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Tag: Amitabh Bachchan

  • Star takes World Cup promotion to a different level

    Star takes World Cup promotion to a different level

    MUMBAI: The official broadcaster of Cricket World Cup 2015 for Indian subcontinent – Star Sports – is leaving no territory uncovered. The sports venture of Star India in association with Lowe Lintas + Partners has already unveiled a youth-centric campaign titled, #wontgiveitback, for the upcoming tourney. Soon after that the broadcaster roped in Amitabh Bachchan – the man with the deep baritone voice – as commentator. Bachchan will make his commentary debut during the India – Pakistan match on 15 February, 2015.

     

    When questioned about the developments, sources in Star revealed, “Amitabh Bachchan’s inclusion in the commentary panel is a joint promotional activity between the upcoming movie Shamitabh and Star. Amitabh Bachchan has a great voice, and his joining the commentary panel is a huge achievement.”

     

    As per information available with Indiantelevision.com, Bachchan is likely to be joined by Kapil Dev and Harsha Bhogle on the panel.

     

    The #wontgiveitback video, through word of mouth, has gained appreciation as well as criticism. The video depicts aggressive team India responding back to opposition’s sledging and arrogance, they state they will give it back whatever oppositions puts against them. But they won’t give the World Cup back.

     

    When asked about the entire preparation of the video Lowe Lintas + Partners’ national creative director Arun Iyer said, “We made the video keeping the entire country in mind but special attention was given to attract the youth of the nation. Aggression and attitude were the major elements we tried to depict. The video resulted in a lot of talk, with many criticizing the video terming it irrelevant considering the current performance of the Indian team. But what delights us is the fact that there is a huge portion of cricket lovers who liked the video irrespective of team India’s current performances.”

     

    Star has already taken substantial steps to make the marquee event bigger and better and if sources are to be believed then Star Sports is soon going to launch another video focusing on the India – Pakistan match. With 10 days to go, the broadcasters are getting as innovative as possible to make the event a national blockbuster.

     

  • Star upbeat about World Cup

    Star upbeat about World Cup

    MUMBAI: Not long back television was the only source of audio visual entertainment, and for Indians the biggest entertainment was the Cricket World Cup. After the 1983 World Cup victory of Kapil Dev led India in Lords finale, cricket became bigger than a sport; it established itself as a religion. A religion that follows no narrow fragmentation or communal barriers. A six from the bat of Indian batsman was cheered by all, close moments saw prayers to respective God’s in different ways but for one unified reason. Victory got smile, defeat resulted in agony.

     

    Cricket World Cup is indeed a festival of unity in India celebrated throughout the country. With development and growth in the number of television sets in the country, it became a key medium to connect with the mass and World Cup emerged as the biggest event in the second largest populous country of the world.

     

    India is one the largest market and the conversion ratio of advertisements to sale is also maximum in this country and hence during Cricket World Cup creative and captivating advertisements are launched by big brands to enhance their reach. Subsequently the broadcaster charges huge amount for a 10 second slot. 

     

    Reportedly during 2011 Cricket World Cup ad rates reached new heights, India’s tryst with Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup final set new record for rates of television ad spots. Official broadcaster ESPN Star Sports (ESS) charged Rs 23-24 lakh for a 10-second slot from last-minute advertisers whereas during league matches it was Rs 3.5 – 4 lakh. The Indo – Pak semi finals cost advertisers Rs 18 lakh for a 10 second slot.

     

    The biggest cricketing extravaganza is knocking at the door and ad inventory is filling fast, but there are a lot of issues to be debated before investing for the event. 

     

    Cricket in India has reached an abysmal low with Supreme Court intervening to restore the integrity of the sport. Several players’ name also came under scrutiny and no clear verdict was sentenced, so the honesty of players is also a matter of concern for the fans. World Cup 2015 will be played in Australia and New Zealand and would be extremely difficult for Indian viewers to restrict themselves to television due to odd timings. Moreover heartthrob of billion Indians and the God of cricket – Sachin Tendulkar – will not be playing this edition of the World Cup. Investors can play safe by investing on IPL, which will start days after World Cup and hence the commercial value of the tournament is ought to be questioned. 

     

    Commenting about the commercial interest of the World Cup, Madison Media COO Karthik Lakshminarayan says, “Various factors like current performance of team India, odd timings, upcoming IPL and the fact that it is the end of a financial year the commercial preparation of the event may take a back step. But World Cup still is an important event and if India performs well things may change dramatically.”

     

    Maxus head of the north and east regions Navin Khemka is of a different opinion. “All I can say is that despite all the challenges World Cup is the marquee event in cricket. This World Cup is also seeing the emergence of new advertisers who are traditionally not big, but are emerging on cricket. Earlier we would have a sense of key categories who will dominate the game. That is changing; it shows the aspirations of a new India taking shape to be a part of the biggest sporting event,” he says. 

     

    Announcing the initiatives, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta had earlier said, “The World Cup is the biggest event for Indian consumers. The last edition was watched by 90 per cent of TV viewers in the country, making it the largest aggregation of consumers possible. With India as the defending champions, the whole country is set to follow the team’s defence of its title in Australia and New Zealand and we, at Star, plan to make this World Cup, a ‘Cup for All’. We will introduce many firsts and innovations in sports broadcasting to take the great game of cricket to the next level and provide an unprecedented viewing experience to the millions of cricket fans in India.”

     

    The broadcaster has already announced Amitabh Bachchan’s entry as a commentator. Moreover this edition of the tournament will be telecast in regional languages, which opens the door for regional advertisers to air their commercials. First time brands like Nestle, Marico,Yepme.com, Paytm, Raymonds, Pidilite, Lloyd have joined the usual cricket partners.

     

    As per sources, Star is selling a 10 second ad slot for more than Rs 4 lakh and the ad inventory consists of over 40 sponsors from various fields.

     

    Ad rates during such marquee event floats with progress, as cricket is a game of uncertainty. And if India starts performing well the ad rates will also reach new heights. It remains to be seen if the tournament manages to retain its charisma and develops as a big thing in cricket crazy nation.     

  • ‘When two work together towards a common goal, it helps both’: Bachchan

    ‘When two work together towards a common goal, it helps both’: Bachchan

    NEW DELHI: It is not right to equate a character he or she plays on screen to the person, and the film Shamitabh in many ways gives this message, according to megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

     

    Bachchan said that while Dhanush used his voice in the film, he took the character further by bringing his own originality to the character he enacted.

     

    Speaking at a press meet, Bachchan revealed that he recorded the entire voice-over of the film in the editing room under the supervision of the film’s director R Balki before the film was shot.

     

    Shamitabh, starring Bachchan and Dhanush, will see the debut of Akshara Haasan. The movie is about a journalist who comes across a good actor without a voice and then meets a decrepit haggard elderly man with a good voice, and tries to match the two. While she succeeds, the two men gradually are overcome by their respective ego problems, and she has to resolve that.

     

    Bachchan related a dialogue in the film to stress the fact that every person has his or her own value. He said there was a dialogue, which says whisky can be had with or without water. He said, “I do not drink. So, Dhanush is both whisky and water.” But when two people go together, they are bound to succeed, and the film also stresses this, he added.

     

    Asked about his writer-director Balki, Bachchan said he had worked with Balki in Cheeni Kum and then in Paa and had found the director gives a different touch to his style of filmmaking.

     

    Speaking about the difference between Bollywood and Tamil cinema, Dhanush said, “Except for the language, almost everything is the same. One difference however is that down in the South, we have to give just five interviews whereas here we have 523 interviews lined up for us.”

     

    Akshara, whose mother Sarika, father Kamal Haasan and sister Shruti are all part of the film industry, said, “It was a wonderful opportunity and an amazing experience for me.” She went on to say that she did not feel intimated because of any comparisons, since each of her family members have their own style.

     

    The song Piddly, rendered by Bachchan, which has become really popular, was brought in conversations frequently as it has been used to fight piracy.

     

    Bachchan also said that since the film is about the film industry, several other known personalities would be seen on screen. Answering a question about his stint in the industry, he said, “I have found that over the last forty-five years, filmmakers are becoming more impatient. However, they are more knowledgeable now about what’s happening all over the world, and this includes usage of new technologies.”

     

    Presented by Eros International, the film has music by Ilaiyaraaja and has been produced by Sunil Lulla, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, R K Damani, Gauri Shinde, and Abhishek Bachchan. The lyricists are Swanand Kirkire, Kausar Munir for ‘Sha Sha Sha Mi Mi Mi’.

     

  • Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan get Padma Vibhushan

    Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan get Padma Vibhushan

    MUMBAI: Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar and megastar Amitabh Bachchan have been conferred with the second highest national honour – the Padma Vibhushan – in the Republic Day honours this year.

     

    A former Information and Broadcasting Minister, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani has also been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.

     

    India TV’s Rajat Sharma, Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Barua, carnatic composer and vocalist Sudha Raghunathan, and khayal and dhrupad classical vocalist Dr. (Pandit) Gokulotsavji Maharaj are also among the recipients of the Padma Bhushan.

     

    The Padma Shri awardees include filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, wildlife and natural life filmmaker Naresh Bedi, veteran music director Ravindra Jain, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and author Tarak Mehta on whose writings the popular television series ‘Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma’ is based.

     

    Recipients of Padma Shri from the music field include carnatic music vocalist A. Kanyakumari, Oriya singer and musician Prafulla Kar, Shillong Chamber Choir founder Neil Herbert Nongkynrih, music composer and singer Shekhar Sen and Hindustani classical vocalist Tripti Mukherjee, who is now based in the United States.

     

    Cartoonist and ‘Chacha Choudhary’ creator Pran Kumar Sharma who died in August last year has also been named posthumously for the Padma Shri.

     

    The Bachchan family now boasts of six Padma awards: Amitabh has earlier received the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan; his late father Harivansh Rai Bachchan received the Padma Bhushan, and his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and his wife Jaya Bachchan have also received the Padma Shri.

  • ‘PK’ wins big at the Renault Star Guild Awards 2015

    ‘PK’ wins big at the Renault Star Guild Awards 2015

    MUMBAI: Held at Reliance MediaWorks, the Renault Star Guild Awards 2015 announced the winners in film and television for the year 2014. The night was hosted by Kapil Sharma, who entertained the audience with his quick wit and rib-tickling humor.

     

    ‘PK’ won best film along with best director, best dialogue, best sound mixing and a special award for the more than 100 crore film. Shahid Kapoor won for best actor for his performance in ‘Haider’ while Priyanka Chopra walked away with the award for best actress in ‘Mary Kom’.

     

    Superstars like Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandes and Shahid Kapoor set the stage on fire with their magical performances.

     

    Rakesh Roshan received the lifetime achievement award that was presented to him by Jeetendra and Hrithik Roshan. Deepika Padukone walked away with the entertainer of the year award and Alia Bhatt won the Gionee most stylish youth icon award. The Star Plus shining superstar award went to Shraddha Kapoor.

     

    Renault India country CEO and managing director Sumit Sawhney said, “Renault India is happy to work together with the Guild and we are elated to celebrate the accomplishments of the Indian Cinema & Television industry. At Renault, we understand what it takes to think ahead, to win hearts of the audience and also win accolades from a proficient jury. We have always believed, both the Guild and Renault lay special emphasis on Driving the Change and are therefore a perfect fit with each other.”

    Talking about the awards, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “Television and cinema are the two cornerstones of our entertainment ecosystem. Star Guild Awards are extremely prestigious as they are based on peer recognition by members of the Guild. We are delighted to host them once again and our viewers can look forward to an entertaining night on TV.”

     

    Gionee Smartphones India head Arvind Vohra said, “Cinema is one of the most important parts of our culture. It is one of the Passion Points which we as a brand want to get associated with because our consumers connect with it. SGA is one of the platforms which is created by the Film industry and recognizes the efforts of the industry across categories and functions. We at Gionee are honored to be a part of SGA in recognizing and appreciating the efforts of the film industry for adding entertainment, style and glamour to the consumer’s life.”

     

    Wizcraft International Entertainment director Sabbas Joseph said, “It gives us immense pride to partner with the Guild and celebrate the success of the best contributions to Indian Cinema & television.”

     

    The Renault Star Guild Awards 2015 co- powered by Gionee Smartphones and Ola Cabs will telecast on 18th January on Star Plus at 8pm.

     

    List of Awards & Winners

     

    Special Awards
     

    Lifetimes Achievement Award- Rakesh Roshan

    Films who made more than 100 Crore- Bang Bang, Ek Villian, Happy New Year, Holiday, Jai Ho, Kick, PK, Singham Returns & 2 states

    The Guild Presidents Awards- Highway , Mary Kom

    Gionee Most Stylish Youth Icon- Alia Bhatt

    Bajate Raho Dialogue of the Year by RED FM- Mary Kom

    AK ABAAS award for social consciousness in Cinema- Citylights

    Star Plus Shining Superstar Award- Shraddha Kapoor

    Hindustan Times Celebrity for a cause- Priyanka Chopra

     

    Click here for winners list

  • Rentrak partners with Eros International for box office reporting

    Rentrak partners with Eros International for box office reporting

    MUMBAI: Rentrak, a company that measures movies and TV everywhere, has announced its partnership with Eros International. As part of the deal, the company will collect box office information of Eros’ films across India. The first Eros film Rentrak will collect data on is ‘Tevar’, which released on 9 January.
                                                  
    “We are thrilled to work with Eros as we continue to grow our International coverage, which now includes the operation and collection of theatre-level attendance and box office information from 36 countries. The inclusion of Eros to our service is a powerful addition to our clients in India,” said Rentrak’s worldwide movie measurement business president Ron Giambra.  “Rentrak is thrilled to continue help India make its film production more transparent with our global box office reporting capabilities,” he added.

    Eros International CEO Jyoti Deshpande said, “We are delighted to partner with Rentrak for box office measurement in India. I believe this tie up will help accelerate positive change and herald a new era of transparency in the Indian movie industry.”
     
    Rentrak’s Box Office Essentials and International Box Office Essentials are the movie industry’s source for comprehensive global box office intelligence and are used as the currency by every studio in the United States as well as distribution entities around the world. Boasting a global footprint of the worldwide movie market, Rentrak is able to provide its clients with real-time box office intelligence, through one unique system, which allows users to view real-time online reports from anywhere around the world.
     
    In recent times, Eros has also entered into Indian regional cinema with a strong line up of Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam releases this year. Eros is also one of the biggest international distributors for Bollywood movies with penetration in over 50 countries.
     
    India with 3.5 billion admissions per annum is already the largest consumer of movies in the world. As studies suggest, with seamless digitisation in the movies business, proliferation of multiplexes across the length and breadth of the country, Indian movies increasingly capturing the imagination of world markets, the Indian movie industry is set to make giant strides in terms of box office revenues and compete with the fastest growing markets in the world in near future.
     
    The Eros-Rentrak tie-up assumes greater significance in this transformative phase and will provide a positive thrust towards making the rapidly growing, vastly potent yet complex Indian movie industry, transparent.  

    The latest offering from Eros – Tevar stars Arjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead. Eros’ upcoming films include Shamitabh, a film by R. Balki and starring India’s biggest super star Amitabh Bachchan.

     

  • “I have nothing to lose in Bollywood”: Dhanush

    “I have nothing to lose in Bollywood”: Dhanush

    MUMBAI: R. Balki’s upcoming movie, Shamitabh will feature Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Kamal Haasan’s daughter Akshara Haasan in lead roles.

     

    Dhanush, who has always played larger-than-life roles in his south flicks, has picked an unconventional role this time round. He feels motivated to experiment with roles in Bollywood as according to him, he has nothing to lose here.

     

    Last seen in the romantic drama Raanjhanaa opposite Sonam Kapoor, Dhanush said, “I have been trying to mix my characters as much as possible down south. There, one image is stuck, so I am restricted. Here in Bollywood, I have nothing to lose. So, I experiment with my characters. I am thankful to Balki who has given me this film.”

     

    Talking about his experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan, he said, “I don’t know if I have done enough work to deserve to be working with Mr Bachchan. God has blessed me with this film.”

     

    Akshara Haasan, who will be making her Bollywood debut with Shamitabh, added, “I really look up to Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush but when we got on the sets, they made me feel very comfortable and made things easier for me.”

     

    Shamitabh, which also stars Rekha, is set to release on 6 February 2015.

     

  • Twitter reveals the most influential tweets for #YearOnTwitter 2014

    Twitter reveals the most influential tweets for #YearOnTwitter 2014

    MUMBAI: The year 2014 has undoubtedly belonged to social media and the digital platform. Right from the Pope to Presidents and celebrities, everyone has made a substantial impact through social media. The digital medium products such as selfies, retweets, posts on the most influential books thread, video bytes, challenges like the Ice Bucket and several other me too challenges, announcing breakups and marriages, open letters, celebrity fall outs and unisons with publications etc.; have ensured that the narrative is always chronicled on social media.

     

    As the social soundtrack to life in India, Twitter has revealed the four most influential Tweeple in India for its #YearOnTwitter 2014 campaign, namely Amitabh Bachchan (12M), Shah Rukh Khan (10.4M), Priyanka Chopra (8.05M) and Sachin Tendulkar (4.85M). The portfolios of two of these biggies – Amitabh Bachchan (@srbachchan) and Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) are handled by Fluence, a celebrity digital network that has made news throughout the year with its disruptive activities and signings.

     

    Starting 16 December 2014 till 31 December, the top five tweets that created maximum impact from this set of Indian Tweeples will be showcased under the Perspectives section on 2014.twitter.com, along with other global movers and shakers such as Lady Gaga, Robert Downey Jr. and Neymar Jr. These influencers were chosen for their reach in the country and the news they made during the year on Twitter. Sachin’s picture of him posing with his mother holding his autobiography for the first time, him receiving the Bharat Ratna, Amitabh Bachchan’s thank you message for fans wishing him on his birthday and him sweeping the streets for Swach Bharat Abhiyaan were amongst the most talked about Tweets in the year.

     

    Speaking about their influential clients, Ashish Joshi, VP Digital & Business Head Fluence says, “I would like to congratulate Mr Bachchan and Sachin, two prolific personalities who the people love and who have the power to influence the country with their statements. While it is an honour for Fluence to be associated with personalities of this calibre this association comes with the responsibility of constantly innovating and coming up with ideas that are true to their personalities and are also loved by their fans.  We hope continue to succeed in our efforts while handling these incredibly charismatic and influential people and set new benchmarks for ourselves in the years to come.”

     

    Rishi Jaitly, Market Director for Twitter India and South East Asia added, “No doubt that 2014 was a breakthrough year for Indians using Twitter to connect to their world and heroes such as Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar with 12 million and nearly 5 million followers, respectively. We’re honored to feature them on our global #YearOnTwitter site which showcases the best of the world’s Twitter celebrities and how they connect with their followers in a more personal, authentic way. We look forward to enabling many more millions of Indians to stay engaged with their favourite idols through our platform for live, public conversations on their mobile devices.”

     

    Established in 2013 by CA Media, Fluence has created waves in the nascent sector by signing on some of the biggest names in the industry such as Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Sonu Nigam, Lata Mangeskhar, etc.

     

  • Salman dethrones SRK in Forbes list

    Salman dethrones SRK in Forbes list

    MUMBAI: The Forbes 2014 India celebrity list is out. And this time, it has a new leader.

     

    After enjoying the top rank in the list for three consecutive years, Shah Rukh Khan has been replaced by Salman Khan. The reason behind SRK going down from the coveted spot to number 3 position is lack of any film release (except a cameo) between 1 October 2013 to 30 September 2014.

     

    Meanwhile, Salman topped the charts, both in terms of revenues and fame.

     

    At number two place, it’s Amitabh Bachchan, who has moved up by three positions in 2014. Big B’s charisma was enhanced by his nearly 12 million Twitter following.

     

    The top 10 celebs and the money made by them:

     

    1. Salman Khan: Rs 244.50 crore

    2. Amitabh Bachchan: Rs 196.75 crore

    3. Shah Rukh Khan: Rs 202.40 crore

    4. MS Dhoni: Rs 141.80 crore

    5. Akshay Kumar: Rs 172.00 crore

    6. Virat Kohli: Rs 58.43 crore

    7. Aamir Khan: Rs 80.47 crore

    8. Deepika Padukone: Rs 67.20 crore

    9. Hrithik Roshan: Rs 85.00 crore

    10. Sachin Tendulkar: Rs 59.54 crore

  • Narendra Modi triumphs again, this time on twitter

    Narendra Modi triumphs again, this time on twitter

    MUMBAI: Twitter as a global social platform, has always allowed netizens to express themselves in 140 characters, during moments of celebration, protest, mourning and joy. The micro blogging site receives more than 500 million tweets per day. And we Indian’s are not far away.

    Politicians, actors, cricketers, opinion leaders and citizens have taken to the platform quite well this year. But for the year 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t just steal the show during the elections, but also on twitter.

    The Golden tweet aka .the most-retweeted tweet for India in 2014 was Modi’s election-winning tweet. It received more than 70,000 RTs as it became the most retweeted tweet ever in India. The tweet read, “India has won. Bharat Ki Vijai. Aache Din Aane Wale Hain.”

    Globally, the golden tweet went to the Ellen Show’s starry photo from the Oscars telecast, which gave rise to the selfie phenomenon world over. It received more than 33,67,817 RTs.

    Meanwhile, India’s list of power tweeters is dominated by Bollywood stars, apart from Modi. In the top 10, Amitabh Bachchan leads with 1,18,18,056 followers, followed by Shah Rukh Khan at 1,02,46,755. Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli too make their entry but at number 15 and 16, respectively. Author Chetan Bhagat adds variety to the list, rounding off the top 20 for India.

    Rohit Sharma’s smashing the world record for the highest individual ODI cricket score of 264, on 13 November was the top peak moment for twitter. In fact, of the top 10 moments, three are related to cricket including the Indian Premier League. The second largest peak in twitter conversation for the year was Rajinikanth’s arrival on twitter. With over 2,00,000 followers in the first 24 hours and now over 1.1 million in total, it’s clear that he has many loyal fans both off and on twitter. Hardly surprising, two of the top five peaks in conversations were about Modi.  With 8.5 million followers, he is currently the second most followed political leader in the world (after President Barack Obama) and continues to grow his followers at a rapid pace.

    The fastest rising Twitter hashtag trends in India saw a mixture of sports, disasters and political campaigns. Conversations around the 2014 FIFA World Cup lead the trend, followed by the disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines flight, MH370. Meanwhile, Mufflerman, a campaign led by the fans of the Aam Aadmi Party in support of leader Arvind Kejriwal, gathered momentum towards the end of the year.