ITV

Tag: Amitabh Bachchan

  • Prakash Jha to make film on creative freedom

    Prakash Jha to make film on creative freedom

    MUMBAI: Inspired with his stints at the Supreme Court vis-a-vis the ban on his film Aarakshan by the UP government and the aftermath, filmmaker Prakash Jha has decided to make a film on creative freedom and the efforts to muzzle the artiste through extra-constitutional means.

    Jha‘s experience of battling various organisations and the UP government for the release of Aarakshan has inspired a script on the subject. "Why are we filmmakers constantly subjected to efforts to stifle our voices? I was provoked enough to go to the Supreme Court. A lot of filmmakers just succumb to pressure and make whatever adjustments are required of them. We shouldn‘t allow this to happen,"Jha said.

    According to the filmmaker, the Supreme Court‘s decision to lift the ban imposed on Aarakshan was historic. However, there is no sense of triumph in the victory, since the failure to release the film in Uttar Pradesh along with other states on 12 August resulted in huge losses.

    The director is happy he fought the ban. "There‘s a lesson for all filmmakers. We should not buckle under pressure. My film is not the first to face hurdles from state governments after being censored by the central board of certification. The film industry needs to collectively fight pressures from the outside," he asserted.

    Meanwhile it is learnt that Jha and Amitabh Bachchan will soon collaborate again on the former’s next film, Satyagraha, that will take on the issue of corruption in Indian politics.

    Scheduled to go on the floors in January, the film will address the ethos of a peaceful mass protest against corruption and will have Bachchan play a Anna Hazare-styled crusader who takes on the establishment in his fight against corruption.

  • Sony hits jackpot with KBC in HSM metros

    Sony hits jackpot with KBC in HSM metros

    MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan, a.k.a Big B, has done it again for Sony Entertainment Television (Set).

    Sony, which was eyeing a permanent third spot among the Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC) with Kaun Banega Crorepati season 5, was in for a surprise with the TAM mid-week ratings.

    KBC has become the leader show in the non-fiction genre and SET the No. 1 channel, according to data provided by Set for three metros (Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata).

    KBC has debuted with a 5.24 TVR on 15 August at the 8.30 pm slot, according to TAM mid-week data for the three metros.
     
    KBC and two weekday fiction shows – Saas Bina Sasural and Bade Acche lagte Hain – pushed the channel ahead of Star Plus as it gained 111 GRPs (gross rating points). Star Plus, Colors and Zee TV followed with 106 GRPs, 100 GRPs and 63 GRPs respectively.

    An elated Set Sr. EVP and business head Sneha Rajani said, “Mr Bachchan has once again proved that line starts from where he stands. We are delighted with the performance of KBC. These numbers show that we have yet again touched a chord with our viewers. The impressive opening numbers for KBC is an emphatic endorsement of our promise of delivering wholesome family entertainment has worked across the length and breadth of the country.” 
     
    Set also said that KBC 5 debut has even surpassed other reality shows on rival channels this year. It said that India‘s Got Talent on Colors had opened with a 4.5 TVR, followed by Just Dance on Star Plus (4 TVR) and Fear Factor khataron ke Khiladi Torchar (3.7 TVR).

    In the last season (first season on Set), KBC had opened at 5.34 TVR. However, it was a one-hour show then; this time, the length of the show has increased by another half-hour.
     
    Rajani said that her aim is to consolidate at No. 3, and grow from there. “KBC has given us a good start and all other shows are showing growth. We have the plan for the next six months ready.”
     
     

  • SC lifts Aarakshan ban in UP

    SC lifts Aarakshan ban in UP

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today declared illegal the ban imposed by Mayawati government on the release of producer-director Prakash Jha‘s film, Aarakshan.


    The apex court, thus, cleared the decks for the release of the film in Uttar Pradesh.


    Jha had challenged the ban imposed on the release of the film by Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab government.


    The Punjab and Andhra Pradesh governments, however, lifted the ban after the director agreed to remove the objectionable portions. But the Mayawati government refused to lift the ban on the ground that it may create law and order problems.


    A bench comprising Justices MK Sharma and Anil R Dave quashed the UP government order banning the release of the movie for two months.


    The movie has already been released in other parts of the country on 12 August.


    Jha in his petition had contended that the ban order violated his fundamental right to Freedom of Speech and Expression guaranteed under Article 19(i)(a) of the Constitution of India.


    Earlier, the Mumbai and Patna High Courts refused to interfere with the release of the film, the latter observing that there had been no law and order problem since its release.


    The Madras High Court had stayed the release of the film but changed its order after Jha convinced the court that the issue related to some extraneous payment not linked to this film.


    Earlier this week when the apex court issued notice to the UP Government on the petition, the bench also asked the Centre to give its reaction in view of the contentions by Jha that the state governments cannot override the permission granted by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to exhibit a movie.


    The petition contended the decision by the governments of UP, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh was due to political reasons and it violates the fundamental right to speech and expression.


    In the petition, Jha said the examining committee of Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC), which cleared the film for exhibition, comprised members drawn from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and other backward castes and the ban by the three states is “biased and arbitrary”.


    Seeking a stay on ban orders, Jha had cited various apex court judgments holding that “open criticism of the government policies and operations is not a ground for imposing restriction on expression views even in the form of films.”


    He said he has spent Rs 650 million towards production, publicity and marketing of the film and third party rights for distribution and exploitation of the film have also been created.


    Aarakshan, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Prateik Babbar and Hema Malini (in a guest role), deals with the sensitive issue of commercialisation of education in the light of caste-based reservations in the education system.

  • Madras HC stays Aarakshan release

    Madras HC stays Aarakshan release

    NEW MUMBAI: Even as the Madras High Court today directed an interim stay of Prakash Jha‘s Aarakshan for non-payment of dues, the film is to be screened before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.


    Commission Chairman P L Punia said this here today after meeting Central Board of Film Certification Chairperson Leela Samson.


    In Chennai, the stay by Justice Periyakaruppiah was granted after a civil suit was filed by Madhu Gupta and CG Photo Ltd for recovery of Rs 37.5 million in unpaid dues.
     
    The petitioners had accused the filmmaker of not paying their dues and sought a stay on the release of the movie slated to be released on 12 August. The producer has not paid the money despite promise and the cheques given by him were reportedly dishonoured.


    The film stars megastar Amitabh Bachchan with Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Manoj Bajpayee and Prateik Babbar.


    In Delhi, Punia said the film would be screened for the Commission, based on the outcome of the case in the Bombay High Court tomorrow. The commission wants to examine whether the film violates the provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.


    Samson said that the Board was discussing all the issues with the Commission, but refused to divulge more since the matter was sub judice.


    “The Commission has every right to be concerned about a matter of importance in the country. It has never said it wanted to interfere,” Samson said, adding, “We do not have any issue in discussing issues with it.”


    Samson added, “The director Jha is right in saying that he won‘t be able to screen the movie for all. He‘s shown it to the right people, that is the CBFC.”
    The CBFC passed the film without cuts with a U/A certificate as it felt the film was thought provoking. The certificate was awarded after an examining committee, set up with representatives from the Dalit, OBC, SC and ST community, reviewed the movie.


    Pro-reservationists are up in arms against the film, saying it is anti-Dalit. However, Jha has repeatedly said at press meets that the film is only dealing with the commercialisation of education by institutions taking advantage of reservation. He has not spoken against reservation, which he and Bachchan said is a fact of life since the Supreme Court had upheld it.

  • Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap script to be archived by Academy

    Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap script to be archived by Academy

    MUMBAI: The script of Puri Jagannath‘s Hindi debut film Bbuddah… Hoga Terra Baap has been invited to be archived in the library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.


    The script of Bbuddah… has been invited to be archived in the library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 68-year-old Amitabh Bachchan revealed on Twitter.


    “It is a great pleasure to hear the news. I prepared the script of Bbuddah… as Amitabh‘s huge fan. So, I am so happy that the script gains this much honour,” Puri exclaimed.


    A joint venture between Viacom18 Motion Pictures and AB Corp, Bbuddah… Hoga Terra Baap is a fast paced action thriller starring Bachchan as a retired hitman settled in Paris, who returns to India for one last job.
     

  • Parker gets Amitabh Bachchan for brand endorsement

    Parker gets Amitabh Bachchan for brand endorsement

    MUMBAI: Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan has returned as the brand ambassador of Luxor Writing Instruments‘s Parker brand after a gap of two years.

    Bachchan, who endorsed the pen brand from 2001-2008, has signed up a two- year contract.

    Simultaneously, Lowe Lintas is working on a new campaign with Bachchan to reposition Parker as ‘World‘s Most Respected Pen‘. 

    Lowe Lintas chairman and chief creative officer R. Balki said,” When we speak of Mr. Bachchan, there is an innate respect associated with the name. Parker drives the same respect in the writing instruments category. It makes a very natural and smooth association with both the personalities mingling so well. Everyone will be able to make this out of all the advertisements, both print and television, which have been made keeping in mind the amalgamation of these two big names.”

    Luxor Group‘s executive director Pooja Jain said, “This alliance is a step towards repositioning Parker as the World‘s most respected pen. We want to make Parker the preferred brand for achievers – whatever age they may be. Parker should be the brand people buy to reward and indulge themselves — a brand that projects the image of exclusivity and success they aspire to and can obtain with a Parker.”
     

  • Tanishq associates with Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan for an ad

    Tanishq associates with Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan for an ad

    MUMBAI: Jewellery brand, Tanishq, has associated with movie-stars Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan for their forthcoming diamond campaign.

    The campaign that is scheduled to go on air in mid April, aims to create awareness on how to evaluate the purity of these precious stones at the time of purchase.

    According to an official statement, this ad will educate consumers about the 4Cs: cut, clarity, colour and carat.

    Tanishq vice president Sandeep Kulhalli said, “With the growing demand for diamond jewellery category that contributes major part of our sales, our major focus this year will be to offer hi-quality diamond jewellery coupled with exquisite designs. Understanding the lack of awareness amongst customers in choosing right diamonds, we conceived the idea of educating our consumers through the ad campaign.”

    On Tanishq‘s association with the Bachchans, Kulhalli said that for this campaign they needed someone who would reflect the brand‘s standing, and connect with people across a wide spectrum.

    “We needed to create something that conveyed the desired message in an uncomplicated way. In line with this thought, we zeroed in on Mr. and Mrs Bachchan for this ad, whose combined fan following varies across 6 to 60 yrs of age, and will be desired personalities to reach out to the people easily spreading awareness on this precious jewel”, Kulhalli added.

    Said Amitabh Bachchan, “I am glad to be a part of this ad campaign. This campaign has helped me discover the finer details on buying diamonds besides giving me an opportunity to create awareness on this rarest and most beautiful form of the precious stone.”

    Added Jaya Bachchan, “While working in this campaign I got to know that the genuinity of a diamond depends on the cut, clarity and carat of the diamond, irrespective of the size. It is important for each one of us to know these intricate details, especially if there are any inclusions or spots in them.”
     

  • Sony’s waltz continues as Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa performs

    Sony’s waltz continues as Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa performs

    MUMBAI: Occupying the centre stage after the exit of Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati, noted Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit has waltzed Sony Entertainment Television into the third spot in the Hindi general entertainment space for the second straight week with record openings for the dance-reality show in which she takes part.

    Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa has opened with 5.5 TVR, bettering its earlier three opening performances which had posted ratings of 2.86, 3.09 and 2.05.

    Sony with 215 GRPs (prior week 200 GRPs) is still away from Colors‘ tally of 265 GRPs (273 GRPs) for the week ended 18 December, according to Tam data for the Hindi speaking market (HSM). Star Plus maintained its leadership position with 346 GRPs, despite a 16-GRP drop from the previous week.

    Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’s premiere on Sunday, which ran for two hours and 45 minutes, scored a TVR of 4.1. The show averaged 5.4 TVR from its two-day run (Monday 5.5 TVR and Tuesday 5.3 TVR) and contributed 52 GRPs for the three days.

    Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa will have competition from Zee TV’s Dance India Dance which debuts on 31 December.

  • Hirani floats ad making company

    Hirani floats ad making company

    MUMBAI: Keen on connecting with his roots in the ad world once again, Raj Kumar Hirani, along with his friend Sanjeev Kishinchandani, has launched a company called Canvass Films to mainly make ad commercials. 
     
    Hirani today is a household name thanks to his brilliant films such as 3 Idiots and the Munnabhai series. However not many people know that this talented filmmaker was actively involved with the ad world many years ago.

    Hirani had in fact even starred in commercials for brands such as Fevicol and Luna. 
     
    He has even directed a few commercials featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor in the recent past.
     
    Now it seems that Raju, who has always loved making ad films, will be directing around 6 – 7 commercials each year for his company.
     

  • ‘We want to be the No. 1 channel in two years’ : Sony Entertainment Television business head Ajit Thakur

    ‘We want to be the No. 1 channel in two years’ : Sony Entertainment Television business head Ajit Thakur

    Struggling to jump into the top Hindi GEC league, it was a year back when Sony Entertainment Television decided to undergo a complete overhaul. New programmes were introduced and a new association was inked with the biggest film production house, Yash Raj Films, to produce soaps that were different both in narration and production value. While not all could fetch the requisite numbers for Sony, they did help the channel cover quite a distance – from a 80 GRP mark to a peak of 180 GRPs.

     

    Now as Sony enters into its next phase of growth, it is betting big on the decade-old KBC, helmed by Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan. Sony believes that the property, infused with fresh innovations,will do more than just getting the numbers: it will help the channel change its fortunes.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Anindita Sarkar, Sony Entertainment Television business head Ajit Thakur speaks about the channel‘s programming plans at large.

     

    Excerpts:
     

    How challenging has been the last one year for you at Sony?

    Sony is a great brand but in the last couple of years it had not lived up to its potential. Now as I look back one year from the time I joined, we have achieved a lot and the credit goes to the brand. It has always been so strong that every time we do something that is targeted at our audience right, we always get results.

     
    So what has been the focus for Sony?

    The focus in the last one year has been on three things. The first one of these has been research. Audience taste in this country is shifting every 1-2 years and, therefore, we were very clear that everything that we do has to be supported by rigorous consumer testing and extensive research to enhance our consumer focus. And research is not just to track but also to forecast the future trends.

     

    The second focus for the channel has been to strengthen as pioneers in new programming. We got in a wide variety of shows ranging from the Yash Raj banner which were very diverse in terms of content and production value to something like Crime Patrol. We also made Aahat into a daily and Indian Idol, which had been traditionally a weekend property, was shifted to weekdays to give audiences a new experience. Also, no other channel has a daily thriller like CID.

     

    The third very important and conscious thing that we are concentrating on is to produce content that entertains the entire family – and is not just exclusive to women or men or kids. Also, the content should do more than just entertainment.

     
    But even after so many launches in the past one year, the channel is still perceived to be synonymous with CID while also deriving ratings from Indian Idol. Why so?

    Yes, CID is our flagship property and has been doing very well for us. So, if we have a strong property, why not build on it? We have extended the property to CID gallantry awards and we are thinking of CID comics towards the end of the year.

     

    Meanwhile, the growth has not come just from one property. We are slowly and steadily expanding on our properties. Now we have Indian Idol, then we will have KBC and we will be building one property at a time.

     

    Our other shows – Aahat, Crime Patrol and Boogie Woogie – are also fairing well for the channel. Baat Hamari Pakki Hai is picking up. And if you see, none of our shows is similar to the other. 

     

     
    But you still weak on fiction as compared to the rest of the competitors…

    Look, it has been a very conscious part of our strategy to give audience differentiated content. So, if you see, our programmes are very different from what is happening on all the other four channels. The fact is that from last June to this June we have seen an almost 100 per cent growth. Also, our primetime GRPs have grown from 40-75 GRPs. Meanwhile, in DTH households, we are the number two channel already. And DTH is a controlled environment where everything is in place and it is no more a Bombay-Delhi phenomenon. This shows that our content has future potential.
     

    Does that mean you do not want a successful soap on the channel?

    We do want to do a successful daily soap and build more on fiction but it has to be unifying and should be carrying a message. Also, we will not look at dragging a soap just for the sake of TRPs. We will look at finite properties that will help build the brand Sony and stand for it. We are expected to bring variety and target younger people. India has a lot more people below the age of 35 and Sony has a very high skew towards this audience segment. 

     
    ‘Now that it is time to enter the second phase of our growth, we want to kickstart it with KBC ‘

     
    Then why is it that even after bringing in young and differentiated content with the YRF shows and some other new ones too, it did not do much well for the channel?

    When we launched YRF, Seven and Mahi Way did fairly well. But all of them were not up to the expectations that the market wanted. However, when we went for it we actually knew that the content is ahead of its time in comparison to current television in terms of narrative as well as treatment. So we were the early adopters and the ratings did not come in the first season. But we have learnt that they will work if we be at it for some time and bring back new seasons.

     

    Also, another learning for us is that we shouldn‘t launch multiple properties together. Which is why this time we will bring back the shows one by one so that the audiences grow on them.
     

    When do you plan to bring back the new YRF shows?

    We will be launching two new shows from the YRF stable by the end of this year and the new seasons of two more properties will be launched next year. Apart from these, we will also be launching two other fiction properties by the year-end. 

     

    Why did you decide to bring back KBC despite it being an old property?

    The difference between reality shows and game shows are that reality shows are often very edgy and not suitable for the whole family. And since we are targeting the entire family, we knew it was time to bring back a game show on the channel.

     

    When we did our testing for KBC, everyone said that they would watch the show because it has knowledge, entertainment and Mr Bachchan. So they encapsulated the show for us very well and that has a huge implication for us. We are sure that apart from numbers, the show is going to generate huge eyeballs for the channel.

     

    Also, now that it is time to enter the second phase of our growth, we wanted to kickstart it with KBC. 

     
    What is your scheduling strategy? Which time bands do you concentrate on?

    Because a lot of our focus is on research, our scheduling strategy is pretty much about what is happening in the household. So we start our early primetime with soaps that are for the regular family and then as we go through the day, we move into non-fiction that is Indian Idol. Towards the end of the day, there is Crime Patrol, Aahat and CID as there is more of older audiences and men coming into the channel.

     

    Also, we are trying to keep as much of content on the channel to keep the family together. Earlier, it was just the weekends that would look at keeping everybody together – but now it‘s weekdays too.

     

    And the third thing is that while a lot of the channels are doing afternoons, we have opened up the late primetime at 11 pm as an original time band.

     
    What are your movie plans?

    We are actually looking at doing less and less of movies. About a year back, we were doing 4-5 movies a week. But now we are doing only two movies a week. And within this, we are looking at interesting titles. We have about eight programmes on the channel and we will repeat that during off primetime. We are also looking more at events.  
     

     

    What are the challenges and opportunities for Sony in this cluttered market?

    We want to maintain a steady growth curve upwards. We want to take optimal decisions in terms of investments and programming and don‘t want to take away the positioning of the channel. Our daily worry is what is the next new innovative programming that we need to bring in and what is the next new insight we need to catch from the consumers.

     

    The challenge for us will be to continue retaining our present viewers while getting in new audiences. We will also have to continue to build on our youth base – more from the smaller towns.
     

    So is there a GRP or position you have in mind?
    We want to be the number one channel in two years.