrone the all-time record set in 2023 at Rs 12,226 crore. Language-wise, Hindi continues to dominate with five titles in the year’s Top 10, while Hollywood has clawed up to a 12 per cent share of the pie, its best since 2022. Kannada too got its moment with horror-comedy Su From So, lifting its share from under 1 per cent in June to more than 2 per cent in July, while Malayalam slipped from 10 per cent to 8 per cent.

    If July is any indication, 2025 could well end up rewriting the box office record books with Bollywood, Hollywood, and even regional cinema scripting their own plot twists along the way.

  • Uniqlo launches new campaign with Rahul Dravid

    Uniqlo launches new campaign with Rahul Dravid

    MUMBAI: Global apparel retailer Uniqlo announced the launch of its new campaign, ‘Everyday Wear for Mr. Dependable’, starring former cricketer Rahul Dravid. The campaign highlights Uniqlo’s signature LifeWear philosophy, clothing designed to support all aspects of modern life with simplicity, comfort, and quality through two of its core products – the breathable AIRism Polo Shirt and the crisp Super Non Iron Shirt.

    Speaking about the campaign, Rahul Dravid said, “Being a part of the UNIQLO campaign is special as it reflects both sides of who I am in my regular daily life. I’ve always believed in keeping things simple and consistent, in sports and in life. Uniqlo fits into every version of my day – it’s simple, comfortable and functional.”

    In this special collaboration, Rahul Dravid steps into the spotlight, bringing Uniqlo’s comfort-focused clothing to life in a way that reflects his personality and daily routine.  

    In the campaign film, Dravid is seen in two effortlessly stylish modes: as his on-field self in the Uniqlo AIRism Polo Shirt, strolling past the nets as a coach; and as his off-field self in the Uniqlo Super Non Iron Shirt, heading out for a family dinner. Through a playful split-screen exchange between the two ‘Dravids’, the film underscores how UNIQLO clothing is dependable and versatile for every moment of the day.

    “We are very pleased to collaborate with the cricket legend,” said Uniqlo India marketing director Nidhi Rastogi. “Rahul Dravid represents the same consistency, simplicity, and quiet confidence that Uniqlo embodies. Through this campaign we showcase the two sides of Rahul Dravid, the coach on the field and the family man off field, showcasing that Uniqlo is a dependable choice of clothing for your everyday life”.

    As part of the 360° rollout, the campaign goes live across digital, social, CRM, in-store, and outdoor platforms starting August 18. The campaign will also feature a first-of-its-kind AR (augmented reality) experience activation at Uniqlo’s new store opening at Orion Mall, Brigade Gateway, Bengaluru on August 29, where customers can engage with a life-sized virtual version of Rahul Dravid through an interactive, tech-enabled zone.

    The Uniqlo store at Orion Mall, Brigade Gateway, Bengaluru, is set to launch on 29 August 2025.

  • Renault splashes Delhi airport with giant pop-art tribute

    Renault splashes Delhi airport with giant pop-art tribute

    NEW DELHI: Renault India has turned heads at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport with a 30 foot by 30 foot hand-painted installation unveiled on Independence Day.

    The work, created with artist collective Doodle Mapuls, reimagines the capital’s landmarks through the prism of street art, music and youth culture. The riot of colour is billed as a “pop-futuristic narrative” — a mash-up of nostalgia and optimism reflecting the brand’s Renault.Rethink philosophy.

    Planted squarely on the route to terminal 3, the mural is impossible to miss. With millions passing by, the carmaker is betting its bold fusion of tradition and modernity will resonate well beyond the airport walls.

  • Batman goes electric in India as Mahindra and Warner Bros. roll out caped crusader SUV

    Batman goes electric in India as Mahindra and Warner Bros. roll out caped crusader SUV

    MUMBAI: Holy horsepower, Batman. India has just driven into comic-book history.

    In a feat more Gotham than Gurgaon, Mahindra Electric Automobile Ltd and Warner Bros. Discovery have pulled off what few in the automotive or licensing world would dare attempt: the launch of the world’s first Batman-inspired electric SUV.

    The BE.06 Batman Edition – unveiled at an invite-only spectacle at the Fairmont Mumbai – is less a motorcar and more a muscle-bound statement on wheels. Cloaked in midnight black, bristling with Gotham swagger, and infused with design nods to DC’s brooding vigilante, the car is being billed as a “collector’s dream” – though for now it will be available only to Indian buyers.

    What makes the story remarkable is not just the branding but the breakneck speed. From concept sketch to drivable reality in just 45 days – the blink of a Bat-signal – the project has stunned both motoring and licensing circles. In an industry where even minor editions can crawl through months of approvals, this was, as one executive put it, “execution at bat-out-of-hell pace.”

    Warner Bros. Discovery’s theatrical business in India vice-president and managing director Denzil Dias framed the launch as a landmark moment for both sides of the partnership. “From Gotham vibes to Mumbai drives — presenting the world’s first Batman-inspired electric SUV, born from a stunning collaboration between Mahindra Group and Warner Bros. Discovery India,” he said. “This isn’t just a car — it’s a statement. A symbol of India’s rising power on the global stage of innovation.”

    He added: “A first for India. A milestone for Warner Bros. Discovery. A proud moment for Mahindra. And a statement to the world. Bravo, team — you didn’t just launch a car, you launched a collector’s dream.”

    The applause has been shared widely. At Mahindra, design supremo Pratap Bose is credited with sketching the dream, while colleagues Preet Inder Singh Kahlon, Salil Pawar, Reeti Nageshri, Nalinikanth Gollagunta and Rajesh Jejurikar gave it wheels. On the Warner Bros. side, Anand Singh and his South Asia consumer products crew – Sanchayeeta Choudhury, Ushaa Rai, Kartikeya Ahluwalia and Gitanjli A. – worked in lockstep with DC’s global franchise chiefs Adam Bodenstein and Kevin Morris. Vikram Sharma, Warner Bros.’s Asia-Pacific consumer products boss, was hailed as the “North Star,” with India leadership – Arjun Nohwar,  Dias himself, and Deepa Sridhar – offering ballast. The seed was planted, fittingly enough, by SuperCorp’s Ada Garg and Yashovardhan Ganeriwala.

    For Warner Bros., the partnership burnishes DC’s global franchise in a market hungry for pop culture tie-ins. For Mahindra, it injects the glamour of Gotham into its electric-vehicle play. The symbolism is plain: India is not merely consuming global brands, but shaping them, turning fantasy into factory output at speed.

    The car is limited in availability, but not in symbolism. Like Batman himself, it is equal parts myth and machine, equal parts statement and story. To borrow from Bruce Wayne’s world: sometimes the car doesn’t just get you from A to B – it makes you believe the impossible.

  • Publicis drags CCI to court over access to files in ad cartel probe

    Publicis drags CCI to court over access to files in ad cartel probe

    MUMBAI: Reuters has reported that  Publicis has hauled India’s antitrust regulator to the Delhi high court, accusing it of stonewalling requests for access to case files in a high-stakes price-fixing investigation that has rattled the country’s $30bn media and entertainment sector.

    The Competition Commission of India (CCI) stunned the industry in March with dawn raids on WPP’s GroupM, Dentsu, Publicis, Omnicom and others, probing suspected collusion on publicity rates and discounts. Sources told Reuters the CCI’s early findings suggest the firms coordinated via a WhatsApp group, struck secret deals, and teamed up with broadcasters to freeze out agencies that refused to play along.

    Triggered by Dentsu’s whistle-blowing under the CCI’s leniency scheme in February 2024, the probe could see penalties of up to three times profit or 10 per cent of global turnover for each year of wrongdoing. Publicis, which operates through TLG India, says it cannot prepare a defence without access to the records, and wants the CCI to pause its investigation until the files are handed over.

    The watchdog has yet to comment. The court is expected to hear the case next week.

  • ITC Sangeet Research Academy’s ‘Desh Ek Raag 2’ blends Hindustani classical and dance in Independence Day tribute

    ITC Sangeet Research Academy’s ‘Desh Ek Raag 2’ blends Hindustani classical and dance in Independence Day tribute

    MUMBAI: ITC Ltd, through the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITCSRA), has unveiled Desh Ek Raag 2—a sweeping musical salute to India’s cultural heritage ahead of the nation’s seventy ninth  Independence Day. Anchored in Raag Desh and enriched by elements of Vande Mataram, the performance combines Hindustani classical music with Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Kathak, performed by celebrated dance gurus and their disciples. 

    The project, directed musically by ITCSRA guru Abir Hossain, features leading names including Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar, Pandit Partha Chatterjee, Vidushi Subhra Guha, Pandit Uday Bhawalkar and tabla maestro Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. Western instrumentation by the band Prithibi adds a contemporary texture. 

    “Desh Raag is the unifying thread weaving our country’s beauty, diversity and traditions,” said Chakrabarty. Hossain noted that this year’s edition brought together a new mix of scholars, faculty and veteran artistes to reflect both tradition and fresh creative energy. 

    The performance, recorded at ITCSRA’s Kolkata studio and filmed by Chandrasish Ray, is an expansion of 2024’s Desh Ek Raag, which drew over a million views. Chairman Sanjiv Puri called it “a tribute to our beloved nation” and a reminder of the academy’s role in preserving the Guru-Shishya parampara.  

    Founded in 1977, ITCSRA has trained generations of Hindustani classical musicians in the tradition of residential, immersive learning. With over 40 scholars in Kolkata and Pune, the academy blends cross-gharana exposure with rigorous discipline—ensuring the music and its values endure. 

  • Nameeta Saigal climbs the ranks at femtech startup Nua

    Nameeta Saigal climbs the ranks at femtech startup Nua

    MUMBAI: Nameeta Saigal has been elevated to senior vice-president and head of marketing at Nua, the Mumbai-based femtech startup, after nearly four years with the company building its direct-to-consumer presence.

    Saigal joined Nua in December 2021 as vice-president of marketing and has now been promoted internally, marking a vote of confidence in her stewardship of the brand’s growth trajectory. The promotion comes as femtech companies face increasing pressure to differentiate themselves in a crowded wellness market.

    Her career spans over two decades in consumer marketing, with notable stints at telecommunications giant Vodafone Idea Ltd, where she served as vice-president for consumer segments marketing and partnerships. Before that, she cut her teeth in brand management at Godrej Consumer Products, handling household names including Goodknight mosquito repellent and Kiwi shoe care products.

    Saigal’s expertise in building consumer segments and partnerships may prove crucial as Nua seeks to expand beyond its core feminine hygiene offerings. The company operates in India’s burgeoning femtech sector, which has attracted significant investor interest despite regulatory challenges and cultural sensitivities around women’s health products.

    The internal promotion suggests Nua is betting on continuity rather than external recruitment as it navigates the competitive landscape of health and wellness brands. For Saigal, the elevation represents the culmination of a marketing career that began in the spirits industry with Shaw Wallace Distilleries before progressing through pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.

    Whether her brand-building credentials can help Nua capture greater market share in India’s evolving femtech space remains to be seen.

  • Times change again as Varun Kohli exits, Gopakumar takes interim charge

    Times change again as Varun Kohli exits, Gopakumar takes interim charge

    MUMBAI: Another shuffle at Times Network has set the industry buzzing. Varun Kohli, who joined as chief operating officer barely a year ago, has suddenly stepped down from the role. In the interim, Rohit Gopakumar, currently CEO of entertainment and digital business at The Times Group, has been handed charge of the broadcast business.

    The development comes against the backdrop of CEO M.K. Anand’s exit in July 2024, when he quit after more than a decade at Bennett, Coleman & Co. (BCCL). Kohli was brought in just a month earlier, in June 2024, to oversee the network’s revenue function across its television broadcast business.

    Kohli, a seasoned media professional, moved to Times Network from Bharat Express, where he spent a year and a half as director and CEO. Before that, he briefly helmed Sporty Media Solutionz as CEO and held senior stints at ITV Network (group CEO), Network18, HT Media, and Amar Ujala Prakashan.

    Meanwhile, Gopakumar isn’t new to the media house. He joined the group in August 2023 as CEO of Worldwide Media and was later elevated to lead entertainment and digital. His expanded remit now includes steering Times Network’s broadcast operations during a tricky phase for the industry.

    With two top exits in just over a year, Times Network finds itself once again at a leadership crossroads and all eyes will now be on how Gopakumar steadies the ship.

  • Bajaj Freedom 125 marks India’s 79th Independence Day with new TVC campaign ‘Azaadi Aage Badhane Ki’

    Bajaj Freedom 125 marks India’s 79th Independence Day with new TVC campaign ‘Azaadi Aage Badhane Ki’

    MUMBAI – Bajaj Auto Ltd., marks India’s 79th Independence Day by redefining freedom for a new era – freedom that fuels ambition, makes everyday life more affordable and protects the environment. The brand’s latest TVC campaign, Azaadi Aage Badhane Ki, highlights how freedom today is about innovation, affordability, and sustainability, values embodied by the Bajaj Freedom 125, the world’s first CNG-powered motorcycle.

    The ‘Azaadi Aage Badhane Ki’ campaign captures how mobility in our daily lives can take the essence of independence forward in the years to come, showing how innovation on two wheels can support a nation’s march towards self-reliance and environmental responsibility.

    While Independence Day traditionally honours the freedom won in the past, this campaign invites India to look towards the future- a future where growth is driven by innovation and sustainability. The TVC also commemorates a major milestone- one year of the Bajaj Freedom 125.

    In just twelve months, the motorcycle has won the acceptance of riders across the country, crossing the 65,000 sales mark. This remarkable response reflects a growing nationwide shift towards cost-effective and sustainable mobility solutions.