ITV

Tag: Andhra Pradesh

  • MCOF to hold seminar for LMOs

    MCOF to hold seminar for LMOs

    MUMBAI: With Last Mile Operators (LMOs) viewing digitisation as a threat and legal tussles between them and Multi System Operators (MSOs) on the rise, the Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) has organised an educational and business seminar on ‘challenges and opportunities post DAS’ to address their growing concerns.

    To be held on 23 November at the Prabhodhankar Thakarey Krida Sankool in Vile Parle, Mumbai, the seminar will see the who’s who of the industry educate LMOs about the kind of business opportunities lying in wait.

    Addressing operators from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa will be Castle Media director Vynsley Fernandes, who will speak on ‘global industry standards and trends’; HSBC Securities (Telecom and Media) lead analyst Rajiv Sharma, who will touch upon the financial aspects; former Sun group CEO Tony D’Silva, who will discuss HITS (Headends in the Sky) technology, UPASS managing director Ravindra Deshmukh and PING Network founder Prashanto Das, who will talk about global trends in broadcasting.

    Also among the invitees are small scale industries and the State Bank of India (SBI) regional head.

    Says MCOF president Arvind Prabhoo: “There is a lot of confusion about digitisation and LMOs feel the business is going out of their hands but if you understand what digitisation is and how to go about it as well as reorient yourself to the changing scenario, then you don’t look at it as a challenge but as an opportunity. I want LMOs to know that digitisation is not a threat and remove the fear factor from their mind.”

    A few women cable operators are also expected to attend the seminar that will be conducted in both Hindi and English. Nearly 500 to 600 LMOs are likely to participate with registration fees fixed at Rs 500 per head. Leading Marathi and Gujarati newspapers will be carrying advertorials tomorrow and day after to promote the event.

    Apart from challenges and opportunities post DAS, the seminar will also cover topics such as maximizing broadband penetration, optimised network architecture in DAS and future proof, Value Added Services (VAS), identifying right equipment and spares, supply tie ups and employee training.

  • DAS Stay extended to 4 June in Andhra Pradesh, court wants action taken report from Govt

    DAS Stay extended to 4 June in Andhra Pradesh, court wants action taken report from Govt

    New Delhi: The Andhra Pradesh High Court today extended to 4 June the stay on switch-off of analogue signals in Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam, even as it expressed its annoyance against the Information and Broadcasting Ministry counsel not giving an action-taken report as directed by the court.

    Adjourning the hearing of six petitions to 4 June, the Court also permitted other parties including the Indian Broadcasting Foundation to be impleaded in the case.

    The division bench headed by the Chief Justice Justice N.V.Ramana posted the case for orders after the vacation.

    The Court also asked the authorities not to take any coercive steps against Multi System Operators (MSOs) for not implementing digital addressability system in Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts.

    The bench which was hearing arguments on a public interest petition passed a single order in five other similar cases including one by an MSO, Mr S V Krishna Mohan and another by the Greater Hyderabad Cable TV Operators Association, that came up for hearing before the bench.

    The petitioner Chalasani Narendra filed the PIL saying the Union of India was ‘scuttling the constitutional rights of the citizens by blocking out the TV Channels in the guise of implementation of Digital Addressability System (DAS) without making any efforts for easy availability of Set Top Boxes (STBs) in the market’.

    He also alleged that the government is also trying to favour the big corporate establishments in the cable and DTH industry in the guise of DAS implementation.

    Hathway had also got itself impleaded in the petition saying that there is no need to extend the time for the implementation of DAS in Hyderabad. Hathway submitted before the High Court that Digitalisation of cable services brings out a lot of undeclared connectivity from the cable operators benefiting the Broadcasters, the government and the MSOs.

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation submitted that the Court should not grant any more time against the compulsory usage of STBs in Hyderabad.

    According to figures published by the Ministry on 21 April, Hyderabad has 8,81,512 TV households of which 17,37,052 STBs have been installed, including DTH, with the total digitization going up to 193.83 per cent. Vishakhapatnam has 5,42,692 TV households, and only 1,58,291 STBs including DTH have been installed thus taking the percentage to 29.76.

    Stay also continues till 8 May in Jabalpur, Indore, and Bhopal apart from Chennai with petitions pending in Madhya Pradesh and Madras High Courts, even as the Indian Broadcasting Foundation has moved the Supreme Court to ensure these petitions are not entertained.

  • DAS stayed in Madhya Pradesh till 8 May

    DAS stayed in Madhya Pradesh till 8 May

    NEW DELHI: After Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka it‘s Madhya Pradesh‘s turn. The Madhya Pradesh High Court today stayed the switch-off of analogue signals till 8 May in the cities of Indore, Bhopal and Jabalpur covered in Phase II of digitisation.

    The stay order came on two petitions – including public interest litigation by one LCO including Rashmi Dubey, and one by an MSO run by Nilesh Rawal linked to Digicable – citing shortage of set top boxes, billing issues and some other problems linked to digital addressable system.

    The High Court also issued notice to the Union of India and the Information & Broadcasting ministry, according to Rawal‘s counsel Abhijit Awasthi.

    As on 3 April, the status of seeding in Madhya Pradesh was 65.34 per cent in Bhopal, 75.79 per cent in Indore, and 37.69 per cent in Jabalpur.

    Meanwhile the Karnataka High Court is expected to pronounce judgment tomorrow with regard to two petitions by local cable operators and multi-system operators from Bengaluru and Mysore.

    Meanwhile, the stay on DAS in Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam will continue for another day as the matter did not come up for hearing in the Andhra Pradesh High Court today.

    The hearing in DAS extension cases will resume tomorrow in Karnataka and Gujarat. Infact, the Karnataka HC had reserved its verdict for 16 April after hearing all the parties involved in the case.

  • Ghai faces fresh trouble over land in Andhra Pradesh

    Ghai faces fresh trouble over land in Andhra Pradesh

    MUMBAI: Subhash Ghai has been landing from one troubled spot to the other. After the apex court ordered him to return the 20-acre land on which his institute Whistling Woods International is based to the state government, Ghai has faced another embarrassment with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) rapping the Andhra Pradesh Government over allotment of 20.10 acres of prime land to the institute in alleged violation of rules.

    In its latest report on land allotments in the state during the YS Rajsekhara Reddy government‘s tenure, the CAG has pointed out that the allotment of the institute land was in violation of the AP Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaelogolical Sites and Remains Rules 1960.

    Based on a writ petition filed by a private person, the state High Court had in January 2010 suspended the state government’s order granting 20.10 acres of land to Ghai.

    Incidentally, the land allotted to the institute at Ibrahimbagh village under Golconda mandal in Hyderabad was next to Premamati mosque, a protected monument.

  • APFCC, MPDA to jointly address content theft

    APFCC, MPDA to jointly address content theft

    MUMBAI: The Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) and the Motion Picture Distributors Association (India) Pvt Ltd (MPDA) have come out with an initiative to address the growing content theft under the banner of Content Protection Alliance.


    The alliance between the APFCC and MPDA (India) will work on initiatives to tackle
    cam-cording, content theft online and on cable as well as to promote public awareness campaigns and education on the importance of content protection.


    The Content Protection Alliance has received support from the Andhra Pradesh State Government. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has offered government support to further strengthen this alliance.
    The Telugu film industry is one of the largest in south India. With the support of the Andhra Pradesh government and the APFCC, the Anti-Video Piracy Cell was instituted in 2005.


    The cell has since put in place processes and systems to combat content theft and build awareness among government officials, police officials and the general public about the importance of content protection.

  • Sharada to receive AP govt’s NTR award

    Sharada to receive AP govt’s NTR award

    MUMBAI: Noted South Indian actress Sharada has been chosen to receive the Andhra Pradesh Government‘s prestigious NTR National Film Award for 2010.

    A committee of film personalities headed by noted producer G Adiseshagiri Rao selected Sharada for the NTR award.

    The actress, who has won National Award three times, began her career in 1950s and went on to act in a number of films in Telugu, Malayalam and other south Indian languages.

    The panel also selected other prominent movie personalities for different awards.Noted Telugu director B Narsing Rao, known to have made some critically-acclaimed films was chosen for the B N Reddy National Film Award while producer A V M Saravanan won the Nagireddy-Chakrapani National Film Award. The Raghupati Venkaiah Award would be presented to senior actor, producer and director M Balaiah.

    Yedida Nageswara Rao, who produced award-winning films like Sankarabharanam, would the recipient of the Special Jury award.

    The awards will be presented by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on 23 March.

  • Ram Gopal Varma mulls film on post-YSR’s death

    Ram Gopal Varma mulls film on post-YSR’s death

    MUMBAI: Inspired by the political developments in the aftermath of former Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy‘s death in September 2009, Ram Gopal Varma is readying to make a Telugu film Reddy Garu Poyaru (Reddy is Dead).

    “The unprecedented political developments in Andhra Pradesh as well as the many scandals that came to light, and the intense war between television news channels, have inspired me immensely. I have decided to make a feature film exposing these happenings through a fictitious story,” Varma said in a statement.

    It has been reported that the script of the proposed film was under preparation and shooting would start next year soon after Varma completes his current venture, Department.

    “I was never interested in politics but I always had a tremendous urge to study the psychology of political leaders. A small stone when thrown into still water will cause ripples but the same stone when thrown into political waters will cause a tsunami,” Varma observed.

    Elaborating on the story, the 49-year-old producer- director said a struggle for political existence begins with the death of a tall leader. “The leader‘s own men will seek to use his death as an investment for their political existence, while those on the other side will try to use the opportunity to regain their existence. As a whole, the film will expose the bizarre political game that is played in the aftermath of the tall leader‘s death,” he averred.

  • AP govt exempts Lotus Pond of entertainment tax

    AP govt exempts Lotus Pond of entertainment tax

    MUMBAI: The Andhra Pradesh government has exempted Telugu movie Lotus Pond from entertainment tax. It has also sanctioned it to run an extra show in the mornings.

    The film that was shortlisted for the 17th International Children‘s Film Festival, revolves around two students of a boarding school driven by their inquisitiveness to explore the mythical Lotus Pond in the Himalayas.

    They set for a journey in the Himalayas during one of their classes at school, thinking they would return back. They do not know that the journey includes terrains at 14,000 ft.

    Along the way, the mountain and its people help these boys finally reach the pond. But they don‘t find the lotus there… The rest forms the crux of the film.

    Puri Jagannath‘s son Akash Petla along with Rohit Ranka of Golconda High School fame play lead roles in the film.

  • Andhra HC dismisses writ petition on The Dirty Picture

    Andhra HC dismisses writ petition on The Dirty Picture

    MUMBAI: Relieving the makers of The Dirty Picture and the distributors of the film in Andhra Pradesh, the state High Court dismissed a writ petition by the brother of the late South-based actress Silk Smitha.

    In his petition, Smitha‘s brother V Naga Varaprasad Rao had sought a ban on the film.

    He had objected to the way his late sister was portrayed in the film. He also claimed that the filmmakers never took the family‘s consent for making the film on Silk Smitha. Justice Vilas V Afzalpurkar dismissed the petition.

    The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) also conveyed to the court that there was no scope for the Court to review the decision of the Censor Board as the filmmakers themselves had denied that the film was based on the late actress‘s life.

    Starring Vidya Balan and produced by Balaji Telefilms, The Dirty Picture directed by Milan Luthria also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar Kapoor. 

  • Chillar Party bags best Indian film award at ICFFI

    Chillar Party bags best Indian film award at ICFFI

    MUMBAI/HYDERABAD: The 17th International Children Festival India (ICFFI) concluded in Hyderabad with the Andhra Pradesh governor ES Narsimhan calling upon filmmakers to treat making films for children as a corporate social responsibility and set aside budget for atleast one children‘s film every year.

    While Iranian film Alafzar (Meadow) directed by Mohammad-Ali Talebi won the Golden Elephant for Best feature Film in the international section, the Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl directed Chillar Party received the Golden Elephant for the best Hindi film in the Indian section. The children‘s jury also selected the film as the best film.

    The German film Vorstadkrokodile 2 (The Crocodiles Strike Back) by Christian Ditter won the Golden Elephant in the international category from the children‘s jury. Both the adult and children jury selected Nineandhalf Goodbye by Halina Dyrschka of Germany as the best film.

    In the little character category Varun Haldar and Vineeta Nayak‘s Hamari Duniya received the best director award. Umesh Kulkarni won the best director award for Vihir while his film received a special mention from the children jury.
    Lost in Africa by Vibeka Muasya, a collaboration between Denmark and Kenya received the best director award in the international category. The children jury also made a special mention of the film.

    Nila Madhab Panda‘s I Am that already has several international laurels to its credit, received two awards; one by Sanjay Chouhan for the best screenplay for I Am Kalam and the other by actor Harsh Maya who won the best actor award for his role in the film.

    The colourful closing ceremony was attended by Andhra Pradesh Information and Public Relations minister DK Aruna, Kerala Social Welfare minister MK Muneer, Children‘s Film Society (CFSI) chairperson Nandita Das and CFSI CEO Sushovan Banerjee.

    Das revealed that around 175,000 children attended the week-long festival.

    , that saw a participation of 152 films from 40 countries, ended on Sunday with the presentation of awards.

    While the award for the Best Indian director was bagged by Umesh Kulkarni for Vihir, . Sanjay Iranian film Alafzar (Meadow) directed by Mohammad-Ali Talebi won the Golden Elephant for Best feature Film in the international category, while the German film Vorstadkrokodile 2 (The Crocodiles Strike Back) by Christian Ditter was named the Best Feature Film in the international category from the children‘s jury.

    The seven-day film festival was organised by the Children‘s Film Society of India along with the Central and Andhra Pradesh governments.