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Category: Press Release

  • The 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards 2014: New beginnings

    The 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards 2014: New beginnings

    Mumbai: As the Award reaches the landmark 60th year, it does so in partnership with the globally iconic brand – Britannia. Both Britannia and Filmfare are not only household names but leaders in their respective fields. It’s going to be a master class in excellence as two distinguished brands come together to honour the best of Indian cinema.   

    With six decades at the top, Filmfare magazine and the Awards hold pride of place in the hearts of stars and fans alike. Starting with a modest ceremony of just 5 awards, it is now an extravagant gala with over 35 awards. A R Rahman leads with the highest number of the Filmfare Awards, a whopping 29, followed by Kamal Hassan and Gulzar at 20 each.  Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Black and Devdas have been the most successful films at the Filmfare Awards.  They’ve bagged an amazing 10 awards each.

    The Black Lady too has changed over time; from a 5kg hand crafted bronze trophy to a golden avatar at the 50th anniversary.  A diamond-studded trophy, the 2500th piece, was given away to A R Rahman in 2012. In 2013, gold plating at the base of the trophy was done to mark the centenary of Indian Cinema and a year later, keeping up with the advent of 3D in films and 3D printing technology in real life, Filmfare took a futuristic leap. All the trophies that year were 3D printed.
    Britannia Industries is one of India’s leading food companies with annual revenues in excess of Rs. 6000 Cr. In it’s close to 100 year journey, Britannia has become one of India’s favorite and most trusted food brands and houses power brands like Good Day, Tiger, NutriChoice and MarieGold which are household names in India.  Britannia’s product portfolio includes biscuits, bread, cakes, rusk, and dairy products including cheese, beverages, Milk and yoghurt. Britannia products are available across the country in over 35 lakh retail outlets and reach over 50% of Indian homes.  It’s most recent product launches – NutriChoice Heavens and Goodday Chunkies showcase the Company’s ability to offer World- class bakery experiences to the Indian consumer.

    To announce this momentous occasion, Britannia and Filmfare came together at the hotel JW Marriott in Mumbai on December 7, 2014. Gracing the event to announce this grand new association was B-town’s favourite actress and now international pop icon Priyanka Chopra along   with Mr. Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Industries Limited and Mr. Tarun Rai, Chief Executive Officer, Worldwide Media, the publishers of Filmfare magazine.  Together they lit the lamp marking the start of a new magical journey to honour Hindi cinema’s best.

    Talking about their decision to partner with the Filmfare Awards Mr. Varun Berry said, “Britannia is happy to announce its association with the Filmfare Awards 2014 as a Title Sponsor. The Britannia Filmfare Awards 2014 will bring together the two things that every Indian loves – Good food and Great Fun.”

    Mr. Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media said, “In the 60th year of the Filmfare Awards, I am very happy to announce that Britannia is making their debut with us as partners. Britannia is an iconic brand and I am sure their association with Filmfare Awards will only raise the stature of our event. I look forward to this new journey.”

    The 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards 2014 will be held on January 31, 2015 at the Yash Raj Studios, Andheri, Mumbai.

     

  • Punit Goenka wins ‘Person of the Year 2014’

    Punit Goenka wins ‘Person of the Year 2014’

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) MD & CEO Punit Goenka was awarded the prestigious IMPACT Person of the Year 2014 on December 05, 2014 at a glittering function held at the ITC Grand Central, Mumbai. The Governor of Maharashtra, Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao felicitated Goenka with the award in the presence of Essel Group and ZEEL chairman Dr. Subhash Chandra and exchange4media chairman Group Annurag Batra.

     

    Goenka won this award for his efforts in bringing about change in television audience measurement in the country, driving profitability in the broadcast sector and steering ZEEL to a steady rise.

     

    On accepting the award, Goenka said, “It is always a pleasure to get an award which recognizes your achievements, and for making a difference to the industry. But for me, this is a special one, since it also recognizes and applauds the human side and hence titled as ‘IMPACT Person of the Year’.”

     

    Goenka further added, “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our Chairman, Dr. Subhash Chandra, for it is his pioneering vision and guidance, which makes us stand tall today ; my wife, Shreyasi, who has been a great support to me ; and of course my entire team at ZEE.”

     

    The Governor of Maharashtra, Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao, in his keynote address, congratulated Goenka, saying, “Goenka has not only risen through the ranks to head ZEE but has expanded its global footprint by offering an amazing variety of content through its channels.”

     

    The nominees for the 10th edition of the IMPACT Person of the Year were Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison World, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director – South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather India, Prasoon Joshi, Chairman, McCann WorldGroup APAC & CEO, Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL, BD Park, President & CEO, Samsung S West Asia and Sachin Bansal & Binny Bansal, CEO & COO, Flipkart. The selection process for IMPACT Person of the Year 2014 was handled by IMRB International. After receiving nominations, the final voting was done by a select few from across the advertisement, media and marketing fraternity. IMPACT’s editorial team then analysed the results to arrive at IMPACT Person of the Year 2014.

     

  • The Huffington Post and Times of India Launch “HuffPost India”

    The Huffington Post and Times of India Launch “HuffPost India”

    MUMBAI: The Huffington Post Media Group and The Times of India Group, India’s largest media conglomerate, today announce the official launch of an Indian edition of The Huffington Post, a leading global source of breaking news, opinion, entertainment, and community. GroupM, the world’s largest media investment conglomerate also comes on board as a strategic partner for brand synergies and advertising in India for the Huffington Post.

     

    HuffPost India will combine The Huffington Post’s award-winning news and blogging platform with the local expertise and reach of The Times of India Group. The announcement was jointly made today by Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, and Satyan Gajwani, CEO of Times Internet (TIL), the digital arm of The Times of India, with advertising partner CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia.

     

    “I’m delighted to launch HuffPost India, which will be our 13th edition since we began our international expansion three years ago,” said Huffington. “The launch comes at a moment when India is facing huge and unique challenges, but also when India’s spiritual traditions have taken their place at the center of a global conversation about what it means to live a good life. It’s in looking back to these ancient traditions and tools that so much of the wisdom and strength needed to build the future will be found. I’m thrilled that HuffPost India will be there to chronicle this story and – just as important – help Indians tell their stories themselves.”

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Gajwani said – “We are very excited to launch Huffington Post India. Huffington Post is the first real digital-first news success story globally, and their impact is seen across the world. They’ve coupled a best-in-class technology platform with a fresh way of approaching the world’s issues today. They have been a pioneer in doing a great mix of contemporary news coverage alongside great lifestyle, health and positive uplifting content. We look forward to bringing HuffPo’s conversational approach to news to a large section of Indian audience.”

     

    Commenting on the partnership with Huffington Post, Mr. CVL Srinivas¸CEO, GroupM South Asia said “GroupM has been at the forefront of driving digital media innovations. Our strategic partnership with Huffington Post in India is another step in that direction. While advertising on digital has been growing at a healthy pace we believe brands are yet to harness the full potential of digital media. With an iconic player like Huffington Post, brands have a great opportunity to connect with their audiences. We will be working together to create these opportunities and are very excited about this partnership.”

     

    “As the world’s largest democracy, and with a middle class of more than 250 million people, India is a critical destination for any global media company,” said Huffington Post Media Group CEO Jimmy Maymann. “And with Indian household consumption predicted to continue to grow nearly 20% per year, this partnership gives us an ideal entry into what is expected to become the world’s fifth-largest consumer market within the next ten years.”

     

    The Huffington Post and The Times of India Group have established an editorial team based in New Delhi. The English-language website will cover everything from politics, media and entertainment to technology, religion and lifestyle, and open up The Huffington Post’s blogging platform to anyone in the country with a story to tell.

  • Aaj Tak brings back ‘Agenda Aaj Tak: The Biggest Platform’ of the Hindi heartland

    Aaj Tak brings back ‘Agenda Aaj Tak: The Biggest Platform’ of the Hindi heartland

    MUMBAI: The ‘Hindi Jagat Ka Maha Manch’ is getting bigger every year, as Aaj Tak the Nation’s News Leader presents the 3rd Edition of the award winning annual event ‘Agenda Aaj Tak – Kitna Badal Gaya Hindustan’, with a theme that is reflective of the changing times in the National landscape. The 2 day conclave scheduled for the 12th and 13th of December is expected to raise the benchmarks of a News event, as the most powerful voices will debate on issues dominating the Indian mindspace.

     With an impressive line-up of the most distinguished stalwarts coming together, the two day conclave will prove to be defining in more ways than one.

    The greatest minds and leaders across various fields will set the mood for the sessions. The Game Changer and modern day Chanakya – Amit Shah, The Master strategist – Arun Jaitley and The defence minister – Manohar Parikkar, The railway minister – Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, these most powerful personalities from the new political order will share their vision and plan. The Kingmakers of coalition politics Sharad Yadav and Laloo Prasad Yadav are expected to bring fireworks in the session ‘Modi Ke Khilaf Morchabandi’. While the living legend of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan will pay tribute to his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

    ‘Dilli Ke Dil Main Kya Hai’ will be debated in the race to the Delhi Elections by Arvind Kejriwal, Former CM – Delhi, Satish Upadhyay, President – Delhi BJP and Arvinder Singh Lovely, DPCC Chief.

     Sports, music and entertainment too are part of the agenda, with the superstars of cricket, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir debating on the chances of Team India to lift the World Cup again. Musicians Sukhwinder Singh, Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani will add some melody to sessions by reflecting on the rapidly changing music industry and more.

     The Singham of bollywood, Ajay Devgn will bring in his share of action by sharing his views and experience while the young brigade led by the most promising young diva Shraddha Kappoor, dashing star  Arjun Kapoor and the Dabangg girl Sonakshi Sinha will talk about the young spirit and on being role models for the youth.

    The first time MPs, Manoj Tiwari – BJP, Babul Supriyo – BJP and Chirag Paswan – LJP will talk about the responsibilities on their new role.

    Chief Ministers – Devendra Fadnavis, CM – Maharashtra, Harish Rawat, CM – Uttarakhand and Manohar Lal Khattar, CM – Haryana will lay emphasis on the importance of Centre – State relationship in the session aptly titled – Tera Mera Saath Rahe.

     Religious and Spiritual Leaders – Asaduddin Owaisi, President  AIMIM, Swami Ramdev, Yoga Guru and Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati, Hindu Spiritual Leader will share their opinions on the lines of religion and spirituality.

     Through the two days well know comedian Raju Srivastav will be sprinkling humour in between the sessions to balance the heated debates with some laughter

     Agenda Aaj Tak is the flagship Hindi News event from the TV Today Network Ltd that has seen the most illustrious and eminent personalities coming together under one roof. The success of the first two editions has clearly established, Agenda Aaj Tak as the definitive News Event in the National Language. The event in its 3rd year will focus on the changing Nation, right from politics, social issues, industry initiatives, culture and more, thus setting the stage for the most crucial national decisions.

     

  • Halfticket.tv brings MyFrenchFilmFestival 2015 for its Indian viewers

    Halfticket.tv brings MyFrenchFilmFestival 2015 for its Indian viewers

    MUMBAI: HalfTicket.tv, a curated Video-on-Demand platform to limitless entertainment is bringing to India the 5th edition of world’s first online French Film Festival, MyFrenchFilmFestival 2015. The festival will be  exclusively available for free viewing in India on all connected devices on the web, mobiles and tablets potentially reaching out to over 300 million internet users in the world’s second largest internet market.

     

    Organized by UniFrance Films, this festival will be available to viewers in from January 16 through February 16, 2015. Indian users can also download the specialised app HALFTICKET TV from the Google Play stores for Android devices. Similarly, Apple device users can also get the app via iTunes from the date of the festival.

     

    MyFrenchFilmFestival is an innovative concept, bringing the best of French cinema to Indian cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and cinema lovers. The goal is to showcase the young generation of French filmmakers and enable Internet users to share their love of French cinema.

     

    All the films selected for the 5th edition of the festival will be available with a free access online from 16 January to 16 February 2015.

     

    The selection includes ten French feature films and ten French shorts presented at the festival.

     

    Speaking on giving users from any country free access to the festival, Isabelle Giordano, General Director, Unifrance, said, “Between the 1st and 4th editions of the festival we have seen a fair amount of traffic on from Indian users accessing the festivals site, underlining the interest in French Films among Indian cinema lovers. This time, as we look forward to bringing another round of the best films from new French directors, we wanted to make the festival accessible to internet users across India, and hence tied up with HalfTicket.tv to stream the festival.”

     

    Commenting on streaming MyFrenchFilmFestival in India, Mr. Jagdish Rajpurohit, Founder, HalfTicket.tv said, “The new-age Indian cinema lover wants to experience movies from across the globe. This viewer would love to see new content from French cinema but so far the movies never came to India. With our tie-up to get MyFrenchFilmFestival to India free for Indian users, we aim to begin offering them international movies at their convenience”.

  • Aadarsh’s Purple Turtle Adventures Are Heading to Sri Lanka

    Aadarsh’s Purple Turtle Adventures Are Heading to Sri Lanka

    MUMBAI: Aadarsh Pvt. Ltd. has joined hands with leading publisher Sarasavi Book Shop Pvt. Ltd., to launch Purple Turtle story books in Sinhala Language in Sri lanka. India-based IP development company, Aadarsh Pvt. Ltd. (www.aadarsh.com), has signed with leading children’s book publisher in Sri Lanka, Sarasavi Book Shop Pvt. Ltd. to produce a line of children’s story book products for the company’s anchor property, Purple Turtle, (www.purpleturtle.com) for Sri Lanka.

     

    Manish Rajoria, Director of Licensing and Publishing of the Purple Turtle brand, noted “The Purple Turtle books feature stories that guide and stimulate a child’s mind. Creative stories that provide great learning while having fun experiences. This deal permits us to expand the books growing popularity even further. Young audiences in Sri Lanka will now be able to enjoy many of Purple Turtle’s adventures through a variety of read and play opportunities. , Sarasavi Book Shop Pvt. Ltd.  is a leader in providing children with only high quality reading material, a perfect partner to support our growing initiatives for the Purple Turtle brand.”

     

    Originally introduced in 2012, the Purple Turtle books have been published in 21 countries including USA, UK, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, and 6 regional languages in India with over 1 million copies published to date.

     

    The Purple Turtle (78 x 7 min, 3D HD) animation featuring the world’s cutest turtle, a little guy who stands out of the normal crowd because he tends to think differently than others, or better yet, a bit ‘out of his shell’ is in development.

  • Star India CEO Uday Shankar is ‘Person of the Decade’

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar is ‘Person of the Decade’

    Mumbai: Uday Shankar, CEO of Star India, received a significant industry award, The Impact Person of the Decade – 2014. Maharashtra Governor Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao gave the prestigious award to Shankar late last evening in the presence of media visionary Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Esselworld and Zee, and Annurag Batra, Chairman of the exchange4media Group.

     

    The award recognises the one individual who has made maximum and far-reaching impact on and influenced and helped shape the media, marketing and advertising industry tremendously over the last ten years.

     

    Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, addressing an audience packed with leaders and professionals of Indian media, marketing and advertising, said, “Shri Uday Shankar’s journey from being a journalist to head a large media organization has been spectacular. His agenda of driving a social change through programs like Satyamev Jayate has had a huge impact. In a country where cricket is a religion, he has brought to the fore games like Hockey and Kabaddi and demonstrated how these games could also be popularized in a changing world.”

     

    Accepting the award, Shankar said, “This is overwhelming – there is nothing more special than peer recognition.  I consider myself a creation of this industry, and for this industry to recognize that I might have made some impact on the last decade fills me with a sense of both — pride and gratitude.”

     

    Introspecting on winning the Impact Person of the Decade, Shankar said, “When I was informed by Impact that I am the person of the decade, I couldn’t help but reflect on my journey and what led me here…  I can say it in one word – collaboration.  That seems to be the one thing that I have done better and better and better over the last 10 years.” However, he added that “the willingness to collaborate has always been built on a solid conviction to do the right thing – not just for Star but for the entire industry and society. The conviction to not do regressive content, the conviction to not compromise the larger interest of community.”

     

    Shankar attributed his success at Star to his excellent team. “I think my success at Star and the success of Star India are results of not just an extremely talented team that I could put together but that this team collaborates with and compliments one another extremely well… my amazing team at Star has always rallied around to die for every single ridiculous plan that I have come up with,” he said. “This recognition is yours!”

     

    James Murdoch, Co-Chief Operating Officer, 21st Century Fox, said in a recorded message, “Uday Shankar is really driven by a belief in communications, and a belief that media and storytelling can make a positive difference. We’re enormously proud of Uday for being named the Impact Person of the Decade. It’s a great honour for him — one that he richly deserves. Star has always been a great innovator, and under Uday’s leadership, it has taken that to new levels.”

     

    Superstar Aamir Khan, in a recorded message, said, “I’ve known Uday for about five years now — his razor-sharp mind, his intelligence, his courage, his boldness to take difficult decisions… He believes in the impossible, and that’s why he achieves the impossible.”

     

    Media captain Aroon Purie, Chairman, India Today Group, said of Mr Shankar in a message, “He is a good thinker; obviously a great leader… I am delighted that he is getting this award. He has made a great impact on the industry, and I am sure that his leadership in Star, and also as part of the industry, will have a great impact in the years to come.”

     

    Annurag Batra, Chairman – exchange4media Group, said, “Across the years, Mr Shankar’s contributions to the entire space have been remarkable – whether through his mission for innovative and socially responsible content that is based on great storytelling, or the investments in and support of sports genres across Kabaddi, Football and Hockey and Cricket, and his remarkable efforts in aligning industry stakeholders for issues of industry and social significance. These, with several other reasons, are why the Impact editorial team selected Mr Shankar from a solid list of respected industry professionals for having impacted the industry and society in such a positive and significant way through his vision for both Star  and the industry. He is indeed a truly deserving winner of the top honour in the space of Media, Marketing and Advertising.”

     

    Click here to read Uday Shankar’s acceptance speech

  • Go FoodMAD with Rocky & Mayur

    Go FoodMAD with Rocky & Mayur

    MUMBAI: After the tremendous success of FoodMAD Season 1 – Rocky, Mayur and NDTV Good Times are back with Season 2. This season brings to you, the best eateries from around the country to help satisfy your unique set of food CRAVINGS and to rock your taste buds wild!
     
    The thirteen episode series will take the viewers on a delicious joyride through the streets of Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Amritsar and Ludhiana. Whether your heightened mood is craving exotic food or you want to go completely local with spicy and junk food or your sweet tooth craving – FoodMAD 2 will take you to the ULTIMATE destinations to get you your food fix.
     
    Watch India’s much loved food enthusiasts put the spotlight on popular streets, restaurants, fine dining spaces, cafes and bakeries around the country. Starting from the kitchens of the heritage city of Hyderabad, adding a chatpata dash of Delhi tadka, mix of Pune roadside food, some mouth-watering sweet & sour delicacies of Ludhiana and ghee doused kulchas of Amritsar, this season Rocky and Mayur will go totally FoodMAD chasing their spicy, tangy, junk-y, deep fried, sweet and sour and many more cravings.
     
    Talking about the new show, Arati Singh, Channel Head, NDTV Good Times said, “FoodMAD has already caught the fancy of food lovers across the nation after the much loved Season 1. It is a show dedicated to all the crazy food lovers. I am sure the show will help youngsters get an insight to the best joints to hang-out at odd hours and cure their contagious cravings.”
     
    So go completely FoodMAD with Rocky and Mayur, as they help you satiate your deepest cravings on ‘FoodMAD 2’ every Saturday at 9 PM, 6th December onwards only on NDTV Good Times.
  • Saurabh and Vivek launch dance championship ‘Born 2 Dance’

    Saurabh and Vivek launch dance championship ‘Born 2 Dance’

    KOLKATA: East India’s biggest dance championship –‘BORN 2 DANCE – One Chance one Dance’ is a championship, where people from a few districts of Bengal like Medinipur, Durgapur, Barrackpore, Sreerampore and Siliguri and few nearby states like Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar and  Assam can participate, inclusive of Kolkata and Howrah.

    It is the brain child of Saurabh and Vivek, Fame – DID Finalists2011, who have been a part of many reality shows and won many of them too. The event will cater to the age group between three to 30 years and will have special solo rounds for moms and dads too along with doubles and groups as categories too. The winner of the entire event would be awarded with a cash prize of Rs one lakh. The auditions at Kolkata will be held on 22, 23 and 24 December. All the finalists of the event would be given a three day grooming workshop by the duo.

    The finale event will be held on 7 January 2015 at Science City Auditorium, Kolkata and will be judged by Salman Yusuf Khan, (Dance India Dance Winner, Jhalak Dikhla Ja Winner, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Debut Movie – ABCD).

    On this occasion, the duo commented, “Since we have been a part of many reality shows, we understand the difficulty of being a part of the same. So, we decided to launch Born 2 Dance, where people from all over East India could participate in a Dance Competition and get a chance to be groomed and trained by us to become capable of being a part of reality shows too. Kolkata has witnessed many dance competitions but one that brings together people from all nearby states too will happen now”

    Market Concepts owner, Chetna Karnani, said, “The sole objective of this event is to bring out the talents of deserving dance aspirants, by providing them with a platform through a state level competition and hence it will help pull a participation of over 7000 people.”

     

  • Viacom18 sweeps 2014 PROMAXBDA Asia awards with 17 wins

    Viacom18 sweeps 2014 PROMAXBDA Asia awards with 17 wins

    MUMBAI: Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. today announced its sweeping victory at the recently concluded 2014 PromaxBDA Asia Awards, on 4 December in Singapore, taking home 14 awards.

     

    The PromaxBDA Awards recognize excellence in on-air promotion, branding and advertising on programming, channel or brand. Awards were open to satellite, cable, broadcast, television, radio station and associated new media, their agencies and production houses.

     

    2014 PromaxBDA Asia Award Categories Won

     

    GOLD

    ·         Best Children’s Promo – Nick Dekho Dekho Tum Song Promo

    ·         Best Children’s Campaign – Nick Class Mein Blast

    ·         Best Script – Comedy Central Tees “Territories”

    ·         Funniest Spot – MTV Soap-Box Spot

    ·         Something for Nothing – Indie Talkies Promo

    ·         Most Innovative Use of Digital – Anger Management – Destructomatic App

    ·         App-Titude Award – MTV Count Your Drinks App

    ·         Best Print Campaign – MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2014

     

    SILVER

    ·         Best Comedy Promo – Weekend Stache “P.T.”

    ·         Best Integrated Marketing Campaign – MTV Sent The Youth In India To Polling Booths (MTV  Rock The Vote – RTV)

    ·         Funniest Spot – The Dot is Sexy – Rock the Vote

    ·         Something For Nothing – Webbed Season 2 Teaser

    ·         App-Titude Award – MTV Indies App and Website

    ·         Best On-Air Ident – MTV Channel Ident