Category: Press Release

ShemarooMe Bollywood Premiere: Decoding the unique property one movie at a time

MUMBAI: ShemarooMe’s unique offering Bollywood Premiereis a platform that showcases World Digital Premiere of critically acclaimed Bollywood movies every Friday.The platform showcases Bollywood movies that have a strong story line and great entertainment value that the audiences have missed out on watching during their theatrical release. ShemarooMeBollywood Premierehas been the destination that has bridged the gap and ensured entertaining content reaches to the intended audiences, thus making it one of the most sought-after innovations on the digital platform.

The property has showcased 22 movies so far (since its inception on 13th September 2019) and has seen good engagement and viewership amongst the audiences. Amongst the gamut of OTT platforms that are battling towards breaking the clutter,ShemarooMe’s Bollywood Premiere is a one of its kind offering that has a dedicated set of audience for the critically acclaimed World Digital Premieres of movies releasing every Friday. A premiere of movies that deserve their due credits and have a cult fan following.

The love for Bollywood movies knows no boundaries and has received acceptance across geographies and diasporas, ShemarooMe is all set to entertain audiences beyond geographies with its presence in 150 countries across the US, UK, South East and Middle East Asia region.

Bollywood Premiere has received appreciation from many popular and talentedBollywood actors who have supported the platform with their best wishes to promote their upcoming movies,the likes of Manav Kaul, Nandita Das, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Sanjay Mishra, Shweta Tripathi, Barun Sobti, Shoaib Ibrahim etc. Bollywood Premiere has been a success so far and the platform has seen many unconventional movies to entertain audiences across platforms and geographies.

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February 7, 2020
Love takes over Platinum this Valentine’s Day

MUMBAI: Love deserves an expression. But do phrases like “falling for you”, “blinded by love”, “head over heels”, “madly in love” hold true today? Are they relevant? Is that what we want love to feel like in a modern world that aspires for equality, empowerment and respect for individuality? A state where one loses one’s sense of rational thinking is dizzy and confused seems like sharp contrast. While love is meant to be great high, one that uplifts you then must its expressions all somehow pull you down?

Dinner dates at expensive restaurants, over the top romantic gestures – sure sound nice in a film, but don’t they tend to preoccupy your thoughts, misdirect your efforts /expectations and create a shift in focus. Instead of thinking of how to make this relationship more real for today, a more meaningful partnership, don’t they serve to lead you into believing something else?

This month of love – “LOVE” itself comes alive and questions the relevance of these expressions and gestures.

Platinum Days of Love brings alive a unique four week digital and social campaign personifying love and infusing new and refreshed meaning into expressions and gestures around Valentine’s Day. Reimagining love to mean a relationship that makes two people greater together. In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, each day LOVE will write an open letter that questions outdated expressions, frivolous gestures, rituals and days offering its modern perspective on relationships, urging couples to embrace acts and gestures that are more meaningful.

And that’s not all – One of the most interesting features that Platinum Days of Love adds to this campaign is the “Love Bot”. The Love Bot works in the form of a voice-based ‘google assistant’, suggesting meaningful ways to celebrate Valentine’s day – including the best way to express your love to your partner, to surprise your loved one and also to buy him or her the perfect Valentine’s Day gift!

The entire campaign is supported by PDOL’s acclaimed #GreaterTogether digital film that celebrates couples who can come together to build an even more formidable force where differences add perspective and similarities are built on to make one stronger.

“It’s time we replace and reimagine the vocabulary around love and relationships from one that rejects and undermines the potential of an individual, cues compromise and sacrifice to one that demonstrates how two individuals can come together to build something greater. Can go from strength to strength. Falling, blinded, taking the plunge all land up seeming like one has been severely compromised. Couples today aspire for a love that empowers and uplifts – where together builds a greater partnership at every level. Where gestures don’t leave you skeptical because they are so over the top but rather reassured- said Platinum Guild International India consumer marketing director Sujala Martis.

“Reimagining love is a natural fit for today’s couples. They have stopped believing in archaic definitions of love and believe in love that empowers them. With this campaign, this Valentine’s Day we want couples to look beyond over the top, frivolous ways to celebrate; and take a more meaningful approach. The idea was to not make this a preachy campaign and hence the conversation is led by Love. Love that’s meaningful and the one that makes you greater together” – said DentsuWebchutney client services Harsh Shah

Known for meaningful designs crafted in rare platinum – apt for when a relationship too mirrors rare qualities. PDOL has curated a collection of six exquisite Platinum Love Bands in its “Greater Together” collection. The designs of each pair stands for a unique promise that enables couples to be #GreaterTogether. The collection will be available to purchase across leading jewellery retail stores in India from the 25 of January until 15 February.

The campaign is live across digital platform from the 25 of January until 15 February.

February 6, 2020
Golden Globe, BAFTA and Emmy Award winning sci-fi drama The Handmaid’s Tale Now Available On Amazon Prime Video

MUMBAI: Elisabeth Moss starter The Handmaid’s Tale is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The sci-fi series set in a dystopian future tells the tale of a woman who is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. Prime Members can now enjoy all three seasons of the Award winning TV Series The Handmaid's Tale, as it exclusively launches on Amazon Prime Video starting 31st January, 2020. Amazon Prime Video recently added seasons 1 and 2 along with the exclusive launch of season 3 to give viewers an ultimate binge watching experience.

The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Synopsis

The 3rd season of the Emmy Award®-winning "The Handmaid's Tale" is driven by June's (Elisabeth Moss) resistance to the regime of Gilead, in which she finds herself once again after opting not to flee to Canada with her baby at the end of season 2.

Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest & exclusive movies and TV shows, Stand-Up Comedy, biggest Indian and Hollywood films, US TV series, most popular Indian & international kids’ shows, and award-winning Amazon Originals, all available, ad-free, with a world class customer experience. The service includes titles available in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali.

To watch the newest releases in Hollywood & Bollywood, the latest US TV shows, kids’ favorite toons and Amazon Originals, please visit www.PrimeVideo.com or download the Amazon Prime Video app today and sign-up for a Prime membership only at ₹999 annually or ₹129 monthly.

February 6, 2020
Sony PIX brings back ‘Hollywood’s Finest’

MUMBAI: While the world celebrates back to back award nights in Hollywood, Sony PIX is bringing back ‘Hollywood’s Finest’ to recognize, applaud and celebrate the most cherished movies. The two week-long festival will serve Hollywood fans with the finest, most acclaimed and most revered Hollywood stories every night at 9 until 16th February.

With titles ranging from over 3 decades, Hollywood’s Finest has an especially curated line-up of stellar movies with over 1200 nominations and 500 awards cumulatively to their credit. The festival has something for every Hollywood movie buff – from First Man, Interstellar and the Indian Television Premiere of ‘Boy Erased’ to Jurassic Park, Wonder Woman and King Kong.

Additionally, to bring Hollywood closer to the movie buffs, Sony PIX has partnered with popular hangout joints The Beer Café and Hoppipola for the on-ground leg. Across 3 outlets of Hoppipola in Mumbai and Bangalore and across 13 outlets of The Beer Café in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, fans can celebrate their love for movies with a customized cocktail menu inspired by Hollywood.

Also, fans who consider Hollywood to be their Holy Grail can visit Hoppipola and The Beer Café to be a part of ‘Hollywood’s Finest Quiz’ and ‘PIX charades’. Winners who prove their fandom stand a chance to win exclusive Hollywood collectibles. Fans can also head to Sony PIX’s social media pages for an exciting quiz which is sure to test and challenge one’s knowledge about Hollywood.

SPN English Custer marketing head Rohan Jain said, “Our programming and marketing efforts have helped solidify our leadership position and engage with the relevant audience. This year too, we want to continue to be at the forefront of consumer engagement via various associations on-ground and on digital platforms, strengthening Sony PIX’s stand as the go to destination for the best in Hollywood”.

February 6, 2020
Fox beat analyst expectations in fiscal Q2 earning

MUMBAI– Fox Corporation reported financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2019.

The Company reported total quarterly revenues of $3.78 bn, a 5 per cent increase from the $3.58 bn of revenues in the prior year quarter. This increase includes affiliate revenue growth of 7 per cent, reflecting growth at both the Television and Cable Network Programming segments, and advertising revenue growth of 1%, which was achieved despite the comparative effect of record political advertising revenues from the mid-term elections at the Company’s owned and operated television stations in the prior year quarter.

The Company also reported a 32 per cent increase in other revenues, led by growth at the Cable Network Programming segment and higher revenues at the Other, Corporate and Eliminations segment attributable to the operation of the FOX Studios Lot for third parties and the consolidation of Credible Labs Inc.

Quarterly net income increased to $314 million from the $24 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to unrealized gains recognized in other, net related to changes in the fair values of the Company’s investments in Roku, Inc. and The Stars Group Inc., partially offset by higher operating, selling, general and administrative and net interest expenses. The increases in selling, general and administrative and net interest expenses primarily reflect higher costs related to FOX operating as a standalone public company following the Distribution.

Quarterly net income attributable to Fox Corporation stockholders increased to $300 million ($0.48 per share) compared to $8 million ($0.01 per share) in the prior year quarter. Quarterly Adjusted EBITDA2 of $261 million was lower than the prior year quarter, primarily due to lower contributions at the Television segment. Adjusted net income attributable to Fox Corporation stockholders3 was $64 million ($0.10 per share), lower than the $268 million ($0.43 per share) adjusted result in the prior year quarter.

Commenting on the results, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch said: “Our results reaffirm that Fox Corporation is delivering on the operational and financial objectives that we established less than twelve months ago. Our brands are exhibiting strength in a competitive marketplace and delivering healthy top-line growth as we continue to invest strategically to expand the reach of our portfolio and further diversify our revenue streams. Meanwhile, we are taking a balanced approach to capital allocation, including the return of $500 million to shareholders in the form of share repurchases since our last earnings release. Coming off an incredibly successful Super Bowl LIV and with the buildup to the November Presidential Election ahead of us, we look forward to continuing our momentum through calendar 2020.”

February 6, 2020
OML Entertainment launches comedy festival – The Circuit

MUMBAI: – Comedy’s never been taken this seriously before. OML Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the creators of India’s decade-old and much-loved Happiest Music Festival- Bacardi NH7 Weekender, have announced the first edition of a massive comedy festival called The Circuit. From March 7-15, the festival will travel to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

The lineup for all three cities is out, with all shows for Delhi and Bangalore being live, and part of the Mumbai calendar of shows being out. With a mixture of smaller club shows and auditorium shows, the festival is designed to offer innovative and unique experiences to audiences who enjoy comedy with stand-up comedy in various forms – specially curated lineups, women’s showcases, LGBTQ shows, regional comedy with shows being released for Marathi and Malayalam shows as well as formats such as debates, quizzing, various comedy games and much more. The lineup features over 100 comedians from across the country – for a variety of shows both big and small, with interesting lineups sure to appeal to a wide range of people, including comedians like Aakash Gupta, Rohan Joshi, Radhika Vaz, Tanmay Bhat, Anu Menon, Saikiran, Urjita Wani, Zakir Khan and more.

After kicking off in Delhi and Bangalore on March 7-8, the festival will run in Mumbai from March 11-15. After a packed calendar of shows from March 11-14, the festival will conclude with a grand finale – The Festival Circuit – in Jio Garden on March 15. This event will see a series of different performances by a strong lineup of over 20 comedians, and will be an all day outdoor event with comedy fans getting a taste of various types and formats of comedy. With just one ticket, the audience can see 5 different shows at the grand finale of the festival.

“As OML, we've had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented comedians from around the country and abroad. The Circuit is our celebration of the versatility of the genre and the messages it can hold. It will not only bring together a diverse range of shows from comics to sketch troupes, debates and game formats – but also venues, partners and artists that make the landscape as vibrant as it is. We're proud to be working with curators who have pulled together a great lineup ranging from regional comedy to unique ideas such as roast battles and comedy tag team, making sure there's something for every comedy fan” said OML Entertainment CEO Gunjan Arya.

OML worked with specific comedy curators to program the festival who brought together new formats of comedy to give a varied experience across venues, comedian styles and cities to put together a festival that distinguishes The Circuit from other comedy events in the country. Rohan Desai said, “We are very excited to be curating this festival that will feature a wide variety of concept shows which will be a unique one-time experience. The jokes and performances you see in these shows will never be repeated again.” Shreemayee Das added, “A few of the concept shows will actually be happening in tournament style – like a cricket world cup. So it will be very interesting to follow the progress of different teams and see which comedians will win the finals.” Reuben Kaduskar said, “This was a very exciting opportunity, because I got the chance to collaborate with artists from all over the country, and from an audience perspective, it's perfect because they get to see some of the best talent all at one place. Other than the game shows, what's unique about this festival is that a lot of the comedians are doing their brand new one hour solo shows for the first time ever.”

Four different show types are on the cards to give different sorts of comedy experience to the . The Club Circuit will have intimate venues with curated programming. The Theatre Circuit will have bigger showcases with a diverse lineup of different comedians performing to bigger audiences. Circuit X shows will have exclusive showcases. The Festival Circuit will see an all day outdoor event at Jio Garden on March 15.

February 4, 2020
BIG FM and HDFC ERGO General Insurance launch ‘ High Beam – Not OK Please’ campaign

MUMBAI: BIG FM, one of the largest radio networks in the country, in association with HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, India’s third-largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, today announced the kick start of the ‘High Beam – Not OK Please’ campaign. As the flag-bearers of change, the brands have highlighted an issue of the excessive usage of High Beam while driving, which is a huge threat to human lives, becoming the cause of many road accidents in the country.

As per the data published by the ministry of road, transport, and highways, 74 per cent of the vehicles use blinding headlights on highways which are one of the major causes of road accidents. When it comes to road crash deaths, as per the 2017 report, Chennai, Delhi, and Bangalore are the top three cities that witnessed maximum accidents while Mumbai is placed on No 7. This is an alarming situation and the campaign tries to sensitize everyone to use High Beam in the right way.

With an endeavor to bring a positive, the radio network and HDFC ERGO General Insurance have brought forth the fact that High Beams are the cause of many road accidents in the country. As a part of the campaign, BIG FM RJs will initiate conversations by highlighting and engaging with listeners on the causes of increasing road accidents. Further, with highways being the most affected and to personalize the messaging for the listeners, BIG FM will also install photo booths across prominent dhabas across highways in various cities. As soon as the person is ready to get clicked, a bright light will flash on their face while the camera captures the image. This social experiment will mirror the jarring effect of the high beam from the opposite direction on a person’s vision.

Speaking on the campaign, BIG FM spokesperson said, “When we hear the term road accident, we associate it with various reasons like speed, drunk driving, mobile phone usage, etc. But, we hardly think that the use of a high beam can cause accidents too. Through this campaign, we want to change this notion and highlight how this issue is turning out to be one of the key reasons for accidents. We, as a responsible brand, have always tried to inspire the masses to take a relook at situations and imbibe a sense of accountability. We appreciate HDFC ERGO General Insurance for coming forward in support of our campaign and driving this message through their platform as well.”

HDFC ERGO General Insurance shared services and online business president Mehmood Mansoori said, “We are glad to be associated with BIG FM for the campaign which is the need of the hour, to create awareness on the misuse of High Beam on the roads of our country. Knowingly or unknowingly, we tend to make the mistake of using high beam while driving without thinking of its effects on the driver of a vehicle coming from the opposite end. Through this campaign, we aim to help people understand the hazards of using a high beam.”

In its next phases, BIG FM RJs will engage with listeners to understand their perspective and also speak to local authorities like – RTO, traffic management, driving experts and eye specialists for an in-depth idea on high beam and its harsh effects, if not used correctly. This awareness will be further spread across BIG FM’s vast networks. ‘#HighBeam – Use it Right’ will be a 360-degree campaign which will run across various platforms including On-air, RJ mentions, buzz on digital, on-ground activations for direct interaction with listeners, etc.

February 4, 2020
Reliance Entertainment, Amblin Partners’ World War 1 Drama ‘1917’ bags seven awards at BAFTA

MUMBAI: Reliance Entertainment and Amblin Partners’ 1917 has won seven awards at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), held last evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London including Outstanding British Film and Best Film and Best Director (Sam Mendes).

The World War 1 thriller, which was nominated in 9 categories at BAFTA, also won awards for Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Best Production Design (Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales), Best Sound (Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson) and Special Visual Effects (Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron and Dominic Tuohy).

Sam Mendes, who is the first British winner of the Best Director BAFTA since Danny Boyle’s 2009 win for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ said,"There's the personal delight in seeing a story very close to me and my family be developed and enlarged but the massive thing has been audiences going in large numbers.” He added, “None of us knew if an audience would turn up, it wasn't certain at all. It's coincided with awards season and the fact this is still number one in the UK after four weeks, [the awards have] really alerted people to the fact the movie is on, it rarely happens like that."

Inspired by the stories that Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes’ grandfather told him, 1917 has had a dream run this awards season with 10 Oscar nominations, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director,’ for the forthcoming 92nd Academy Awards, which is scheduled to be held at 9th February 2020 in Los Angeles. 1917 has previously won three awards at the Critics’ Choice Awards 2020 for ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Cinematographer’ and ‘Best Editing’. The film also won accolades at the 77th Golden Globes, with an award for Best Picture in the Drama category, and the Best Director’s award for Sam Mendes.

The film also bagged an award for ‘Best Feature Film’ at Directors Guild of America Awards and honored with the ‘Best Picture’ award at the Producers Guild of America Awards. Another feather in the cap was Roger Deakins winning the ‘Top Feature Award’ from the American Society of Cinematographers for his outstanding work in the movie.

DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment present, in association with New Republic Pictures, a Neal Street production, produced in association with Mogambo, Sam Mendes film: 1917, starring George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, with Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch. ‘1917’ is directed by Sam Mendes. A Reliance Entertainment release in India, the film is still running in theatres.

February 3, 2020
SBI Life’s ‘Apnoki #HimmatWaliSeeti’ highlights the importance of family support

MUMBAI: SBI Life Insurance, one of the most trusted life insurance companies in India, today launched its latest integrated brand campaign ‘Apnoki #HimmatWaliSeeti’; that reiterates the power of family support in reinstating individual’s belief in himself/herself. Built on the insight that individual’s happiness is key to his/her family’s happiness. The 360° brand campaign encourages individuals to pursue their passion responsibly, by first making life insurance a financial priority to secure the needs of their loved ones.

The new ad film pivots through a heartwarming scene where a father, in his mid-thirties on a stand-up podium, describes his life as a ‘pressure cooker’. Wherein, the pressure of responsibilities keeps growing, until his 9-year-old daughter is seen passionately whistling amongst the audience, cutting through the noise. The daughter’s whistle is symbolic of the depressurizing effect of family’s support in today’s challenging life.

SBI Life Insurance chief of brand and corporate communications Ravindra Sharma, said, “In our society, family continues to be the bedrock of support and our communication seeks to highlight the strength of family support. Especially in today’s challenging times family support plays a fundamental role in shaping an individual’s well-being; it acts as a de-pressuring agent in life. Our new brand campaign ‘Apnoki #HimmatWaliSeeti’ attempts to communicate a strong message that with the support and encouragement of the family one can wholeheartedly pursue their dreams and ambitions. He further added, “Through this campaign, we aim to support every individual in securing their family’s well-being in a better way, without compromising on their dreams.”

‘Apnoki #HimmatWaliSeeti’ campaign continues to establish SBI Life’s sharp focus on the importance of having protection insurance for securing loved ones against any life uncertainty. The campaign highlights that once an individual has ensured a safe future for the family, a little encouragement from loved ones can definitely boost one’s confidence in taking up an alternative interest which may have delayed due to other commitments.

“Life Insurance is seen as a responsibility towards one’s loved ones, and we wanted to start a new dialogue about the reason for Life insurance for today’s shifting landscape. The shift about the category with this campaign is that our loved ones are not our responsibility, but our biggest strength, our biggest cheerleaders and we don’t need to endure a life doing what we don’t love to see them happy, to see them taken care of. Life is about going after your dreams, our loved ones are still taken care of. We have a story of a girl learning to whistle so she can cheer for her father as she witnesses him most happy, most content when he’s pursuing what he loves to do”, said Mullen Lintas India CCO Garima Khandelwal and Azazul Haque.

February 3, 2020
One Take Media – Presents Haunted StoriesEver Told

MUMBAI: One Take Media Co. has more than 10,000+ hours of content and covers almost all the genres. It has a varied range of content involving Hollywood Movies, Kids content, Cooking Content, Korean series and many more. Although one of our strengths are surely our Hollywood Movies. The wide range of Hollywood Moviesare available in English and in all the Indian regional languages includes Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati and Bhojpuri.

Despite the inclination of India audience towards the genres like Drama, Romance and Comedy, Horror Content has created its own market. Horror is one such genre which is always welcomed especially by the youth.Right from series like “Aahat” to movies like “Raaz”, they have created a special place in all of our hearts.Although, the taste and the demand for horror has seen a clear shift in due course of time. One reason being is the entrance of Hollywood into the picture. Hollywood actually brought more to the platter.

Conjuring can be defined as an epic example or a milestone which significantly increased the fondness for horror content. Indian audience now look towards Hollywood market for a better experience of Horror movies. In fact, Ott platforms like Netflix and prime videos are too coming up with a lot of horror centric content to feed such an appetite of the viewers. Today, a bunch of 10 friends planning to have a house party might surely plan to watch a horror movie together. Horror content apart from being a break from the normal daily videos, are also the best tool to bring some thrill and spice to the night. The other reason why horror works the best for the youth is due to the stickiness of the content. A horror movie is believed to last longer on one’s mind unlike the other genres.

One Take Media Co. has a huge library of Hollywood movies especially catering genres like Action, Thriller and Sci-Fi. But recently OTMC has started focusing on strengthening its library for Horror Movies. OTMC has a significant amount of Horror Content available in English and in all the Indian Regional languages. Robert the Doll, Curse of the Nun, Ouija House and many more such terrifying titles are included in the list of OTMC Hollywood Movies library.

Mr. Anil Khera, Founder and CEO of One Take Media Co. said, “We all have had our experiences of watching a horror movie and ending up in a long discussion with our friends about it. Hiding under the blankets or peeping under the bed to ensure if everything was fine. All of these instances actually become a memorable part of our lives. We don’t want our audience to miss this out in anyways. Hence, we promise to bring more and more to your service and that to in your preferred language.”

February 3, 2020