ITV

Category: Music and Youth

  • UTV to launch second feature film division ‘UTVPost’ in October

    UTV to launch second feature film division ‘UTVPost’ in October

    MUMBAI: UTV, integrated media and entertainment company, will launch its second post production set-up UTVPost in October. UTVPost will be based in Mumbai and is primarily the feature film extension of UTV’s signature post-production studio, USL.

    UTV founder member and director Deven Khote will spearhead the 60-member team of UTVPost and USL. UTVPost is digitally linked to UTV Toons, one of the country’s animation hubs. It comprises of a team of more than 500 skilled artists, animators and compositors, with expertise in all forms of animation and computer graphics.

    The facility is geared, and professionally staffed, to handle the entire post-production chain – from Telecine (with KeyCode) through to Digital Film recording for feature films, informs an official release.

    At UTV’s new 6000 sq feet Andheri studio, the company has configured a comprehensive projection-based 2Kplus DI (Digital Intermediate), VFX (Visual Effects), and CGI pipeline. UTVPost claims to be equipped with state-of-the-art technology from Arri, AutoDesk, Avid, FilmLight, HP, JVC and Sony.

  • DVD rentals under legal scanner

    DVD rentals under legal scanner

    MUMBAI: DVD rental businesses across the country have come under heavy legal scrutiny following the judgment by the Delhi High Court to curb DVD rentals from issuing DVDs copyrighted by the Motion Pictures Association.

    In a judgment that is expected to have far-reaching impact on the film rental business in India, Justice Reva Khetrapal of the Delhi High Court has passed orders restraining the rental library, ‘Cinema Paradiso’ from renting out any films copyrighted by Motion Picture Association (MPA) member companies including Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Disney Enterprises, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corporation, Tristar Pictures, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal City Studios, LLP., New Line Productions, Inc. and Orion Pictures Corporation.

    Head of Operations and legal counsel for the MPA in India Chander M Lall, said, “Although copyright law does not permit the unauthorized rental of films, rental libraries are functioning all over the country without licenses and without the authorization of the copyright owners. This ruling by the High Court sends a strong message that India is committed to the protection of copyright and intellectual property, not only to the benefit of MPA member companies, but to the benefit of local filmmakers and everyone in the film industry in India.”

    The development has resulted in many DVD rental outlets scurrying for permission from respective licensees.

    Excel Home Videos MD MN Kapasi says, “There has been a sudden growth in rental license applications from DVD rental outlets across the country. There is scarce knowledge among rental companies due to the lack of awareness of copyright laws. Due to this many innovations in rentals end up being on the wrong side of the law. We are happy plus ready to offer rental specific legal products and license support to whoever wanting to do rental business in India.”

    Piracy in India affects the Indian film industry more than American producers and distributors. It is estimated that only 20 percent of pirated goods infringe the copyrights of foreign film titles. The remaining 80 percent of pirated product infringes the copyrights of domestic films. According to Government estimates, the entertainment industry loses up to 1,700 crores annually on account of piracy. Since the beginning of 2004, the MPA has conducted close to 1,000 raids and seizure operations in India in cooperation with law enforcement authorities. Additionally, civil raids have been conducted through court-appointed Local Commissioners in civil suits initiated by MPA member companies.

  • Anaida ON Zee Muzic’s ‘Hafta Bandh’

    Anaida ON ZEE MUZIC’S HAFTA BANDH from September 11 – 17

     

    Hold your breath, as Anaida will be the next blast on Zee Muzic’s Hafta Bandh. She will steal your hearts this week on Zee Muzic. The leading Indian pop singer of today made a blazing debut in 1995 with her hit single Hotline. Anaida’s naturally mild looks and vibrant energies made her an icon for the peppy, curious and yet essentially innocent Indian teenager of the day against the more voluptuous variations available all over the music channels. She made a heyday with ‘Oova Oova,’ which has come to symbolize the spirit of a generation.

    Since then, Anaida has moved on experimenting with Indian folk, Arabic pop and more recently, the international progressive forms, most truly represented in her forthcoming album Quest.

    You can catch her all this week on Zee Muzic on:

    Bollywood Tonight on 11 Sept at 8p.m.
    Bollywood This Week on 17 September at 8.30
    Chat with Roshni on Cinemascope on 16 Sept at 8.30 p.m.
    Weekend Countdown with Nina Manuel on 16 Sept at 7.30 p.m.

  • Hungama Mobile ties up with UAE business enterprise Koohiji Group

    Hungama Mobile ties up with UAE business enterprise Koohiji Group

    BANGALORE: Leading mobile entertainment company Hungama Mobile and the Dubai-based diversified business enterprise Koohiji Group have formed a business alliance to provide Middle East and North African (Mena) wireless consumers access to a wide range of legitimate entertainment content.

    Users will be able to download the latest Bollywood songs from legitimate music and entertainment sources for personal use on their handsets.

    As per the agreement, Hungama Mobile has appointed Digital City, a new strategic business unit established by the Koohiji Group, as their exclusive distributor for Bollywood and Indian digital entertainment content.

    Describing the alliance as a significant step in the new media era, Hungama Mobile COO Saleem Mobhani said, “The demand for Bollywood and related entertainment content has shot up dramatically over the last couple years, and Hungama Mobile being the world’s largest distributor of South Asian entertainment content, Mena consumers will have access to over all South Asian digital entertainment content, including content in 14 different languages”.

    “We are continually working to forge strategic relationships with key digital entertainment players. We develop and deploy content across the spectrum of Music, Images, Video, Games and Applications for our current relationship with 52 Operators and Partners in over 20 countries such as North America, UK and Europe, South Africa, Australia, Germany, South East Asia etc. and Digital Entities such as iTunes, Napster, Yahoo and others to extend Hungama Mobile’s presence in new media entertainment globally.” said Ali Hussein, head of Hungama Mobile for Mena.

    Speaking on the occasion SS Rajkumar, vice chairman and CEO of the Koohiji Group said, “So far, users in the UAE and in the region have been deprived of choices, up-to-date and easy access to Indian entertainment content for their mobile devices. As exclusive content distributors for Hungama Mobile, Digital City will bridge that gap and serve as a one stop shop for all content resellers and mobile operators offering digital mobile entertainment across the UAE and Mena region.”

    For Hungama Mobile, the tie up with Koohiji Group follows the recent tie up with the Apple Inc-promoted iTunes, where the music of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Don was made available worldwide on the iTunes Music Store.

  • Eros International in 2-year output deal with K Sera Sera

    Eros International in 2-year output deal with K Sera Sera

    MUMBAI: London-headquartered media and entertainment group Eros International that owns and distributes Bollywood content globally has announced a long-term output deal with the Mumbai-based production house K Sera Sera to co-produce and exclusively handle global distribution of its forthcoming films.

    Indiantelevision.com was the first to report that K Sera Sera and Eros were in negotiations for an output deal.

    “We have signed an MoU for a broadbased two-year output deal. We are working out the details,” says K Sera Sera managing director Parag Sanghvi. The deal is “for assignment of some of its rights for some of its forthcoming film projects.” Definitive agreement for assignment of the rights shall be entered between the parties at a later date.

    The deal gives Eros access to K Sera Sera’s entire output over a long term period, which is guaranteed to be at least 10 films. Projects in the pipeline include Nanhe starring Bobby Deol, Dombivili Fast directed by Abbas Mastan, and three Salman Khan films, including Partner directed by David Dhawan, informs an official release.

    With this deal, Eros expects to increase its presence in India through co-productions and the acquisition of distribution rights to include music publishing and more significantly, Indian cinema distribution, which accounts for over 50 per cent of the revenues of the Indian film industry.

    Says Eros chairman & CEO Kishore Lulla, “This deal demonstrates our content consolidation strategy as outlined at the time of our flotation. We are confident that collaborating with a successful production house like K Sera Sera will help accelerate our growth from co-productions and ensure a steady flow of content through our pipeline.”

    Adds Sanghvi, “We are delighted to be associated with Eros who have been pioneers in the Bollywood distribution and entertainment space for over three decades. This output deal allows us to focus on our core competency of film production.”

    Eros’s latest Bollywood venture has been Omkara, a Bollywood adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello. As per the official release, the movie grossed box office revenues of $6.7 million in its first week of worldwide release in August 2006.

  • Zee Muzic – Meet Juhi Chawla in conversation with Komal Nahta on ‘Bollywood Tonight’ and ‘Bollywood This Week’

    Zee Muzic – Meet Juhi Chawla in conversation with Komal Nahta on ‘Bollywood Tonight’ and ‘Bollywood This Week’

    Mumbai: Meet Juhi Chawla, the former Miss India, actress, wife, mother chat with Komal Nahta on Bollywood Tonight at 8 pm on 29 September and Bollywood This week at 8 pm on 30 September only on Zee Muzic.

    Excerpts from interview:-

    Komal : About journey from Qayamat se Qayamat Tak till now?
    Juhi: Long journey…. mixed bag… lots of highs and lows.. everything…

    Komal: Wrongest decision career wise?
    Juhi: When I became a success… After Darr, Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar ke …started flying a little high… refused films like Raja Hindustani, Judaai, Dil to Paagal Hai .. etc…

    Komal: Best career move?
    Juhi: More like destiny… bhagwaan ki den… Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak … 3 films contract, i didn’t think about it

    Komal: How did you feel about refusing the role opposite Amithabh Bachchan in Baghban?

    Juhi: I had played his daughter earlier, and now playing his wife would have been a little awkward.

    Komal: How is life now School jaana, PTA, social engagements…

    Juhi: Its hectic, but I’m enjoying it.

    Komal: How it is for her kids being celebrity kids & about cooking for husband?
    Juhi: I don’t let them be treated any different. They are being brought up as normal children. Infact, I don’t let them watch movies yet, only cartoons for them.

    Komal: 10 years ahead…? Any plans for Direction , singing….

    Juhi: No plans for direction. Singing was just a hobby so far, but I plan to take it more seriously….

  • Channel [V] kicks off reality VJ hunt ‘VJ Freshers’

    Channel [V] kicks off reality VJ hunt ‘VJ Freshers’

    MUMBAI: Channel [V] has invited aspiring VJs to register for a reality cum talent hunt show VJ Freshers – the class of 2006.

    At present, the channel has nine VJs on board. In search for a new face, the channel is calling for potential VJs from Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. The quest will be lead by the old VJs of the channel, Ranvir and Vinay.

    Channel [V] head honcho Amar K Deb says, “We are in the mood to shake things up again and we are looking for some freshers who have got what it takes to make the world sit up and take notice. We are going to find them, train them and hone their talent and attitude and then we are going to let them lose on television audience.”

    Interestingly, this is the first time the musi arm of Star India is running a VJ hunt.

    To create the buzz on the arrival of VJ Freshers and the opportunity it offers, the present VJs will visit various colleges in the cities and provide tips on careers. The channel will be also be using Star’s website indya.com to pull in more contestant to register.

    The VJs will be fanning out to various colleges to pick out those they believe have potential. The selected ones will be put through a series of interviews and tests to shortlist the best from each city. The contestants will have to face some verbal jousting with the jury and some action in front of the camera as well.

    The jury will select eight finalists who will spend a week in Goa wherein they will be put through tests, leading up to the selection of the winner. The whole process is expected to take three months. The television audiences will also be able to participate through six episode series that will be on air.

    Channel [V] has roped in Pantaloon and Maybelline as the main sponsors along with eight associate sponsors, which include Brylcreem, Moto Slvr, HP, 7UP, Scooty Pep+, McDonalds, Mrs Marino and Colgate Max Fresh.

    Pantaloon and Channel [V] are cross-marketing their respective brands through the VJ Freshers – the class of 2006. Pantaloon Retail, last year changed its positioning from a family-oriented store to a fashion store, sporting the baseline ‘Fresh Fashion’.

    According to Pantaloon president marketing Sanjeev Agrawal, “Pantaloon stands for fresh fashion. Channel [V] is a channel, which the youth identify with and Pantaloon Fresh Fashion also addresses youth.”

    The programme will be promoted through various Pantaloon outlets across the country. The customers will be awarded with special offers –‘cut the queue’ – in order to participate in the job hunt. At various outlets also, the VJ’s will interact with the customers. The outlets will run contests and will create the buzz through radio spots as well as through other media.

  • Shemaroo launches music album for B.A.G. Films’ ‘Mannat’

    Shemaroo launches music album for B.A.G. Films’ ‘Mannat’

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Audio has launched audio cassettes and CDs of the Punjabi movie Mannat.

    Shemaroo also owns the international audio and video rights for this movie.

    A B.A.G. Films production Mannat stars Jimmy Shergill. Kulraj Randhawa (of Kareena Kareena fame) will make her movie debut with this film. The film is directed by Gurbir S Grewal.The film showcases the classic love story between the two talented actors. The other star cast includes Kanwaljit Singh and Deep Dhillon.

    Shemaroo has also tied up with telecom operators like Reliance Mobile, Airtel and Hutch for providing mobile content of the movie like ring tones, wall papers, videos, etc to their subscribers.

    Shemaroo VP Hiren Gada said, “Even as the music of the recent release Main Tu Assi Tussi (also on Shemaroo) is climbing the popularity charts, Shemaroo is proud to present its second musical extravaganza with Mannat. We have always believed in quality content and the popularity of Mannat’s music will only re-emphasise this. We are looking forward to many such ventures.”

    The audio track lists six melodies. It has names like Jaidev, Safqat Ali Khan, Alka Yagnik, Babu Singh Mann and Arvinder Singh coming together.

    Babu Singh Mann pens the lyrics for Paani Diya Chchalla Hove, Tu Hove Main Hova a romantic number sung by Feroz Khan and Rani Randeep. Another romantic track that you just cannot miss is the Umrandi Saanj Hove Yaar Tere Naal by one of the best-known singers of India Alka Yagnik. Feroz Khan sings the male playback for this song. People of all ages will identify with this song, making this to be one of the most popular songs in recent times.

    Shafqat Ali Khan, also known as Chaurasi of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana has added the Sufi touch with a mix of modern and Punjabi folk to two songs, giving a whole new dimension to the variety of songs. Already acclaimed as a classical singer, Shafqat has applied his amazing vocal skills to popular music and has even sung a number in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna.

    In Mannat he presents a sad number, Darda Maar Liya, Mera Dil Darda Na Hove written by Ambar Hoshiarpuri. The song merges with the mood in the film and will make your heart go all out for the characters. The second song by Ali – Kare Door Door, Pave Vo Zamana comes with a flavour of love and romance.

    The yearning for love continues to flow with Rabba Yaar Nu Mila De, Dil Dar Nu Mila De, sung by Arvinder Singh.

  • ‘Bollywood Badshah’ goes on air on Radio One FM 94.3

    ‘Bollywood Badshah’ goes on air on Radio One FM 94.3

    Mumbai :

    1. Which was the first film Farooque Sheikh and Deepti Naval worked together in?

    2. Who Directed Sarfarosh?

    3. By what name do we know Ritu Chaudhary in Bollywood?

    4. Which 1955 film starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjanthimala and Suchitra Sen was re-made in 2002?

    5. What is Rani Mukherjee’s name in Veer Zaara?

    6. Who plays the role of Catherine in Kisna?

    7. Which Subhash Ghai film had Hrithik Roshan in it?

    8. Which city is Bunty from in Bunty aur Babli?

    If you can correctly answer all of the above in 30 seconds, you could be eligible to participate in Radio One FM 94.3’s Bollywood Badshah.

    Radio One FM 94.3’s celebration of Bollywood returns with Bollywood Badshah, India ka sab se bada bollywood challenge. “Bollywood Badshah is the biggest on-air event in Indian radio. No other programming initiative done by any radio station is as big and interesting. It’s a mastermind kind of format, where ordinary people’s knowledge of bollywood films is tested to the limit ” says Shariq Patel, Vice President-Operations and Station Head, Mumbai. “The hunt began with call for entries in mid Sept. After sifting through over 20,000 entries we held a written test where 500 of the shortlisted participants came and answered 20 very difficult bollywood questions. 100 of those 500 are now battling it out on air for the crown on Bollywood Badshah. These 100 contestants will be tested on their bollywood knowledge by celebrity RJ Gaurav Kapur.”

    Tune into Bollywood Badshah only on Radio One FM 94.3 in Mumbai, Monday to Saturday 9.30 am. Bollywood Badshah is presented by FILMY in association with BPCL Speed, Shoppers Stop, Lays, Sony DVD Handycam and MidDay.

    Answers to questions above

    1. Chashme Buddoor (1981) They worked in a total of 6 films.

    2. John Mathew Mathan

    3. Mahima Chaudhary

    4. Devdas

    5. Saamiya Siddiqui

    6. Antonia Bernath

    7. Yaadein

    8. Fursatganj