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Tag: Bollywood

  • 3000 apply to audition for UAE-based Bollywood film Dollars

    3000 apply to audition for UAE-based Bollywood film Dollars

    MUMBAI: The recently announced UAE-based Bollywood production Dollars has gone in for an open casting for its nine roles and characters on 5 April at the Light House Studios in Al Quoz, Dubai.

    "We are looking for nine main and several supplementary characters of various nationalities which is reflective of the UAE landscape. And since the story is based in the UAE, actors selected from within the resident pool will add to the believability factor of the characters and result in a more authentic end product," said director Sameer Khan.

    Surprisingly, the production house initially received more than 3000 portfolios and applications from UAE residents since their online announcement of the casting. From among the lot 280 applicants have been shortlisted.

    Candidates selected from the first round will be combined with the shortlisted 280 for the screen test in second round.

    The film, that is set to hit the floors by May this year, is a tale of two friends who arrive in Dubai to work and their fast paced action adventure thereof.

    Dollars is a UAE based production and will be majorly shot in the UAE with some parts in India.

    The film is being produced by Times Square Entertainment and Ashwini Sehdev .Vikram Chopra is the film‘s associate producer and Neelesh Mishra has written the script and screenplay.

  • Bollywood actors take on cricketers in football for charity

    Bollywood actors take on cricketers in football for charity

    NEW DELHI: Demonstrating their care for fellow Indians, film personalities led by Abhishek Bachchan took on a team of cricketers led by Virat Kohli in a charity football match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in a charity football match at New Delhi over the weekend.

    The All Heart Team of cricketers emerged victorious by 4-3 on Saturday night against the All Star team.

    The funds raised from the match went to the Magic Bus foundation, which works for underprivileged children. Virat Kohli launched the team for his foundation ‘All Heart Football Club‘ against the All Stars Football Club.

    The All Stars team was coached by former footballer Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chettri trained the All Heart Team.

    Manoj Tiwari who scored two very important goals for his team was awarded man of the match.

    "Indian cricketers are in a habit of winning matches with a scoreline of 4-0. We were scared we would get the same treatment, but all credit to our team especially Ranbir Kapoor for having fought so brilliantly against the cricketers," said Bachchan at the press conference after the match.

    Talking about the team composition, vice-captain Ranbir Kapoor who was disappointed at having missed the penalty said they had been practising for over six months for the match.

    "Everyone who was regularly practising with us today was given a chance to play. There is nothing to be ashamed of in losing 4-3 and it was an honour to step up and compete against the mighty cricketers," he said.

    Talking about the prospect of arranging a revenge match, Abhishek said a few games were in the pipeline with talks doing the rounds that the two teams will square up again in Sikkim for Bhaichung Bhutia‘s foundation.

  • Bigflix.com pockets Viacom18’s film catalogue

    Bigflix.com pockets Viacom18’s film catalogue

    MUMBAI: Over the top service provider Reliance Entertainment Digital’s BigFlix announced today that it has added to its catalogue of films for viewing online. The move on demand service said it has acquired internet rights to stream 55 films from Viacom18 Motion Pictures through Indiacast Media Distribution (a TV18 and Viacom18 JV).

    “Our new acquisitions include some of Viacom18 Motion Pictures top grossing releases like Jab We Met, Singh Is King and Golmaal3 ,and some which are scheduled to be released in the next 12-15 months,” says BigFlix Business Head Shreyash Sigtia.

    BigFlix has a catalogue of around 2000 titles in which Bollywood comprises of 600 titles while there are around 200 Hollywood titles. The remaining 1200 movies are regional with Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam having the major numbers. Sigtia refused to comment on latest consumption statistics on Bigflix.com. But according to its website, it has 20,000 plus active subscribers, and more than a million visitors have been served so far. According to Alexa.com users are spending an average of about 3 minutes on Bigflix.com daily.

    BigFlix allows users to watch unlimited movies online for Rs 249 per month. The user can watch 10 minutes of a movie free of cost, after which a subscription has to be purchased.

    Talking about how the deal will help BigFlix Sigtia said, “It will help us in bringing fresh titles like Oh My God, Special 26, Aiyaa and Inkaar and also movies that have higher repeat value therefore helping in increasing consumption. We expect our subscriber base to double with this acquisition.”

    BigFlix aims to have a secured screening, and claims that the content is protected on DRM. “Users can’t rip of any movie from the site and this helps us monetise more effectively,” Sigtia added.

    IndiaCast group chief executive officer Anuj Gandhi said, “There is a growing base of movie viewership on digital as more and more people are tuning in to watch films online. This association between IndiaCast and BigFlix acts as a value addition for both parties. In Bigflix, we have found the right partner that not only has a huge base of film enthusiasts but also operates in a secured, controlled and authorized environment.”

  • Zoom increases ad rates by 30%

    MUMBAI: After ET Now and Times Now, its Times Television Network’s Bollywood and Lifestyle channel Zoom that is upping its ad rates.

    The channel, which competes against UTV Stars and E24, has decided to increase its ad rates by 30 per cent.

    According to Zoom, ET Now and Times Now chief sales officer Hemant Arora, the channel used to charge around Rs 1200 per 10 seconds. “The new rates would come into existence with immediate effect,” he said.

    Zoom claims to dominate the Bollywood category with over 45 per cent channel share.

    ET Now, Times Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul said, “Zoom’s strong and consistent viewership figures capture just one dimension of the brand’s popularity among its audience. Over the last few years we have seen a staggering response from Zoom’s fans in the real world engaging with the brand on Social Media platforms from across the globe. Zoom generates over 13 milliom impressions and sparks over 1 lakh interactions every day in the Social Media space – it is the biggest TV Brand on Social Media in Asia! Our esteemed clients believe in the power of Zoom as a platform to reach out to their urban, upscale consumers and the fact that Zoom has the largest client base in the category is reflective of that trust.”

    The channel said that the width and depth of Zoom’s Bollywood content and its unique presentation style have been the key differentiators for the brand. With a mix of initiatives planned across content, brand-building and multi-platform presence, Zoom said it aims to further strengthen its leadership position.

  • CAA KWAN to manage Deepika Padukone exclusively

    CAA KWAN to manage Deepika Padukone exclusively

    MUMBAI: Entertainment marketing and management company CAA KWAN will function as complete brand custodians and representatives of Bollywood actor- Deepika Padukone.

    CAA KWAN will manage all of Padukone‘s commercial engagements like endorsements, films and live appearances.

    CAA KWAN managing partner Anirban Das Blah said, "There is no female superstar in the current generation of Bollywood other than Deepika Padukone. She is independent, talented, focused, yet warm and family oriented – all of which are close to what the youth of the country relate to today. After managing her film work for a year, we are glad to take our relationship with her further, to be her exclusive agents in the brand and appearance market."

    Padukone says, "After working closely with the team at CAA KWAN for over a year, I‘m happy to have them represent me exclusively. Knowing that I have a team that is working so efficiently and tirelessly for me, gives me the freedom to completely focus on my craft."

  • Video watching on mobile growing in India: Nokia

    Video watching on mobile growing in India: Nokia

    MUMBAI: Video watching on the mobile is growing in India. Social media reigns over the mobile landscape of the country.

    Nokia India has released the first edition of ‘Nokia Mobisight‘ for July- December 2012. This bi-annual customer preference survey is one-of-a-kind report in India on how the nation is using the mobile Internet. Nokia powers a majority of mobile data consumption in India, and Nokia Mobisight reveals that Nokia powered data consumption of 1.67 PetaBytes for July-December 2012, and 12.7 billion total page views.

    With the massive amount of data consumption on the Nokia Store and on the Nokia browser, Nokia Asha‘s goal of connecting the next billion to the Internet is coming to life with the Nokia Asha‘s pocket-friendly mobile internet experience. Nokia Mobisight has captured the behaviour of mobile internet users, and provides insights on preferences for games, apps, music and more.

    The survey portrays a paradoxical picture of a country which loves music, gaming and social networking on one hand and also seeks privacy for its online and mobile presence. Nokia Mobisight also reveals how Nokia is connecting the next billion internet users, and facilitating data usage across India as consumers access a whole host of new services like Nokia Music, Nokia Store, Nokia Life, and Nokia Maps on-the-go.

    According to the survey‘s findings, India is accessing internet after their school, college and office hours, with peak access times for Nokia Browser ranging from 7:30 PM to 10:30PM IST. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh lead in the number of active Nokia Browser users. South Indians are consuming more internet on-the-go, with all four states in the top 10 in terms of consumption.

    The report also reveals rising Facebook frenzy, with consumers accessing Facebook more than searching on Google. Interestingly, watching videos on the move has seen prominence, with YouTube, Tubidy and VuClip featuring prominently in Top 10 sites accessed on the Nokia Browser.

    Privacy: The report also highlights that while the young India is more social than ever, youngsters are equally more guarded about their privacy. During the survey period, the Nokia Store has witnessed downloading of more apps related to privacy than any other services, and phone security apps occupy four places in the Top 5 apps downloaded.

    Nokia Life, a suite of personally relevant information services provides regular localized information related to Education, Health, Agriculture and Entertainment, reveals some interesting findings. People have subscribed to Agriculture, the most out of all other life enhancing services which depicts that more and more farmers are getting glued to Nokia Life. While Indians love their Cricket, it‘s the adrenaline-pumping car racing games that they play on their mobile devices. Super hero games are also favorites among the gamer community on the Nokia Store.

    The report also reveals that the young India is crazy about over the ‘Student of the Year‘ soundtrack – major songs top the Bollywood downloads chart at the Nokia Music Store, and Justin Beiber‘s ‘Boyfriend‘ and Priyanka Chopra‘s debut single ‘In My City‘ rocking the Nokia Music Store download charts.

  • Madhuri Dixit-Nene bags lucrative deal with a tea brand

    Madhuri Dixit-Nene bags lucrative deal with a tea brand

    MUMBAI: Ever since she shifted to Mumbai with bag and baggage, Madhuri Dixit-Nene has been making frantic bids to make a comeback in Bollywood but without any substantial result.

    However, there are reports that the actress has gone ahead and bagged an apparently lucrative deal with a tea brand.

    According to sources, the actress has become the new face of the tea company that was previously endorsed by Saif Ali Khan. The deal is estimated to be in crores.

    A source said that it was a while that Madhuri has been trying to make a comeback in the industry. It began with dance reality shows to a couple of films. And she has also been signing brand endorsement deals in the meanwhile.

    It is also being rumoured that legendary dancer Birju Maharaj could be choreographing her moves in the ad.

  • Indian M&E sector needs to look beyond cricket and Bollywood: Dominic Proctor

    Indian M&E sector needs to look beyond cricket and Bollywood: Dominic Proctor

    MUMBAI: GroupM Global president Dominic Proctor believes that the Indian media & entertainment industry should move away from the fragile ecosystem where Bollywood, cricket and a handful of national icons and stars are used for all messaging if it has to develop a globally recognised base.

    “This must change if India is really serious about building a world class sports and entertainment industry,” Proctor said at Ficci Frames 2013.

    In what would be a food for thought for media agencies and advertisers alike, Proctor said the country needs to look beyond cricket and start investing in non-cricketing sports and the signs for their success are very encouraging.

    Recent initiatives in F1, Hockey, Combat sports and Badminton are encouraging but not enough, he added.

    "In India the content is excessively and obsessively dependent on Bollywood, cricket and stars. This is a wake up call where in order to grow in the global space, the industry here needs to look beyond Bollywood and cricket," he noted.

    He observed that the popularity of cricket in all its formats – Test, ODI and T-20 – is declining at a global stage. The dwindling performance of the biggest sport in the country is posing a threat to the business surrounding it, to the companies and brands which have invested on it.

    Sports marketing in India will require to have much broader base than just cricket. People need to look at other sports too, like the other parts of the world. Sole focus on cricket as a means to advertise and reach the target audience gives it a monopolistic edge, which has lead to over crowding in the space and over pricing of the properties.

    While Bollywood and the Indian film industry is an all pervading influence, brands in India do not leverage this platform optimally. Revenue streams exist in content advertising on multimedia screens & producers and studios should look beyond theatrical returns & innovate new platforms and formats.

    Simultaneously, creators should extract total economic value for the content with consumer centric audience planning. With a nod to Web driven content, Proctor said that digital formats will drive advertising revenue growth in under branded India and also help the Indian media and entertainment industry reach out globally.

    Talking about Bollywood, Proctor feels that brands need to find new ways to exploit movies for the benefit of the market. Web is a big opportunity too. Now the audience is exposed to the multiple media screens and one can target, monetise and measure the medium. In fact, this is a better medium of targeting consumers. "Advertising in print costs around six times more than that on web to reach out to the same consumer. And web is a better engaging medium."

    The big shift, according to Proctor, is from distribution to content, from inventory planning to audience planning. "The need is to optimise inventory by serving different ads to different consumers. So, optimising spend and minimising wastages (is required)."

    Proctor pointed out the key challenges that Indian M&E industry is facing today. They are optimising the potential of the Web which poses a huge opportunity for the industry; foundation of a world-class content industry; need to look beyond Bollywood and cricket and tap into the emerging platforms to help extract right advertising value. "As global economy slows, the opportunity is for India and Asia more broadly to lead, and then the others will follow. India can be a support to world‘s media ecosystem like the U.S was," he added.

    The media agencies in India need to invest more in digital. "Digital business here is just 5 per cent of the total pie and as compared to the other markets where the spend on digital is around 30 per cent, it is relatively small. So, the agencies here need to invest in the medium, the people who know about the medium, and rope in that kind of talent. The medium will grow and the focus on these will drive digital medium‘s growth in India."

    Also, the media agency business here needs to diversify. "Clients want much more advice on sports marketing, mobile marketing, return of investments (RoIs). The media agencies should diversify in order to cater to them effectively," Proctor concluded.

  • Sony to spend Rs 3 bn on marketing Xperia; signs Katrina Kaif as brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: As its Xperia range of smartphones become critically important for Sony‘s business in India, the company plans to triple its marketing investment on the brand to Rs three billion in 2013-14.

    Sony India has roped in Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif as its brand ambassador for its Xperia range of Smartphones. The appointment of Kaif comes at a time when Xperia plans to magnify its presence. The actor and Sony have signed a two-year deal in this regard. Kaif will start endorsing the brand from March 2013.

    In addition to having Kaif as a centrepiece in the print and electronic advertisement campaign, Sony will also launch an outdoor campaign, enhance shop-front display, organise roadshows and use cinema and digital platforms.

    Sony India head marketing Tadato Kimura said, “We are looking to capture more of the youth market and believe Katrina is an adept choice as she is widely admired as a youth-icon. Her charismatic personality epitomises Xperia‘s ideology of being innovative, fun and stylish and makes her fit seamlessly into the brand. We welcome Katrina to the Sony family and we hope this association to be a phenomenal success.”

    Kaif said, “I am thrilled to represent a brand like Sony that I have been connected with as a consumer for many years from the time I got my first Walkman. And now with my association with Xperia, I look forward to explore the brand proposition even further.”

  • Kadar Khan is brand ambassador of Muslim lifestyle magazine

    MUMBAI: Mumbai based publication house Blossom Media Pvt Ltd has roped in veteran Bollywood actor and theatre personality Kadar Khan as the brand ambassador for their English monthly magazine on Muslim lifestyle by the name “Muallim”.

    Muallim is India‘s first Muslims lifestyle magazine and the first Muslim publication to have brand ambassador.

    Khan said, “I have read many magazines, but when my well wisher, Parvez Farid of Ummeed foundation, introduced Muallim to me, I was impressed by the magazine‘s presentation and quality. The content of Muallim is light in nature and is appealing. It covers topics which are important from a Muslim lifestyle point of view. It is a good reading material for the whole family. Also, it is nice to get associated with young talents in media field coming up with innovative and niche product.”

    Muallim managing director and editor in chief Ubaidur Rahman Khan said, “Muallim is India‘s first Muslim lifestyle magazine and Kadar Sahab is the first actor who has shown a strong inclination towards research on Islamic topics and literatures, his recent work in the field of Islamic literature is applaudable, hence he is the perfect face for our magazine.”

    Muallim director – marketing and PR said‘ “The readership profile of Muallim magazine is urban and progressive Muslims and Khan sahab‘s personality suits our readership profile class, hence it is appropriate to have him with us.”

    Muallim magazine was launched in May, 2012 and since its inception has caught the craze of the Muslims who are well verse with the English language. The Magazine enjoys loyal readership base and steadily rising circulation. The magazine has strong readership presence in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nasik, Ahmedabad, Saudi and UAE.