Tag: Bollywood

  • Hungama, Gameshastra form JV to launch games for Indian market

    Hungama, Gameshastra form JV to launch games for Indian market

    MUMBAI: Hungama Digital Media Entertainment (Hungama), India‘s leading digital entertainment company, has formed a joint venture with Gameshastra, India‘s largest game studio, to create multi-platform games for the Indian market.

    The new alliance brings together Hungama‘s strengths in digital entertainment, with expertise in the area of mobile and online gaming and Gameshastra‘s expertise in game development to deliver localised games across various platforms.

    Speaking on the alliance, Hungama MD & CEO Neeraj Roy said, “The concept of gaming has caught on across the world and is gaining rapid pace especially in the mobile and connected devices environment. Through our partnership with Gameshastra, we will create a bouquet of games that are engaging and addictive for the average gaming enthusiast. We hope to provide them with the ultimate gaming experience in the comfort of whichever connected environment they choose.”

    Through the joint venture with Gameshastra, Hungama will bring their exclusive IP across various genres – Bollywood, celebrities, sports, and lifestyle, in console gaming and games for the iOS and Android platforms.

    Hungama‘s expertise in content development for the digital platform will be coupled with Gameshastra‘s strength in sales and distribution of games across mobile, web portals, DTH, Smart phones and feature phone devices.

    Gameshastra CEO Prakash Ahuja said, “The sophisticated devices and seamless connectivity has brought us to a whole new age of gaming. This partnership between Hungama and Gameshastra will strive to provide this new age gaming experience across genres and platforms to the Indian audience. We see a huge demand, for localized content and our partnership shall definitely be the starting point of an emerging trend in the Indian gaming arena.”

    Gameshastra is India‘s leading game development studio with expertise in game development across platforms like PSP, PS2, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS, Android, iPhone, iPad, Facebook, Xbox 360, and PC/Mac. They have developed titles like DesiAdda and Cart Kings which are still popular on PS2 platform.

  • Special events & Movie telecasts shuffle GECs’ top ranking in 2013

    MUMBAI: 2013 is turning out to be a fluid market for the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs). With the fight for the top position becoming tougher, the leading GECs are betting on big-ticket properties to give them spikes to surge ahead of competitors on a weekly basis.

    Bollywood awards shows, big movie premieres or shows hosted by Bollywood stars are proving to be critical ingredients for a channel to occupy the top chair. Sans this kind of content, the top four Hindi GECs are in a very closely contested race.

    In week five ended 2 February, the premiere of Son or Sardar propelled Star Plus back to the number one position by a big lead. Star was similarly the leader in Week 1 because of the Big Star Entertainment Awards.

    In week 2, Colors was the leader as the finale of Bigg Boss 6, a reality show hosted by Bollywood star Salman Khan, gave it a spike in gross rating points (GRPs). Without this tent pole property, Colors slipped to the third position in the third week while Star Plus regained the No. 1 spot.

    Zee TV was at the top in week 4 as Zee Cine Awards gave it a sharp rise in viewership.

    Madison Media Infinity SVP Monaz Todywalla agrees that January has become the season of specials. “One of the reasons why competition is this close is because the proportion of time on fiction has reduced from the same period last year. Clearly channels are using specials to maintain their positions even as programming executives get time to evaluate their fiction offerings.”

    Channels
    Wk 1
    Wk 2
    Wk 3
    Wk 4
    Wk 5
    Leading Show
    Star Plus 287 241 241 228 281 Week 1: Big Star Entertainment Awards (41 GRPs)
    Week 5: Premiere of Son Of Sardar
    Colors 253 245 210 204 210 Week 2: Bigg Boss 6 Finale hosted by Salman Khan (22 GRPs)
    Zee TV 211 195 215 237 214 Week 4: Zee Cine Awards (31 GRPs)

    As per TAM data (HSM including 5 new LC1 markets, C&S, 4+) for week five, sourced from a Hindi GEC, Star Plus got back to the leadership position with a wide lead of 67 GRPs over the second GEC. The GEC in the second position was Zee TV with 214 GRPs.

    Star Plus notched 281 GRPs in week five with an addition of 48 GRPs to the previous week’s ratings. The channel had telecast ‘Son of Sardar’ for three hours each at 1 pm and 9 pm on 27 January that clocked 3.9 TVR and 4.5 TVR, respectively. The movie airings collectively contributed 50 GRPs to the channel’s viewership.

    Taking the second spot in week five is Zee TV, which lost 31 GRPs from a week earlier at 214 GRPs. It wound up Sa Re Ga Ma Pa on 27 January that clocked 2.2 TVR for a three-and-a-half hour telecast contributing around 15 GRPs to its viewership. The other shows of the channel have seen marginal difference in the viewership.

    Just four GRPs away from Zee TV is Colors that added 15 GRPs to close the week with 210 GRPs. The channel’s new reality comedy show ‘Nautanki the Comedy Theatre’ made a debut with 2.9 TVR on 2 February. It’s shows like Balika Vadhu (4.7 TVR), Sasural Simar Ka (4 TVR) and Madhubala (3.9 TVR) have seen increase in viewership.

    Sony Entertainment Television (Set) lost 27 GRPs in week five compared with a week earlier. Its total GRPs in the week totaled 159. In the previous week, Set had premiered Karan Johar’s ‘Student of the Year’ that notched a 4.2 TVR and had also telecast the finale episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati-6 that fetched a TVR of 3.1 TVR.

    Sab clocked 134 GRPs (previous week 145) and Life OK 121 GRPs (previous week 114).

    Sahara One with 24 GRPs (last week 25 GRPs) remains at the bottom of the ladder.

    The data includes the five new LC1 (Less than Class I) markets: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (including Uttaranchal), PHCHP and Rajasthan.

    With the release of these markets, TAM now covers 92 per cent of the HSM urban market from the earlier 74 per cent.

  • HP teams up with Universal Music & Hungama.com to launch music service

    HP teams up with Universal Music & Hungama.com to launch music service

    MUMBAI: HP has joined forces with entertainment giants Universal Music and Hungama.com to launch subscription-based music service in India called HP Connected Music.

    The service provides unlimited rental downloadable music free of charge for one year. This brand new service is available on selected HP notebooks with the imbedded Windows 8 launcher.

    With the new range of HP consumer notebooks featuring Windows 8, consumers can now enjoy music on the move – with acess to their favourite music anywhere, anytime. HP Connected Music is available in India on selected consumer notebooks.

    HP Connected Music has been introduced in India to provide HP customers exclusive content and access to Hungama.com’s and Universal Music‘s diverse catalogue which includes over 1 million songs from more than 20,000 artists from different genres inlcuding Bollywood, Devotional, Rock, Classic, Hip Hop, Jazz, Regional, R&B, Country and others.

    Consumers will have access to unique content such as previews, behind the scenes, VIP events and many more, to connect with their favourite artists, including the likes of A. R. Rehman, Sonu Nigam, Priyanka Chopra, Anoushka Shankar, Euphoria and international artists like Justin Bieber, Lady GaGa, Aerosmith, Akon among others.

    Speaking about the service, HP PPS India Head, Marketing Ranjivjit Singh said, “Our consumers have told us they want a seamless music experience, while using their device and this is exactly what HP Connected Music provides. Through its subscription service, it allows people the chance to explore a whole new world of music and exclusive content, while using their HP device.”

  • Zoom TV launches responsive website Zoomtv.in

    Zoom TV launches responsive website Zoomtv.in

     MUMBAI: Bollywood channel Zoom has ramped up its internet presence with a new responsive website Zoomtv.in.

     

    Developed by Times Internet, the new website brings together the best of Bollywood entertainment content and technology to deliver it seamlessly across all devices and platform.

     

    A responsive website automatically adapts and resizes itself according to the resolution of a device. Hence a single site is displayed in different visual formats with flexible images and fluid grids. In today’s world of multi-screen experiences, like phones, tablets, and computers, responsive sites automatically adjust to give the best experience for each one.

     

    The content on the website has also undergone a strong refresh. Besides regular channel programming, the site will feature exclusive videos and unused footages from the channel to offer depth to its video content. Insider gossips, photos, blogs and articles by Zoom Star anchors and reporters will also form core content on the site. Movie trailers, promos, stills and first reports will offer variety to Bollywood fans.

     

    Zoom has put a major focus on reinvigorating its digital products to provide its users with readily accessible content which is relevant, fresh, multiple-format and available on all platforms.

     

    Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said, “Times Internet prides itself in developing cutting edge digital platforms. This is our first responsive design product for the market, complemented with a very strong technology platform. As consumption becomes multi-screen, ZoOmTV.in is well positioned to serve content across devices.”

     

    Zoom TV CEO Avinash Kaul said, “We have been, and continue to be, very serious about the digital presence of zoOm and that’s what’s made zoOm. The Worlds No. 1 Bollywood Destination”. We are revolutionising the way we cover and distribute Bollywood content across platforms in relevant ways that inform and entertain our users at all times.”

     

  • Zoom TV launches responsive website Zoomtv.in

    Zoom TV launches responsive website Zoomtv.in

    MUMBAI: Bollywood channel Zoom has ramped up its internet presence with a new responsive website Zoomtv.in.


    Developed by Times Internet, the new website brings together the best of Bollywood entertainment content and technology to deliver it seamlessly across all devices and platform.


    A responsive website automatically adapts and resizes itself according to the resolution of a device. Hence a single site is displayed in different visual formats with flexible images and fluid grids. In today’s world of multi-screen experiences, like phones, tablets, and computers, responsive sites automatically adjust to give the best experience for each one.


    The content on the website has also undergone a strong refresh. Besides regular channel programming, the site will feature exclusive videos and unused footages from the channel to offer depth to its video content. Insider gossips, photos, blogs and articles by Zoom Star anchors and reporters will also form core content on the site. Movie trailers, promos, stills and first reports will offer variety to Bollywood fans.


    Zoom has put a major focus on reinvigorating its digital products to provide its users with readily accessible content which is relevant, fresh, multiple-format and available on all platforms.


    Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said, “Times Internet prides itself in developing cutting edge digital platforms. This is our first responsive design product for the market, complemented with a very strong technology platform. As consumption becomes multi-screen, ZoOmTV.in is well positioned to serve content across devices.”


    Zoom TV CEO Avinash Kaul said, “We have been, and continue to be, very serious about the digital presence of zoOm and that’s what‘s made zoOm. The Worlds No. 1 Bollywood Destination”. We are revolutionising the way we cover and distribute Bollywood content across platforms in relevant ways that inform and entertain our users at all times.”

  • Percept Sport to manage the ‘Vadodara International Marathon 2013’

    MUMBAI: Percept Sport, the Strategic Business Unit of Percept Sports & Entertainment, has won the mandate to manage the fourth edition of ‘Vadodara International Marathon 2013‘ following a multi-agency pitch.

    The event is scheduled to be held on 1 December.

    Percept Sport will handle the entire 360-degree management of the ‘Vadodara International Marathon 2013‘ including re-packaging, profiling, marketing, implementation and operation of the event.

    A series of pre-event to drive awareness for the main marathon will span the length of 2013. One of the pre-events will be the ‘Midnight Woman‘s Marathon‘ with an aim towards highlighting issues related to the safety of women in the country. The 7 km marathon will feature only female participants who will run at the stroke of midnight across the city of Vadodara. This Marathon aims to serve to motivate women across India and also symbolise the safe environment prevalent in the state of Gujarat.

    According to the company, the ‘Vadodara International Marathon 2013‘ will have the presence of top international long distance runners. Eminent personalities from the field of Bollywood, Politics and Sports will also be present to lend their support to this event.

  • Bollywood frenzy catapults Star Plus to top in digital homes too

    MUMBAI: Star Plus ended rival Colors’ six-week run as the top Hindi general entertainment television channel in digital homes in the first week of 2013, riding high on the Bollywood obsession among Indians.

    The telecast of Big Star Entertainment Awards, an annual event that honours the chosen best in Bollywood, for three-and-a-half hours on the New Year‘s eve helped Star Plus displace Colors from the No. 1 position in digital homes. Star Plus enjoys a leading position in the overall market (including both digital and analogue television homes).

    In the first week of the new year ended 5 January, Star Plus notched 275 GRPs (up from 225 in the 52nd week of 2012) with 44 of those contributed by just the Bollywood awards show, according to TAM Media Research data sourced from a television channel. In the overall market, the Bollywood awards show garnered 41 GRPs. It helped Star Plus widen its lead to 34 GRPs from 7 GRPs in the 52nd week of 2012 against its immediate rival Colors, which remained in the second position.

    Star Plus GM Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “It is indeed heartening to see a brilliant response from our viewers (to the Big Star Entertainment Awards show).”

    In fact, Star Plus regained the top position in digital market (HSM, 4+) after a gap of seven weeks since the first week of November 2011. Apart from the previous six weeks where Colors was at the top, Zee had occupied the top position in week 46. In week 44 and 45, Star Plus was at the number one position in digital market, as it was in the overall market.

    The government had mandated complete switchover to digital delivery of television channels in the top four metros from 1 November but the adoption of digitisation has happened almost fully in Mumbai and Delhi and to a great extent in Kolkata. Chennai is lagging far behind and is caught in a legal hurdle in the Madras High Court.

    Colors could add just three GRPs (gross rating points) to gross 245 GRPs in the first week of 2013 (previous week 242 GRPs). The Viavom18 channel had aired Colors’ Golden Petal Awards, the channel’s in-house awards function, which notched 4.56 TVR in the digital market, same as in C&S market. The Golden Petals Awards contributed 32 GRPs to its total GRPs in the first week.

    Colors CEO Raj Nayak had, on being consistently at the top in the digital market for several weeks, said, “….With the digitisation completed in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata (to a lesser extent though), these three markets put together contribute to a large proportion of the digital universe weightage. Hence, a strong base (of Colors) in the markets of Mumbai and Delhi helps.”

    Sony Entertainment Television (Set) lost 22 GRPs in the digital market to end the first week with 188 GRPs while Zee TV followed with 183 GRPs (previous week 177).

    Following Zee TV is Sab with 143 GRPs (previous week 149) and Life OK with 95 GRPs (previous week 105).

  • Bollywood awards show widens genre leader Star Plus’ lead

    MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) genre leader Star Plus got a big lift from its Bollywood awards show it aired on the new year‘s eve, helping it widen its lead in the opening week of 2013.

    Star Plus with 287 GRPs (gross rating points) was ahead of Colors by 34 GRPs as it gained 42 points. The gap in Star Plus‘ GRPs and that of Colors in the 52nd week of 2012 was just 7 points.

    The Big Star Entertainment Awards fetched Star Plus 41 GRPs as it ran for three-and-a-half hours on the New Year‘s eve and notched a TVR of 5.9 TVR, according to TAM data (HSM, 4+, C&S) provided by a television channel. The other shows of the channel have seen marginal difference in the viewership, keeping the overall ratings neutral.

    Says Star Plus GM Nachiket Pantvaidya, “Star Plus‘ aim with Big Star Entertainment awards was to make New Year‘s Eve a special and memorable one for the entire family and keep them entertained through the night. It is indeed heartening to see a brilliant response from our viewers. This is just the beginning for 2013 and we have great entertainment lined up for the year.”

    Colors got a boost from its in-house television awards show to maintain its second position. Colors Golden Petal Awards, also airing on the New Year‘s eve, earned a TVR of 4.5 as the channel added 15 GRPs in the week ended 5 January. The annual award function contributed 31.5 GRPs as Colors totaled 253 GRPs during the week. A few of the shows of the channel like Balika Vadhu (4.9 TVR) and Madhubala (3.7 TVR) saw a slight dip in viewership, while others like Bigg Boss-6 (2.8 TVR), Uttaran (2.5 TVR) and Shaitaan (1.4 TVR) went up marginally.

    Occupying the third slot is Zee TV with 211 GRPs (last week 198). The channel had launched a new fiction property, Housewife, that debuted with 2.5 TVR, better than its replaced show Afsar Bitiya which last recorded a rating of 2 TVR. Like Colors, few of Zee TV‘s fiction shows have seen improvement in performance while others have seen loss in eyeballs. Its fiction shows like Punarvivaha (1.9 TVR) and Fear Files (2.4 TVR) have seen increase in numbers.

    Sony Entertainment Television (Set) lost 18 GRPs to end the week with 180 GRPs. The channel has launched the new season of its comedy reality show, Comedy Circus, which opened with 2.4 TVR.

    Sab lost 6 GRPs to register 150 GRPs while Life OK added four GRPs to close the week with 114 GRPs. Sahara One maintained status quo with 23 GRPs.

  • Snickers brings together Rekha and Urmila Matondkar in its new TVC

    MUMBAI: Mars International India‘s chocolate brand Snickers has launched its new television campaign (TVC) featuring Rekha and Urmila Matondkar.

    Directed by Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali, the new TVC is an adaptation of the global campaign ‘You‘re Not You When You Are Hungry‘.

    It is currently on air across 56 television channels and nine languages.

    Developed by BBDO India, the TVC is based on the concept, which was developed behind universal insights that hunger makes a person weak and behaves differently, ultimately affecting the people around us and our performances. Rekha portrays the hunger state ‘meanness‘ and joins a list of international celebrities including Betty White, Joe Pesci, Aretha Franklin, Liza Minnelli and Joan Collins.

    This concept YNYWYH has run in 56 countries with local celebrities.

    Mars International India MD Chocolate Business MV Natarajan said, “What the commercial is saying is that when you‘re hungry you‘re not on your game and that Snickers is the bar of substance that sorts you out to be yourself. The campaign has enjoyed huge success internationally and we are optimistic that we will get positive response in India too.”

    The opening of the TVC shows four boys who are going in a car to play cricket. They are speaking in their colloquial language and out of those four, one of them is Rekha. The other boys are talking to her as if she is a boy. The fact is that the boy is hungry and thus, starts behaving like a Diva‘. ‘Kyunki hunger Acche Acchon Ko Badal Deta Hai‘. So, he rips into the Snickers bar on his friend‘s suggestion and comes back to being himself.

    Later, when they reach the cricket ground, the driver is hungry and hence, starts throwing tantrums. This role is played by Urmila. So the boys take out one more Snickers for him.

    Therefore, the theme of the ad is that you are not yourself when you are hungry. One should eat Snickers when hungry to refuel in-between meals.

  • Sunny, porn and big bad world of TV

    Sunny, porn and big bad world of TV

    It took a lot of frisking around in bed in the buff – with first, women,and then men – for the camera to transform an Indian Sikh girl Karenjit Kaur Vohra from Ontario into a global porn star who goes by the handle of Sunny Leone. From there she made her way back to India and into our homes with the fifth season of Bigg Boss where she has surprised all.

    Her face is finely structured, her smile bewitching the youth of India. She is comfortable in her skin as a sex goddess. Her laugh is gay, full of abandon. She comes across like a person who knows what she is all about, and she loves it. She has all the oomph and jiggles in the right places to make her stand out from the rest of the Bigg Boss 5 gang. She is Indian, and looks partly so, but sounds totally foreign. And yet she speaks Hindi with a charming accent and style. She is exotic. A mysterious enticement.

    Yes, she has that seductive figure, the seductive American/Canadian accent and a very seductive way of carrying herself.

    But she has done nothing – yet – to warrant her the porn star status that has made her the wet dream of millions of her fans the world over.

    Adult content can offer a release for many frustrated youth, who, in its absence, tend to vent their pent-up frustration out on girls as young as four or five as newspaper reports have revealed
    _____****_____

    The media has gone to town with Sunny. Reams and reams of pages of editorial have been written about her. Internet news sites, facebook communities and blogs have gushed about her porn star status in the hope of titillating readers to consume more of their pictures, and the accompanying puerile editorial. (This piece hopefully is not adding to the pulpy content). News channels too have spent thousands of minutes of on-air time examining Sunny Leone from every angle and even flashing pictures of her nearly undressed.

    Then some unknown organisations backed by shady characters have been grappling at straws to nail her and the show for crossing the boundaries of decency. And cash in on the Sunny phenomenon. And possible bask in the glare of the media by sending out dubious press releases about her being banned by some unknown associations of persons.

    But Sunny -the consummate professional that she is – she has not given them the chance; she has walked the thin line extremely well.

    Do you know Sunny Leone may have never made it to Bigg Boss 5? Well, she had been signed on earlier this year. But folks at the channel were balking at having her on-air as there were concerns whether cause-hunting groups would make a pornographic star’s appearance on the show as a cause celebtre.

    Finally, however, senior management decided to bite the bullet and go ahead, and ordered the channel’s standard and practices division to keep an even sharper watch on the content before it is pushed out on air.

    India which has given the Khajurhao, the Kama Sutra to the world has hypocritically been blocking out risqué content for years, nay decades.

    While most progressive countries allow adult content on air late night with some controls, India‘s lame policy makers and influencers have shut the door on it. Pseudo moralists in government and pseudo social activists have strangled and paralysed any movement on this score. India has millions of sex workers nationally servicing 10 times as many men daily. Parlours offer sex services from young masseuses under the guise of massage. There‘s a strong underground pornographic production network on anyway which disseminates clips through the net and through illegal channels in South East Asia and even India. These continue to flourish under the very noses of these same pseudo moralists. Some may also have the blessings of some of these very protesters in power.

    The Bhatt angle may have been just a ploy to attract eyeballs, deflect some heat the channel may have been getting-courtesy – Sunny, and also bring in Bollywood to make it look legit.
    _____****_____

    The fact is that adult content can offer a release for many frustrated youth who in its absence tend to vent their pent-up frustration out on girls as young as four or five, something which we tend to see in shocking newspaper reports day in day out. The government‘s Victorian approach is helping no one, apart from giving some ammo to the moral brigade to make noise from time to time and keep the information and broadcasting ministry busy. The government has set a digitization of Indian cable TV deadline. The technology that digital cable TV and DTH brings with it enables selective blocking of what can be termed objectionable content in the home by the viewer himself. The viewer will get to decide what he/she and his family members will be permitted to watch.

    So it’s about time that the powers-that-be drop their pseudo-moralism and take steps to rethink broadcast of adult content in the age of the internet where sex is the most searched term on google. And there are more visuals of the sexual act easily accessible to even underage kids at the click of a mouse then ever in mankind‘s history. Also, remember an extremely bold film like The Dirty Picture by the queen of family dramas Ekta Kapoor is getting rave reviews and attracting the so-called "conservative Indians" to cinema halls and multiplexes.

    Back to Sunny. She has tried to break out into Hollywood in the past, without much success. But Bollywood seems to be more accepting and welcoming than mainline or B-grade movie makers of the good old US of A. Earlier this week, she cast her spell on film maker Mahesh Bhatt who has been linked with the most beautiful of actresses and has had several relationships with the most desirable women. Bhatt fawned over her, showered lavish praise on her – behaving like an ageing, veteran film maker who has found his muse towards the sunset of his career.

    And he has offered her a part in Jism 2. Sunny, appears warm to the idea, and has left it to her agent in the US and Pooja Bhatt’s Fisheye Network to hammer out an agreement on her behalf for her Bollywood debut. If that is worked out, it will be a dream come true for Bhatt.

    A performer who has done it all, will be relatively easy to deal with.

    Dropping clothes will come naturally; smooching will not be a problem, she will possibly go the Full Monty; no body doubles will be needed. It will make for an interesting movie

    Sunny times are ahead. Yeah!!!

    Or at the end of it all nothing may emerge from it. The Bhatt angle may have been just a ploy by the channel‘s marketers and spin doctors to attract eyeballs, deflect some heat the its management may have been getting courtesy Sunny, and also bring in Bollywood to make it look like even India‘s most respected entertainment institution is wooing her and possibly get a veneer of legitimacy attached to what is going on on-air.

    If this is true then, our dear Sunny will head back to Los Angeles at the end of Bigg Boss 5, and remain a much remembered nymph. And she will be doing what she knows best: producing and marketing herself in the big lucrative world of porn.