ITV

Tag: Abhishek Bachchan

  • Jaipur Pink Panthers lifts Pro Kabaddi League trophy; season 2 in March 2015

    Jaipur Pink Panthers lifts Pro Kabaddi League trophy; season 2 in March 2015

    MUMBAI: The Indian audiences have been humming ‘Kabaddi Kabaddi’ for the past one month. And as Abhishek Bachchan’s Jaipur Pink Panther beat Ronnie Screwvala’s U Mumba to lift the Pro Kabaddi League season one trophy, the big announcement was made.

     

    Looking at the great response for Kabaddi in the country, the promoters have decided to bring back season two of Pro Kabaddi League in March 2015.  

     

    Conceptualised by Indian businessman Anand Mahindra and co promoter Charu Sharma through their venture, Mashal Sports, the Pro Kabaddi League has entertained audiences right from Mumbai to Patna. “We are very happy with the response for the league and Kabaddi and so will be back as early as March 2015,” said Mahindra.

     

    The day also saw Patna Pirates beat Bengaluru Bulls to grab the third position in the first season. Neither the heavy rain, nor the ongoing Ganapati celebrations deterred Mumbaikars to be at the National Sports Complex of India to cheer for not just their team, but the game.

     

    While Patna beat Bengaluru by 29-22, the finale between Jaipur and Mumbai, saw AB’s team winning 35-24 against Scewvala’s team.  

     

    Excited with the response from women audiences, the organisers are thinking of launching a women’s Kabaddi League too.

     

    Present at the mega clash were IMG-Reliance chairperson Nita Ambani, Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Ronnie Screwvala, Zarina Mehta and singer Shankar Mahadevan among others.

     

    One thing which the Pro Kabaddi League has proved is that India is no longer just a cricket crazy nation.  Kabaddi truly has become the second sport for India.

     

    Kudos to team Pro Kabaddi League!

     

  • U-Mumba to clash against Jaipur Pink Panthers in Pro Kabaddi League finale

    U-Mumba to clash against Jaipur Pink Panthers in Pro Kabaddi League finale

    MUMBAI: As many as 218 million viewers tuned into the Star Sports Pro-Kabaddi Leagues’ opening game. The rustic, ancient and Indian contact sport game has finally found its due respect from Indian audiences and after a month of entertaining Indian audiences in a never seen before avatar, the finals are here.

     

     

    The Leagues’ two giants; U –Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers will clash in the finals that will take place at the National Sports Club of India in Mumbai on 31 August at 7:45 pm. Ironically, it was these two teams that had kicked off the tournament wherein the Ronnie Screwvala owned U-Mumba team won over the Abhishek Bachchan owned Jaipur franchise at the very same stadium.

     

     

    Hoarding around the city and posts on social media have been announcing the big finale. The broadcast of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi is on Star Sports 2, Star Gold and starsports.com.

     

    In its glory days, the sport enjoyed a rich heritage where it was practiced during festivals and after harvest as a matter of celebration. Star’s endeavour to restore that festive air around Kabaddi and set it in today’s context with world-class production, modern indoor stadiums, mat surface courts, jazzy music along with celebrity engagement to make it more appealing to the youth seems to have truly worked its charm. 

     

  • Hero Indian Super League ushers in football revolution

    Hero Indian Super League ushers in football revolution

    MUMBAI: The most anxiously awaited Hero Indian Super League (ISL) finally unveiled its official emblem at a grand event attended by the organisers and franchise team owners. The league also saw the unveiling of its official line- ‘Let’s Football.’

     

    At the beginning, IMG Reliance chairperson Nita Ambani said, “ISL hopes to act as a foundation in creating an ecosystem to nurture talent and make our own national football heroes.” She also added that the Reliance Foundation plans to reach out to 10 lakh kids in India for the first year to help them play the game of football at the micro level.

     

    ‘Let’s Football’ – is an apt fit to its ambition in connecting with today’s youth and creating interest in millions to play the sport professionally. The emblem with hexagons combined to form a football symbolises collaboration of passion, energy and enthusiasm among its stakeholders. Colours chosen to represent the league conveys the values and emotions, with red signifying the energy, passion and action, while blue exudes confidence, trust and responsibility; both seamlessly combining to represent the league’s values.

     

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta commented, “This is the birth of a footballing nation. This is something that has never been attempted before and marks a historic turning point for the future of football in India. What you will experience is a world class spectacle-in stadium, on television, on your mobile screen and across all digital devices.”

     

    “We plan to attract and nurture the best of Indian talent to play with marquee players selected from 20 countries, spanning five continents,” added Gupta.

     

    The event began with Nita Ambani leading the eight league partners to sign a pledge- committing to the vision of ISL, which is to bring a football revolution across the country.

     

    IMG football vice president Andy Knee said, “The potential for football in India is truly immense and the ambition for the league is to spark a revolution for the game so as to encourage teenagers, even hundreds of millions of Indians to start playing, following and watching the sport.”

     

    Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan was declared as the new team owner of the Chennai franchise. Joining him were other owners like Sachin Tendulkar, John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor, Sameer Manchanda, Utsav Parekh, Kapil Wadhawan, Team Goa ambassador Varun Dhawan among others like AIFF president Praful Patel.

     

    Each of the teams said that they would help develop football at the grass root level, the announcements of which will be made in the weeks to come.

     

    Scheduled to kick off on 12 October 2014, the Hero Indian Super League will see some of the greatest players in action from the world of football.

  • ‘Happy New Year’ trailer to be on Whatsapp

    ‘Happy New Year’ trailer to be on Whatsapp

    MUMBAI: In keeping with the tradition of innovatively marketing its films, Red Chillies Entertainments yet again comes out with a unique way to promote its movie ‘Happy New Year.’

     

    For the first time an Indian film will send its trailer via WhatsApp to the users of the application. Simply by giving a missed call or dropping in a WhatsApp message at +91 9819020202, the audiences will get the trailer on their mobiles and tablets. Also, the restriction by WhatsApp on a broadcast message has specially been removed for this campaign. 

     

    Talking on the first-of-its-kind trailer release, Red Chillies Entertainment CEO Venky Mysore said, “As a company there is a special focus on constantly improving fan experience through innovation. Whether it was the first look of the movie at the beginning of the year through one of the biggest Twitter innovations with fans receiving customised posters from their favourite artists, which received close to a billion impressions as a campaign, or the new innovations with WhatsApp and Twitter for the upcoming movie – ‘Happy New Year’, our endeavour is to delight fans.”

     

    “With over 50 million active users on WhatsApp in India who every day share millions of videos and images with individual friends and groups it was an obvious choice to use WhatsApp as a platform. The only challenge was the restriction by WhatsApp where a broadcast message cannot be sent to more than 250 friends/WhatsApp users but WhatsApp has specially removed this restriction for this campaign,” Mysore added.

     

    Directed by Farah Khan, the eagerly-awaited ‘Happy New Year’ brings back Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan together, after their last blockbuster `Chennai Express.’ The movie also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Vivaan Shah and Boman Irani and has been shot in Dubai. The trailer is scheduled to release on 14 August 2014, on the eve of Independence Day.

     

    The film is produced by Red Chillies Entertainments and distributed by Yash Raj Films worldwide. The film will release this Diwali in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages across the globe.

  • Official jersey of Jaipur Pink Panthers kabaddi team unveiled by owner Abhishek Bachchan

    Official jersey of Jaipur Pink Panthers kabaddi team unveiled by owner Abhishek Bachchan

    NEW DELHI: Pro-Kabaddi League  (PKL) franchise Jaipur Pink Panthers’ official jersey has been unveiled by the team owner, actor Abhishek Bachchan in Mumbai.

    While the players of the Jaipur Pink Panthers were recently introduced to the Jaipur media, they were officially introduced to the audience in Mumbai.

    PKL flags off today across eight venues in India, starting with the Jaipur Pink Panthers v/s U Mumba at the NSCI Stadium in Mumbai.

    Bachchan spoke at length about his association with Kabaddi and the PKL. He said, “It’s a huge honor to be associated with the Pro-Kabaddi League and an even bigger honor to introduce to you the players of the Jaipur Pink Panthers. We have some amazing talent here today as the Jaipur Pink Panthers get ready to roar at the games”.

  • India to become a Kabaddi nation with Pro-Kabaddi League, this July

    India to become a Kabaddi nation with Pro-Kabaddi League, this July

    MUMBAI: Kabaddi for long has been neglected as a sport in India. Or at least that has been the popular notion. But here are some interesting stats: there are over 4,000 clubs in the country, with live spectator audiences attracting over 50,000 people for a single game. Without the need for expensive infrastructure, 700,000 schools play the sport. Astonishingly, at a global level, 32 countries are affiliated to the International Kabaddi Federation (including Germany, Italy, Japan and Korea).

     

    But now with the launch of the Pro Kabaddi League by Mashal Sports and the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) the prospects of this indigenous game seem to be changing for the better. To be held between July-August, this year, the game is doing all that it can to gain eyeballs.

     

    With sports broadcaster Star Sports bagging the broadcast rights for the Pro Kabaddi League, the sport is looking at greater visibility. Star India COO Sanjay Gupta, after the channel got the broadcast rights had said, “Our association with Kabaddi is in line with our stated objective of transforming the sports landscape and enabling the growth of a multi-sport culture in India. Pro Kabaddi will build an ecosystem that can potentially take this game to the next level. We plan to offer an immersive and engaging experience for the Kabaddi viewers.”

     

    The league will be played on specially developed mats, in state of the art indoor stadiums across eight cities. Top Kabaddi players from across India and the globe will participate in a show of intense competition and sporting camaraderie. Having Star Sports as the official broadcast partners for Pro Kabaddi league will help bring the game to life on television with super audio-visual transmission quality. The game and the event are designed to take television by storm.

     

    There are leading corporates and individuals who have ended up owning the eight franchises. They are: Kosmik Global Media for Bangalore, Kalpathi Investments for Chennai, Rana Kapoor of Yes Bank for Delhi, Abhishek Bachchan for Jaipur, Kishore Biyani of Future Group for Kolkata, Ronnie Screwvala,Unilazer Sports for Mumbai, Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank for Pune and Core Green Group for Vizag.  By roping in Abhishek Bachchan as one of the franchise owners, Mashal Sports plans to use all tools at their disposal to make the game more attractive.

     

    Each of the franchise will have to spend between Rs 45–50 million annually which includes a nominal franchise fee.

     

    With media rights partner frozen, the sports management company is eyeing one title sponsor, three co-sponsors and some partners. The company will share 80 per cent of the revenue from the central pool with the eight franchises. Marketing partner World Sport Group will receive 10 per cent, while the remaining 10 per cent will be retained by Mashal Sports to fund the expenses incurred for organising the league.

     

    It is expected that Mashal Sports will incur an annual expenditure of Rs 100-150 million on the league.

     

    The Pro Kabaddi matches will be preceded by a player auction, where each team will be getting an equal opportunity to build its squads. Almost 100 players will be auctioned, out of which 72 players will be Indians and the rest will be international players from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Korea, Italy, Germany, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

     

    These players have been shortlisted by the International Kabaddi Federation as well as the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, giving the amateur Kabaddi players a chance to perform at a professional level. The prize money for the league is a lucrative 10 million rupees ($165,800) which many hope will add prestige to the league.

     

    The league promises to take the sport to a whole new level of prominence and ensure that stars such as Navneet Gautam, Ajay Thakur, Rajaguru Subramanian and Rakesh Kumar become the new sporting heroes of Kabaddi.

     

     The lineup of sponsors for the league has not been revealed as of now. But Pro Kabaddi will have robust social media marketing strategies. Sports enthusiasts, in India and all around the world, can keep track of the match.

     

    Each franchisee will not only have their team colours and star players, but also create their own fan following with innovative media outreach strategies, scores, players as well as participate in the game through social media platforms such as the Pro Kabaddi league website www.prokabaddi.com, twitter handles @ProKabaddi #ProKabaddiRevolution and Facebbok page Prokabaddi.

  • Akshay Kumar, Ashvini Yardi unveil lead stars and trailer for ‘Fugly’

    Akshay Kumar, Ashvini Yardi unveil lead stars and trailer for ‘Fugly’

    MUMBAI: Actor Akshay Kumar and partner Ashvini Yardi have together launched the trailer for their forthcoming film Fugly, the latest big-screen initiative from their production company Grazing Goat Pictures. The event took place at Reliance Digital Express store in Prabhadevi.  

     

    The launch was special made special for the media as they were encouraged to take a fugly ‘selfie’ (fuglies) with the props as well as be a part of the poster.

     

    During the event, Akshay gave a quick insight into the plot of the film to the media and showcased the film’s stylish poster. 

     

     The trailer has already received a roaring applause from various Bollywood celebrities and veteran media. Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, tweeted his comments on the trailer saying “Loved the trailer of @FuglyTheFilm well done @Kabirsadanand and @AshviniYardi and all the best.” 

     

    Speaking about the event, Akshay Kumar said, “I am so thrilled to have been here today. It is a great moment for Ashvini and I and all those involved in the Fugly project.”

     

     Ashvini Yardi added, “Fugly is a film that is very close to all of our hearts. It is a vibrant, youth centric entertainer. It is funny and witty and packs a major punch. Akshay and I are delighted to introduce such a talented cast in this film, and feel that they have done a fantastic job in the film. We are all very proud of Fugly, and we hope audiences will love it as much as we do.”

     

    “Fugly is a script which has been very close to me and my team of writers. It’s an awesome feeling and we are glad that Akshay Kumar came on board as he brings the edge and with Ashvini came the focus to target good content. Fugly represents today’s independent youth who are ready to take a stand and challenge the status quo. We have had a phenomenal time making this film and the response we have received on the trailer and poster has been overwhelming. This is just the beginning of our journey called Fugly!” announced director Kabir Sadanand.

     

    There is already tremendous buzz in the industry around Mohit, Kiara, Arfi and Vijender’s film debut.

     

    Speaking about their debuts, they jointly said, “We are delighted to have had the opportunity to be part of Fugly and are thrilled with the response we have had on the trailer and poster – it’s really encouraging. Kabir is an excellent director and no one else could have done better justice to the script. We had a superb time working with each other and learnt so much from Jimmy. Akshay and Ashvini have been extremely inspiring for all of us and we have learnt a lot from them. We are fortunate to be launched by them.” 

     

     Fugly releases on 13 June 2014. 

  • Happy New Year’s poster out, trends on Twitter

    Happy New Year’s poster out, trends on Twitter

    MUMBAI: The year ended with a promise of a Happy New Year ahead. And literally so, the first poster of Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt Ltd’s next film directed by Farah Khan, Happy New Year (HNY) launched on 2 January. The poster was first sent to all fans and fan clubs on the social media sites as a gratification for their support. Interestingly, the hashtag #HNYposter started trending on Twitter soon after the poster was released.

     

    The film stars Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani, Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah in lead roles. The film that will release during Diwali is under-production and has an interesting genre that of a Musical Heist.

     

    Farah said in a release, “My dream project Happy New Year takes another step towards realisation with the first poster being launched today. I believe in cinema that entertains and with a dream cast like this we hope it will be the most entertaining film of the year. Shah Rukh and I have had a dream partnership always and with this our third collaboration we hope it will be a very Happy New Year indeed!”

     

    The film has taken a step ahead in promoting the film by tying up with Digigraph that is a preferred technology/App partner of Twitter based in Los Angeles. Digigraph, on special request from Twitter India agreed to undertake this first of its kind initiative for any film ever across the globe. Any Twitter user who is a fan of the movie or the cast as well as the director has received a personalised poster signed by the artist of their choice addressed specifically to the fan in his name in the artist’s own handwriting as well as language delivered to each fan on his/her twitter handle.

     

    Digigraph.me co-founder & COO Tom Smart said, “We are humbled and honoured to help renowned Indian film studio, Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. in building awareness for the release of the poster of their new film, HNY fans from around the world will now be able to personally take part in the moment by requesting, claiming and sharing personalised, and collectable digital photos, digitally autographed by the stars in the movie and delivered instantly into Twitter newsfeeds and other social media networks.”

  • Aamir vs Aamir

    Aamir vs Aamir

    MUMBAI: Dhoom 3 proves to be a good sequel, for once. Unlike many films that simply use the name and brand, it actually carries on the characters from previous movies. Once again, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra, two Mumbai cops are chasing after a villain, this time as a team sent to Chicago Police to solve a case of bank robberies. The reason being that the thief leaves a message in Hindi and it is assumed that he has to be an Indian.

    Dhoom 3 starts off by setting a tempo for the fast-paced thriller that it promises to be with Uday and Abhishek demonstrating their fighting instincts and coordination as they take on a local basti don in Mumbai. As the action moves to Chicago, it is Aamir’s turn to show his mastery with his bike. In fact, Aamir’s arsenal of gears and gadgets would give James Bond a complex!

    Aamir’s story dates back 25 years to when his father, Jackie Shroff, ran The Great Indian Circus in Chicago. The circus had not been doing too well and the local bank owner threatened to attach the circus if Shroff didn’t not manage to pay off his dues within five days; Shroff devised a new circus act which he was sure would revive his circus and pleads for a little more time. When refused, Shroff kills himself. Aamir is now grown up and ready to take revenge for his father’s death, which he calls murder. His plan is to ruin the bank, force its closure. He robs the bank’s branches one after the other. His style is that when he robs a bank, he throws a part of his loot on streets outside the bank and watches people pounce on this rain of dollars. The bank is losing reputation as well as standing in the stock market.

    What makes these heists exciting is their aftermath as Aamir charts his escape in a long chase by the police with his multipurpose bike. In fact, he is techno savvy and all his robberies and escapes are executed with the help of many gadgets. It is time to get Abhishek and Uday in on the scene. It is also the time for Aamir to revive The Great Indian Circus and to get the glamour quotient on the scene. Katrina Kaif is trying to get a break into the circus but dressed like a geek, she does not impress Aamir’s assistant who keeps rejecting her. Aamir agrees to give her five minutes to prove her talent and sees a geek turn out to be a glamour doll.

    Producer: Aditya Chopra.
    Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya.
    Cast: : Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Jackie Shroff.

    Having opened up the other side of the story, that of the circus and its background, it is time to spring a surprise on the viewer; there are two Aamirs. The other one is always in the background because he suffers from autism, due to which faces communication problems and has strange mannerisms. That is the circus’s secret behind their most famous trick where Aamir enters a wooden box on stage but emerges from some other corner of the hall. (This seems lifted straight from The Prestige, which tells a similar story about a magician.)

    As Abhishek and Uday try to solve the jigsaw puzzle, they spy on Aamir and follow the closet Aamir on his once a week Sunday outing. Abhishek makes sure he drives a rift between the brothers. Sadly, these plots make Abhishek look more like a villain than a supporting actor! These manoeuvres also make the proceedings very slow and insipid especially after the racy first half had set the pace. As the Aamir brothers embark on the last leg of their ‘destroy the bank’ operation, there is one more chase before the film ends by springing another surprise.

    Being third in the Dhoom trilogy, some may make comparisons and feel that story/script wise D2 was better; however, this film is much more ambitious, lavishly shot and full of special effects. It has good music that is very well choreographed and the film is a visual delight. With other characters being insignificant, the film is Aamir vs Aamir talent showcase as he gets to juxtapose two totally different characters in the same frame most of the time. He is simply amazing. Katrina Kaif is the other character who gets some importance in this film and she does very well while also excelling in dance numbers. Abhishek gets no scope while Uday is the joker in the pack. Direction is competent and handling of double roles is apt. Technically the film is very good.

    Dhoom 3 is set to shatter collection records and create some of its own new records. Expectations were high from the trade and especially the exhibitors and it will live up to them.

  • DDB Mudra creates campaign for TTK Prestige

    DDB Mudra creates campaign for TTK Prestige

    MUMBAI: Kitchen appliances manufacturer TTK Prestige, part of the Rs 2,500 crore TTK Group, has roped in Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan  as their brand ambassadors.

    A campaign has been launched with Prestige re-introducing the line ‘Jo biwi se kare pyaar, woh Prestige se kaise kare inkaar’. It has been conceptualised by DDB Mudra – Bengaluru.

    Talking about the campaign which will see the couple on screen after a long time, DDB Mudra, senior VP & head Bengaluru Sujoy Gosh says, “We want to premiumise the brand and get it connected to the new urban Indian couple. And establish it as a national player which has a large range of products for the evolving indian kitchen.”

    The campaign will have six TVCs wherein five for different products and one introducing the iconic line and establishing the range. “We have used the lines very refreshingly and contextualised it in every TVC.  The products are weaved in as part of the story, so they seamlessly blend in and are a delight to watch. The stories are taken from their daily life. We had a number of discussions with the stars to come up with stories which are real. The stars were part of the creative development process right from the beginning,” adds Gosh.

    It is a complete 360 approach and will be using TV, print and digital extensively. As of now, the agency and the company are also in talks to develop AFPs with TV channels as well so that the brand thought can get magnified.