ITV

Category: Press Release

  • INOX deploys Dolby Multichannel Amplifiers

    INOX deploys Dolby Multichannel Amplifiers

    MUMBAI: Cinema chain INOX Leisure Limited (INOX) today extended its strategic partnership with Dolby, a leader in immersive entertainment experiences to provide the best in class cinema solutions. With Dolby Atmos screens already present at INOX multiplexes across the country, INOX today announced that it will be deploying Dolby’s latest and best in class Dolby Multichannel Amplifiers (DMA). In the process, INOX will be the first Indian cinema chain to acquire the versatile DMA.

    The DMA’s are D Class digital amplifiers which have a smaller footprint that can save a lot of rack space and hence real estate, air conditioning and power consumption. Using DMAs in the audio chains escalates audio reproduction without distortion making the experience better than best. These new-generation amplifiers also bring other benefits like ease of connectivity, less cabling, robust design, built-in redundancies for uninterrupted playback, ability to monitor the health of the amplifiers over central NOC, and also the ability to compensate for a failed speaker till replacement, ensuring consistent and high-end experience for patrons what they expect from INOX.

    INOX has been extremely aggressive in pioneering cinema technologies into the country in order to enhance the cinema-viewing experience of its patrons. A testimony INOX’s technology focus is INOX Megaplex, the world’s first cinema with six different cinema viewing formats. Located at Inorbit Mall, Mumbai, INOX Megaplex houses IMAX, Samsung Onyx LED, ScreenX, MX4D and INSIGNIA formats. INOX also offers Laser Projection and Dolby Atmos experience to its patrons.

    INOX Leisure Ltd CEO Alok Tandon said: “Technology is the cornerstone of our business strategy, and cinema sound plays an extremely critical part in the overall cinema-viewing experience. I am delighted to share that we are further strengthening our association with Dolby with the acquisition of Dolby’s multi-channel amplifier. As we become the first cinema chain in the country to use these versatile amplifiers, we are all set to be more energy-efficient, cost-efficient and space-efficient. We are proud to pioneer one more technology intervention into the country with this deployment.”  

    Friedrich Deininger, Sr. Director, Cinema Sales, EMEA and India, Dolby Germany GMBH, said that Dolby offers a full range of imaging, content management, and accessibility solutions to give audiences an immersive cinema experience with 700+ Dolby Atmos Screen installed or committed in India and over 700+ Dolby Atmos titles in six Indian languages.

    INOX, amongst India’s largest multiplex chains, offers 146 multiplexes and 614 screens in 68 cities.

  • Rishi Khiani to step down from Ant Farm to build a startup in the Job-tech space

    Rishi Khiani to step down from Ant Farm to build a startup in the Job-tech space

    MUMBAI: Serial innovator Rishi Khiani has announced that he will be stepping down from day-to-day operations at Ant Farm, a digital innovation company that he founded in 2013. While he steps down from his operational role, Rishi will continue to be a promoter shareholder in Ant Farm and its downstream companies. The move is a planned one so that he can focus on his startup in the Job-tech space.

    Ant Farm is a studio incubator that builds businesses and scales up disruptive ideas. The company had raised funding from funds such as Agnus & Bay Capital and counts prominent investors such as Ravi Dhariwal, Radhakishan Damani and Sat Pal Khattar on its cap table.

    Some of it’s successful companies are Ad-tech and Content company Fork Media Group that owns and operates Curly Tales, Hauterfly, IGN, Mashable, FameFox and AskMen, multi-category delivery startup Scootsy that was recently acquired by Swiggy, mobile fitness platform RevoFit that is backed by Marico and Hello Green, a healthy and affordable meal delivery service. The management of parent company, Ant Farm, will be transitioned to co-founder Upen Roop Rai.

    During the announcement, Rishi Khiani said “I founded Ant Farm back in 2013 when India had just seen a disruption in the startup space. The idea was to accelerate companies during their early-stage with an intensive hands-on approach backed by an experienced team in the given sector. It was a thrilling experience to build some great companies in the last eight years.”

    Commenting on his career plans, Khiani added “Given the current scenario of the economy and the job market in our country, my next startup will focus on enabling the next billion jobs. Given that ambition and the opportunity it was important to clear my desk of all other responsibilities.

    Stay tuned for some exciting updates!” Rishi Khiani, who is a seasoned entrepreneur and former CEO of Times Internet, has over 20 years of experience in media, consumer tech and enterprise space. He is known to have

    launched some of India's iconic homegrown digital brands. Rishi sold his first startup UrbanEye Media to the Network18 group in 2006. Keeping up to his innovation skills, Rishi will be entering the job-tech industry, to bridge the gap between jobs and job seekers across various industries.
     

  • &pictures to air world television premiere of ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota’ on 29 Feb

    &pictures to air world television premiere of ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota’ on 29 Feb

    MUMBAI: &pictures to air the World Television Premiere of the action entertainer ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota Hain’ on 29 February at 8 pm. Written and directed by Vasan Bala, this award winning film pays homage to action films from the past along with a perfect blend of Bollywood masala. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, the film stars debutant Abhimanyu Dassani along with Radhika Madan, Gulshan Devaiah, Mahesh Manjrekar and Jimit Trivedi essaying pivotal roles. 

    Commenting on the uniqueness of the plot of the film, director Vasan Bala said, “While making Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, I wanted to tell the story of some of my favourite films from my childhood as if they were all rolled into one film like a dream, a riot of movie references, as I would see it. As a result, the movie has a lot of reference to many movies, comic dialogues, television shows, etc. even the clothes that Radhika and Abhimanyu wore, were all a representation of some movie or the other. The uniqueness I believe comes from being true to what it represents, being a movie lover, which we all are, whichever era we belong to, we are a tribe, in this together. With the World Television Premiere on &pictures, I would like you to also watch it and try to pick up all the movies references I have woven in the plotline.”

    Elaborating on the prep that went into portraying Surya, Abhimanyu Dassani said, “The most exciting thing about Surya which impacted me and my life in a big way are the three months that I spent in isolation before we could start shooting. It was then that I went through a lot of introspection where I could touch upon what my insecurities are and what my purpose to get into films are. I realized what I am, what I need to do and what I need to stay away from. This practice not only helped me portray Surya but also do justice to the character. I also underwent a lot of
    training for the action scenes, as I wanted to and insisted that I did all the stunts. With the response the film has received even after a year, I can now say that the training rigorously for 9 hours every day for 6 – 9 months totally paid off.”

    The plot revolves around the life of a differently abled child Surya (Abhimanyu Dassani) who is born with a rare disorder due to which he can’t feel any pain. This makes him a misfit – a social outcast who is bullied by his peers at school. But he finds an unlikely ally in his neighbor and
    school friend, Supri who always has his back. Encouraged by his grandfather, Surya aspires to be a ‘Karate Man’. His first foray into vigilantism is to help Supri against her abusive father, but that event leads to Surya’s family being evicted from the building, and Surya and Supri are
    estranged as kids. While his father keeps him away from the entire world, Ajoba pushes Surya to pursue his passion secretly. Hence, Surya grows up to believe that he is Karate man, a self- proclaimed vigilante who must fight bad guys, like the ones who killed his mother.

  • Witness the greatest show of all time – Penny Dreadful on Zee Café

    Witness the greatest show of all time – Penny Dreadful on Zee Café

    MUMBAI: In ‘Penny Dreadful’ a frightening psychological thriller, some of literature’s most famously terrifying characters – including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and iconic figures from the novel Dracula, all brilliantly reimagined in a whole new light – have become embroiled in Victorian London. The Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated series was created, written and executive produced by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) and executive produced by Logan's Desert Wolf Productions, along with Oscar winner Sam Mendes (1917, American Beauty) and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Call The Midwife), both of Neal Street. Starting, March 4, 2020, the series is set to air weeknights at 10 pm on Zee Café as part of the channel’s ongoing property ‘Greatest Of All Time’.

    The series is a psychological thriller filled with dark mystery and suspense, where personal demons from the past are stronger than vampires, evil spirits and immortal beasts.

  • Kurate Digital Consulting launches in Indian market

    Kurate Digital Consulting launches in Indian market

    Digital consulting company Kurate Digital Consulting has launched in the Indian market. Kurate will focus on growing the Indian market by assisting companies in their digital transformation journey. Companies will now be able to reach out for contemporizing their business models, systems and processes and pre-empting the ever-changing user behaviour through the latest digital technology solutions.   

    According to a report published by P&S Intelligence, the digital transformation market is estimated to value $24.5 billion in 2018, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 74.7% during 2019-2024 to reach $710 Bn. With rapid advancement in digital technology, India is the second fastest digital adapter among 17 major digital economies, according to McKinsey. 

    “Kurate Digital Consulting specialises in digital transformation by defining and creating digital strategies that help businesses redefine business models and processes in the digital era. As consumers, consumption and commerce goes digital, we will help our clients with digital strategies to transform their companies to deliver to these new-age consumers. A robust digital strategy lays out a definite plan of action for digital transformation, the success of which can be clearly measured,” said Uday Sodhi, founding partner of Kurate Digital Consulting, who has held multiple leadership positions in the Indian digital ecosystem during the last 20 years.

    The Mumbai-based company also announced that companies will now be able to undertake the digital transformation journey by integrating digital technology into all areas of a business to fundamentally change how they operate and deliver value to customers. While this might not be a priority for some, it is one of the strongest drivers of change. Companies need to adapt their business models to remain in business or they would simply perish. 

    Kurate Digital Consulting will have offices in Mumbai and Gurgaon and will be accessible to all companies in India for strategic consultation and execution of digital transformation projects. The company has five founding members who are experts in different fields across digital businesses like gaming, ecommerce, digital video/OTT, B2B businesses, B2C platforms, consumer marketing, digital marketing, brand, communication, media and content.

  • John Oliver talks about India and Modi on Last Week Tonight

    John Oliver talks about India and Modi on Last Week Tonight

    As you may know by now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with US President, Donald Trump, in Trump’s first official visit to India. Modi’s last meeting with POTUS was back in September 2019 during the UN General Assembly. Trump called him “The Father of India”, as they praised each other. However, is that how America and the rest of the world see India?

    John Oliver, British comedian and actor, and the host of popular show “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, covered part of how the Modi’s Nationalist Platform and government have taken social conflict to the next level. The winner of 8 Emmy Awards did not hesitate on critiquing Trump’s decision of referring to the current PM as “Father Of India”, a non-official title belonging to Mahatma Gandhi for his influence on the modern concept of the country.

    But previous to that encounter Modi had taken many steps to get where he is right now, as this CNN´s Edition fact collection notes. On the date 5 of august 2019, Modi announced the revoking of constitutional provisions that allowed the regions of Kashmir and Jammu to make their own laws. These are Muslim-Majority regions.
    John Oliver’s segment also reminds us multiple times that Modi is a Hindu Nationalist, which he calls “provocative”, arguing that “Nehru and Gandhi, explicitly disavowed that…” Quoting: “The State should be undoubtedly secular” (Gandhi, 16 August 1947).

    Then we are reminded that the PM’s Party, BJP is closely related to the RSS, a Right-Wing paramilitary volunteer organization founded in 1925. This organization had links according to International Business times, and were avid followers of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, admiring the idea of a pure super race. Sharing the vision of building a powerful nation under the banner of nationalism.

    Let’s not forget that Modi was the Chief Minister of his birth state Gujarat during the early ’00s, where the majority of the population is Muslim. In 2002 a fire killed 58 people in a train that carried Hindu pilgrims, and it was established that the fire was intentional, causing riots that ended up killing a thousand people, most of them Muslims.

    Modi was criticized and accused of condoning the deadly riots. This did not go good for him as he was not granted a diplomatic visa by the United States for the suspicions of his role during the riots.

    In fact, although his popularity rates have been astronomical as president, his encounters with the press on one-to-one interviews are far from a rhetoric example of how to be a public person, National Herald India has a compilation of them.

    The actions taken by the BJP to consolidate their ideas has been little less than debatable, as they tried to get Nehru erased from many important bits of History Classes in the country according to this Hindustantimes report. Substituting Nehru’s ideas with the thoughts of “Indian supremacy”, one of the books makes different racist remarks even using the N-Word, according to AlJazeera.

    Which brings us to Modi’s last step so far, last December, parliament passed an incredibly controversial bill, known as the CAB, or Citizen Amendment Bill said Bill looks to give Indian Citizenship to immigrants of three neighboring countries as long as they are not Muslims, according to this note from CNN.

    The bill allows the government to fast-track those of religious minorities. The Bill has the NRC or National Registration of Citizens as a companion to reach the government’s goals. 

    The NRC requires people to deliver papers and registration to the state officers, something that in the poorest areas will be incredibly difficult, not to mention it could harm those who are illiterates.

    The bills have provoked outrage in many cities in India, and had the country in suspense, Trump's comments about Mod and what could happen the next couple of days could have important consequences on the ideas of the Indian population and government. 

    The odds of John Oliver’s comments making an impact on this side of the globe are as low as of a debutant horse to win the Kentucky Derby. However, the people have power and Indians have spoken on how they want their country united as they headed to the streets to protest a couple of times. Will there be any changes in power?

  • Could Baseball Become the Most-Viewed Sport in India?

    Could Baseball Become the Most-Viewed Sport in India?

    It is no surprise to see that cricket has traditionally been the most-watched sport on Indian television. Figures from the FICCI in 2018 showed that wrestling was close to matching it, but cricket is still the sport to beat. 

    For example, the 2016 Indian Premier League Final was watched by around 730 million people in the country. However, some recent developments suggest that baseball could challenge cricket’s superiority in the years to come.

    MLB Is Pushing for More Growth in India  

    Major League Baseball (MLB) is the organisation that runs professional baseball in the US. They are currently pushing hard to grow the sport in other countries around the planet. They already have offices in places such as Japan, Mexico, China, and the UK as they look to open up new markets.

    As part of this, they have opened their first Indian office, in New Delhi. MLB has high hopes that this nation of cricket-lovers will embrace baseball, mainly due to the similarities between the two sports.

    Their plans for expansion also include giving school kids in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore the chance to learn the sport. The MLB First Pitch grassroots programme will see top coaches run workshops in all of these cities. Eventually, 300 cities across the nation could receive visits from baseball coaches.

    Jim Small is the senior vice president of MLB’s international operations. He said that India has “huge potential for us”. Small said that they see the country as being important in the global growth of their brand. They will also be screening American baseball games live on Facebook for Indian fans.

    The Return of the Million Dollar Arm

    Another baseball initiative involves the return of the Million Dollar Arm contest. You may remember that J.B. Bernstein created this challenge, as he looked for future baseball stars. It was shown as a reality show on Zee Sports and eventually led to a major 2014 movie based on the success of Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel. 

    They became the first Indian men to sign up to pro contracts for a sports team in the US. Neither of them had ever thrown a baseball before entering the contest. Patel joined the Pittsburgh Pirates before returning to India to teach baseball. Singh eventually moved into wrestling and has joined the WWE.

    This contest returned in 2019, as the MLB stepped up their search for new baseball stars. It is hoped that young athletes with a talent for cricket might make the switch to the American sport. At the time of writing, it is unclear whether Million Dollar Arm will return to Indian TV screens in 2020.

    The New Indian Baseball Star

    Another reason that baseball could truly take off her is the success of Karan Patel. In 2019, he became the first player of Indian descent to get drafted into an MLB team. 

    Patel grew up playing cricket and baseball in the US.  He called switching between the two sports a “fun transition”, although it does take him some time to adjust each time that he moves from one to the other.

    His father Kuldeep Patel played for the US cricket team after emigrating there from India. Karan followed in his footsteps by playing for the USA Under-19 cricket team before winning a college scholarship based on his baseball skills.

    He was picked by the Chicago White Sox in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB draft. He now plans to “work as hard as possible” and try to make the team. If he does, then millions of Indians are sure to be keen to tune in and see how he gets on. 

  • FOUND! India’s 290 Million Lost Voters will now get the right to vote

    FOUND! India’s 290 Million Lost Voters will now get the right to vote

    MUMBAI: As the largest democracy of the world, India is abode to an enormous population of 1.3 billion people and counting. In the era of technological advancements, a large concentration of the nation’s population has migrated to metropolitan areas in search of better employment, education or simply migrated post marriage. But millions of citizens who fail to partake in casting their vote due to geographical constraints. It is a citizen’s fundamental right to move within the country and it is a citizen’s fundamental right to vote, but one of the either was being compromised! Laying impetus towards the impending cause, The Times of India launched its largest-ever collective campaign, Lost Votes, aimed at getting the right for voting for those who have moved away from the address where their vote is registered.

    Drawing nation-wide attention, the publication with each step in the campaign parsed awareness to millions of migrated voters and concerned citizens on the importance of casting their vote and urgency of addressing the gap. As per the insights gained during the campaign roll-out, 290 million eligible voters were unable to exercise their right to vote, due to migration without a permanent local address. TOI became the voice of the people via their Lost Votes campaign, urging the Election Commission to find an effective, immediate and permanent solution. Following the year-long campaign, the Election Commission recently announced that they are working on a technology-led solution that will address the issue so that there are no more lost votes.

    Speaking about the impact of the Lost Votes campaign, Mr. Sanjeev Bhargava, Director The Times of India said “We launched the LOST VOTES campaign last year. Powerful and simple thought: people temporarily not living in the place where their vote is registered are unable to vote. And the number of such eligible voters is close to 30 crores!!! This campaign demanded tech solutions to enable these lost votes and give back the fundamental right to these citizens of India. More than a million-people pledged support to this campaign. And less than a year later the election commissioner has announced the start of this journey. We are proud to be instrumental to the strengthening of our democracy!! Not surprisingly at TOI we say, “Change Begins Here”

  • Wipro Consumer Care – Ventures invests in LetsShave

    Wipro Consumer Care – Ventures invests in LetsShave

    MUMBAI: Wipro Consumer Care – Ventures, the venture capital fund of Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, has signed an agreement to invest in LetsShave Private Limited, who cater to male and female shaving and grooming markets.

    LetsShave focuses predominantly on shaving category, and expanding into personal care categories like body care, skin care, electric trimmers, etc. The Company markets its portfolio of products for both men and women under the brand name of LetsShave. It has a strategic tie-up with Dorco, a Korean Company and one of the pioneers in the razor industry, manufacturing world's finest blades since 1955. Dorco has a 10% stake in LetsShave and is a global supplier to companies like Dollar Shave Club.

    Mr. Sumit Keshan, Managing Partner, Wipro Consumer – Venture, said, “LetsShave offers high quality products and is a challenger brand in a space dominated by a single large player. They are a promising team with a strong understanding, usage of technology and have the ability to spot niche consumer requirements and respond quickly. Our investment in LetsShave is in line with our strategy of leveraging emerging online opportunities targeting the millennials. We plan to increase our portfolio in innovative start-ups in consumer brands and consumer-tech domains both in India and South-East Asia."

    Mr. Sidharth S Oberoi, founder of LetsShave said “We had started our journey four years ago. During this period, we have made a strong presence as well as have received an unprecedented acceptance for our products from our consumers. We are excited to partner with Wipro Consumer – Ventures. Wipro Consumer Care is an established industry player globally having deep insights into the consumer diaspora in India, and we would like to leverage their expertise to chart a strong growth trajectory. We are committed to making LetsShave a sustainable and responsible one-stop solution provider for shaving systems, personal care and grooming for men and women”.

  • Touching Lives. Spreading Happiness – A short film by Ambuja Neotia

    Touching Lives. Spreading Happiness – A short film by Ambuja Neotia

    MUMBAI: Ambuja Neotia, a Kolkata based organisation, foraying into realty, hospitality, healthcare, education and Startup incubation, has built its business around making its customers happy during its existence of last 25 years. The Group has been driven by the sole purpose of touching lives and spreading happiness to make a difference to the way people live.

    This thought has been captured in a short film, called #Spreadinghappiness, where the little joys of life have been celebrated. The joy that becomes the purpose of being, the joy that is unique to each one, the joy felt by a father on being gifted a house by his daughter, to the joy of experiencing motherhood for the first time, joys that go beyond fleeting moments of pleasures but manifest themselves in a deeper sense of satisfaction and well-being. The film is also a way of thanking the Group’s patrons, for having their unflinching trust in them, and for inspiring and supporting them through their various endeavours. Developed in-house, this 3mins short film has been directed and produced by Tiyash Sen.

    The recipe to happiness has a handful of key ingredients — a rich and wholesome living space, a holistic learning experience, an enriching work opportunity and environment, ample options for unwinding and good health. Ambuja Neotia’s goal is to deliver this happiness through their products and services and they look at achieving this by touching as many lives as possible through their five business verticals offering quality product and memorable experiences that bring smile and joy to the lives of its patrons and stakeholders.

    Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman, Ambuja Neotia believes in this concept of #Spreading Happiness, as a corporate philosophy, “Since the last two and a half decades, Ambuja Neotia has aspired to make a difference in the way people live through  various initiatives in realty, hospitality, healthcare, education and Start-up incubation. In  pursuit of touching lives and spreading happiness, Ambuja Neotia through its diversified business model has created differentiation that is lived and experienced by focusing on the aspect of sustainability and by building environments for the well-being of each member of a family. We are extremely thankful to all our patrons and stakeholders for the continued love and support they have extended towards us.”