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Tag: Hasmukh

  • KidZania India appoints Hasmukh M. Gorava as marketing head

    KidZania India appoints Hasmukh M. Gorava as marketing head

    Mumbai: KidZania, the global leader in interactive educational entertainment, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Hasmukh M. Gorava as the marketing head. In his new role, Hasmukh will lead KidZania India’s marketing strategies, leveraging his more than 13 years of expertise in consumer marketing, brand promotions, and 360° media planning.

    Hasmukh has a proven track record of developing and growing companies, and his abilities fit in nicely with KidZania’s goals for brand expansion and engagement. He excels in defining and executing brand-building strategies, leading cross-functional teams, and driving revenue through effective marketing activities.

    With a rich background, including a key role as DGM marketing at Imagicaa, Mumbai, Hasmukh played a pivotal role in planning the go-to-market strategy, achieving a remarkable 70 per cent market share within three years. His strategic efforts positioned Imagicaa as India’s number one entertainment destination for schools.

    KidZania India CMO Rahul Dhamdhere expressed confidence in Hasmukh’s appointment, stating, “We are excited to welcome Hasmukh M. Gorava as the Marketing Head. His extensive experience and strategic approach will undoubtedly enhance our marketing initiatives. Hasmukh’s commitment to driving brand visibility and consumer awareness resonates with KidZania’s mission to provide enriching experiences for children.”

    Hasmukh, equally enthusiastic about his new role, remarked, “I am truly honored to be a part of KidZania, an esteemed organization that has consistently led the industry. I look forward to utilizing my expertise to contribute to KidZania’s success, both in India and on the international stage.”

    In addition to leading KidZania’s marketing efforts, Hasmukh’s responsibilities include building campaigns and communication strategies in interactive media and direct marketing programs. He will focus on increasing visitors’ attendance, developing pricing strategies to maximise KidZania’s profit, and monitoring trends to identify new offers and services.

    KidZania eagerly anticipates the positive impact of Hasmukh’s leadership, driving innovation and sustainable business growth within the organisation.

  • Applause Entertainment releases 18 premium drama series in 19 months

    Applause Entertainment releases 18 premium drama series in 19 months

    MUMBAI: The content ecosystem has witnessed a boom with the advent of streaming services and an upsurge in non-linear content consumption. Amidst the creative revolution, Applause Entertainment has produced 18 diverse shows in multiple languages in a short span of time.

    Spearheaded by the media veteran Sameer Nair, the content creation studio has focused on a combination of smart originals of international formats, book to screen adaptations, and Applause Originals. It has created the official Indian adaptations of popular international shows including The Office, Criminal Justice, Hostages and Your Honor.

    Applause is presently developing Indian versions of the hit series Call My Agent, Fauda and Luther. The studio’s latest offering, Scam 1992 The Harshad Mehta Story, is currently the highest rated show on IMDB in India (9.6) and #21 amongst the top 50 television shows globally. Shows produced by Applause are currently streaming on leading global video streaming services including Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, SonyLiv and MX Player.

    Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair said, “We are truly humbled by the phenomenal response from audiences for all our content. From Criminal Justice to Scam 1992, it’s been a delightful journey creating our shows, collaborating with best in class talent, creators and business partners! We are here to dazzle, delight, disturb and disrupt, and this is just the beginning.”

  • Delhi High Court refuses to stay streaming of Netflix series ‘Hasmukh’

    Delhi High Court refuses to stay streaming of Netflix series ‘Hasmukh’

    MUMBAI: The Delhi high court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking an ad-interim injunction restraining the streaming of the episodes of the web series Hasmukh.

    The application against the series was filed by lawyer Ashutosh Dubey, who charged that its fourth episode contained derogatory remarks against the lawyer community.

    The series, starring Vir Das, Ranvir Shorey and others, has been produced and owned by Applause Entertainment.

    The web series is a dark comedy thriller revolving around a fictional character named ‘Hasmukh’ (Vir Das), an aspiring comedian and the protagonist. The protagonist in the series possesses a unique compulsion to kill people just before his on-stage stand-up act, which enables him to give a great performance and specifically relates his stand-up comedy act to the person he killed.

    Dubey took objection to the utterance of the protagonist during a stand-up comedy performance from the fourth episode of the web series. The lawyer alleged in his suit that the dialogues in the said scene are highly disparaging, defamatory and bring disrepute to the legal profession and lawyers in the eyes of the general public.

    Netflix lawyers argued that the web series is a work of fiction and explained to the court its brief plot line.

    The defense lawyers also submitted that a class of persons cannot be defamed as a class, nor can an individual be defamed by general reference to a class to which the individual belongs. So, they argued, the lawyers as a community cannot be defamed as a “class of persons”, nor can the plaintiff be defamed by a general reference to lawyers.

    The defendants also submitted that Article 19 (1) (a) of the Indian Constitution guaranteed the freedom of speech and expression which includes the creative freedom to express one's views and opinions and although the said right is not absolute since the present case would not qualify as defamation, it cannot be restricted.

    Dismissing the application for ad-interim injunction, the court observed that the impugned comment is satirical “with regard to the lawyers taken as a class and is not with regard to any determinate definite or identifiable group of lawyers."

    “Further, if an ad interim injunction is granted, it would amount to interference in the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by our constitution to the defendants,” stated the court.

    The very essence of democracy, observed the court, is that a creative artist is given the liberty to project the picture of the society in a manner he perceives. “One of the prime forms of exposing the ills of the society is by portraying a satirical picture of the same. Stand-up comedians perform that very purpose. In their portrayal they use satire and exaggerate the ills to an extent that it becomes a ridicule. In the humorous portrayal of the ills of the society the stand-up comedians use satire.”

    Applause Entertainment, the IP owner of the web series, was represented by senior counsel Sandeep Sethi, briefed by a team from ANM Global Inc comprising Nidhish Mehrotra, Anushree Rauta, Piyush Joshi and Chirag Luthria. 

  • Delhi High Court to hear plea against Netflix web series ‘Hasmukh’

    Delhi High Court to hear plea against Netflix web series ‘Hasmukh’

    MUMBAI: The Delhi High Court on Monday will hear a plea by a lawyer seeking to restrain Netflix from streaming a web series. The lawyer community has taken umbrage at the Netflix web series Hasmukh, because it “maligns their image and reputation.”

    The plea, moved by Supreme Court lawyer Ashutosh Dubey, points out that in episode 4 of the web series, lawyers have been branded as “thieves, scoundrels, goons and rapists.”

    The lawyer wants deletion of the contents from the series. He has also sought court directions to the producers, directors and writer of the series to tender an unconditional apology for “maligning the image of the lawyers' community.”

    "Statements (in the series) are highly disparaging, defamatory and bring disrepute to the profession of law, and lawyers and advocates in the eyes of the general public," said Dubey.

    While seeking a permanent injunction on airing the series, the advocate has maintained in his suit that the said remarks have “caused utmost damage to the legal profession and impugned the image of lawyers in the eyes of millions of viewers/subscribers, who visit the streaming website where the show is being streamed."