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Tag: 26/11

  • ‘State of Siege’ becomes top watched franchise on ZEE5 globally

    ‘State of Siege’ becomes top watched franchise on ZEE5 globally

    Mumbai: ZEE5’s original film “State of Siege: Temple Attack” has emerged as the top watched title on the video streaming platform globally, according to ZEE5.

    The film which marked the OTT debut of actor Akshaye Khanna who played the role of Major Hanut Singh, was premiered in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu simultaneously on 9 July. 

    In addition to being the most-watched film globally in July, it was also the highest subscription driver in the launch month. With the launch of “State of Siege: Temple Attack”, another film “State of Siege: 26/11” too attracted attention and brought in new viewers, growing viewership by nearly 3.5x.

    Based on Sandeep Unnithan’s book ‘Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11’,  “State of Siege: 26/11”  was the first film in the series that premiered during the lockdown in March 2020.

    The film with an IMDB rating of 8.1, recorded viewership in 190+ countries globally with the highest watch time coming from India, the USA, UAE, Australia, and Bangladesh. “State of Siege: Temple Attack” also featured on Ormax Media’s ‘Most-Liked Indian Direct to OTT Films’ of all time.

    Speaking on the success of the franchise, ZEE5 head – Hindi originals, Nimisha Pandey said, “At ZEE5, our focus is on exceptional storytelling that resonates deeply with our audiences and cuts across languages to create a lasting impact. We have always aimed at driving partnerships that help us deliver content and characters worthy of grabbing our viewers’ imaginations and, with the State of Siege franchise, we set out to tap into varied emotions, narrating the stories of our brave NSG heroes.”

    “We have all put in great efforts and are overwhelmed by the response. I am glad that this genre is finding favour with audiences and our film with its storytelling and performances is driving the genre lovers to stream in, globally,” added the director of the film, Ken Ghosh.

  • 26/11- Stories of strength

    26/11- Stories of strength

    MUMBAI: TEN YEARS after the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, The Indian Express will host what promises to be one of the year's most widely covered media events. Presented by Facebook, the founding partner of the initiative, driven by Maruti Suzuki and powered by Viacom 18, 26/11 Stories of Strength will be telecast 6 pm onwards from the Gateway of India on November 26.

    The third in an annual series, The Indian Express 26/11 Stories of Strength gives a voice to the inspiring stories of over 70 survivors who have been interviewed by The Indian Express's Mumbai bureau over a span of three years. 

    The event produced by Wizcraft International is directed by the director of the musical Mughal-e-Azam, Feroz Abbas Khan, will feature a rare performance by actor Amitabh Bachchan, and speeches by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

    The event will be live streamed across the digital properties of The Indian Express — India's second largest digital news group — ABP News, Republic TV and big92.7fm, and broadcasted on COLORS, India’s ~no.1 premium Hindi Entertainment channel.

    Among those who will share their stories of overcoming anger and fear and inspiring courage at the Stories of Strength event would be Mumbai Police Constable Arun Jadhav, K. Unnikrishnan,  father of slain NSG commando Sandeep Unnikrishnan, and Anjali Kunte, a nurse at the Cama and Albless Hospital that was attacked on 26/11, as well as other survivors.

    At the event, The Indian Express and Penguin will also unveil a book titled 26/11 Stories of Strength, edited by The Indian Express Associate Editor Kavitha Iyer. The first copy of the book was presented to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who wrote in his note, "India's thousand-year-old tradition of tolerance and philosophy of ahimsa are very necessary in today's world. With my prayers."

    Underlining the intent behind 26/11 Stories of Strength, Anant Goenka, Executive Director of the Indian Express Group, said, "In our country, we tend not to take the time to remember. For India's millennials, 26/11 was one of the most horrific acts of violence that they have witnessed.

    We intend to use this day to remind ourselves what Amitabhji said last year: that we shouldn't define ourselves by what we are against, but by what we are for. And what we must be for, is each other."

    On their association with the project, Ankhi Das, the Director of Public Policy for Facebook in India, said, "It's important to remember those who lost their lives in such a horrific attack ten years ago today, today is about those who showed bravery, courage and strength at the hands of terror. I thank the Indian Express for making sure survivors and those families who lost loved ones share these stories of civic courage and resilience."

    Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director Designate, Viacom18 said, “We are proud to partner The Indian Express Group on this initiative. 26/11 is a landmark day in the history of this city and country – both because it marks one of the worst attacks on us as a people and also because it highlights the amazing stories of sacrifice and resilience that defines us as a people. As a network with a humane purpose, it is both our duty and privilege to amplify these ‘Stories of Strength’ and celebrate the spirit of our city and people.”

    Bhind's husband had died when a bomb planted in his taxi by two of the attackers had gone off. She continues to live in a place 30 km from Allahabad from where her husband had left for Mumbai shortly after they got married. Every month, he would send home a part of his earnings from driving the taxi. 

    Some of the key performers at this memorial include Amitabh Bachchan, Javed Akhtar, Kaushiki Chakravarty, Rakesh Chaurasia, Mayuri Upadhya, Merlin D'souza, Harshdeep Kaur, Neeti Mohan, Rahul Deshpande, Mahesh Kale, Javed Ali, Ani Choying Drolma, Shivam Mahadevan, Police Band and the Navy Band.

    The event is supported by Viacom Network led by Colors, ABP News, Republic TV, Vodafone, Centrum Foundation, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, LIC, Air India, Laqshya, Mumbai Port Trust, Mumbai Police, Prime Focus, Air India.

  • Fadoo TV pays tribute to unsung heroes of Mumbai attack through National Anthem

    Fadoo TV pays tribute to unsung heroes of Mumbai attack through National Anthem

    MUMBAI: Mumbai was brought to a standstill in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on Indian soil on 26 November 2008. The catastrophe, called the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, lasted for three days.  

    The tragic incidents that unfolded on 26/11 claimed the lives of at least 173 people and affected the already tense relationship between many Indians and Pakistanis socially and politically.  

    While it’s been 7 years since the attacks, Indians still remember the brave hearts of our nation by paying homage to the unsung heroes of the tragic terrorist attacks. Be it the political dignitaries, the judiciary, the celebrities from the entertainment world, everyone came to pay homage. Floral tribute was paid to the martyrs who laid down their lives while defending Mumbai and to those who died because of the terror attack seven years ago. Maharashtra’s CM Devendra Fadnavis was among the dignitaries who paid homage at the 26/11 police memorial site at the Mumbai Police Gymkhana in south Mumbai.

    Fadoo TV, a web TV company of young and bright enthusiasts, had recently released a film presenting the national anthem 26/11 National Anthem – Tribute to the unsung heroes of 26/11/2008.

    Explaining the idea behind the film, FadooTV.com founder Raj Konar said, “The short film is a tribute to the heroes of the Mumbai terror attacks. It’s been seven years to this tragic event. It’s saddening that every single person out there recognizes the name of that one terrorist, but little do they know about our national heroes who stood on the front line and took the bullets to their chest. I am very proud that it is now out there for citizens to see the brighter side of that day via this film tribute”.

    The short film has received music from the very popular Salim & Sulaiman Merchant with a melodic unison of artists Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan and Kailash Kher who sing the national anthem.

    The film was first previewed at the 17 Jio MAMI Film Festival and was played before every film screening. The two minute thirty seconds film enjoyed a positive feedback at the festival and was then run in all theatres nationally.

    “The research behind the movie needed rigorous follow ups, knocking every possible door of the government officials. When we sat together to discuss the making of the movie, we did not want to rely only on the online papers and news that were available. We thought about interviewing all the people personally. It made us come across many interesting as well as heart-warming experiences. We could connect every person to one another. A few of them didn’t even want to talk about it because they didn’t want to remember the worst thing that had happened to their city,” shared Konar.

    The making of movie was spread over three years. The fire brigade team sequence was shot in 2013 while in 2014 the Mumbai force was interviewed. “We got permissions one at a time. We recently brought Farhan Akhtar on board who readily agreed as he resonated to the essence of this initiative and the horror of the events”, adds Konar.

    The movie has already been distributed across all the leading news channels of India and is also expected to be screened before every movie. Fadoo TV is also working towards distributing the movie amongst the OTT players of India. “It is a non-commercial cause. We want to reach out to the maximum number of people through this video”, adds Konar.

    Though the concepts that are available on the web television are more youth centric, Fadoo tv isalso planning to do its bit to ensure the safety of women in the society. A new show titled Wake Up is expected to air by the end of December.

    The web television team is also planning to broadcast an entire documentary feature about classic and vintage cars.

  • Ban on live anti terror ops a good move, feels news industry

    Ban on live anti terror ops a good move, feels news industry

    MUMBAI: The indelible, dark night of 26 November 2008 (26/11 to us all) and its aftermath is still freshly impinged on our minds. The real-time coverage of the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terror attacks in Mumbai, not only brought out the ugly face of humanity but also had to face a lot of flak for reckless coverage.

    The frame by frame in-depth coverage of the rescue operation shown on television was condemned by many as it had every chance of jeopardising the entire operation.

    Soon afterwards, the television channels had agreed to ban live phone-ins, avoid broadcasting security operations and drop repeated shots post violent crime as part of a self-regulatory exercise on the part of private broadcasters.

    However, the Home Ministry under the new Narendra Modi-led government is once again considering a   ban on live coverage of anti-terror operations by nation-wide television channels.

    The ban on live coverage of anti-terror operations is not yet official. During the UPA government’s time, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Anand Sharma had drafted a law for a ban, which was apparently scrapped by the then PM Manmohan Singh.

    The Home Ministry has once again asked the I&B Ministry to amend the rules to stop the airing of such terror-based events and wants more amendments to the 15-point Programme Code prescribed under the Cable Television Network Rules 1994 for this purpose.

     The rules were amended in 2009 when private broadcasters were brought within the ambit of the Cable Television Networks Rules. In 2011, another advisory was issued highlighting that a few TV channels telecast interviews with terrorists or terrorist groups, which according to the Government could help them advance their propagandist agenda.

    In 2012, in a stinging rebuke to the electronic media, the Supreme Court said that driven by commercial interests, TV channels put national security in jeopardy by their “reckless” 24×7 live telecast of security operations against the 10 terrorists during the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai.

     

    “The shots and visuals that were shown live by TV channels could have also been shown after all the terrorists were neutralised and the security operations were over. But in that case, the TV programmes would not have had the same shrill, scintillating and chilling effect and would not have shot up the TRP ratings of the channels,” a bench of Supreme Court judges Aftab Alam and C K Prasad said. “It must, therefore, be held that by covering live the terrorists attack on Mumbai in the way it was done, Indian TV channels were not serving any national interest or social cause,” they said.

    On the matter of the Home Ministry writing to the I&B Ministry and seriously considering the amendment, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) president and India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma is not unduly rattled. He goes on to say, “There is nothing new in this. This was discussed soon after the Mumbai terror attacks and in the interest of national security, broadcasters had agreed in principle.”

    NDTV Group executive director and CEO Vikram Chandra feels that it is a good move because there should be clear-cut guidelines on what should and shouldn’t be shown. “I don’t think they can ban channels from showing it, but can only amend the guidelines so that there is clarity. Also, the government needs to be careful on how they proceed in the matter as the whole press will stand up against any ban or censorship.”

    He further adds, “We also want to work towards what is good for the whole country. But there is a difference between censorship and amendments and that gap shouldn’t be nullified.”

    Times Now consultant and strategic affairs expert Maroof Raza approves of any such amendments taken in the near future. “It is a good idea in general since enthusiastic but irresponsible reporting can have negative consequences,” he opines.

    The debatable amendment is now hanging in the balance….

     

  • “Thanks to fruitful elections, balance sheets look better in 2014”: Rajat Sharma

    “Thanks to fruitful elections, balance sheets look better in 2014”: Rajat Sharma

    The news industry has taken a full circle – from providing welfare information to entertainment to astrology to cricket to sensationalism and now almost pure news taking back the centre stage. In a recent phase, news channels were dominated by frivolous content and Hindi news channels stood as the main suspects. The industry has worked really hard get over it to regain its lost respect. I can now safely say that “NEWS IS BACK”.

    While the news channels have proved themselves as an effective platform for promoting culture, movies, sports and many other activities, at the same time they have played a pivotal and decisive role in tackling core issues like corruption, rape, terrorism and inflation. Relentless coverage of Delhi rape case, Anna Hazare’s Lokpal agitation, 26/11 etc. to name a few stand a testimony to that fact.

    Despite the fact that news channels comprise an enormously important element of the socio-economic and geo-political ecosystem of the country, most such channels are facing monetary issues – characterised by negative pressures on the revenue toplines and ever increasing costs. The current year though may prove to be an exception and the respective balance sheets may look better than explained, because the industry has seen a relatively long and fruitful election season.

    The carriage fees regime stemming out of the analogue pipeline (despite a couple of phases of digitisation already complete) still plagues the industry. However, with the recent developments over the last couple of years, we hope that the actual correction (from digitisation) will start happening in the near future.

    The increased bandwidth due to transition to the DAS regime, will not only push the carriage fee down, but also bring in the transparency that shall further help proper monetary compensation for the operators so that the pressure can further reduce on broadcasters. This will help boost the profitability and further the cause of more investments in developing quality content that will be dished out with better audio/video quality.

    What could have been another blow to the industry, which is already reeling under multiple pressures, a 12 min/hour advertising cap that was introduced by TRAI for all the channels. We are happy that after a series of discussions with TRAI and TDSAT, High Court has finally put a stay on the same.

    I think it’s time now that broadcasters should unite and work towards the growth of broadcasting industry that not only provides employment to thousands but is an important pillar of India’s democracy. In an example of this unity, IBF & NBA along with other industry stakeholders, have created BARC as an alternate to TAM which we are sure will be a transparent and incorruptible currency.

    (These are purely personal views of India TV chairman and editor in chief Rajat Sharma and indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)

  • Revisiting 60 hours of 26/11

    Revisiting 60 hours of 26/11

    MUMBAI: On the fifth anniversary of the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai, CNN-IBN brings its viewers a special one-hour documentary called ‘60 Hours’. The documentary will reconstruct the events of the most terrifying 60 hours in the history of modern India, using footage from the news coverage, CCTV footage from the Taj and the Oberoi, as well as dramatisations.

    The award-winning documentary starts with Ajmal Kasab’s dramatic confession on how he was trained in Pakistan, followed by candid heart-rending interviews of those who survived the attacks at Leopold’s Cafe, Taj, Oberoi and CST. We speak to relatives of those who died and survived, as they share what they endured during those painful hours.

    Also, the men involved in rescue operations such as fire officers, colleagues of ASI Tukaram Omble who died while arresting Ajmal Kasab, the wife of Mumbai police martyr Hemant Karkare, NSG Commandoes and other members of the Mumbai Police share their experiences as they recall that fateful night. The documentary will also feature CNN-IBN’s reporters who covered the terror as it unfolded.

    Don’t miss this special show on Tues, Nov 26 @ 12noon and 10pm, only on CNN-IBN.