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Tag: Kirron Kher

  • Canara HSBC Life Insurance concludes ‘Depend on Insurance’ season four with Kirron Kher

    Canara HSBC Life Insurance concludes ‘Depend on Insurance’ season four with Kirron Kher

    Mumbai: Canara HSBC Life Insurance concludes the fourth season of ‘Depend on Insurance’, a digital series that brings forth heart-warming and inspirational stories from veteran actor Kirron Kher. The series drew inspiration from brave women who have achieved incredible things by depending on their inner strength, which is the most dependable form of insurance. Through the initiative, Canara HSBC Life Insurance aims to reaffirm its positioning, “Promises Ka Partner” and underpins its brand promise with the message #DependOnInsurance-DependOnUs.

    The series comprises of five episodes around the theme ‘Life Lessons from Women Who Changed The World’. The first episode with Deepa Malik’s life journey from paralysis to the Paralympics is one of resilience and triumph. Other episodes include stories of Sudha Murty’s determination to fight for her rights, Bachendri Pal’s grit to scale the Everest, Kalpana Chawla’s courage to reach for the skies, and Guneet Monga’s perseverance to win the Oscar. All these inspiring stories are a testament to women’s power to break barriers and fulfill promises, inspiring all to embrace courage and determination.

    Canara HSBC Life Insurance chief distribution officer – alternate channels & chief strategy officer and marketing head Rishi Mathur, “In the realm of Life Insurance, where most brands tend to place their product at the forefront of all communication, this series offers a welcome departure. Through this campaign, our goal is to motivate and encourage a growing number of individuals to take a bold step forward, confident in the knowledge that they have a highly reliable insurance partner supporting them. At Canara HSBC Life Insurance, we strive every day to be a dependable insurance company for our customers. We have roped in Kirron Kher as the face of the campaign, her resonant voice and a commanding presence adds that dependability and authenticity factor to these magical stories. Her connect with the audience on an emotional level helps us deliver the key narratives of resilience with an even greater impact.”

    Face of the campaign, Kirron Kher said, “In my perspective, personal inner strength stands as the primary wellspring of reliability for an individual. Irrespective of circumstances, it serves as the most trustworthy form of assurance. As my own journey has been shaped by my inner strength, it was truly gratifying to narrate the equally remarkable stories of others who have achieved the extraordinary.”

    Campaign conceptualisation and execution agency Pravis Growth Partners creative head Pragya Bhatnagar added, “We have put forth our utmost effort to authentically portray their journeys, the challenges they faced, and the genuine emotions they experienced. While these women relied solely on their inner strength, we can all dare to pursue our dreams with confidence if we have a trustworthy insurance partner to rely on. We are also inviting the audience to share similar stories and create more impact.”

    • First episode: Ability Beyond Disability – Deepa Malik

    The episode with Deepa Malik’s life journey is one of resilience and triumph. Despite being diagnosed with a spinal tumor at the age of 5, enduring years of recovery, and later facing a life-threatening surgery at the age of 30, Deepa’s determination to walk, to overcome societal doubts, and to showcase “ability beyond disability” fueled her extraordinary transformation throughout. Overcoming multiple surgeries, the loss of bones and lung capacity, Deepa not only defied the odds but excelled. From financial independence through entrepreneurship to becoming a gold medalist swimmer and winning at the Rio Paralympics, she reshaped perceptions of age, gender, and disability. Deepa Malik’s story is a testament to a Women’s power to break barriers and fulfill promises, inspiring all to embrace courage and determination, with a dependable partner like ‘Insurance’.

    • Second Episode: Leading From The Back – Sudha Murty

    The episode is about Sudha Murty, an educationist, author, philanthropist, and the chairperson of Infosys Foundation. Born in Karnataka, she defied societal norms and pursued a career in engineering, becoming the first lady engineer at TELCO. She met Narayan Murthy and supported his entrepreneurial dreams by providing financial assistance. This marked the beginning of Infosys, a renowned software consulting company. Sudha Murty’s unwavering support extended to Infosys employees, even pledging her jewelry to ensure they received their salaries. Further to this, she founded Infosys Foundation in 1996, focusing on education, rural development, healthcare, arts, and destitute care, making a significant impact on society. Sudha Murty’s story illustrates the power of determination and supporting one another, emphasizing the importance of keeping promises, with Canara HSBC Life Insurance being a dependable partner.

    • Third Episode: The Everest Of Life – Bachendri Pal

    It is a remarkable story of Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to conquer Mount Everest and the fifth woman globally to do so. Born in Uttarakashi, India, Bachendri faced societal challenges but pursued education and later mountaineering. Her relentless determination led her to scale numerous peaks, ultimately reaching the summit of Everest in 1984. Surviving an avalanche during her ascent, she exhibited unwavering courage and continued her climb, becoming a source of inspiration. Bachendri Pal’s achievements extended beyond mountaineering as she trained others in adventure sports and led rescue missions. Her story highlights the strength and resilience of women, and just like Bachendri, anyone can conquer life’s challenges with their inner strength and a dependable insurance partner like Canara HSBC Life Insurance.

    • Fourth Episode: Reaching For The Stars – Kalpana Chawla

    The story revolves around Kalpana Chawla, a woman driven by a passion for aviation and a dream to explore beyond Earth’s boundaries. Born in Karnal, India, she defied gender barriers to pursue aerospace engineering, earning advanced degrees in the United States. Kalpana joined NASA as an astronaut, ultimately becoming the first India-born woman to venture into space. Tragically, her second mission on the Columbia space shuttle in 2003 ended in disaster as the shuttle disintegrated during re-entry with earth’s atmosphere, claiming the lives of all seven crew members, including Kalpana Chawla. Her legacy endures through her contributions to space exploration and her commitment to inspiring girls to dream limitlessly. NASA honored her by naming a spacecraft after her. Kalpana’s story underscores the power of determination and keeping promises, with Canara HSBC Life Insurance as a dependable partner.

    • Fifth episode: Lights Camera Action Success – Guneet Monga

    A commendable journey of Guneet Monga Kapoor, a visionary Indian film producer. Despite humble beginnings and numerous challenges, Guneet rose to prominence as the founder of Sikhya Entertainment and the producer of acclaimed films/series like “Gangs of Wasseypur” and “The Lunchbox.” Her tenacity led her to achieve her dream of attending the Oscars, and she made history with her work on the Academy Award-winning documentary short film “Period – End of Sentence.” Guneet’s dedication towards empowering women in the film industry led to the creation of the ‘Indian Women Rising’ cinema collective. Her story embodies the strength and determination that women are known for, and she has not only created her table but also left an indelible mark in the male-dominated film industry, putting Indian cinema on the global stage. With inner strength, anyone can overcome life’s challenges, and with a dependable insurance partner like Canara HSBC Life Insurance, you can Depend On Insurance to chase your dreams.

  • Media ought to regulate itself, says Punjab Guv

    Media ought to regulate itself, says Punjab Guv

    NEW DELHI: Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh V P Singh Badnore today said that the media should develop a self-regulatory mechanism to present to the government a true picture of the issues concerning people as this would help in finding solutions.

    Addressing the Regional Editors’ Conference in Chandigarh, the Governor cited some incidents of paid news, and said the media should come forward to check this menace. He invited public suggestions to improve the infrastructure and public conveniences in Chandigarh.

    Organiser Press Information Bureau’s director general (media and communications) A P Frank Naronha said the Government considers media as an important stakeholder in its agenda of development. “The media has an onerous responsibility as both a facilitator and a watchdog to ensure that the fruits of development are reaching the deserving,” he said. He added the media, especially the regional media, could play an important role in this venture.

    During the inaugural session, home minister Rajnath Singh and member of Parliament Kirron Kher were also present.

    Naronha said the Regional Editors Conference had been organized with an objective to provide an opportunity to the editors of the regional press to interact directly with ministers on crucial issues concerning their respective ministries. While the participants would get to know the relevant context and deeper background behind a particular initiative, programmes and policies, it would also help the policy makers in getting the feedback from the media which could be useful for improvement, he said.

    Highlighting the role of PIB, Naronha said that, besides traditional modes of communication, PIB was also reaching the regional press and public through social media in big way to make them aware of government programmes.

    In the two-day conference, six central Ministries – Home, Women & Child Development, Road Transport & Highways, Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution, Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, and Development for North East region are participating. Ministers would preside over the respective sessions, and address the editors about policy issues and initiatives.

    In the conference, editors from the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and Chandigarh are taking part.

    This is the third Regional Editors’ Conference being organized by PIB during this calendar year. The earlier Regional Editors’ Conferences this year were held in Jaipur and Chennai.

    The PIB also reaches out to the regional media through its regional and branch offices and through special initiatives like press tours and ‘Vartalap’ or Rural Media Workshop at the district level.

  • Media ought to regulate itself, says Punjab Guv

    Media ought to regulate itself, says Punjab Guv

    NEW DELHI: Punjab Governor and Administrator of Chandigarh V P Singh Badnore today said that the media should develop a self-regulatory mechanism to present to the government a true picture of the issues concerning people as this would help in finding solutions.

    Addressing the Regional Editors’ Conference in Chandigarh, the Governor cited some incidents of paid news, and said the media should come forward to check this menace. He invited public suggestions to improve the infrastructure and public conveniences in Chandigarh.

    Organiser Press Information Bureau’s director general (media and communications) A P Frank Naronha said the Government considers media as an important stakeholder in its agenda of development. “The media has an onerous responsibility as both a facilitator and a watchdog to ensure that the fruits of development are reaching the deserving,” he said. He added the media, especially the regional media, could play an important role in this venture.

    During the inaugural session, home minister Rajnath Singh and member of Parliament Kirron Kher were also present.

    Naronha said the Regional Editors Conference had been organized with an objective to provide an opportunity to the editors of the regional press to interact directly with ministers on crucial issues concerning their respective ministries. While the participants would get to know the relevant context and deeper background behind a particular initiative, programmes and policies, it would also help the policy makers in getting the feedback from the media which could be useful for improvement, he said.

    Highlighting the role of PIB, Naronha said that, besides traditional modes of communication, PIB was also reaching the regional press and public through social media in big way to make them aware of government programmes.

    In the two-day conference, six central Ministries – Home, Women & Child Development, Road Transport & Highways, Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution, Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, and Development for North East region are participating. Ministers would preside over the respective sessions, and address the editors about policy issues and initiatives.

    In the conference, editors from the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and Chandigarh are taking part.

    This is the third Regional Editors’ Conference being organized by PIB during this calendar year. The earlier Regional Editors’ Conferences this year were held in Jaipur and Chennai.

    The PIB also reaches out to the regional media through its regional and branch offices and through special initiatives like press tours and ‘Vartalap’ or Rural Media Workshop at the district level.

  • Colors celebrates new age talent in ‘India’s Got Talent 6’

    Colors celebrates new age talent in ‘India’s Got Talent 6’

    MUMBAI: With a number of adrenalin pumping performances, Colors is back with sixth season of its reality show – India’s Got Talent.

     

    This season, India’s Got Talent will celebrate new age talent like never before and revel in highlighting the quirkiest hunarzaades that reside in the country.

     

    Slated to go on air from 18 April, the show will be aired over the weekend at 9 pm.  Talent gurus Karan Johar, Kirron Kher and Malaika Arora Khan will return for the third consecutive season together. Produced by FremantleMedia, the show will be hosted by Nakuul Mehta and Bharti Singh. The channel believes that talent resides in every individual; it is the multiplier for energy, determination and hard work and Colors provides a platform for people to flaunt their hidden flair.

    The channel has roped in a volley of sponsors including Maruti Suzuki as the presenting sponsor, OLX as the powered by sponsor, whereas Amul Macho, Layyer Wottagirl and Ultratech Cement have come on board as the associate sponsors.

     

    With the Golden Buzzer up for grabs gifting the hunarzaade’s a direct entry into the semi-finals, talent will go beyond the four walls of the studio and explore the outer landscape to showcase newer elements including an ‘underwater’ act, a rustic ‘mela’ setup amongst others to bring out the vivid and vibrant colors of life and create the perfect backdrop for oodles of drama touching unparalleled peaks of entertainment.

     

    Colors programming head Manisha Sharma said, “Our focus, this season, is to highlight the hunarzaades – whose talent have the ability to enthral viewers but who have been largely unacknowledged in their growing years. The talent we have seen are those, which have had the courage to follow their heart and vie for success. Karan Johar, Kirron Kher and Malaika Arora Khan are the three jewels in the India’s Got Talent crown, which have sieved out the best of the best talent over the years, and we are pleased to see them raise the bar this year as well. Be it the Golden Buzzer or just leaving the judges spellbound, this edition of India’s Got Talent will feature new-age and techno talent that will leave viewers awe-struck.”

     

    Judging gets tougher, as talent speaks volumes about itself through acts that go beyond convention as they raise the degree of difficulty to create mind-boggling moments.

     

    Touted as the tough-to-please judge, Johar said, “Talent needs to inspire while creating a certain level of thrill in the mind of the viewer. And of course, any good talent needs to entertain. As a judge, I choose to utilize the India’s Got Talent platform to give performers a creative opinion about the degree of complexity they add to their performances. This is my third year judging this show and I am looking forward to seeing how the participants this year surpass the benchmarks set by those who have rocked the stage in the past. They say talent speaks for itself and I am waiting eagerly to see what the talent has to say this year.”

     

    Kher, who has been the part of the show since its inception six years back, added, “It feels wonderful for having been associated with India’s Got Talent for its entire tenure because there are so many new and exciting elements, which ensure that there is never a dull moment on the sets. It feels like home to me. India’s Got Talent is known to encourage new kinds of talent every time. For me, it is an opportunity to truly understand the real and aspirational India through this show. It is the first-hand connect with the viewers that I enjoy the most about this show. It is going to be yet another exciting season and I am really happy to be back.”

     

    Khan opined, “India’s Got Talent is such a larger than life show that it is a challenge for us as judges because inevitably we are caught in moments where one participant is better than the other. We get to see exceptional performances every year. This season, too, I am looking forward to having some fun with many more such mind blowing acts. Bring it on, India.”

     

    As new age talent takes the forefront, the look of the show will adopt a similar flavor. The techno and grunge feel of the sets will highlight the raw appeal of the hunarzaade adding to the overall viewing proposition. Adding a personal touch to the show, home videos of the contestants showcasing their journey of talent discovery will also be aired. Colors will also have a ‘Khulasa’ segment, which will reveal some personal quirks of the judges.

     

    FremantleMedia MD Anupama Mandloi said, “India’s Got Talent has evolved over the years to become a show that defines talent in its true form. This year, our approach is to focus on talent and their ability to transcend thought boundaries to present the unexpected. With talent and an element of challenge being the spotlight, we are looking forward to defying traditions and welcoming a new wave of talent that will be India’s answer to the world.”

     

    Marketing push

     

    To enhance engagement and involve viewers at every stage of the show, an integrated marketing and digital campaign has been chalked out incorporating multiple mediums including television, mobile and cinema amongst others.

     

    The digital campaign will have a fun-filled ‘Challenge Pappu Campaign’ wherein the character of Pappu will throw challenges at the viewers and in the process bring out some of the most outstanding talents to the fore on social media.

     

    With extensive mobile penetration in smaller towns, the promos of the show will be pushed via MMS across key markets along with YouTube. The show will also be promoted during the Indian Premier League (IPL) through  Starsports.com and Hotstar.

  • After Priyanka, Sonam roped in for a biopic

    After Priyanka, Sonam roped in for a biopic

    MUMBAI: After the success of Farhan Akhtar’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom, and Irrfan Khan’s Paan Singh Tomar, Sonam Kapoor seems to be the next in line.

     

    As biopics seem to be trending in bollywood, buzz is that the fiery actress is going to play the legendry Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil on big screen. The film would revolve around Amrita’s life, love, friends and mentors.

     

    Born in 1913 to a Punjabi-Sikh father and a Hungarian-Jewish mother, Amrita Sher-Gil was a pre-independence painter and one of the most prolific female painters of the pre-Independence era. Referred to as the ‘Frida Kahlo of India’, the legendary painter lived in France and India and died in 1941. The actress is in talk with the painter’s family for the same.

     

    Sonam Kapoor is currently busy promoting her latest project Khoobsurat with co-star Fawad Khan. The movie also stars veteran actresses Ratna Pathak Shah and Kirron Kher in lead.

     

    Set in Rajasthan, Khoobsurat is the story of Dr. Mili Chakravarty (Sonam Kapoor)- a middle class physiotherapist from Delhi. Mili is sent to Rajasthan to treat the paraplegic Shekhar Rathore, Raja of Sambalgarh. Over the course of her stay in the mahal, Mili charms the Rathore family, especially young Vikram Singh Rathore- with her free spirit and funny antics.

     

    The film, which is a remake of Hrishikesh Mukerjee’s 1980 hit film of similar name starring Rekha is directed by Shashanka Ghosh and is slated to hit the silver screens on 19 September.

  • Film stars hope to make hay by joining the political fray

    Film stars hope to make hay by joining the political fray

    NEW DELHI: Films like ‘Satta’, ‘Nayak’ and ‘Rajneeti’ in recent years, have shown the Bollywood filmmakers’ interpretation of the way politics works in this country. Not to forget movies like ‘Sarkar’ that exposes the links of the underworld with politicians.

     

    Perhaps this exposure to politics and largely the anti-corruption wave that swept the country in the wake of Anna Hazare’s movement has resulted in probably the largest number of film personalities enter the fray for the 2014 polls.

     

    Although all political parties have not made public their complete list, around 40 actors from across the country are in the election arena – revealing perhaps the largest participation from Bollywood and north India, since the participation of the film industry from south India has already been quite good.

     

    But for the film industry, five constituencies are going to be worth watching as they have actors pitted against each other. Perhaps the most glamorous poll fights is in Chandigarh, which will see actor former Miss India Gul Panag of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) pitted against her senior and very versatile actor Kirron Kher who has taken up cudgels for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Though Panag was born in Sangrur, she has continued to live in Chandigarh, while the Chandigarh-born Kher has come into fray from this city though she lives in Mumbai.

     

    The not-so-‘khamosh’ Shatrughan Sinha is once again representing the BJP from Patna Saheb in Bihar where he will face Bhojpuri actor Kunal Singh of the Congress. Singh has stated that he is prepared to take up the challenge because he does not feel Sinha has done enough for the constituency.

     

    Mumbai North West will see a triple star fight: the verbose Kamal R Khan who often gets into controversies for his utterances is pitted as an independent against equally controversial star Rakhi Sawant who represents the Rashtriya Aam Party, and Mahesh Manjrekar who represents the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

    In Birbhum, the fight is between actor Satabdi Roy of the Trinamool Congress and actor Joy Banerjee of the BJP which has generally not done well in West Bengal and hopes star power may help.

     

    Singer Indranil Sen from TMC will take on actor Sidhanth Mahapatra of the Biju Janata Dal from Behrampur.

     

    In fact, the BJP has attracted the largest number of film personalities, particularly from Bollywood and north India. Some other film personalities representing the party are George Baker in Howrah, Nimu Bhowmik in Raiganj, versatile singer Bablu Supriya in Asansol, senior actor Hema Malini in Mathura, Hindi and Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari in North East Delhi, music maestro Bappi Lahiri from Serampore, versatile actor Paresh Rawal from Ahmedabad East, veteran Vinod Khanna from Gurdaspur, and television actress Smiriti Irani from the high-profile constituency Amethi. 

     

    The Congress has roped in Kannada heroine Ramya in Mandya, actor Aparajita Mohanty in Cuttack, veteran Oriya film actor Bijay Mohanty from Bhubaneswar, Hindi and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan from Jaunpur, petite actress Nagma in Meerut, actor Jayasudha in Secunderabad, the high-profile Raj Babbar from Ghaziabad, Union Minister D Napoleon from Perambalur in Tamil Nadu, and actor Vijaya Shanthi from Medak.

     

    The Trinamool Congress is not far behind, with glamorous actor Moon Moon Sen in Bankura, reigning Bengali star Deb in Ghatal, Sandhya Sen in Midnapore, actor Soumitra Roy from Malda North, actor Arpita Ghosh in Balurghat, former Bollywood star Biswajit (Chatterjee) from New Delhi and actor Tapas Paul in Krishnagar.

     

    The AAP has roped in TV actress Rina Rani to contest from Maharajganj and the actor-dancer Javed Jaffery (son of former comedy actor Jagdeep) from Lucknow.

    Actor Innocent will represent the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from Chalakkudy in Kerala, renowned award-winning director will fight for the Janata Dal (United) from West Champaran in Bihar, former actor Jayaprada will be fighting this time on behalf of Rashtriya Lok Dal from Bijnor.

     

    Jayaprada initially represented the Telugu Desam Party, later switching to the Samajwadi Party and then moving to RLD after her friend Amar Singh was forced to leave SP.

     

    Rakhi Sawant says she is contesting the elections on the plank of restoring women’s safety in the metropolis. “I was offered a BJP ticket from Srirampur in West Bengal. But I am from Mumbai and know Hindi and Marathi. I don’t know the local language of West Bengal, so why should I stand from there?” she said while announcing her candidature.

     

    Actor Ramya (Divya Spandana) is the first female star from Karnataka to enter the Lok Sabha. Ramya joined the Youth Congress in 2011 and had campaigned for the party in the assembly elections.

     

    The final list is yet to come out, and so Punjabi pop singer Rabbi Shergil who has joined the AAP is also expected to contest, even as actor Murali Mohan is eyeing the Rajahmundry seat. Pawan Kalyan who formed the Jana Sena is hoping to contest from Kakinada.

     

    Some actors or film personalities who have got elected to Parliament in the past or are presently in the Rajya Sabha as elected or nominated members include Prakash Jha, Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Dharmendra, Shekhar Suman, singer Hans Raj Hans, Babu Mohan, Murli Mohan, Krishnam Raju, Nafisa Ali, late Sunil Dutt, Jaya Bachchan, late Rajesh Khanna, late N T Rama Rao, Vyjayanthimala Bali, late Dr Raj Kumar and K Chiranjeevi. The nominated members include Nargis Dutt, Lata Mangeshkar, Shabana Azmi, Rekha, and Javed Akhtar.

     

    Babu Mohan has joined the Telengana Rashtra Samiti to fight the assembly elections, while in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha will again represent the AIADMK in the assembly. Actor Jeevitha who joined the BJP is hoping to get an assembly seat, actor Nandamuri Balakrishna is also looking for a seat in Andhra Pradesh, while comedian Ali from the south and actor Ambreesh are not far behind in their quest. Vijay Kanth of the DMDK and U V Krishnamraju from the BIP are others in the fray for state assemblies.

     

    Almost all the film personalities in the fray have some controversy attached to their lives or their present campaign. Kamal Khan who is known to be outspoken had in one of his films added dialogues attacking the MNS announcements about outsiders in Mumbai, while actor Nagma has had to face people who have not just tried to grope her but Congress MLA Gaj Raj Sharma grabbed and kissed her during one of her campaigns. She has even been manhandled.

     

    Kirron Kher was met with black flags when she first came to Chandigarh and had to convince voters that she was indeed from Chandigarh, while actor-dancer Hema Malini has been booed for not daring to step out of her Audi as she moves around Mathura. And if she does peep out of the sun-shade of her car, it is only for a brief glimpse and visits to temples are in the midst of bouncers.

      
    Manoj Tiwari had earlier contested the national elections from the SP ticket in 2009 and is now representing BJP.

     

    Raj Babbar had won from Firozabad for a fourth term by defeating Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav, but has now been shifted to Ghaziabad.

     

    The versatile Aamir Khan has become the national icon of the Election Commission after the last episode of the second edition of Satyamev Jayate. A team from Doordarshan, EC’s official partner was rushed to shoot a video with Aamir Khan. Apart from the video, Khan has shot for an audio spot, urging the people to cast their votes. He says, “Rukey nahin, chookey nahin…vote zaroor daalein.”

     

    Singer Anoop Jalota will campaign for the BJP while Kapil Sharma and Soha Ali Khan will campaign for the Congress.

     

    While Bollywood has generally not been very successful in north India, the southern film industry is rich with examples of film-politicians. Since 1957 when actor S S Rajendran (SSR) entered the fray in Theni during the assembly elections to the then Madras State Legislative Assembly polls, the DMK and its 1972-offshoot AIADMK led by popular hero M G Ramachandran, have in most elections given tickets to stars.

     

    In the post-MGR era, the AIADMK, the DMK and other parties had fielded actors in Parliamentary and assembly elections since 1998, barring the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.

     

    The outgoing 15th Lok Sabha had two actor MPs, D Napoleon and Ritheesh, of the DMK. Now they have switched loyalties to suspended DMK leader M K Alagiri. Napoleon had earlier represented the Villivakkam Assembly constituency during 2001-06 and lost to comedian S V Shekhar in Mylapore in 2006.

     

    This time, the ruling AIADMK and DMK have trusted lawyers, businessmen, doctors and others than trying actors though initially there were speculations that yesteryear heroine Khushboo and Radhika Sarathkumar could fight it out in a constituency in Chennai.

     

    While the connection between Tamil cinema and politics goes back to the 1940s when DMK founder C N Annadurai and its present chief M Karunanidhi were script writers, SSR known as a ‘Latchiya Nadigar’ (Ambitious Actor), was the first screen star to join the fray. He had lost the 1957 election by 6,781 votes to a Congress candidate.

     

    However, in the 1962 assembly polls he created history by winning from Theni on a DMK ticket thus becoming the first actor in the world to enter an elected legislative body. In later years, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha and also won from the Andipatti Assembly constituency (MGR’s last represented constituency) in 1980 as an AIADMK candidate.

     

    MGR entered electoral politics only in 1967, winning from St Thomas Mount, while chief minister J Jayalalithaa became a Rajya Sabha member in 1984. The same year, the Congress had successfully fielded yesteryear actor Vyjayanthimala from the South Madras Lok Sabha constituency and she sprung as a surprise by defeating veteran politician Era Sezhiyan.

     

    But popular Sivaji Ganesan, one of the greatest actors in the world, had a failed political career though the Congress once made him a Rajya Sabha member. The Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani, which he launched after MGR’s death, failed to take off and he did not make it big as president of the Janata Dal (Tamil Nadu) unit either.

     

    Actor Sarathkumar was defeated in 1998 from the Tirunelveli Parliamentary constituency on a DMK ticket. Subsequently, he entered the Rajya Sabha and is now a MLA. In contrast, another actor Ramarajan, whose popularity was on the wane, got elected to the Lok Sabha from Tiruchendur as an AIADMK candidate in 1998.

     

    Another yesteryear MGR film heroine Latha lost her deposit when she contested from Dindigul in 1998 Lok Sabha polls on a MGRADMK ticket. The following year, voters of the constituency rejected DMK candidate actor S Chandrasekar.

     

    Similarly, in Periyakulam, villain Mansoor Ali Khan fielded by Puthiya Tamilagam, came third in 1999 but polled over 87,000 votes.

     

    Some of the Tollywood actors who made it to the assembly and Parliament (including Rajya Sabha) are: villain Radharavi (AIADMK), comedian S S Chandran (AIADMK), Vijayakant (DMDK), Arun Pandian (DMDK rebel), versatile film personality T Rajendar (DMK) and comedian Isari Velan (AIADMK).

  • Gulaab Gang: Colourless

    Gulaab Gang: Colourless

    MUMBAI: There are a whole lot of enthusiastic new filmmakers who want to be launched and they are often impressed by a local story, episode or a character that they think, it is a subject apt for a film. But biopics are not accepted in India generally. Even a film like Gandhi only just managed to scrape through. The others, whether on Nehru, Bose, Patel or Ambedkar have been box office disasters.

    The story of Gulaab Gang emanates from a real-life UP character, Sampat Pal Devi, who commandeers a gang of women adorned in pink saris. The gang’s agenda is to get justice for the poor ill-treated women of the area. The makers deny that the story is based on the life of Sampat Pal Devi and even run a slide at the beginning to the effect, but the similarities of not only the basic concept but even the events and incidents are the kinds Devi dealt with. In which case, coincidences to a real life character abound in this film.

    Madhuri Dixit is beaten black and blue by her step mother even as her father looks on. But she is determined to learn to read and write. Next thing you know, Madhuri has suddenly turned into a middle-aged woman who runs this gang-cum-NGO described as Gulaab Gang. Her campus looks like one from a Bruce Lee Kung Fu film teaching a bunch of Chinese students the art of self-defence, except that here there are pink-sari-clad women trying their hands on lathi wielding.

    Producer:  Anubhav Sinha.

    Director: Soumik Sen.

    Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Priyanka Bose, Divya Jagdale.

    In a poorly conceived script, nobody seems to care for Madhuri and her pink brigade or seems oblivious of it because the crimes against women abound in her region! Her reputation is not enough; every time, she has to demonstrate the power of her lathi brigade! After a couple of demos to establish the might of Gulaab Gang, the routine sets in. The film proceeds to show the same politicians vs police vs ordinary citizen saga which finds its roots in post emergency antiestablishment era of filmmaking.

    It is time to pit Madhuri against her bete noire, Juhi Chawla. She is an overambitious widow of a politician with dubious credentials. She is a well established leader doing very well for herself and her party. Yet she decides to cross swords with Madhuri for no apparent reason. It is only one of the incidents of several for which there is no explanation. Things happen with no reason. The film loses its viewer every few minutes.

    While Madhuri and Juhi are pitted against each other for nothing, the usual caricatures hanging around a politician and well-meaning Taus hanging around Madhuri abound.

    Except for using real life incidents from Sampat’s life, the film has nothing original to offer.  These incidents, which needed to be cemented together to make this into an interesting narration is grossly missing. The direction is shoddy when not amateur; the director has no clue as to his medium or the theme. Dialogue is poor. Editing could have worked to halve the film’s length. The use of music is pretentious with little relevance. Madhuri tries to portray a combination of Santokben Jadeja (Vinay Shukla’s Godmother) and Dhankor Ba (Supriya Pathak in Ram Leela); what is she, a social worker or a don? Juhi is a poor version of her former self.

    Gulaab Gang is an arduous watch; a punishment to sit through.

    Queen: Marry Go Round

    Queen is a coming of age movie. While we keep making the odd coming-of-age hero-oriented film now and then, their scripts remain half-baked. Queen is about a girl on the verge of her marriage who gets a second chance to see the world and come out of her cocoon.

    Kangana Ranaut is Rani and her boyfriend has dubbed her queen. Kangana is from a traditional Punjabi halwai family leading a disciplined life. She is the obedient, home-to-college/college-to-home type. Rajkummar Rao, the son of a family friend, is besotted with her simple beauty and starts chasing her. Since the families know each other, a marriage date is soon fixed.

    Producers: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane.

    Director: Vikas Bahl.

    Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao, Lisa Haydon.

    Rajkummar is now a foreign-returned groom, having just got back from finishing his education in London. A couple of days before the marriage date, his foreign experience catches up with him. He does not want to marry Kangana anymore; she does not seem his type. He breaks the news to Kangana while his folks do so to her parents.

    Kangana is devastated. Any girl from a traditional family who has known only one man in her life, her groom to be, would be. After spending a couple of days locked up in her room, she emerges to face the world. She has the ticket and the visa to visit Paris, the trip was planned as her honeymoon trip and she decides to make it a solo honeymoon trip.

    A shy and scared Kangana discovers herself in this strange land with a language she does not understand. She befriends the hotel waitress, a single mother, Lisa Haydon, who has some Indian genes in her and can mutter some Hindi. After spending a few days in Paris, Lisa packs her off to Amsterdam. The travel, she feels, will help Kangana and help change her outlook.

    It is time for Rajkummar to miss Kangana and he is back on her spur. He wants to rekindle the romance and even feels jealous when he sees her in the company of other men. But Kangana is in no hurry. She wants to complete her tour. Decisions about life can always be taken at leisure.

    Queen is a simple but nice story about traditions vs breaking the shackles. Foreign locations make it a bit more watchable. The film rests solely on the shoulders of Kangana and she does justice to her role. Rajkummar does not fit the romantic hero any which way you look at it; not even if you think of a middle class family. The supporting cast is apt. Songs are well choreographed. Direction is good.

    Queen is a watchable film but suffers due to face value and exams. It will get praises but little from the box office.

    Total Siyapaa: Total Waste

    Total Siyapaa is an idea worth exploring. It is about an independent-minded Indian Punjabi girl falling in love with a Pakistani Punjabi boy in a neutral land that is England. Alas, Total Siyapaa may have the initial idea, but the film fails to develop into something more substantial and falls flat on execution.

    Yaami Gautam is taking her Pakistani boyfriend, Ali Zafar, home to meet her parents, Kirron Kher and Anupam Kher. While Yaami awaits his arrival, Ali is in constant touch with her and mentions having brought a bomb of a gift for her. A Pink Panther kind of cop, gnawing on his doughnut, happens to pick up the word ‘bomb’ and, instead of his girlfriend’s house, Ali finds himself in a police lock up. The level of humour the film plans to unleash on the viewer established, the film proceeds to dish out more of the same.

    Producers: Neeraj Pandey, Shital Bhatia.

    Director: Neeraj Pandey.

    Cast: Ali Zafar, Yaami Gautam, Anupam Kher, Kirron Kher, Sara Khan.

    Even while the debate on acceptance of a prospective Pakistani son-in-law continues, he is already ordered around by Kirron and made to do household chores. In an attempt to defrost soup, the container slips out of Ali’s hands, goes straight out of the kitchen window and lands on Anupam’s head, knocking him unconscious. The police, it is made to look, don’t take too kindly to the Pakistanis and Yaami does her best to keep Ali away from the scene of this accident not knowing the man lying unconscious on the street is her very own father.

    When it is realised that the victim could well be Anupam the action shifts in his direction. Efforts to create funny situations out of his hospitalization, his encounter with a hooker and his family’s search for him don’t succeed. There is no comedy; the situations are just not funny enough. There are some side tracks like Yaami’s sister, Sara Khan, who has had a fight with her husband and has come to stay with her parents, and a running tiff with the Pakistani neighbors. The grandfather’s track is juvenile.

    Performances are generally mediocre. Yaami is okay. Ali can’t act and ends up making awkward gestures with his hands. Kirron does what she is expected to do: play a loud Punjabi woman. Anupam is wasted. Sara Khan does well while the best of the lot is the child who plays Sara’s daughter; she is the only natural one.

    The script is loose and lacking in substance, which makes the direction as uninspiring. The film has two good songs in Nahi maloom….. and Chal Buleya…

    A poor fare with indifferent public response, Total Siyapaa faces the threat of discontinuation from cinema halls mid-week.

  • MAMI gets going with Sridevi lighting inaugural lamp

    MAMI gets going with Sridevi lighting inaugural lamp

    MUMBAI: Amid much fanfare, the 14th Mumbai Film Festival, presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express got off to a grand opening with Sridevi lighting the inaugural lamp along with veteran film maker Shyam Benegal, chairman and trustees of Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI).

    The opening function also saw the introduction and felicitation of the jury members of international competition India Gold 2012, Celebrate Age and Dimensions Mumbai. “We look forward to another year of bringing superlative global cinema to our patrons and promoting budding talent at the festival,” commented festival director Srinivasan Narayanan.

    The function continued with Anil Kapoor calling on stage Anupam Kher, whose critically acclaimed comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook kick-started the 8-day long festival. The film is directed by David O Russell and stars Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. Speaking on the occasion Kher said, “I have always endeavoured to make films with passion and I am glad to have been provided with an opportunity to work with such amazing co-actors.”

    Chief initiator of the festival, Tina Ambani conferred director, producer, writer and actor from the People‘s Republic of China Zhang Yimou the Lifetime Achievement Award for Foreign Film Personalities. “The 14th Mumbai Festival is an initiative truly close to my heart and a very special connection to my cinematic roots,” she observed.

    The opening day function‘s red carpet and movie screening witnessed a host of film artistes, filmmakers, renowned litterateurs and cine-philes including Jaya Bachchan, Manisha Koirala, Leander Paes, Shobhaa and Dilip De, Ila Arun, Kirron Kher, Rahul Bose, Ranvir Shorey, Milind Soman, Shahana Goswami, R. Balki with wife and filmmaker Gauri Shinde, Pritish Nandy, Sridhar Raghavan, Sanjay and Ambika Suri,Dibakar Banerjee and Hansal Mehta among others.

    All in all, the first day of the 14th Mumbai Film Festival set pace for the week-long cinematic extravaganza that promises to feature the finest works of cinematic genius from a lineup of over 200 films.

  • Dharmendra provides best opening for India’s Got Talent

    Dharmendra provides best opening for India’s Got Talent

    MUMBAI: The third season of Colors’ talent reality show, India’s Got Talent, has surpassed the opening day performance of all other non-fiction launches in 2011.


    In this fresh edition, Colors has roped in Bollywood actor Dharmendra as a jury member to share the panel with Sonali Bendre and Kirron Kher.


    India‘s Got Talent‘s opening day (29 July) average rating was 3.91 TVR while it peaked at 5.4 TVR. As per data provided by Colors, the show has surpassed the debut of Star Plus’ biggest dance reality show Just Dance, which scored a TVR of 3.7 TVR, to become the top opening scorer.


    Among the other top-rated reality shows in the year were Guinness World Records – Ab india Todega, which opened with a 3.3 TVR, followed by Khataron ke Khiladi – 4 (both Colors) with 3.0 TVR. Zee TV’s Saregamapa Li’l Champs had opened with a 2.7 TVR.


    Incidentally, with each successive season, India’s Got Talent as a property is getting bigger. The first season of the show opened to a 2.4 TVR while the second season saw a debut day rating of 3.1 TVR. In the first season, Bendre and Kher were joined by Shekhar Kapoor as the third judge, while in the second season Sajid Khan had replaced Kapoor.
     
     
    Colors said that the reach of the show as well as the time spent on watching it is increasing with the successive seasons. In the first season, the show had a 9.8 per cent reach for the first week, which went up to 12.4 in season two and 13.3 in the current season. Overall time spent also went up from 15 minutes in season one to 17 minutes in second season and 21 minutes in the current season.


    Meanwhile, Star Plus continues to rule the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) space. Powered by the telecast of the IIFA awards ceremony, which clocked a 4.3 TVR, the channel added 29 GRPs (gross rating points) and closed the week with 345 GRPs (316 GRPs in the previous week).


    Colors could not up its ratings despite India’s Got Talent’s strong opening and flagship fiction show Balika Vadhu occupying the top slot among the Hindi GECs (6.1 TVR). The channel clocked 266 GRPs in the week compared to 267 in the preceding week, according to TAM data for the week ended 30 July for the Hindi speaking markets,



    Zee TV maintained its third position but shed 12 GRPs to close the week under review with 208 GRPs. Sony Entertainment Television saw a marginal drop in ratings and closed at No. 4 with 190 GRPs (193 GRPs in previous week).


    Sab stayed steady with 125 GRPs (last week 124). Imagine TV, which launched the Rakhi Sawant-hosted new reality show Gajab Desh Ki Ajab Kahaaniyaan, saw a five GRP climb to close at 71 for the week. Star One got just 37 GRPs while Sahara One trailed behind with 30 GRPs.