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Tag: Black

  • Try and buy gets a tech glow up with Black’s virtual fashion mirror

    Try and buy gets a tech glow up with Black’s virtual fashion mirror

    MUMBAI: Why try when you can tap? With a flick of the screen and a dash of AI, Black, the fashion-first app from Kiranapro is turning your phone into a mirrorless fitting room. And with its latest acquisition of Likeo, things just got a whole lot more immersive. Kiranapro, India’s fully ONDC-integrated, AI-powered quick commerce platform, has zipped up a deal to acquire Likeo (likeo.me), a startup specialising in augmented reality–powered virtual try-ons. The strategic acquisition is stitched neatly into the rollout of Black, Kiranapro’s fashion-forward commerce app tailored for Gen Z, transforming shopping into a tech-fuelled playground of self-expression.

    With Likeo now in the closet, Black becomes India’s first app to offer a cross-category, AI-powered virtual trial room spanning apparel, jewellery, and eyewear. It’s a swipe, snap, and strut solution that replaces dressing room dilemmas with hyper-personalised, confidence-boosting previews.

    The acquisition also sees Likeo founder & CEO Saurav Kumar take the reins of AI and visual computing at Kiranapro, steering Black’s evolution into a tech-tuned fashion juggernaut. “We’ve always believed virtual try-on can remove hesitation and bring confidence to the online purchase journey,” said Kumar. “With Black, we finally have a canvas to scale this to millions.”

    The Likeo-powered trial room begins its runway rollout in the coming weeks, with early access opening for fashion and accessories. Designed to reduce return rates and elevate the joy of discovery, the feature transforms scrolling into strolling digitally, of course. From couture to casual, Black users can now see it, style it, and strut it virtually before they ever hit ‘buy’.

    Kiranapro founder and CEO Deepak Ravindran, called the acquisition “a bold step” in reinventing online shopping. “Black is not just an app, it’s a cultural movement,” he said. “Likeo’s tech allows us to give users a mirrorless shopping experience that’s deeply personal, fun, and frictionless.”

    The move cements Kiranapro’s twin strategy digitally empowering India’s local kirana network via ONDC on one end, while elevating e-commerce experiences for Gen Z on the other. With AI as the backbone and cultural cool as the vibe, Black positions itself as more than just a shopping app, it’s fast becoming India’s most stylish tech experiment.

    So if your fashion wishlist needs a test drive, Black’s new fitting room won’t just show you the look, it’ll help you own it, without ever leaving your screen.

  • Service above rule: Life OK’s Maharaja Ranjit Singh starts from 20 Mar

    MUMBAI: It’s a historical appeal. Life OK, in association with Contiloe Pictures, is all set to bring the story of the king who was like none other – a king – who was a true leader and a visionary, a man of intelligence and not just brute strength, Sher-a-Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

    The show will be aired at 8.30pm time slot from Monday to Friday.

    Produced by Contiloe Pictures, the show is starting from 20 March. The show is about the founder of the Sikh empire, who is mostly known as the last Indian to hold the famed Koh-i-noor diamond and for gold-plating the Golden Temple.

    The show follows the journey of the exemplary king who placed service above rule, and unity above power. It sets out to discover all the facets of the man whose philosophies endeared him to his countrymen, and whose political acumen struck fear in the heart of his enemies – the British and Afghans.

    The makers of the show got Omung Kumar onboard to design the sets, the name behind the movies such as Black, Saawariya and Yuvvraj. The costumes of the lead actors have been designed by the famous Bollywood costume designers — Manoshi Nath and Rushi Sharma. Bollywood stunt director Allan Amin was brought in to direct the war sequences in the show.

    Doing justice to the complex setting of the show was not an easy task for the production house. Contiloe Pictures CEO Abhimanyu Singh said, “We are very happy to announce the launch of our next historical venture, ‘Sher-E-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh’ in collaboration with Life OK. This show promises to be the biggest historical from our stable. We have worked for over a year and a half on the show and a unit of 500 hundred people are working day and night to translate our vision into reality. We are also working with state-of-the-art VFX supervisors and stylists to give a freshness to this epic saga”.

  • Shemaroo Entertainment signs catalogue deal with Spuul India

    Shemaroo Entertainment signs catalogue deal with Spuul India

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has signed another catalogue deal with Spuul, the popular online streaming service for Indian cinema. The companies have come together to create a larger library on the digital platform in order to offer an enhanced viewing experience online.

    Speaking about this new deal, Spuul VP content Girish Dwibhashyam said, “As one of the leading providers of Bollywood content to viewers across India, Pakistan, UK, US and Middle East, we are constantly investing in growing our library by adding new, popular and in many cases, classic titles to our list. Our association with Shemaroo is yet another step in this direction.”

    Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd director Jai Maroo said, “With ever growing number of consumers on the digital platform, we are sure that our association with Spuul will further boost the customer base. We have already been working with Spuul to make our content available through their platform and have seen them grow over the past couple of years. We are glad to be able to work with them and grow this opportunities even further.”

    The two industry giants have been working closely to encourage legitimate consumption of Indian Cinema on digital media. In addition to a large selection of free movies, the platform offers movies with premium subscription option.

    The platform now offers its viewers a wider catalogue that includes contemporary hits from Shemaroo like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, The Dirty Picture, Sarfarosh, Black and evergreen movies like Kaalia, Namak Halal, Shiva, Majboor, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don and Anamika, etc.

     

  • Shemaroo Entertainment signs catalogue deal with Spuul India

    Shemaroo Entertainment signs catalogue deal with Spuul India

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has signed another catalogue deal with Spuul, the popular online streaming service for Indian cinema. The companies have come together to create a larger library on the digital platform in order to offer an enhanced viewing experience online.

    Speaking about this new deal, Spuul VP content Girish Dwibhashyam said, “As one of the leading providers of Bollywood content to viewers across India, Pakistan, UK, US and Middle East, we are constantly investing in growing our library by adding new, popular and in many cases, classic titles to our list. Our association with Shemaroo is yet another step in this direction.”

    Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd director Jai Maroo said, “With ever growing number of consumers on the digital platform, we are sure that our association with Spuul will further boost the customer base. We have already been working with Spuul to make our content available through their platform and have seen them grow over the past couple of years. We are glad to be able to work with them and grow this opportunities even further.”

    The two industry giants have been working closely to encourage legitimate consumption of Indian Cinema on digital media. In addition to a large selection of free movies, the platform offers movies with premium subscription option.

    The platform now offers its viewers a wider catalogue that includes contemporary hits from Shemaroo like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, The Dirty Picture, Sarfarosh, Black and evergreen movies like Kaalia, Namak Halal, Shiva, Majboor, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don and Anamika, etc.

     

  • The 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards 2014: New beginnings

    The 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards 2014: New beginnings

    Mumbai: As the Award reaches the landmark 60th year, it does so in partnership with the globally iconic brand – Britannia. Both Britannia and Filmfare are not only household names but leaders in their respective fields. It’s going to be a master class in excellence as two distinguished brands come together to honour the best of Indian cinema.   

    With six decades at the top, Filmfare magazine and the Awards hold pride of place in the hearts of stars and fans alike. Starting with a modest ceremony of just 5 awards, it is now an extravagant gala with over 35 awards. A R Rahman leads with the highest number of the Filmfare Awards, a whopping 29, followed by Kamal Hassan and Gulzar at 20 each.  Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Black and Devdas have been the most successful films at the Filmfare Awards.  They’ve bagged an amazing 10 awards each.

    The Black Lady too has changed over time; from a 5kg hand crafted bronze trophy to a golden avatar at the 50th anniversary.  A diamond-studded trophy, the 2500th piece, was given away to A R Rahman in 2012. In 2013, gold plating at the base of the trophy was done to mark the centenary of Indian Cinema and a year later, keeping up with the advent of 3D in films and 3D printing technology in real life, Filmfare took a futuristic leap. All the trophies that year were 3D printed.
    Britannia Industries is one of India’s leading food companies with annual revenues in excess of Rs. 6000 Cr. In it’s close to 100 year journey, Britannia has become one of India’s favorite and most trusted food brands and houses power brands like Good Day, Tiger, NutriChoice and MarieGold which are household names in India.  Britannia’s product portfolio includes biscuits, bread, cakes, rusk, and dairy products including cheese, beverages, Milk and yoghurt. Britannia products are available across the country in over 35 lakh retail outlets and reach over 50% of Indian homes.  It’s most recent product launches – NutriChoice Heavens and Goodday Chunkies showcase the Company’s ability to offer World- class bakery experiences to the Indian consumer.

    To announce this momentous occasion, Britannia and Filmfare came together at the hotel JW Marriott in Mumbai on December 7, 2014. Gracing the event to announce this grand new association was B-town’s favourite actress and now international pop icon Priyanka Chopra along   with Mr. Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Industries Limited and Mr. Tarun Rai, Chief Executive Officer, Worldwide Media, the publishers of Filmfare magazine.  Together they lit the lamp marking the start of a new magical journey to honour Hindi cinema’s best.

    Talking about their decision to partner with the Filmfare Awards Mr. Varun Berry said, “Britannia is happy to announce its association with the Filmfare Awards 2014 as a Title Sponsor. The Britannia Filmfare Awards 2014 will bring together the two things that every Indian loves – Good food and Great Fun.”

    Mr. Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media said, “In the 60th year of the Filmfare Awards, I am very happy to announce that Britannia is making their debut with us as partners. Britannia is an iconic brand and I am sure their association with Filmfare Awards will only raise the stature of our event. I look forward to this new journey.”

    The 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards 2014 will be held on January 31, 2015 at the Yash Raj Studios, Andheri, Mumbai.

     

  • Shemaroo IPO opens on 16 September

    Shemaroo IPO opens on 16 September

    BENGALURU: India integrated media content house Shemaroo Entertainment Limited’s 100 per cent Book Built Initial Public Offer (IPO) opens tomorrow. The company has activities across content acquisition, value addition to content and content distribution. The issue sized Rs 120 crore closes on 18 September 2014. The promoters of the Company are Raman Maroo and Atul Maru.

    The face value of each share is Rs 10 in the price band of between Rs 155 to Rs 170. A 10 per cent discount is offered to retail investors. The minimum number of shares per lot is 85 and in multiples of 85 thereafter. The maximum bid for retail customers is Rs 2 lakh. The equity shares will be listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

    Note : 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

    The total size of the issue is between 71 and 77 lakh shares. The break up is: Qualified Institutional Bidders (QIB) including Anchor Investors who may be allocated 60 per cent of the QIB portion is 50 per cent of the issue, non-institutional investors 15 per cent and retail investors 35 per cent of the issue size.  The objects of the Offer are to fund, working capital requirements and expenditure for general corporate purposes and achieve the benefits of listing the Equity Shares on the BSE and the NSE and to carry out the sale of 22,555,124 Equity Shares by the Selling Shareholders. 

    Data by Karvy Stockbrokers of the company over a five year period in an IPO note says that the company’s Earnings per share (EPS) has gone up by 20.4 times from Rs.0.69 (PAT Rs 1.26 crore) in FY-2010 to Rs 14.08 (PAT Rs 27.95 crore) in FY-2014. Shemaroo’s revenue has gone up 2.6 times from Rs 103.57 crore in FY-2010 to Rs 264.68 crore in FY-2014. Its net worth has gone up 2.2 times from Rs 79.27 crore in FY-2010 to Rs 177.45 crore in FY-2014. The figures released by Karvy Stockbroking indicate a PE ratio of between 11 (Price Rs 155 per share) and 12 (Price Rs 170) based on an EPS of Rs 14.08 in FY-2014.

    A Shemaroo press release says:

    “ Shemaroo’s Content Library consists of more than 2,900 titles spanning new Hindi films like Queen, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Dedh Ishqiya, The Dirty Picture, Kahaani, OMG: Oh My God!, Black, Ishqiya, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Omkara, Dil Toh Baccha Hai, Bheja Fry 2, amongst others. Hindi films classics like Zanjeer, Beta, Dil, Disco Dancer, Mughal-e-Azam, Amar Akbar Anthony, Namak Halaal, Kaalia, Madhumati etc., titles in various other regional languages like Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali among others as well as non-film content.

    Shemaroo is one of the largest independent content aggregators in Bollywood. Currently, the Company distributes content over which it has either complete ownership rights or limited ownership rights.

    The Company distributes its content through various mediums such as (i) television such as satellite,

    terrestrial and cable television; (ii)New Media platforms consisting of mobile, internet, direct to home (“DTH”) and other applications; (iii) home entertainment; and (iv) other media.

    Shemaroo’s recent initiatives include tying up as an official channel partner for Google Inc.’s You Tube where it is managing 32channels. It is also moving beyond providing just content, to providing content management solutions to partners including Reliance Communications Re 1 WAP store and Airtel digital television in connection with an interactive devotional service, namely “iDarshan”.

    Shemaroo’s key strengths include an established brand name; vast, diverse and growing Content Library; diversified distribution platforms; de-risked business model; experienced directors and management team; and strong relationships in the industry. Shemaroo’s overall strategy is structured around its Content Library and its successful exploitation to ensure that it can be monetized through diversified platforms on a worldwide basis and designed to address predictability, scalability and sustainability, ultimately resulting in profitability.”

     

  • Black and White film Blancanieves is Spain’s entry at the Oscars

    Black and White film Blancanieves is Spain’s entry at the Oscars

    Mumbai: Blancanieves, a silent film shot in black and white, will be Spain‘s entry at the 85th edition of the Oscars and at Mexico‘s Ariel awards in the non-English best film category.
    Starring Maribel Verdu, Macarena Garcia and Daniel Gimenez Cacho, the film begins showing in Spanish theaters Friday after being screened at the San Sebastian Film Festival where it enjoyed great critical success.
    Blancanieves, directed by Pablo Berger, beat out El artista y la modelo, by Fernando Trueba and Grupo 7, by Alberto Rodriguez, in the voting conducted online by the Spanish academy members.
    Earlier, four films from Spain namely Mar adentro, Volver a empezar, Belle Epoque and Todo sobre mi madre, have won the Oscar in the best non-English-language film category.

  • ARY Digital to telecast Big B films for Pakistani audience

    ARY Digital to telecast Big B films for Pakistani audience

    MUMBAI: Dubai based broadcaster ARY Digital Network will hold a four week Amitabh Bachchan film festival on its channel in Pakistan starting 13 May. The fest titled Sab Ka Baap will showcase a mix of super hit Bachchan films from yesteryears and today.

    “He is the biggest film star of our time, and is loved by fans and audiences globally and as much so more in Pakistan than in any other place in the world. This is another step by ARY Digital to play its part in helping open more avenues to bridge gaps between the two countries – and we feel and exchange of entertainment is one of the most important tools for in this process,” said ARY Digital Network president and CEO Salman Iqbal.

    The films that would be broadcast on the channel during the festival are Don, Satte Pe Satta, Ek Ajnabi and Black.