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Kingfisher Swimsuit Special calendar released

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Mumbai, Monday, January 9, 2006: Kingfisher, India’s No. 1 Beer brand, unveiled the fourth edition of its eagerly awaited annual swimsuit calendar – ‘Kingfisher Swimsuit Special Australia 2006’, over an exclusive brunch hosted by Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman, United Breweries, at the Taj Lands End, on Sunday, January 8, 2006.

The ‘Kingfisher Swimsuit Special Australia 2006’ was launched by none other than Saif Ali Khan, amongst much fanfare.

Live band Merlin and DJ Bosco entertained the likes of Sohail & Seema Khan, Malaika Arora Khan, Maria Goretti & Arshad Warsi, restaurateur Rahul Akerkar, Bhavna & Chunkey Pandey, Cyrus Broacha with wife & Jr., Aarti & Kailash Surendranath, creative gurus- Piyush Pandey, Prahlad Kakkar & Prasoon Joshi, Ravi Deshpande, model Sampada Inamdar, Ila & Ishita Arun, Esther & Raju Daswani, model turned actor Upen Patel, fitness expert Leena Mogre, Inder Mohan Sudan, Tejaswani Kolhapure, Suman Raganathan, Udai & Nalini Gupta, Zeba Kohli, Reshma Bombaywala, Shamita Singha, Vinod Advani, Aditi Govitrikar, Manoviraj Khosla, Mandira Bedi & Raj Kaushal , Sanjay Narang, Lascelles Simons and Tania Zeatta, amongst several others.

There were several beer games and fun titles awarded, suitably compared by the king of humor Cyrus Barocha, where gifts from Tag Hauer, Patchi chocolates, MAC, Thalgo Spa, Canon, Malaga and others were given out.

Shot in Australia across the modern tropical city of Cairns, the magnificent Great Barrier Reef, Sydney & Kangaroo Island, this year’s calendar features 22 new upcoming designers from 12 design schools around India including NID, NIFT, SNDT, Srishti & Sophia Polytechnic. These designs are showcased by 6 strikingly gorgeous fresh faces: Deepika Padukone, Karishma Kotak, Mashoom Singha, Neelam Chauhan, Shilpa Reddy and Shruti Agarwal, with an exclusive cover done by Wendell Rodricks.

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The internationally acclaimed award winning (Winner of the FAB (The International Food & Beverage Creative Excellence Awards) 2004 & 2005 in London), a ‘Must Have’ limited
edition Kingfisher calendar is magnificently shot by India’s ace photographer Atul Kasbekar.

Introduced in 2003, the Kingfisher Swimsuit Special, the first of its kind calendar in India, promises 12 months of fun, glamour and visual appeal. A showcase for the Indian fashion industry, the calendar is a rare combination of photography and fashion-symbolizing life, fun, glamour and beauty.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman, United Breweries, said: “The last three editions of the ‘Kingfisher Swimsuit Special’ have been a resounding success not just in India but across the world. The calendar symbolizing life, fun, beauty & glamour this year too will be a much coveted possession and a premier international platform for Indian fashion.”

Commenting on the Kingfisher Swimsuit Special Australia 2006, Atul Kasbekar, said: “Every year, we try and take the calendar to the next level – be it with the models, designers, locations or techniques, like we used underwater photography for the 2004 calendar and this year the calendar has totally been shot on digital equipment. I have shot in Australia before but this has been an enriching experience amidst the rich and varied beauty of the Australian landscape.”

The Kingfisher Swimsuit Special has won the FAB (Food and Beverage) Award in London for two years in a row (2004 & 2005). The award is given to international food and beverage brands that have achieved creative excellence in their communication.

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The calendar website, www.kingfishercalendar.com, won the 2004-05 International DesignFirms award for excellence in web design. The site attracts over a million hits from all over the world every week.

This year interestingly no film was used to shoot the calendar. All images were shot with state of the art digital equipment from Canon.

The models for the calendar, trained with Deepika Mehta, trainer to stars like Aishwarya Rai and Bipasha Basu at the Taj Lands End Gym.

The official stylist for the shoot was Rakhi Parekh Patil, who has styled Rahul Dravid for Reebok and also styled multimedia brand campaigns like Elle 18, Wills Lifestyle, Tanishq, Lee and Global Village Mall in Dubai.

Vimi Joshi of MAC, the official makeup brand, devised a special look to go with the seasons & each month, as the year progresses.

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The calendar is designed by Apparatus Media Lab a Bangalore based design firm that works with clients like Dell, Meru Networks and Adea in the USA.

The travel schedule was a logistical challenge in itself but more than ably handled by Beacon Holidays.

‘The Kingfisher Swimsuit Special Australia 2006 has been conceived and produced by Matrix, the entertainment consultancy firm that first took the idea to Mallya in 2002 and since then has been producing the calendar.

The launch event was managed by Matrix and Sharmilla Khanna.

While the calendar continues to be produced in a limited edition, a select few lucky individuals can own a copy of this year’s calendar by flying Kingfisher Airlines or by participating in an online contest on contests2win.com. So log on or fly and get your hands on The Kingfisher Swimsuit Special 2006. The Coolest Place to Look for Dates!

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About Kingfisher

Kingfisher Beer, the flagship brand from the stable of brewing giant United Breweries Ltd, is the market leader and enjoys a market share of 30% in the Indian Beer market. Its classic taste, refreshing feel and association with fun & fashion has made the brand a global warhorse. With style, substance, taste and performance to match, Kingfisher will continue to lead from the front.

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Kumar Mangalam Birla makes KBC debut with Amitabh Bachchan

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MUMBAI: India’s most famous hot seat is about to welcome an unlikely first-timer. For the first time on Hindi general entertainment television, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla will appear on Kaun Banega Crorepati, the iconic quiz show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.

The special episode marks a rare meeting point of boardroom heft and prime-time television, bringing one of India’s most influential business leaders face to face with the country’s most enduring screen legend. It is a crossover that blends intellect, leadership and popular culture, all under KBC’s familiar spotlight.

Birla’s appearance dovetails neatly with the show’s current theme, Jahaan Akal Hai, Wahan Akad Hai, which celebrates the confidence that comes from clarity of thought and knowledge. His presence lends weight to the idea that sharp thinking and conviction are as vital in life as they are in the quiz chair.

In a thoughtful conversation with Bachchan, Birla shared an upbeat view of India’s economic journey, pointing to the nation’s rapid growth and the scale of opportunity opening up across industries and communities. He spoke of momentum, ambition and a future shaped by enterprise and ideas.

The episode is not all serious talk. In lighter moments, Birla confessed his long-standing admiration for Bachchan, calling him his favourite actor and admitting to a touch of nervousness at answering questions in front of the Shahenshah himself. The candour adds a human touch to a man more often seen in headlines than on television sets.

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The special episode airs on Monday, 29 December at 9.00 pm on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony LIV.

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Rocky heats up NCR as Road Trippin returns with winter bites

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MUMBAI: Winter’s bite just got tastier. Road Trippin With Rocky is back for its 15th season, with Rocky Singh rolling through the NCR to plate up comfort food, cult favourites and cold-weather cravings from 27 to 30 December.

The four-day journey opens in Noida, where Rocky kicks off with the much-loved Jain Tikki Wala in Sector 27 before wrapping the day at the always-humming Social. Faridabad follows, with stops shaped by local recommendations, while Gurugram brings a balance of indulgence and restraint from a standout vegetarian spread to smoky carnivore fare at The Pit, finished with Thai flavours at Banng.

Saving the grand finale for Delhi, Rocky dives into the capital’s contrasts from humble roadside falahar to refined fine-dining tables that define New Delhi’s evolving food scene. The promise is simple: honest recommendations that belong on every serious food lover’s list.

Over the years, #RoadTrippin has grown into one of HistoryTV18’s most successful digital-first properties. Built for viewers who snack on content on the move, the format’s easy humour, spontaneity and conversational style have kept audiences coming back season after season.

The numbers underline its pull. Across platforms, the franchise has clocked over 2 billion impressions and more than 550 million video views, turning each new season into a highly anticipated return.

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Season 15 of #RoadTrippinWithRocky will play out across HistoryTV18’s and Rocky’s social media handles, a winter road trip that proves once again that in NCR, the cold only makes the food hotter.

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Street of Stories Warner Bros doc amplifies GB Road’s unheard voices

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MUMBAI: The cries may have gone unheard, but the stories now refuse to stay silent. Warner Bros. Discovery and Times Network have come together to shine a piercing, humanising light on Delhi’s GB Road, one of India’s most stigmatised spaces with Unheard Cries at GB Road, a documentary that trades sensationalism for truth, and myth for lived reality. The film premiered on 17 November 2025 on discovery+, offering rare, unfiltered access to a world long discussed but rarely listened to.

Crafted under Times Now Studios and shaped by producer and co-writer Rohit Chadda, the documentary draws on over 50 in-depth interviews with survivors, sex workers, police officials, social workers and experts. Instead of dramatisation or stylised retellings, the film builds itself on first-hand accounts bringing to the fore women whose lives have often been spoken about, yet scarcely spoken to.

At its heart, Unheard Cries at GB Road is a testament to the women who battle cycles of trauma, exploitation and coercion, while still searching for small, stubborn pockets of hope. Their accounts, delivered on record and often at great personal risk, reveal the emotional, physical and psychological landscapes of a district too frequently flattened by stereotype.

Warner Bros. Discovery, head of factual entertainment, lifestyle & kids for South Asia,Sai Abishek said the project demanded both courage and care. “Unheard Cries at GB Road is a story that demands to be seen and heard. Factual storytelling carries responsibility, and this film embodies that commitment. By giving these women the space to speak for themselves, the documentary brings rare honesty and emotional depth to a subject too often misunderstood.”

The production team gained access to the interiors of brothels, capturing the quiet routines, the harsh constraints and the precarious negotiations that shape daily life. Insights from the Delhi Police, NGO workers and legal experts situate these personal stories within the larger systems of trafficking, safety failures and legal gaps that the women must navigate.

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Rohit Chadda said, “We made this film to confront a truth that has long remained ignored. Our commitment from the very beginning was to tell these stories with honesty, dignity, and responsibility – and we hope it resonates deeply enough to spark reflection, conversation, and a sense of hope, which results in long term change. Unheard Cries at GB Road is the first production under the banner of Times Now Studios, and we intend to build on this foundation by creating more meaningful, purpose-driven stories that deserve a platform and a voice.”

“This special documentary, produced under Times Now Studios and directed by Rohit Chadda and Yatharth Chauhan, is built on more than 50 in-depth interviews.”

While the documentary does not attempt to provide simple solutions, it offers something more vital, a vantage point grounded in truth. By presenting the voices of women who endure the unseen and the unimaginable on a daily basis, the film asks viewers to confront the complexity of GB Road with empathy rather than judgement.

Unheard Cries at GB Road is streaming now on discovery+, inviting the nation to listen truly listen to stories that can no longer remain in the shadows.    

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