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Tag: KIshan Kumar

  • Asianet movies launches special Onam campaign ‘Oru Padathinu Poyalo’ inviting audiences to return to theatres

    Asianet movies launches special Onam campaign ‘Oru Padathinu Poyalo’ inviting audiences to return to theatres

    Mumbai: At a time when new releases are struggling to draw large crowds to theatres, Asianet Movies has stepped forward to support the film industry.

    ‘Oru Padathinu Poyalo’, a special onam campaign created by Asianet Movies, invites audiences to return to theatres to experience a cinematic experience available only on big screens. The campaign revolves around reminding audiences of the magic of cinema and encouraging them to watch new releases in theatres.

    This campaign was launched in collaboration with the Kerala Film Producers Association.

    Asianet executive director Kishan Kumar said, “Since inception, Asianet Movies has taken pride in Malayalam cinema and always stood for its betterment. The underlying motive for this campaign was our comprehensive understanding of the constant challenges faced by creators, artists, producers, distributors, and theatre owners.”

    He added that this is the first time a television network has launched a campaign to increase theatre attendance and combat piracy.

  • Kishan Kumar joins Star TV as executive director

    Kishan Kumar joins Star TV as executive director

    Mumbai: Media veteran Kishan Kumar has joined Star TV Network as executive director. In this role, he will lead the channel business for Malayalam GEC Asianet. 

    Kumar is armed with 22 years of experience with most of it spent on the media agency side of the business. He was associated with GroupM’s Maxus Global for 13 years.

    In his most recent role, he was associated with media agency Wavemaker India as chief growth officer for more than three years.  

    An alumnus of MICA Ahmedabad, Kumar’s expertise lies in strategic planning, business development, trading, new media, product development and talent management. He was one of the key architects in building Maxus into one of the biggest media agencies in the South of India. He led the South business across Bangalore, Chennai, Kerala and Hyderabad for Wavemaker India.

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  • ‘Paatal Lok’ and ‘Mirzapur’ writers on creating content for OTT

    ‘Paatal Lok’ and ‘Mirzapur’ writers on creating content for OTT

    MUMBAI: A few digital shows have grabbed the attention of streamers in recent times, including Mirzapur and Paatal Lok. In a virtual conference with The Advertising Club Bangalore, writers Hardik Mehta and Gurmmeet Singh talk about their journey with Wavemaker VP Kishan Kumar.

    Mirzapur director Gurmmeet Singh said that he has been working on various kinds of films over the last 20 years and over the last five years that he’s been exploring the OTT ecosystem. Amazon Prime Video’s show Inside Edge creator and director Karan Anshuman wanted to work with Singh and the duo met for Mirzapur.

    Singh said that initially when the trailer was released people assumed it was similar to Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur. He said, “Later, people understood that it is a completely different series. A lot of credit goes to Mirzapur co-writer Puneet Krishna who has grown in the north belt. He had brought a lot of authenticity and humour to the show. The series had a different name before, but it was not going well with the story hence we changed it.”

    He further added that Mirzapur's story is underplayed and it was way more colourful on paper. In fact, a lot of casting choices were made considering the same aspect. The team decided to cast people who were endearing and more relatable. “Casting gave Mirzapur the leg to travel which sometimes other films and shows are not able to do. So, you have access to different countries, different people and these actors brought a lot of hope in an otherwise dark world,” he shared.

    Paatal Lok writer and national award winner Hardik Mehta has also been part of the entertainment industry for almost a decade. After quitting the foods and technology industries, Mehta joined an advertising firm as a copywriter. From there he developed an interest in filmmaking and documentary. Paatal Lok chief writer Sudip Sharma had seen his script for Kaamyab and roped him in. The shooting began in early 2017. 

    The show’s main reference point was from Tehelka ex-editor in chief Tarun Tejpal's book “The Story of my Assassins.” Mehta points out that the makers of the show wanted to create an investigative neo-noir kind story.

    He added, “Hathiram's world was completely created by us. We wanted a cop who is caught between personal and professional rut. He is a man who is caught between the cop world and bureaucratic nexus. We decided three main arcs of the show: firstly was Hathiram and his investigation, secondly the story was about the famous and left liberal journalist and as the country’s politics changed his personality changed and lastly, the story was around Hathiram’s personal story about his son and wife.”

    One of the unique things that Paatal Lok scriptwriters did was to submit their version of the episode every week. The best one was selected. 30 drafts were created for a ten-episode series.

  • Chef: Where is the audience?

    Chef: Where is the audience?

    Chef is a remake of 2014 Hollywood film of the same name, written, directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau, who also essayed the lead role. 

    Once in a while, an English movie story fits to the T catering to the Indian tastes. We had the 1970 film Love Story (Erich Segal) which Rajshri Pictures made in to “Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se” and, may be a few more; Segal’s own Man Woman And Child, which Shekhar Kapur adapted to make the acclaimed 1983 film, Masoom. 

    There are few such films which have universal sentiments and appeal to all. Chef is one such, despite its alien title. But, then, it aims to cater to the select audience. 

    The character of Saif Ali Khan is an Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk lad of the pre-3 Idiots generation when the kids were not allowed to dream of a career but parents decided what they would do. Somehow, Saif is interested in cooking and loves to stop at the famous street corner eatery selling chhole puri to learn the art. Aspirations were not encouraged in those days and, as a revolt to his father’s dictates, Saif runs away from home. 

    Having worked at a couple of Old Delhi dhabas, Saif hones his skills at the Golden Temple, as a kitchen help. 

    By this time, Saif has excelled at devising new recipes; chefs do that, a cook or a bawarchi just cooks up regular fare. Saif is famous, has made a name for himself in the US having left behind a divorced wife and a teenaged son in Cochin in Kerala. 

    One fine day, Saif’s food is criticised by a patron. Enraged and believing too much into his reputation as a renowned chef, Saif assaults the patron. Social media takes over, and there is no place for Saif anymore in the culinary circuit. 

    But, Saif has a growing son, played by Svar Kamble, overly fond of him, and an ex-wife, played by Padmapriya Janakiraman, who thinks Saif should devote some time to the son at this vital juncture in his life. The Padmapriya and Svar want him to visit. 

    Saif arrives in Kerala, builds bonhomie with his son and both are soon inseparable. While the mother is living her own life, the son discovers his father for the first time. 

    The world has had this wheelbarrow culture providing street food for ages which gradually moved on to food trucks. Major cities all over the world have a number of them. Then, there are also mobile restaurants like the double-decker buses which move around the scenic places of a town while you dine. 

    So there is the character of Milind Soman, Padmapriya’s friend, who offers him a dilapidated double-decker bus which he thinks is worth converting into a travelling/mobile restaurant. 

    Reluctant at first, Saif accepts the offer. He converts the bus into a restaurant with the help of his son. 

    The film turns into a road movie from here on. Saif may have married a Kerala woman but the place he wants to prove himself in is Delhi. The bus is on the move. Via Goa and other scenic places. A happy ending is promised which is what makes the film adaptable in Hindi from its Hollywood version. 

    What is good about the film is that is has been de-glamourised right on the onset. An effort is made so that it looks real life. The direction is apt sticking mostly to the original. Dialogue is lifelike. Visually, the film gives a pleasant feeling. Music is fair. 

    Chef is a watchable feel good film but, coming as it does during a dull period and lacking a draw (only Saif to count on), the opening has been poor and not much hope being held out either.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Kishan Kumar, Raja Krishna Menon, Vikram Malhotra, Janani Ravichandran

    Director: Raja Krishna Menon. 

    Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Svar Kamble, Milind Soman. 

  • Bhoomi….80s revisited

    Bhoomi….80s revisited

    Bhoomi, directed by Omung Kumar, is a throwback to the 1980s era when the villain and his cohorts would rape a hero’s sister and he would take revenge against them. Except that, in Bhoomi, it is the daughter of the character of Sanjay Dutt, played by Aditi Rao Hydari, who is raped the night before her wedding and after surviving another rape and an attempt to kill her, she first breaks down completely as does her father but eventually systematically kills all the bad men.

    The biggest plus point of Bhoomi is that this film marks the return of Sanjay Dutt and that too playing his age. Time has added a few wrinkles and gravitas to his personality but this is vintage Dutt, the larger-than-life hero. On the minus side is that the script offers nothing new in terms of action and reaction.

    Dutt and Hydari lead a peaceful existence in Agra where Dutt has a shop that specializes in mojris and Hydari is a wedding planner cum mehndi expert. She is in love with a local doctor — played by Sidhanth Gupta, and their wedding is due to take place in a few days when the film opens.

    Another boy is also in love with her and when she spurns his advances, he and two thugs (Sharad Kelkar is one) decide to rape her. She tells her to be husband about the rape and the wedding is cancelled.

    They get no justice when they file charges against the perpetrators, and are all set to try to build their lives again when their hopes come dashing down with the constant humiliation they have to face. After a point, they have no choice — but retaliate.

    Small town India is the new locale for films but, while most are quirky, Bhoomi explores its narrow-mindedness. Dutt and Hydari share a warm camaraderie and this elevates the film. But, it is needlessly violent and sometimes crude and this will make it more of a single screen film that a pan Indian one.

    Dutt underplays the grieving father while Hydari tends to ham in dramatic sequences. Kelkar is a fitting successor to earlier villains. Kumar directs ably.

    Though the film is just 135 minutes long, the incessant padding of scenes before it gets down to business, i.e. revenge, makes it seem longer and that drags down the film.

    Bhoomi may be Dutt’s comeback film but the opening response reflects no such enthusiasm on the part of moviegoer.

    Producers: Bhushan Kumar, KIshan Kumar, Omung Kumar.

    Direction: Omung Kumar.

    Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Aditi Rao Hydari.

  • Maxus India’s Kishan Kumar promoted as Maxus Vietnam MD

    Maxus India’s Kishan Kumar promoted as Maxus Vietnam MD

    MUMBAI: Maxus Asia-Pacific regional CEO Ajit Varghese announced the joining of Kishan Kumar M S as Maxus Vietnam managing director.

     

    He comes in from Maxus India’s Bangalore office and was also leading the Maxus Kerala and Hyderabad operations.

     

    Kumar joins as replacement to Rose Huskey, who joined the Maxus APAC team as client leadership head for the region.

     

    Maxus Vietnam GroupM CEO Jacob Kvist said, “The Vietnam media industry is evolving very rapidly and is turning into a market that attracts and develops the very best talent both locally and from overseas. This is once again evident both through Rose’s well deserved promotion to Maxus APAC client leader and the fact key talents such as Kishan see GroupM and Maxus Vietnam as the obvious next career step. I am very happy Kishan has decided to take on the challenge. His calm and friendly personality, senior leadership skills and established network within Maxus and GroupM organisations will allow him to hit the ground running. Rose and our entire Maxus team have done an outstanding job for our clients these last few years and I’m confident Kishan is exactly the sort of team player needed to take it to the next level.”

     

    An alumnus of Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Kumar has 12+ years of experience in strategic planning, business development, trading, new media and talent management.

     

    In his various roles at Maxus India, he was instrumental in creating business-impacting work for clients like Titan Company, Britannia, Tata Global Beverages, Google India, Wipro Consumer Care etc. He has been a part of the Maxus India Management Committee since 2014; also a part of the GroupM Aspire training community since 2008.

     

    His new role will allow him to work with GroupM Vietnam CEO Jacob Kvist and will be leading the digital transformation for clients in the market, bringing the power of GroupM capabilities in driving the change in thinking, media product and doing it in the most efficient & effective way.

     

    Maxus increasingly is looking at driving ‘planning of consumer actions’ as its central vision by bring the voice of consumer central to its business and meshing together the data and content skills.

     

    Commenting on his appointment, Kumar added, “Vietnam is a true reflection of today’s fast changing media & consumer landscape. GroupM has been pioneering change in Vietnam and I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to start this exciting new innings of my career. Maxus Vietnam has done remarkably well under Rose’s leadership and I look forward to consolidate further and help our clients succeed by leading them into change. While doing so, I’m equally looking forward to working with my wonderful colleagues at Maxus & GroupM Vietnam.”

     

    Varghese said, “Kishan is an excellent candidate to lead this market as he has demonstrated in various previous roles in India. His people skills combined with great passion for building clients business and knowledge of media industry is something that will help us in the next phase of growth in Vietnam. Am happy that we are able to time and again give successful career options within the group for star performers and Kishan certainly meets that criteria.”