Tag: Chiranjeevi

South India Film Festival (SIFF) set to illuminate the cinema landscape with its inaugural edition

Mumbai: The South India Film Festival (SIFF), heralded as a celebration of cinematic excellence and cultural diversity, proudly announces its inaugural edition set to unfold on 22 March 2024 in Hyderabad.

This year, the festival takes immense pride in presenting a stellar line-up of luminaries from the South Indian film industry, embodying the essence of regional storytelling and artistic brilliance. Among the distinguished guests gracing the event are renowned actors, directors, producers, and industry experts, promising an unforgettable showcase of South Indian cinema.

The festival serves as a testament to the rich heritage and creative ingenuity of South Indian cinema, bringing together visionaries from various corners of the industry to share their insights, experiences, and expertise with audiences eager to delve into the world of cinema.

Leading the line-up is megastar Chiranjeevi, who have been awarded with The Padma Vibhushan the second-highest civilian award given in the country, whose presence promises to infuse the festival with star power and cinematic excellence. Alongside Allu Arvind, Vishwa Prasad, Shailesh R Singh, Deepak Dhar, Sujay Ray, and Shetanshu Dixit among others, audiences can look forward to engaging with a diverse array of talents, including Mayank Shekhar, Rajeev Masand…, each bringing their unique perspective and contribution to the festival.

Check out the list of esteemed guests:

https://southindiafilmfestival.com/

Attendees can anticipate a captivating blend of screenings, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, offering a holistic immersion into the world of South Indian cinema. From thought-provoking debates on industry trends to insightful conversations on the future of regional cinema, the festival promises to be a dynamic platform for dialogue and exchange.

The presence of these esteemed guests underscores the significance of the South India Film Festival as a cornerstone of the regional film industry. Their collective talent, experience, and passion for cinema will undoubtedly elevate the festival to new heights, enriching the cultural tapestry of South Indian cinema.

Register yourself for the South India Film Festival here:

Register yourself for the South India Film Festival here: https://in.bookmyshow.com/events/south-india-film-festival/ET00377474

Stay tuned for more updates and announcements as we embark on this exhilarating journey of celebrating the magic of South Indian cinema at the inaugural South India Film Festival.

March 18, 2024
Sony Pictures Network premieres film promoting positivity amid COVID-19 pandemic

MUMBAI: 'Stay at home’, ‘stay safe’, ‘wash your hands’, ‘work from home’, ‘maintain social distancing’ are the statements that one hears these days. In these tough circumstances, stalwarts of the Indian film industry have come together with a unique short film, Family, to spread the message that social distancing and staying-at-home can be made more productive.

The stalwarts who have come together for the short film are: Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth, Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal, Mammootty, Sonali Kulkarni, Shiva Rajkumar, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Diljit Dosanjh

Conceptualised and directed by Prasoon Pandey in collaboration with Bachchan, the film shows that staying at home, staying safe, maintaining hygiene, working from home and maintaining social distancing can be productive and should be taken in one’s stride.

The premiere of this film will be simulcast across all channels of Sony Pictures Network on Monday, 6 April. Through this film, Bachchan will also unveil an initiative that supports the sustenance of daily wage workers associated with the entertainment industry.

While most of us continue to work from home, it’s the daily wage workers who have borne the brunt and are suffering the most. Given the unprecedented nature of the situation, an initiative undertaken by Bachchan, ‘WE ARE ONE’, has been supported by Sony Pictures Networks India and Kalyan Jewellers, through which a monthly ration to 100,000 households across the country will be given.

Through a commercial tie-up with a leading chain of hypermarkets and grocery stores in India, digitally barcoded coupons have been distributed to a verified list of workers from the All India Film Employees Confederation. Furthermore, monetary help has also been extended to those in need.

April 6, 2020
Zee Cinemalu celebrates its 2nd year anniversary

Zee Cinemalu, a full-time Telugu movie channel from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), is completing yet another year of entertaining its Telugu Cinema lovers as the channel completes two years since its inception on 4th September 2016. Launched by Megastar Chiranjeevi unveiling the logo, Zee Cinemalu began its journey with ‘DilPai Super Hit’ as its brand line and became the first movie channel to have World Television Premieres among the movies channels, also introducing the concept of 7 Days – 7 Premieres,giving a fresh offering to movie lovers. With movies being the biggest entertainment in Telugu Television which contributes to 34% to the total TV viewership, Zee Cinemalu’s movie library strength lies in the movies for the younger generation and more of content driven titles. The channel managed to turn small-time movies (in theatre) big on Zee Cinemalu, some of which are, Mathangi, Idi MaaPrema Katha, Vasuki and London Babulu.

Zee Cinemalu entered as the 4th player in the Telugu movie channels space. Today, Zee Cinemalu has created a mark for itself in the Telugu film space and stands out for its varied offerings – World Television Premieres, Saturday Mega Movie, Friday Blockbuster, 9 Days 9 Blockbusters and many more!

Zee Cinemalu commenced with a bang with 122 GRPs & 22% genre share in Urban and was seen as the biggest launch of the decade. Despite the strong competition, Zee Cinemalu has won the hearts of many Telugu Cinema lovers in the last 2 years. Zee Cinemalu stood out as No.1 in Urban with185 GRPs &27.2% genre shareand No.1 in Hyderabad with 223 GRPs &30.7% genre sharefor 12 weeks (Wk23’18-Wk34’18 average)

Zee Cinemalu’s offering isn’t just limited to television but also has a movie website www.zeecinemalu.com with the latest of Tollywood updates, news, reviews, image gallery etc. for all the movie lovers. In 2017, the channel had ‘Zee Cinemalu Digital Awards’ for whichthere was a poll conducted on the website. With more than 1.2 Million votes, the poll was a big success and the winners were announced basis the results from the poll. With interesting movie updates, exclusive celebrity interviews and stories from Tollywood week on week, the website is moving from strength to strength and is building its base.

As of today, with its interesting mix of movie library, celeb interviews, audio launches of new films, movie website and its social media platforms, Zee Cinemalu caters to a wide variety of audiences whose interests lie in movies with its innovative content offering and has successfully occupied a special place in the Telugu audiences.

Commenting on the 2nd year anniversary, Anuradha Gudur, Business Head, Zee Telugu and Zee Cinemalu, “It has been a marvellous journey for Zee Cinemalu so far and we have had the opportunity to bring to the small screen some of the best movies that Tollywood has produced. There continues to be a lot of opportunities in the Telugu television market, and we believe we are just beginning to scrape the surface for our ardent viewers. On this special day, I would request our audiences to gear up and get ready for what Zee Cinemalu has in store in the new year.”

August 29, 2018
Chiranjeevi’s first-ever TV show ‘MeeloEvaruKoteeswarudu’s CFE till 18 October

MUMBAI: Maa TV is all set to launch MeeloEvaruKoteeswarudu (MEK) with the Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi as the host.

MEK, one of the most popular programs in the Telugu TV entertainment space, has witnessed phenomenal reach and success as the official Telugu adaptation of the internationally-renowned game show format Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Hindi game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).

Being the first launch of this property after Star acquired the Maa business, the game show is all set to become even bigger with the megastar Chiranjeevi hosting a show on the TV for the first time ever. This season the MEK theme revolves around “Making the dreams win”

“MEK is a highly popular and proven show in the Telugu market, as much as it is in various international and India markets. It is the first big show being launched after Star TV took over MaA TV and we are pleased to be associated with mega star Chiranjeevi as the host of the show,” said Star India South CEO Kevin Vaz.

In an illustrious film career spanning 37 years, Chiranjeevi has amassed a huge fan following in Telugu-speaking states and he is known for his connect with the common people. The charisma and persona of Chiranjeevi, the bonding and the love he enjoys with the Telugu people is all set to take MEK show to the newer heights. This show aims to reach and empower people from 2 Telugu States (Andhra Pradesh & Telengana)

“MEK has always created great excitement among Telugu people. With this season we are all set to take MEK to the next level with multiple new things. I am sure that MEK, this season, will enthral the TV audience in both states of AP and Telangana”, added Maa TV business head Alok Jain.

MEK promises to bring Maa TV viewers an unparalleled opportunity to participate in the game and win cash prize of up to Rs. 1 Crore by answering questions correctly. Besides being a knowledge-based game show, MEK is the ultimate exhibition of human spirit and opportunity. MEK empowers common men to realize their big dreams by reaching the ‘hot seat’ and playing the game successfully with Chiranjeevi.

The Call for Entries (CFE) for the program will run till 18 October, wherein participants throughout the Telugu states can register themselves to take part in the game show by answering questions through SMS.

October 14, 2016
Chiranjeevi’s first-ever TV show ‘MeeloEvaruKoteeswarudu’s CFE till 18 October

MUMBAI: Maa TV is all set to launch MeeloEvaruKoteeswarudu (MEK) with the Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi as the host.

MEK, one of the most popular programs in the Telugu TV entertainment space, has witnessed phenomenal reach and success as the official Telugu adaptation of the internationally-renowned game show format Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Hindi game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).

Being the first launch of this property after Star acquired the Maa business, the game show is all set to become even bigger with the megastar Chiranjeevi hosting a show on the TV for the first time ever. This season the MEK theme revolves around “Making the dreams win”

“MEK is a highly popular and proven show in the Telugu market, as much as it is in various international and India markets. It is the first big show being launched after Star TV took over MaA TV and we are pleased to be associated with mega star Chiranjeevi as the host of the show,” said Star India South CEO Kevin Vaz.

In an illustrious film career spanning 37 years, Chiranjeevi has amassed a huge fan following in Telugu-speaking states and he is known for his connect with the common people. The charisma and persona of Chiranjeevi, the bonding and the love he enjoys with the Telugu people is all set to take MEK show to the newer heights. This show aims to reach and empower people from 2 Telugu States (Andhra Pradesh & Telengana)

“MEK has always created great excitement among Telugu people. With this season we are all set to take MEK to the next level with multiple new things. I am sure that MEK, this season, will enthral the TV audience in both states of AP and Telangana”, added Maa TV business head Alok Jain.

MEK promises to bring Maa TV viewers an unparalleled opportunity to participate in the game and win cash prize of up to Rs. 1 Crore by answering questions correctly. Besides being a knowledge-based game show, MEK is the ultimate exhibition of human spirit and opportunity. MEK empowers common men to realize their big dreams by reaching the ‘hot seat’ and playing the game successfully with Chiranjeevi.

The Call for Entries (CFE) for the program will run till 18 October, wherein participants throughout the Telugu states can register themselves to take part in the game show by answering questions through SMS.

October 14, 2016
Star India gets FIPB nod for Maa TV investment; Jhakaas & Eros proposals deferred

NEW DELHI: Star India has received permission for investing Rs 2500 crore in foreign direct investment in expanding its growth in the country. The approval by the Foreign Investments Promotion Board (FIPB) includes acquisition of the broadcasting business of Maa TV – engaged in broadcasting sector on a slump sale basis.

A source in Star India told Indiantelevision.com that this meant acquisition of software and liabilities of Maa TV and not a take-over of the company.

As was reported by this website earlier in February, Star India said it will acquire Maa Television Network’s four Telugu channels namely Maa TV, Maa Movies, Maa Music and Maa Gold. “Star will acquire all assets of Maa TV including broadcasting rights subject to regulatory approvals. After the approvals, Maa TV will become part of Star network. We do not have any Telugu channel in our portfolio,” Star India CEO Uday Shankar had then said.

Maa TV group is owned by industrialist Nimmagadda Prasad, Rajya Sabha member Chiranjeevi and actor Nagarjuna.

In addition, Star India has received the nod from FIPB for further issuance and transfer of shares to its foreign collaborator.

Meanwhile, the FIPB once again deferred the proposal by INX Music to undertake the additional activity of broadcasting of a non-news and current affairs channels in various Indian languages. As proposed scheme of arrangement, the 9X Jhakaas Marathi channel shall be merged into INX Music, a company which aggregates and distributes music content for TV channels, having 70.85 per cent indirect foreign investment.

Additionally, Eros International Media’s proposal for making downstream investment by way of acquisition of shares of an Indian company for non-cash consideration, that is, by issuance of shares of the applicant company to the existing shareholders of the investee company has been deferred.

Today Magazines Lifestyle Private Limited received approval for Rs 2.05 crore foreign investment of 49 per cent by Cooperatief International Publications Holding through transfer and further issue for an aggregate consideration.

Approval has also been given to Indium IV (Mauritius) Limited through India Value Fund IV for an investment of up to Rs 200 crore in an Indian company – Atria Convergence Technologies engaged in providing internet services. The two companies together propose to invest in the capital of Atria in excess of 49 per cent up to 100 per cent by subscribing to equity or compulsorily convertible preference shares or fully convertible debentures.

June 17, 2015
Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu season one to culminate on 7 August

MUMBAI: Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu (MEK), the game show that has been enthralling the audience like never before in the history of Telugu Television, is all set to offer another visual treat to the viewers with Tollywood Megastar Chiranjeevi gracing the 40^th episode of the show as the guest, along with the host Nagarjuna Akkineni.

It is a rare occasion where both of them have come together exclusively on a television screen. The 40^th episode of MEK will telecast at 9.00 PM on 7 August (Thursday) on MAA TV, the No.1 Telugu General Entertainment Channel (GEC). It will mark the closing of the first season of the game show. MEK holds a promise to come back soon for the second season keeping the audience interest in view.

Though the format of the game show is popular in India as Kaun Banega Crorpatii (KBC), the MEK game show hosted by MAA TV has created history by showcasing the aspirations of the common men and reflecting the life experiences of the people who have come up in a hard way in the life.

The MEK game show on MAA TV has well connected with the audience across all age groups and socio-economic segments of the Telugu society in India and abroad.

MEK has taken a shape with the visionary thinking of MAA TV Chairman Nimmagadda Prasad, who emphasized on making a social impact through this game show on MAA TV. The game show took the Telugu TV entertainment space to the next level with a good meaning and purpose. After careful assessment of various formats, MEK game show was adopted as it will be a life changer for several people. True to the belief, several heart touching life stories have come into light and MEK became a source of inspiration for common men.

Successfully leveraging the strengths of the game show format, MAA TV platform and Nagarjuna’s image and acceptance, MEK has received excellent response with 11 lakh people showing interest to participate in the game show. Reputed international audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) has supervised the back end process of selection & auditions, while Big Synergy has produced the show for 40 episodes.

MEK, which commenced on 9 June, reached 1.38 crore people in urban Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, out of the total TV viewing universe of 1.74 Crore as per TAM monitoring, and it is one of the highest reach for any TV program.

MEK has achieved phenomenal reach across various target audience categories: 79% in CS 4+, 83% in CS ABC 15+, 81 % in CS Male ABC 15-44 and 86 % in CS Female ABC 15 – 44 as per TAM monitoring data.

The Telugu TV audience is all set to watch the culmination of the success of the MEK first season at 9.00 PM on 7 August.

August 5, 2014
‘Life of Pi’ gets tourism award for promoting Puducherry and Kerala

NEW DELHI: Recently released feature film ‘Life of Pi’ has been given two National Tourism Awards by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India recognizing the impact it had in promoting India as a tourism destination, especially Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala).

Union Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi said these Awards would be given to Ang Lee, Director of the film ‘Life of Pi’ and Yann Martel, writer of the book of the same name. The Minister expressed the hope that this will go a long way in encouraging more and more Film producers from abroad to shoot their films in India.

Every year, the Ministry of Tourism recognizes various stakeholders, including film makers and writers for their contribution in promoting India Tourism by conferring National Tourism Awards.

The Ministry of Tourism has identified ‘Film Tourism’ as a Niche Tourism product. It has requested the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations to recognize the potential of Film Tourism and constitute special bodies/cells to facilitate filming in their respective States/Union Territories.

It may be recalled that in February this year the Ministry of Tourism signed a MoU with Ministry of Information & Broadcasting as a major initiative to promote the ‘Incredible India’ campaign and Cinemas of India as a sub brand of ‘Incredible India’ at various international film festivals and markets abroad.

As per the MoU, the Ministry of Tourism would provide budgetary support for identified film festivals, markets and events. The Ministry would facilitate publicity through the available content based on existing audio visual material and print designs.

The joint participation of the two Ministries would cover the Cannes Film Festival and Market, IFFI Goa including the Film Festival and Film Bazaar and European Film Market at Berlin.

It is expected that this innovative partnership will facilitate the promotion of India as a filming destination for foreign producers. 21 and 20 permissions for shooting in India were granted during 2010-11 and 2011-12.

December 8, 2012
Marar replaces KS Sarma as Maa TV CEO

MUMBAI: Maa TV Network, which owns and operates Telugu general entertainment channel Maa TV, has appointed Sharradh Marar as its chief executive officer. He replaces former Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma who has been in charge for only a few months.

Marar has a long association with the film industry and is said to be close to superstars Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna. Late last year the company restructured its shareholding with Chiranjeev, Nagarjuna and Matrix Laboratories Ltd (a listed company) promoter N Prasad acquiring 60 per cent stake.

Sarma was then roped in to head the company. He will, however, continue as advisor to Maa TV Network. “I have taken over as CEO and Sarma will stay as advisor to the company. My immediate focus will be to consolidate our channel’s position and try out ways to increase our market share,” says Marar.

Marar was heading the southern operations in Amitabh Bachchan’s company ABCL. Later he floated a media company, South Parade, that was into buying and branded content. He has also produced TV serials for Gemini and has 15 years of TV exposure.

January 18, 2007
Former Prasar Bharati chief KS Sarma takes charge as Maa TV CEO

MUMBAI: Soon after restructuring its shareholding, Maa TV Network Ltd has roped in former Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma to head the company.

Sarma will chalk out the company’s expansion plans. Maa TV Network, which owns and operates a Telugu general entertainment channel, had plans to launch a music channel and spruce up the programming of its existing channel.

“I have joined Maa TV Network as the CEO. We are in the process of formalising our expansion plans. We would be ready with it (the plans) in a month’s time,” Sarma tells Indiantelevision.com.

The company will have a fresh infusion of Rs 500 million with the original promoter Murali Krishna Raju putting in Rs 100 million. Superstars Nagarjuna and Chiranjeevi have walked in as new investors along with Matrix Laboratories Ltd (a listed company) and will together be holding 60 per cent in a purchase deal worth Rs 400 million.

Sarma, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, recently retired as Prasar Bharati CEO. During his stint, Prasar Bharati launched a direct-to-home (DTH) service, DD Direct+, comprising free-to-air channels. Doordarshan also came out with a fine tuned self-financing scheme (SFS) and handled marketing of cricket, serials and movies.

November 20, 2006