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Tag: Indian

  • Veena Malik Supermodel city tour

    Veena Malik Supermodel city tour

    Movie Promotion is the most important part of every movie and in this competitive world no actors want to take any chance which fails their movie. Bollywood Supermodel Veena Malik was seen showering her glamour all over the Indian through her city tour for promoting her upcoming movie Supermodel which is stated to release on 27th of September. She reached the city of joy Kolkata to promote her movie where she posed for photographers and after that she travels to Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmadabad where she was seen interacting with the media about her movie. Veena was overwhelmed with the gestures of her fans.

    Veena Malik said, “I am very happy my movie Supermodel is going to release which is based on real story. I am glad to visit different cities of India and happy to meet my lovely fans all over cities. I hope people would love it and appreciate it.”

    Veena Malik is playing a glamorous role in the Movie which is based on the story of Fashion World which reveals truth of Models life. Veena plays the role of a middle class girl who reaches superstardom.

  • 88% of Indian internet users “share” social media content monthly: Ipsos Study

    MUMBAI: About nine in ten (88 per cent) online consumers in India indicate that in the past month, they have shared some type of content on social media sites compared to 71 globally. The findings reflect a new poll of 18,150 respondents conducted by Ipsos OTX – the global innovation center for Ipsos, the world’s third largest market and opinion research firm. About one in ten (12 per cent) indicate they ‘haven’t shared any content in the past month’. 

     

    The most popular shared item found in the poll is pictures, as about six in ten (58 per cent) indicate they have shared pictures online in the past month. Following next are: ‘my opinion’ (56 per cent), ‘links to articles’ (37 per cent), a ‘status update of what/how I’m doing’ (36 per cent), ‘news items’ (34 per cent), ‘something I like or recommend, such as a product, service, movie, book, etc.’ (32 per cent), ‘status update of what I’m feeling’ (29 per cent), ‘video clips’ (29 per cent), ‘links to other websites’ (27 per cent), ‘reposts from other people’s social media posts’ (25 per cent), ‘plans for future activities, trips, plans’ (17 per cent) and ‘other types of content’ (15 per cent). 

     

    Of the online consumers, those from Turkey (93 per cent) are most likely to indicate they have shared any content online in the past month, followed nine in ten in each of: Mexico (89 per cent), Brazil (88 per cent), India (88 per cent), Indonesia (88 per cent), Argentina (86 per cent), South Africa (86 per cent) and China (85 per cent). This group of highly engaged content-sharers is followed by Russia (79 per cent), Saudi Arabia (78 per cent), Spain (75 per cent), Hungary (83 per cent), South Korea (73 per cent), Italy (71 per cent), Poland (64 per cent) and Sweden (64 per cent) rounding out the middle of the pack. The lower groups of social media sharers begin with Australia (63 per cent), Belgium (62 per cent), the United States (60 per cent), Canada (59 per cent), Great Britain (58 per cent), France (49 per cent), Germany (44 per cent) and Japan (30 per cent). 

     

    As for demographics, Indian citizens indicated that those under the age of 35 (92 per cent) are most likely to share any type of content on social media sites, in particular when compared with those aged 35 to 49 (86 per cent) and those 50 to 64 (78 per cent). Women (88 per cent) appear somewhat more likely than men (89 per cent) to have shared some content in the past month.

  • Salman Khan turns 25 in Bollywood

    Salman Khan turns 25 in Bollywood

    Salman Khan is one of India’s most influential and bankable stars, and on Thursday this big screen icon completed his silver jubilee in the Hindi film industry.

    Salman Khan’s first film was a family drama that released on 22 August, 1988. The film, Biwi Ho Toh Aisi also starred Rekha and Farooq Shaikh with Salman in a supporting role as Shaikh’s younger brother. Although the film didn’t do well commercially, it was the stepping stone for Salman to make his mark on the silver screen as its reigning blockbuster king.

    Just a year later, Salman starred in Maine Pyar Kiya as the lead actor and the Indian audience took notice of his charisma and star power. In the years to come Salman has acted in some of Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters and critically acclaimed films. For his work in these films he has been nominated and won many prestigious awards for excellence in Indian cinema, including Film Fare Awards and Screen Awards.

    In addition to his success with movies, Salman Khan is also known for his high profile romantic relationships, most notably with Aishwarya Rai and Katrina Kaif. He is also heavy into philanthropy taking part in various charitable organisations, as well as starting his own – Being Human. Being Human is a charity that sells T-shirts and uses the proceeds to help under privileged children.

  • Zee Media drives into Rajasthan

    Zee Media drives into Rajasthan

    MUMBAI: When Zee group chairman Subhash Chandra, launched India's first private Hindi general entertainment channel way back in the early nineties, he named it so because he wanted it to be the ultimate provider of entertainment to Indians the world over. Now the group is taking that vision a step further. 33 channels already under its belt and it is all set to add to that tally with a few new ones. Among the first of these is the regional offering: Zee Rajasthan Plus.

    CEO Alok Agrawal says that with the new venture, Zee is attempting to portray Rajasthan's rich culture on the channel

    The channel, which is under the umbrella of Zee Media Corporation Ltd (ZMCL), will have an equal balance of news and entertainment and is being bundled under something its CEO Alok Agrawal calls the "terrestrial entertainment network (TEN)."

    "Agreed, that the investment needed for it is going to be more than that needed for a general news channel," says Agrawal. "But it's something we believe has a lot of potential." Sources indicate that the Zee Media management has kept aside about Rs 15-20 crore per annum for the channel.

    Headquartered in Jaipur and headed by regional head Purushottam Vaishnav, it is targeting the Hindi speaking audiences in India with a programming mix in Hindi and Rajasthani dialects and is set for a launch on 31 July. With the slogan 'mera shaan mera abhimaan', the channel plans to integrate many genres in one channel with 'something for everyone.'

    Its entertainment offering will have both fiction and non-fiction shows touching on a bit of travel, automobile, real estate, shopping, food, and investments. Its news programming slate will have both half hour shows and smaller news bulletins covering regional, national and international developments and will be fed by news bureaus and news representatives and crews in almost all major Rajasthani cities (even at the block level). Its existing infrastructure for the various Zee News channels will, of course, be of great help.

    "Rajasthani people are very proud of their culture and we are going to reflect that in our channel," says Agrawal. Its target audience ranges from children to the elderly with specific shows for each during the day.

    The weekend will have more feature shows and a lunch time movie will be telecast which is either set in the state or about the local people. Additionally, popular shows from the Zee group's catalogue are to be be telecast for a few weeks but in due course, original commissioned and localised programming, keeping the state's vibrant culture in mind, will be added to the FPC, reveals Agrawal.

    A big bang marketing and promotional campaign has been planned post-launch. It includes promos on the Zee TV network channels, billboards, radio, print, online and below the line activities in Rajasthan. Agrawal proudly says that pre-teelcast more than 50 brands – both local and national – have signed on, taking advantage of the inaugural ad rates which are on for a limited time.

    Zee Rajasthan Plus is being beamed off Asiasat 3S (105.5 degrees east) and will be available free during a six month preview period on both cable TV and satellite, following which the plan is to go pay, explains Agrawal."The idea is to initially focus its distribution push on Rajasthan, and then move into other states," he adds.

    Of course, it will be running into head on competition with existing players like ETV Rajasthan, and Sahara Samay's regional news channel. But Agrawal believes that should not be a problem. "Our whole effort is to bring people from different walks of life, together, on the channel," says Agrawal. "And we have got our strategy right."

    He and his team probably have, but it's now over to the viewers.

  • Indian Filmfest in Houston in October invites entries for documentaries and features

    Indian Filmfest in Houston in October invites entries for documentaries and features

    NEW DELHI: The 5th annual Indian Film Festival at Houston in the United States, to be held from 4 to 6 October, has invited entries by the end of this month for features and documentaries.

    The festival showcases Indian related films that can compete in the world stage and beyond Bollywood zany entertainers.

    The Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH) is an official event on the International Film Festival circuit and some of the previous winners have been recognised on the international film circuit – one is an Oscar winner and another is an Oscar-nominated film.

    IFFH offers Jury awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short and Special Recognition Awards for Industry Leaders. IFFH will also be giving scholarships to students who are interested to attend Film and Television School in Houston. 

    The festival will span three nights and will present more than 12 screenings daily. This makes it one of the most unique and original Indian film festivals in the south of the US. The festival will feature film screenings, special symposia and educational events presented throughout the Houston area.

    The full Indian Film Festival of Houston line-up will be announced at 31 August.

    Film producer and Festival founder Sutapa Ghosh said: “Not all Indian films are done in the Bollywood style. We love Bollywood, but we are beyond Bollywood. The new generation has evolved into something new now. There was stagnation for a long time, where we were doing the same thing over and over. Now, the younger generation is doing something different. We have documentaries, short films, off beat independent films. We want to showcase the best of Indian related cinema at the world stage”

    The permanent house for the IFFH Festival is Asia Society, which is very prestigious all over the world.

    The Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation devoted to education in the fields of film and television and in creating a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing quality films that honor entertainment industry performers and film makers while promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora through an annual event.

    Ghosh is the Founder and Festival Director of Indian Film Festival of Houston. Born in Kolkata, she moved to USA 20 years ago. She earned her Master’s Degree (MS) from Rhode Island, USA and also has a Bachelor’s degree in Music (Sitar). Ghosh has produced two Bengali Feature Films, Utsab and Titli, both directed by Rituparno Ghosh. She was also recognised as the 100 most Creative People in Texas in 2012.

  • Lays launches new cricket based campaign – ‘Ghar Banao Stadium’

    Lays launches new cricket based campaign – ‘Ghar Banao Stadium’

    BENGALURU: After launching the ‘Lay‘s Flavour Team‘ campaign this cricket season, Pepsico‘s potato chip brand Lay‘s announced an all new campaign based on its consumers‘ cricket watching moments – ‘Ghar Banao Stadium‘ (GBS). The campaign is accompanied by a TVC that will be on air till 7 July 2013.

    With GBS, Lay‘s says that it is attempting to establish its recently enhanced range of six flavours with two new recent additions of ‘Chile Limon‘ and ‘French Salt n Cracked Pepper‘.

    A 50 day long consumer engagement campaign, the brand claims that GBS brings the cricket stadium closer home and gives consumers a chance to get a timeout with three cricket celebs from the Lay‘s Flavour Team- Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma, commentator Ravi Shastri and umpire Billy Bowden.

    As part of this campaign, consumers need to SMS a four digit promo code behind the Lay‘s pack. Three winners along with their friends get a chance to meet the celeb trio at the end of the campaign. Lay‘s will also announce one winner everyday who will get One Lakh rupees as the daily prize.

    Also read:
    Pepsi looks at cashing in on the ICC Champions Trophy fever

  • Indian short on Tarapur power plant gets Yellow Oscar

    Indian short on Tarapur power plant gets Yellow Oscar

    NEW DELHI: The documentary ‘High Power’ by Pradeep Indulkar on the Tarapur power plant in Maharashtra received the Best Short Documentary award at the 3rd International Uranium Film Festival of Rio Janeiro 2013 in the cinema of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) recently.

    Six Films from six countries – Russia, India, USA, Estonia, Jordan and Germany – were honored with the Uranium Film Festival‘s trophy, the Yellow Oscar.

    The festival screened 52 documentaries and fiction movies from 19 countries.

    The 2013 finalised documentary "High Power" gives worthwhile impulses to current "nuclear question" in India.

    Pradeep Indulkar, director of "High Power", is an Indian engineer who has been working during 12 years for India‘s nuclear programme.

    High Power tells the disturbing story of the local population of Tarapur in the state of Maharashtra, where India‘s first nuclear power plant was constructed in the 1960s. Local fishermen families lost their land, their fishing grounds and health.

    "It is an important, nuclear discussion stimulating documentary, that comes at the right time, when thousands of people in South-India struggle against a new nuclear power plant at Kudankulam is the state of Tamil Nadu", says Festival director Norbert G Suchanek. "High Power is Pradeep Indulkar‘s first documentary, and we hope to see more documentaries by him in future."

    "Apart from all the sorrows and distress my film brought to you, this is a golden moment of my life as a filmmaker", said Indulkar during the Award Ceremony in the Museum of Modern Art cinema. "At this moment I remember and thank all my friends and well-wisher who helped in making of High Power. I also thank to all those Indian people who contributed even a smallest amount to make our trip happened. I thank you all who supported this film with as a great audience. I thank Rio, I thank Brazil and I accept this award on behalf of all the nuclear affected people of Tarapur and I dedicate this award to all those farmers and fishermen who lost their land, home and life for nuclear power plant."

  • Disney UTV launches four freemium apps

    Disney UTV launches four freemium apps

    MUMBAI: Disney UTV Digital, the digital media arm of Disney UTV, has launched four freemium apps UTV, Disney, Comedy and Devotional, for Indian mobile subscribers. Nokia Asha series has pre-embedded the UTV App on more than 2.5 million devices.

    Content in the UTV app includes movie trailers, full length movies (Bollywood and Regional), Bollywood gossip and more. The Disney App includes short form content featuring Mickey and Friends, other Disney classics such as Big Bad Wolf and Santa‘s Workshop and celebrated Pixar short form animation such as Reds Dream and Adventures of Andre and Wally B.

    The Comedy App gives users access to humorous videos like MENtals, Baba Aur Baby, Chickipedia and more. The Devotional App includes stories of Indian deities like Maa Durga, Sai Baba, Sri Krishna, and it includes the mythological epic Ramayana as well.

    These apps, which feature the breadth and depth of Disney UTV‘s content across movies, television, Hollywood and English content along with aggregated content, have already crossed the 15 million download mark in their test phase itself. The apps provide a superior streaming experience for users, even on low-bandwidth GPRS networks.

    The apps support monetisation via both ads as well as paid subscriptions enabled through Digital Disney UTV‘s mobile operator billing platform. This allows regular mobile users to access both ad-supported content as well as premium content within the same app, through a seamless one-click transaction via their mobile operator.

    Disney UTV director, celebrity and video Sameer Pitalwalla said, “Feature phones are currently the dominant data consumption devices in India. While we have a robust smartphone strategy, we wanted to provide feature phone users with an excellent video experience. We combined our great catalogue with best in breed technology and have seen both download and engagement numbers catching fire. 15 million downloads, 1.5 million active users, terabytes in streaming and millions of ad impressions prove the power of our content and experience.”

    Nokia India director developer experience Gerard Rego said, “Engagement and innovation have emerged as one of the top deciding factors in the mobile phone industry with more and more youth accessing Apps that enhance their user experience. Our association with Disney UTV has been extremely successful and, together, we continue to add value to our consumers by offering superior on-the-go video streaming. The availability of Disney UTV Digital‘s new Freemium Apps is a great milestone as users can enjoy their favourite content through fast and seamless video streaming on their Nokia Asha devices.”

  • Indian DTH industry to benefit from digitisation, says MPA

    Indian DTH industry to benefit from digitisation, says MPA

    MUMBAI: India‘s move to digitise its fragmented and unorganised cable TV sector is going to give a fillip to the seven odd Indian DTH operators, according to Singapore based pay TV research firm Media Partners Asia (MPA).

    This is totally contrary to the behavior observed on the ground in the first two phases of digitisation wherein cable TV has held its ground and consumers have not really rushed out to buy DTH boxes even though analogue signals have been switched off.

    The MPA report says that revenues for DTH operators are expected to treble to over $5 billion by 2020 as mandatory cable TV digitisation would help the DTH players expand their subscriber base.

    It adds that DTH industry revenues will reach $3.9 billion by 2017 and $5.3 billion by 2020 on the back of a growth in subscriber numbers. Estimates are that the India™s DTH players raked in $1.5 billion last year.

    MPA says that active DTH subscribers will grow from 32.4 million in 2012 to 63.8 million by 2017 and 76.6 million by 2020. The figure for 2011 was at 28.7 million. The increase in active subscribers in 2012 over 2011 was a mere 3.7 million which is alarming, it says.

    The report points out that the content deals between operators and content aggregators such as IndiaCast, MediaPro and TheOneAlliance are likely to be on a cost per subscriber basis rather than a fixed rate as was the practice earlier.

    As it is DTH operators have been making efforts to improve their per subscriber economics over the past year by increasing the number of packages and entry level pricing. They have also tried to reduce churn levels by reducing trade margins and the window of free viewing by new subscribers, revealed MPA.

    The report warns that marketing and staff expenses will remain high with DTH operators as the rollout of digitisation makes further inroads into the remaining parts of India.

    MPA has also given the pecking order of the leading DTH players. Dish TV continues to lead with a market share of 27 per cent in terms of gross additions, while Videocon d2h leads in terms of incremental additions in 2012.

    Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV have 19 and 18 per cent market share, respectively. These four players together accounted for 88 per cent of total gross additions last year, says MPA.

  • Myntra acquires online fashion boutique Fitiquette

    Myntra acquires online fashion boutique Fitiquette

    MUMBAI: E-commerce portal Myntra has acquired San Francisco-based Fitiquette, a technology solutions company that aims at solving size and fit issues for online shoppers.

    Through this acquisition, Myntra aims to strengthen and expand its technology platform and drive transformational change in the online shopping space in India by providing world-class experience to its customers.

    Without revealing financial terms of the deal, Myntra said that the acquisition was part cash, part stock.

    This is Myntra‘s second acquisition in a short span of four months. It had acquired Sher Singh, a global private label online brand specialising in sports-inspired lifestyle apparel for men and women and its New York based parent company Exclusively.in in November last year.

    Myntra CEO and co-founder Mukesh Bansal said, “Myntra aims to create the most compelling Fashion Shopping experience for Indian consumers at par or better than global standards. Fitiquette has developed pioneering technology for solving the Fit/Size problem online. This acquisition will not only help us improve the experience significantly, but will also enhance our technology team with addition of top tech talent from Fitiquette.”

    The Fitiquette team will be joining Myntra with Andy heading Myntra‘s newly formed Innovation Labs in San Francisco.

    Fitiquette CEO and co-founder Andy Pandharikar said, “The Indian e-commerce industry is growing at breakneck speed and it is a great time to be a part of this journey. I am confident that Fitiquette‘s powerful technology will benefit Myntra‘s vision of providing world class solutions to online shoppers across the country.