Tag: director

The Channel V Nokia IndiaFest 2014 Rocked!

MUMBAI: Channel V Nokia IndiaFest 2014 turned out bigger and better than previous years with rock competitions, DJ duels, fashion shows and what have you along with prizes worth Rs 50 lakh and dream-come-true career opportunities to be won.

Held at Goa’s Baga Grounds from 7 to 8 February, the fourth edition saw Nokia once again as the title sponsor apart from adding four new sponsors, taking the tally to 12 sponsors on-board.

A host of competitions like Footloose, Karaoke, Gaming Challenge, Director’s Cut, Campus Stud, Popstars, Nokia Tamasha, Beat it – Thumka, Turning Tables and Nokia Launch Pad marked the two-day fest which also saw electrifying performances by music composers Vishal-Shekhar, singer Sunidhi Chauhan and UK’s DJ Vicky Devine among others.

Of the 30 events spread across two days, some were online like photography, while the rest happened on-ground. Judging these were celebrities from all walks of life including Neha Dhupia and Dino Morea, who chose the Campus Diva and Campus Stud, respectively; Nishka Lulla, who decided the winners of the Fashion Show; Rohan Sippy, who picked up the best filmmaker; DJ Suketu, who zeroed in on the DJ of the future, Suraj Jaggan, who pronounced the winner of the rock competition and so on.

Speaking at the grand finale, Channel V general manager and EVP Prem Kamath exulted: “It’s a no-holds-barred finale to a rollercoaster fourth edition of the IndiaFest. The Channel V Nokia IndiaFest is no longer just a college fest but the one-stop coming-together of a generation every year.” Kamath said he wouldn’t be surprised if the number of visitors this year had doubled from last year’s 40,000.

The vision behind IndiaFest – taking it to as many cities as possible and having the quality of participation grow year-on-year – stems from the knowledge that there is no real pan-Indian college festival. So, in its very first year, IndiaFest had four zonals whereas this year, the number rose to eight. The 2014 edition reached out to a record over 2 million students in 2,200 colleges across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Calcutta, Chennai, Chandigarh and Goa. “We were very clear we wanted to keep IndiaFest free for everybody. We are funded entirely by our sponsors. If we manage to increase the number of cities and convince our sponsors that it’s an exercise worth the effort, we will definitely do 12 zonals next year,” said Kamath.

Not just the number of zonals, the participants per zone too has increased from just 500 to 600 last year to over 1000 this year. However, there’s more to the fest than just quantitative growth. “It is not a rock concert. The fest is not evaluated by how large it is or how many people attend it. First and foremost, it is a college festival and our priority has always been that the participants are college goers. Also, with college kids organising it, they should enjoy the organisation part as well. And they should own it as their own festival. This has been our focus from the beginning,” clarified Kamath. “Although I’d like more students to engage and more cities to be added to our zonals, at its heart, it’s a college festival and college festivals are all about events, display of talent and competition. Those are the things I’d really like to push going forward.”

About their continuing association with IndiaFest, Nokia director – marketing Viral Oza said: “It is really exciting for us to associate with IndiaFest for the third consecutive year. We continue in our endeavor to bring the youth closer to their passions. At a time when the youth are constantly looking towards expanding horizons, we bring to them Nokia IndiaFest, a perfect platform for them to showcase their talent in front of their peers.”

IndiaFest follows the tradition of collecting feedback and suggestions from both participants and organizers after conclusion of every edition. As per last year’s feedback to incorporate elements of a finale in the zonals, this year, mini India fests as well as concerts were held during the zonals. “The mini fests are on a smaller scale but try and mirror a lot of what happens in the grand finale,” Kamath explained.

The other thing is that the network tries to showcase the winners at these festivals. For instance, winner of the solo dance competition at IndiaFest 2013 was featured in Hrithik Roshan’s dance show on Star Plus while the winning short film was aired on Star World. “As a network, we have the ability to do two things. One – we can improve the scale of our festivals tremendously. Two – we can create a platform to showcase talent; we haven’t done this as much as we would like to but next year, we will go for it,” said Kamath.

Marketing and promotion

Like every year, Channel V Nokia IndiaFest 2014 had 350 students as campus representatives or V Reps.

Interactions happened through the year on a closed group on Facebook and work took speed when the festival drew near with the V Reps helping Channel V to put up posters in colleges and so on.

The entire sponsorship revenue was generated on-ground with IndiaFest being a 100 per cent on-ground event. Instead of the entire fest, only one hour showcasing festival highlights was aired on television. Apart from streaming the fest on YouTube, there was no other digital promotion of the event.

According to Kamath, the reason for not promoting IndiaFest as a television property is that they don’t want an on-ground event to be measured in terms of the number of spots or promos put on air. In any case, sponsors benefit tremendously from the two-day show. “It is great value for the sponsors and it is definitely value for the channel and the students who participate. We started as a marketing initiative where we were not planning to make any revenue in the first year. However, it has to be a win-win for organizers, the channel, sponsors and everyone who is attending it. That is what makes it successful,” said Kamath.

Meanwhile, Nokia head – activation, media, consumer intelligence Abhish Chandhok said: “For us, it is not about sponsorship but a partnership. It is not about putting a logo in the background, but about how we can use IndiaFest to engage with our core target audience. Nokia targets the 15-24 years age group and there is no bigger platform than IndiaFest to engage with them. It is giving us a lot of scale because of the number of people coming in and the conversations you can start around these activities.”

Road ahead

From the first year where IndiaFest generated close to Rupees four and a half crore of revenue, it is now worth nearly Rs 10 crore, according to industry sources.

Plans are afoot to add two more events to the property. “Now we are fairly confident in terms of our understanding of organizing these events, how to manage the scale in terms of numbers and participants. We want to make sure that our team is in place and organized well,” Kamath signed off.

ArtistSpeak

“It is always fun to perform at college festivals. The energy is very different from other kind of shows. I was never good at communicating, and I formed a band and decided not to do any covers.”

–          Suraj Jaggan

“It is a beautiful experience. It brings a lot of memories I had during my college days. When I come to see and judge, it feels so good. I used to take part in dance and public speaking activities, so judging at IndiaFest is always fun.”

–          Dino Morea

“It is great to be in Goa for Channel V’s IndiaFest. The crowd is so energetic here; I think it is going to be a mad concert. We are going to rock the stage. The youth is crazy and it is always special performing here at a huge platform like Indiafest.”

–          Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani

“It is flattering to be at a place where we know the large chunk of our future lies. Today, the youth is at the largest festival of the country, I have been called to judge it. I feel it is an awesome experience. It is nice to have such an association for the second consecutive year with Channel V. Getting on stage is one thing, but getting on stage and doing what you want to is like having big guts.”

–          Neha Dhupia

February 12, 2014
Hindi GECs: A battle for eyeballs

With the ongoing season of reality shows ending and viewers’ choice highly unpredictable, the past couple of months have seen Hindi General Entertainment Channels (GECs) and production houses scrambling to introduce newer, more creative fiction shows with never-seen-before content.

Indeed, the tearing hurry to replace empty slots and shows with poor TRPs has seen broadcasters deploy a fair bit of research and experimentation to serve up even more interesting fare to their audiences. So much so, it may well be a battle for eyeballs between these newly-launched serials in the coming months; at least till the new season of reality shows kicks in.

Indiantelevision.com did a round-up of the contenders, trying to understand the thought process behind them.

To begin with: Ye Hai Mohabbatein, Star Plus’ drama series based on Manju Kapur’s novel, Custody. The Balaji Telefilms show premiered on 3 December and airs five days a week, occupying the 11pm slot. It stars popular TV actors Divyanka Tripathi and Karan Patel as Ishita and Raman, who are connected by their love for Raman’s daughter Ruhi. With themes like divorce, infertility, remarriage and societal issues, the show deals with the bigger question of what makes a woman a mother.

Says Star Plus general manager Gaurav Banerjee: “The story is urban and contemporary. This love story begins after a marriage gets over. It explores the theme of a second chance in love. With well-etched characters and a strong urban narrative, the show deals with day-to-day issues faced by modern couples. We are positive that our metro audiences will see a connect with Ishita and Raman, and follow their story.”

Balaji and Star Plus believe viewers have accepted Ishita and Raman into their families, much like the iconic characters the team has created in the past. Indeed, the show garnered 3,291 TVTs in week 52 of TAM TV ratings. India Gate Basmati Rice is its title sponsor.

Doli Armaanon Ki and Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya: Zee TV’s two new shows that premiered on 2 December, 2013 and 6 January, 2014, respectively. Both the shows air five days a week and occupy the 10pm and 10.30pm slot, respectively.

The channel has roped in Sofy Side Walls as its title sponsor for Doli Armaanon Ki. Set in Jhansi, Doli Armaanon Ki is the story of Urmi and Samrat, played by Neha Marda and Mohit Malik, respectively. Urmi walks into a marriage with Samrat, all eager and wide-eyed, only to realise that married life isn’t always what one dreamed about.

Asked how the show is different, Spellbound Productions producer Pearl Grey replies: “It is just about conviction. I feel you can stand out from the rest if the concept is different. I feel we are saying something which no one has said earlier. Like how we did for Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya, we spoke about issues which were not spoken on television earlier. The other thing about standing apart is getting in a character which is different. In my show, the USP is Samrat’s character. The relationship we are showing is very different. We are highlighting the nuisances.”

For Grey, having a 10.30pm slot is an advantage as there is liberty of saying and doing things that cannot be shown at early prime time. Even Zeel content head Ajay Bhalwankar is confident that the new series will crack slot leaders very soon. “The battle is not tough. The slot is very warm. And with our strong storyline and concept, this show can reach one crore plus viewership. Plus, our TG is the whole family. At the end of the day, if men don’t see, they won’t understand the cause through our concept,” he says.

Zee TV pulled out all stops in promoting the new show. Promos were played on the network’s news, kids’ and movie channels as well as on Zee Cinema and Zee Marathi. For DTH audiences in particular, live streaming and default landing channel were taken, promo roadblock on primetime and special behind the scenes content was created to promote the show. #doli was created on Twitter, which trended all India for more than 8 hours on the day of the launch. Zee even asked viewers to send them region-wise shaadi rituals under this hash tag.

The other Zee newbie, Aur Pyaar Hogaya, is the love story of Avni, a young spirited girl from a traditional family in Jaipur, played by Kaanchi Singh and a simple boy Raj, with a diametrically opposite personality and family background, reprised by Mishkat Varma. No sponsor has been roped in yet for the series.

About the 10pm slot, Director’s Kut Production’s Rajan Shahi answers: “I have never asked channels for particular slots. For me, it’s my work, whether you put me in the 2 pm or 6 pm slot, I have to work. Over the years, I am not so blinded by it, but TVTs do play an important role. I know that we are judged by TVTs, but I don’t let this affect my day-to-day life.” Like Doli Armaanon Ki, Aur Pyaar Hogaya too was heavily promoted on social media by creating individual official pages.

Next up, Tumhari Paakhi, Life OK’s new show produced by Shashi-Sumeet Mittal Productions, premiered on 11 November, and airs five days a week, occupying the 9.30 slot. Tagged a differentiated love story, it is based on legendary Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Navvidhan.

As to the criteria for choosing a particular slot, Life OK general manager Ajit Thakur says: “On the slot, there are a number of criteria like firstly, the viewership. Obviously, early prime-time, the viewership is more from small markets and late prime-time it is from larger markets and metros. The other thing is who are the people viewing it. As we go to later prime-time, families and more men come to it. Earlier prime-time, there are more kids. Thirdly, for the channel itself, which is the slot they want to replace. Some slots are doing well and some slots are not doing that well.”

Thakur goes on to explain that the earlier show Junoon wasn’t doing too well, which is why they were on the lookout for another show and eventually, Tumhari Paakhi, a mature love story, turned out to be the perfect replacement for late prime-time. He dismisses it being a risk choice saying: “That does not matter beyond a point. We are already at number four and getting close to the top three. For us, every slot we have to compete. It does not matter to us anymore. There are leaders as such and now we are competing in all slots. We decide basis our priority now.”

To market the new show, Life OK ran promos on all its network channels and put up umpteen hoardings across cities. On the day of the launch, print ads were released and railway announcements too were made. Besides, on Twitter, the channel constantly keeps updating #TumhariPaakhi hashtag with news, polls and promo links.

Beintehaa and Rangrasiya: Colors’ two new shows premiered on 30 December last year and will continue to air Monday to Friday at 9pm and 9.30pm, respectively.

While Beintehaa is a show with a pan-Muslim milieu which revolves round two very similar, headstrong individuals, Aaliya and Zain, who are in a volatile relationship; Rangrasiya is an edgy, explosive tale of Paro and Rudra, two individuals who start off by hating each other intensely.

Both the shows were promoted extensively across mediums, including in-theatre integrations during Dhoom 3 in HSMs, OOH in 60 cities and towns, and a media mix with over 40 channels plus radio stations covering more than 40 cities.

With the launch leading into the new year, special calendars were brought out with select publications to enable audiences bring the characters home. An all-round social media strategy was developed to ensure the duo continue to be the topic of dinner table conversations across homes.

Asked whether it didn’t bother them that rival channels have some of their most popular shows at 9 and 9.30pm, Colors’ programming head Prashant Bhatt says that planning for the 9 pm slot begins much before the channel’s biggest reality show, Bigg Boss, kicks off. “We know that as soon as the show ends, we have to come up with news shows with strong content and we work on it accordingly. This time too, when we heard the stories of the two shows – Rangrasiya and Beintehaa – we knew that we have to take them to the prime time slot because of the newness,” he says.

Says Saurabh Tewari, MD of Nautanki Films which has produced Rangrasiya: “We were happy to have got the prime time slot for our show. We are aware of the competition that exists in the slot and even otherwise, but there’s always space for something new.” Tewari believes the presentation and the manner of storytelling, not to mention the extensive shooting in Rajasthan will work in the channel’s favour.

Coming to Beintehaa, Farhan Sallaruddin of Fortune Productions, producer of the show, says the story’s concept is its USP. “The Muslim community hasn’t been explored much and in this show, we have anyway brought the love story of two very strong characters. It will be loved by youngsters and older people alike,” he says.

Last but not the least, Main Na Bhoolungi and Ekk Nayi Pehchaan, Sony Entertainment Television’s newest additions to its kitty, more so in a bid to get viewers to tune in to its soaps instead of the crime shows and thrillers it has become synonymous with. Both the shows premiered on 23 December last year at 8.00pm and 8.30pm, respectively.

Main Na Bhoolungi traces the life of Shikha, a well educated and confident girl, played by Aishwarya Sakhuja, who has an arranged marriage with the seemingly perfect Sameer, played by Vikas Manaktala. However, Shikha falls off from a cliff, cutting short the happy alliance. Is it the end of the fairytale or just a bad dream? The story is based on a 1996 Gujarati play Sharda, penned by Varsha Adalja, which elaborates on the concept of ‘women in their 40s’.

“The focus is not on the rest. The focus is on yourself. That is the only way you can stand out. There is only one way to success, not necessarily that assures success, but do your best,” says producer Yash Patnaik. ”We as producers, as makers, go to the channel with the concept. Then it is up to the channel which slot to air. They decide what will work there, what kind of target audience, the strengths they have. As makers in television, we purely go by their conviction and strategy.”

About Ekk Nayi Pehchaan, Jay Mehta Productions producer Kinnari Mehta feels content is the king that will get viewers to watch a particular show. “We haven’t seen a show till now wherein they have shown a positive bond between mother in law and daughter in law. We are trying to come out from that mould where saas and bahus just fight. And we have a beautiful cast, both of them are such faces that will stand out across all the GECs and the concept. Since our show deals with adult literacy, a lot of women want to educate themselves,” she elaborates.

Sony is confident the two new shows will be a big turnaround for them. Says Sony senior VP, head marketing Gaurav Seth: “The two new shows are a big turnaround for the channel. The 7 – 11pm slot is where there will be competition in any channel, but good content always stands out. We have got good numbers for both the shows.”

While viewers are going to be spoilt for choice with the sheer number of new shows across the Hindi GECs, only time will tell who will emerge the winners in this race…

January 11, 2014
BBC World News appoints Jonah Fisher as first ever Myanmar correspondent

MUMBAI: It was in December 2013 that BBC News had got permission from the Ministry of Information of Myanmar (Burma) to open up a bureau in the country. Now, as the new year has arrived, the channel has appointed its first ever correspondent in the country – Jonah Fisher.

Fisher has been with BBC News for the last 10 years and has covered events for the channel in places like Eritrea, Sudan, London, South Africa, Nigeria and most recently Thailand. He will be reporting for television, radio as well as the network’s online platforms.

Speaking on his appointment BBC Global News director Peter Horrocks said: “The appointment of Jonah Fisher marks another important milestone in the rapid welcome changes taking place in Burma/Myanmar. Censorship and repression are being replaced with a new media environment where the BBC can freely broadcast trusted and impartial news. The BBC’s charity BBC Media Action will continue its work to help train the next generation of Burma/Myanmar journalists which will further contribute to the country’s transition towards media freedom. These investments are part of our commitment to our audiences in Burma/Myanmar and we look forward to covering the historic elections in 2015. ” BBC Media Action and the BBC Burmese Service already have a presence in Myanmar.

Fisher has reported on issues involving Burma’s Rohingya Muslim community’s fights with the Buddhist monks amongst several other ones.

Burma has always been a highly censored country and it was only in 2012 that the country announced its decision to stop censoring content before publication leading to several private publications commencing operations.

January 9, 2014
Zee’s new show celebrates love

MUMBAI: Love means different things to different people; some find it magical, others plain volatile. But most agree it is one exhilarating ride that brings two people together.

Celebrating this beautiful but complicated emotion is Zee TV’s new show Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya which comes to your drawing rooms starting 6 January – five days a week at 10pm.

It centers on the thought that – you don_t find love, love finds you, says Ajay Bhalwankar

The channel’s first new show of 2014, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, produced by Rajan Shahi of Director’s Kut Productions, will replace the ongoing Khelti Hai Zindagi Aankh Micholi.

Says Hindi GECs content head Ajay Bhalwankar: “It is not about kitchen politics, it is not about any other melodramatic narratives. The story is absolutely simple and clean. It talks about the various aspects of exploring love. It centers on the thought that – you don’t find love, love finds you!”

Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya traces the emotional journey of two young people with different notions about love, against the picture-perfect backdrop of the Pink City aka Jaipur.
Bhalwankar believes the series will bust quite a few myths associated with love and marriage. “The first myth the show should break is that love stories don’t work on television. Second myth, love means running away, love means dying at the end of the film. This is a happy love story and a non-controversial love story. It is about discovering and falling in love,” he says.

It is a simple and a clean love story, says Rajan Shahi

With Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, Shahi, who has directed shows like Saat Phere and Maayka on Zee TV, turns first-time producer for the channel. Like Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai which served as a platform for debutants Hina Khan and Karan Mehra, Shahi will introduce newcomers Kaanchi Singh (Avni) and Mishkat Varma (Raj) as the lead pair in the new series.

While Avni’s parents will be played by Reena Kapoor and Rajeev Singh, Waseem Mushtaqh, Ashita Dhawan, Rajeev Verma and newbie Nikita Agarwal form the rest of the cast.

Isn’t getting fresh talent on board a risk? “Yes, definitely, there is some risk involved. But I enjoy it. After Ekta Kapoor, I can proudly say that DKP is the one which has given maximum newcomers a platform like this. I like to invest in newcomers and have worked with the maximum number of newcomers. You want to get fresh talent on board for fresh stories,” says Shahi.

So far, eight episodes have been canned with four episodes shot fully and ready to go on air.

Asked whether the 10pm slot will work, Shahi says: “I have never asked channels for particular slots. For me, it’s my work, whether you put me in the 2 pm or 6 pm slot, I have to work. Over the years, I am not so blinded by it, but TVTs do play an important role. I know that we are judged by TVTs, but I don’t let this affect my day-to-day living.”

Speaking of promoting the new series, Zee TV has a well-rounded strategy on the cards which includes endorsements in print, TV, DTH and cable. An interesting audience engagement program targeting couples is also underway.

Not only is Shahi confident of the new show, after being in the industry for so long and experimenting with different mediums, Shahi feels television has truly arrived. “TV is now evolving and changing at a much faster speed than ever before. The change is now happening every two to three months. In terms of revenue and employment, it is growing bigger than Bollywood.”

“The kind of revenue television is generating is three times more than films. The kind of employment television is generating is again three times more than films. So, TV as a canvas has grown bigger. Very thankfully, people don’t look down on TV any more. They don’t consider it a step down. It is becoming exciting with lots of new content also coming in. Indian television quality is also brilliant given the conditions and budgets we’ve worked with earlier,” Shahi signs off.

December 21, 2013
TBWAIndia names R. Venkatraman ‘Venky’ as creative director

MUMBAI: TBWA India has got on board R. Venkatraman (Venky) as creative director. In his new position, Venky will join the creative team in Mumbai, reporting to TBWA India chief creative officer Parixit Bhattacharya.

With eight years experience in advertising, Venky has worked at Grey Worldwide, Creativeland Asia and BBH India. His brand experience includes Appy Fizz, Mango Frooti, LMN, Johnnie Walker, Red Bull, Kinetic Honda, Café Coffee Day, Gili Jewellery, Movies Now, Vaseline Men and Google.

In recent years, Venky’s work was shortlisted at Cannes Lions and has won metal at ADFEST, Spikes Asia and GOAFEST. He also holds the accolade of Business World voting him as one of the ‘Top 5 Young Advertising Professionals’ in India.

Commenting on the appointment, Bhattacharya said, “Venky has a stellar work ethic and a very matured head on his young shoulders. I am hoping that our rich roster of clients will nourish him with new opportunities to create an enviable body of work. Needless to say, by having him around, the laughter index of the agency will rise significantly too.”

“My quest for work-type fun brings me to TBWA and I am very, very excited to be here,” Venky added. “Now it’s all about turning that excitement into work that will make a difference to the brands we nurture here.”

November 13, 2013
John Abraham unlocks Nat Geo

MUMBAI: John Abraham, who was lauded for his performance in the recent film Madras Cafe, will now take on the small screen in his new role as brand ambassador of the National Geographic Channel.

For starters, the actor-producer has kicked-off a brand new campaign titled ‘Unlock’ as the face of the channel.

Says National Geographic Channel managing director Keertan Adyanthaya:

“With this campaign, we will strive to urge our viewers to be open to new experiences, people, places, cultures and the variety that the world has to offer.”

As brand ambassador, Abraham will take Nat Geo viewers through the various aspects of the campaign, encouraging them to unlock their minds along the way. He will talk about and embody different shows aired on the channel; taking them to the rest of the world.

Says a visibly excited Abraham: “I can hardly contain my excitement at being a part of the legacy that is the Nat Geo channel. I have always been inspired by the yellow window and have followed NGC’s shows religiously. I myself love wild life, I keep on doing crazy things in life, and I am sure that the viewers and my audience will enjoy this journey with me.”

But why did an established name like Nat Geo feel the need to rope in someone like Abraham in the first place? Replies National Geographic and Fox International Channels vice president (marketing) Debarpita Banerjee, “We as a channel believe in whatever we say. John truly believes, the way we look at the channel and the content. And it was just fate; he truly experiments with life. You can see the kind of movies he supports, the kind of life he lives, and his enthusiasm for bikes and wild life. He thinks that life has lots to offer. So first the word ‘Unlock’, then John – they came together and it was a nice explosion.”

Coming to the choice of name, Banerjee says: “We were looking for a simple word, and this encapsulated everything we wanted to say. It is all about unlocking your mind, fears, opening your outlook, new possibilities, not having any prejudices, looking at a new world in a new way. We went through lots of iterations and finally came up with one word, ‘Unlock’.”

The campaign is in collaboration with Grey Worldwide, which was roped in as Nat Geo’s strategic and advertising agency. Nearly 25 per cent of the total annual marketing budget has been spent on it.

As part of marketing and promotion, Nat Geo plans to telecast promos on other channels as well, apart from focussing on outdoor and other activities. Plans are afoot to make use of social media such as facebook.com, where an official page will be launched where fans will not only be able to see but also share their views that would be rooted to Abraham for his feedback. The channel already has a laudable six million likes on Facebook.

So what does the future look like? “We want to take ‘Unlock’ to children, because they harbour a lot of fear of the unknown, of the dark, of the great outdoors. So we want to take ‘Unlock’ to summer camps. Youth is very interesting and they are buzzing with ideas. We also want to have an innovation conclave where they can submit their ideas by unlocking their imagination,” says Banerjee.

September 28, 2013
IDOS 2013 to kick off in Goa on 27 Sep

MUMBAI: The countdown to the ninth edition (and second under its current
nomenclature) of the annual India Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) has begun with the two-day event kicking off tomorrow at The Leela in Goa.

A joint initiative of the Indiantelevision.com Group and Media Partners Asia, the summit will discuss and debate the hot-button topic of the digital television opportunity in India, what with the implementation of Phase II of digitisation nearing completion in three major metros – Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai and in another 38 cities all over India.

IDOS 2013, themed ‘Harvesting the fruits of digitisation’ will highlight pertinent issues faced by industry and offer valuable insights into how other key Asian markets have succeeded in their digital transition.

Participants include leaders from regulatory, cable distribution, DTH, broadcast, TV distribution and technology segments as also content providers and investors in the broadcasting and pay TV industries.

Flagging off the summit will be Indiantelevision.com Group founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Anil Wanvari, who will share the vision behind the event. Following suit will be Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto with a presentation on India’s digital TV ecosystem and lessons learnt from other global markets.

Day one’s inaugural session titled ‘Opening Keynotes and In Conversation’
will discuss how digitisation is no longer a goal but the means to a critical end, where national economic benefit, advanced infrastructure and content democratisation converge to create a win-win for all. The panelists include TRAI principal advisor N Parameswaran, DEN Networks chairman & MD Sameer Manchanda, Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal and Star India president & general counsel Deepak Jacob. They will share their views on the progress so far in Phase II of digitisation. The session will be moderated by Couto and Wanvari.

The second session, ‘Cable 2.0 – Profits across the pipe’ will see leaders across the cable and distribution industry share insights into the key challenges faced by industry as it moves into billing, tiering and rolling out of new services. The session will be moderated by NDTV head-affiliate sales & network distribution Rahul Sood while the panellists include Hathway Cable and Datacom MD & CEO Jagdish Kumar, Den Network CEO S N Sharma, HSBC Securities lead analyst – telecom & media Rajiv Sharma, Media Pro COO Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, Digicable MD & CEO Jagjit Singh Kohli, SITI Cable Network ED & CEO VD Wadhwa and Indiacast Group COO Gaurav Gandhi.

Next up, ‘DTH – Driving the value equation’, will be moderated by Couto with panelists including Dish TV India’s Gaurav Goel, Videocon D2H CEO Anil Khera, Kotak Securities senior analyst Amit Kumar and Macquarie Capital Sr
VP Ausang Shukla. The session will seek to answer the question: What are the key catalysts for the next phase of DTH’s value creation story?

Titled ‘The business of specialised and premium channels’ and powered by BBC World News, the fourth session will study the proliferation of niche channel launches. To be moderated by BBC Global News COO – Indian Operations Preet Dhupar, the participants include Viacom18 SVP & GM – English Entertainment Ferzad Palia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific SVP and GM -South Asia Rahul Johri, FoodFood promoter & director Sanjeev Kapoor, Disney UTV Media Networks MD MK Anand and HBO India MD Monica Tata.

This will be followed by a session on ‘HD as a mass driver for distribution platforms’ chaired by Castle Media director Vynsley Fernandes along with Videocon D2H deputy CEO Rohit Jain, Times Television Network CEO – English Entertainment Channels Ajay Trigunayat, Dolby Laboratories India country manager Pankaj Kedia and Chrome Data Analytics & Media founder & MD Pankaj Krishna.

The next session, ‘Hidden gems riding the digital wave’ will look at how on the back of digitisation, distribution majors (MSOs and DTH) hold the promise to create ample value. The panelists include What’s-On CEO Atul Phadnis, Amagi Media Labs co-founder Srinivasan K A and Cisco Sr. business development manager – APAC Fabien Gauthier with Castle Media director Vynsley Fernandes as moderator.

Day one’s closing session, ‘New media monetisation’ will discuss how Hindi GECs and youth channels are increasingly making content available across newer media platforms. Chaired by Wanvari, the discussion will see participation from Zenga TV CTO & MD Shabir Momin, IBM India ED & partner Raman Kalra and Exset global head – sales and marketing Rahul Nehra.

Day two will start with a presentation on ‘Sports & Pay-TV – The Path to Value Creation’ by Couto followed by a Q&A session. The Last mile operator community will be represented by a presentation by Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation head Arvind Prabhu, who will talk about their role in a digitised ecosystem.

The closing session ‘Driving digitisation deeper’ will be moderated by Wanvari and Couto and will analyse how action is going to shift next to India’s heartland which houses nearly 70-80 million TV homes among other key issues. The panellists include DEN Networks CEO S N Sharma, Hathway Cable and Datacom MD & CEO Jagdish Kumar, TRAI principal advisor N Parameswaran, Indian Broadcasting Foundation secretary general Shailesh Shah, Chrome Data Analytics & Media founder and MD Pankaj Krishna, Founder & MD, Magnaquest CMO Ramakrishna Mashetty and HSBC Securities lead analyst – telecom & media Rajiv Sharma.

“As organizers of IDOS, our aim is to provide unity and strategic vision to drive forward digitalization and bring new value, profit and sustainable growth across the television ecosystem,” read a joint statement by Indiantelevision.com group founder Anil Wanvari executive director and cofounder Media Partners Asia Vivek Couto.

“The next year is critical as the cable industry steps up on its B2C execution with billing, tiering and subscriber management,” added VivekCouto.”IDOS will explore the issue of co-operation with last mile local cable partners to create a valuable ecosystem for the consumer; one in which differentiated content, customer service and value added offerings are at the highest level. That will be worth paying more for and will drive ARPUs higher.”

“It’s an important evolution,” said Wanvari, “as it helps scale and grow the cable industry and enables broadcasters and content providers gain the ROI they so desperately need to invest. It also eases the burden on the DTH sector and provides effective competition at the ground and consumer level And the entire evolution gives the regulators to mull over deregulating pricing.”

*IDOS 2013 is powered by Star India, while summit partners include Discovery Channel, Dolby, CISCO, Hathway Cable and Datacom, SES, and Videocon d2h. The associate partners are BBC World News, Exset, Indiacast and Media Pro. 24 Frames is the webcast partner.

September 26, 2013
Weber Shandwick elevates Mabel Phoon to EVP international client services

NEW DELHI: Weber Shandwick, the public relation firm today elevated Mabel Phoon to the position of executive vice president, international client services, Asia.

As part of her new role, Phoon will relocate to India with immediate effect and also becomes a part of the Indian leadership team. She will report jointly to vice chairman Asia Pacific Baxter Jolly and Weber Shandwick India managing director Atul Ahluwalia.

In India, she will divide her time between New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru offices focusing on supporting key client programmes. She will also take a lead role in managing relationships within the global Weber Shandwick network and also join Weber Shandwick’s newly formed India management board.

Phoon joined the agency in Singapore in 1997. There she rose to lead the local technology practice before being appointed regional practice head, advancing to executive vice president in 2008.She then moved to New York in 2010 as a client leader for one of the firm’s top global clients.

“We are thrilled to have Mabel return to the region,” said Jolly. “Her move to Weber Shandwick India reflects the huge importance we attach to developing our operations and capabilities in India. We will be investing heavily in new talent and services in India in the coming months and Mabel will be very involved in helping us bring these plans to fruition. Her experience with major campaigns in Asia and with driving key global client relationships from New York will be major assets to our India leadership team.”

September 18, 2013
Social Wavelength ropes in Vijay Sankaran as director – digital strategy and planning

MUMBAI: Social Wavelength, one of India’s largest social media agencies has now brought in Vijay Sankaran to head the Digital Strategy and Planning department.

Vijay comes in with over two decades of experience in branding, advertising, digital and integrated communications. Earlier, he headed Digital at Edelman PR, and worked on evolving its digital practice and integrating digital into PR. He also brings with him invaluable client side experience, setting up and building global social media initiatives at Nokia Siemens Networks.

On his new role, Vijay Sankaran said “I am happy to join Social Wavelength, India’s largest social media agency with a pan India presence. Social is now an approach embracing ATL, BTL, and all of digital and I look forward to working with the leadership team and a great bunch of clients to take the game to the next level.

On this occasion, Social Wavelength’s Joint CEO Sanjay Mehta said, “We are thrilled to have Vijay Sankaran on board with us now. With the expertise and understanding of the industry that he comes in with, we are sure he will play a very crucial role in the growth of Social Wavelength.

September 11, 2013

Rabba Main Kya Karoon: Just another wedding gone wrong

MUMBAI: Ever since films like Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Monsoon Wedding succeeded at the box office, the Indian wedding has been a genre in Hindi films. You don’t need a story. You can collect a motley crowd and use all the colour and light you want when you make a wedding film.

However, there has to be some excuse for a story. Here goes: Akash Chopra proposes to his childhood sweetheart, Tahira Kochhar. The wedding, following an engagement ceremony, is fixed. The guests and relatives start gathering and a festive atmosphere prevails all round. But Chopra is most thrilled when his elder brother and idol, Arshad Warsi, arrives. Warsi is Chopra’s mentor. Soon Warsi learns that Chopra has been a one-woman man and not only has he not indulged in chasing other women, he is still a virgin.

Warsi has a theory that such a marriage can’t last and not cheating on one’s wife leads to a failed marriage. He decides to do something about the problem in three steps. He is determined not to send his brother to the altar a virgin man. He also plants on the wedding scene a girl who was interested in Chopra earlier to seduce him. Warsi keeps creating situations where Chopra would bump into her. This charade goes on while on the side the other characters’ traits are etched out in an effort to create funny situations.

Producer: Moti Sagar.
Director: Amrit Sagar Chopra.
Cast: Akash Chopra, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Raj Babbar, Shakti Kapoor, RiyaSen, Tahira Kocchar,
Himani Shivpuri, Anuradha Patel,
Tinu Anand, Navni Parihar

Raj Babbar is the eldest of the family and comes across as a ‘khadus tau’ until he confesses to almost going wayward. Tinnu Anand was a muscular hulk once upon a time but has reduced to looking like a walking stick because he is always scared of his wife, Himani Shivpuri. He will learn about something wrong he did years back. Paresh Rawal plays mind games with his wife, Sushmita Mukherjee, and keeps her hooked to drugs while he keeps flirting with young girls. Shakti Kapoor likes to chase girls too as his wife, Supriya Karnik, keeps nagging him about smoking. Then there is the pair of Rakesh Bedi and his wife, Navni Parihar, who married out of love but are seen bickering and fighting all the time. These are fillers to entertain you while Warsi tries his devices to rid Chopra of his virgin status.

Finally, as expected, Warsi’s ploy backfires. Chopra’s marriage is called off as Kochhar catches him with the other girl. Warsi is foolhardy and bravely tells his wife how he was cheating on her all the time. There is no logic in Warsi’s confession to his wife except to create a little drama at the end. His wife walks out and so does Kochhar.

Chopra does well while Kochhar is okay. Warsi is his usual self. Rest fill the bill. Musically, Bari Barsi…. And Muh meetha …have some lively moments. Direction is fair.

Rabba Mai Kya Karoon may find some takers in the North. Its beginning has not been very encouraging.

Chor Chor Super Chor: May just manage to steal a few smiles

Producers: Ved Kataria, Renu Kataria.
Director: K Rajesh.
Cast: Deepak Dobriyal, Anshul Kataria, Priya Bathija, Alok Chaturvedi, Bramha Mishra, Paru Uma, Chandrahas Tiwari, Jagat Rawat, Anurag Arora, Nitin Goel, Avtar Sahani, MeghVarn Pant, ShrikantVerma, Tina, Kafil Ahemad.

Tehelka magazine introduced India to sting operations and like all fads, soon filmmakers caught up with the idea too. They found ways to add sting operations to their scripts without always understanding the essence of a sting. Chor Chor Super Chor is a sort of Oliver Twist revisited, however, with an interesting concept.

In a side alley of old Delhi, Shuklaji runs a photo studio. But that is just a façade for he actually controls a gang of young pickpockets and petty thieves. The boys have grown up under his care and are very loyal to him. One of the boys, Deepak Dobriyal, does not want to be part of such a way of life anymore and wants out. He tries to land jobs and finally gets one: to stand dressed as a Punjabi ‘samosa’ outside a savoury shop at one of the Delhi metro stations. In his earlier attempt to find a job, he has come across a girl, Priya Bathija, with whom he has fallen in love.

As luck would have it, Bathija arrives at the same metro station everyday at a fixed time to go to her job. One day, Dobriyal sees her handbag being picked. She is stopped by the station security and asked to show her ticket or else pay a fine, both things she can not do since her ticket as well as money was lost with the bag. Dobriyal uses his clout with the security man and gets her out of this tricky situation. Dobriyal knows one of his own people took it. He retrieves her bag and returns it to her the next day. The ice is broken and Dobriyal now becomes her friend. She wants to know how he got her bag back and he owns up to knowing them. She convinces him to show her the gang in operation and the smitten Dobriyal duly obliges.

Dobriyal starts dreaming of finding a house as he expects her to propose to him any moment. Instead what he gets is a solid shock. The TV is running a promo of a sting operation of a chain of pickpockets and how they operate in unison on one target. Dobriyal is the one on TV in a tell all session! Bathija was a TV reporter. She had fooled and used him. His pickpocket friends are also angry with him for giving them away. Dobriyal asks for seven days and the gang’s help to turn the tables on Bathija.

Dobriyal plans a TV reality show of his own and first prank he plays is on the very owner of Bathija’s channel. He and his ‘team’ also involve their earlier victims who were caught on Bathija’s sting. Their show is ready. It is taken to Bathija’s boss. The result is, not only is the show approved it also leads to Bathija losing her job. The film carries a side track of the kidnap of a miser diamond merchant by one of the gang members who wanted to do something big instead of petty crimes his gang did every day. That track helps the film end on an action climax.

The film ambles along initially but it starts getting interesting as it progresses and when the counter sting is happening. Direction is good. The performances are generally on the better side. With resources being limited, rest of the aspects are okay.

Chor Chor Super Chor is fairly entertaining but has had a poor opening due to lack of face value and promotion.

BA Pass: May just not pass at the box-office

The title of this film suggests nothing about its content. In fact, it is irrelevant. In the quest to make shoestring budget movies, one of the genres independent makers opting for is sex. Last week we had Nasha about juvenile infatuation with a buxom teacher. This week we have BA Pass, a film about a nymphomaniac and her eye for a variety of lovers. It is based on a short story, The Railway Aunty by Mohan Sikka.

Producer: Ajay Bahl.
Director: Ajay Bahl.
Cast: Shilpa Shukla, Shadab Kamal, Rajesh Sharma, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Geeta Aggarwal.

Shadab Kamal’s is a cursed family. When his parents die, his grandfather hands him over to his daughter (the boy’s bua), Geeta Aggarwal, to take care of him in Delhi, where she lives, so that he can finish his Bachelor of Arts degree. (It is a different matter that a BA does not mean much these days.) The reason to send a boy away from a house left with two girls and an old man makes no sense; the rest of the film does not either. Geeta, with her husband and a son, lives in the Railway Settlement and Kamal tries to fit in there.

With only four hours to spend in college, Kamal has a lot of spare time on hand. Some of this he spends with an undertaker, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, and rest Geeta makes him spend running errands or doing household chores. It is during one kitty party that Shilpa Shukla, his aunt’s friend, notices the boy. She asks Geeta to send the boy over to her house to help with some errands. There is no way Geeta can say no since Shilpa’s husband is her husband’s boss.

Right from his first visit, Shilpa initiates Kamal into sex and various ways to enjoy it. Her hunger for sex is insatiable. She helps him look more presentable and soon also introduces him to her other ‘needy’ friends. The boy has now turned into a regular gigolo and started making a lot of money. The arrangement works fine for all concerned. But, Shilpa’s wayward ways are whispered in ladies circles and have also filtered down to her husband, Rajesh Sharma, who decides to give her a surprise one day and drops in at home at an odd hour. Kamal had only come to give his life’s savings to Shilpa for safekeeping but she could not resist using his visit for one more act when Sharma enters.

Kamal’s world turns upside down. Sharma makes sure he is thrown out of his bua’s house. His plans to rent a house and bring his sisters back from hostel are in limbo since all his earnings are with Shilpa. He takes shelter with Bhattacharya and also asks him to go get his money from Shilpa, which he fails to do. Kamal vows to get his money back and breaks into her house and ransacks it but the money is nowhere to be found. Shilpa enters, he brandishes his knife, but still there is no money. The scene gets tricky as Sharma is at the door threatening to break it down. Shilpa’s attempt to trick Kamal and frame him only results in his stabbing and killing her.

Kamal can’t escape from the police for long and that is the tragic end to his life.

One may call this film a bold one but what is its purpose? The film has neither a message nor any entertainment. Why is the boy so star-crossed that nothing ever goes right for him? Some people may enjoy the film till the sex scenes are enacted sans nudity; might as well because neither Shilpa nor Kamal has a body worth the full monty. Made economically, the film has neither pleasant moments nor pleasant visuals to offer, having been shot in down market parts of the capital. Dialogue is good, especially those penned for Shilpa.

BA Pass has its chances at single screens in the North. Its content grossly limits its audience.

August 2, 2013