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Tag: Love Aaj Kal

  • Eros Now partners with Visa to expand consumer offering

    Eros Now partners with Visa to expand consumer offering

    MUMBAI: OTT platform Eros Now has partnered with Visa, which allows Visa debit and credit card users in India to avail Eros Now’s massive content library. This includes 12,000-plus movie titles, original shows, music videos, short format content, Quickies, at a discount to the annual Eros Now subscription price.

    This partnership will offer Visa cardholders a discount of 50 per cent on their annual subscription to Eros Now and access to a plethora of entertainment from cult Bollywood movies such as Maine Pyaar Kiya, Rangeela, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanaam to Love Aaj Kal, Tanu Weds Manu, Manmarziyaan, amongst others. The library also entails originals from the house of Eros Now that caters to varied genres such as drama, thriller, comedy, to name a few.  

    According to a 2019 report by Eros Now and KPMG, more Indians are consuming content across an array of digital formats and platforms. The average time an Indian consumer spends on OTT platform is 70 minutes, and the average frequency of access is 12.5 times a week. The average single session duration is 40 minutes. This data thus shows that consumers are spending considerable time watching online content. This partnership with Visa will further enable consumers to choose from varied entertainment options that will help in boosting viewership. 

    Eros Now’s collaboration with Visa will strengthen the payment integration for Eros Now that provides high-quality digital video experiences. At a time when there is unparalleled growth in online payment and digital video streaming platforms, the partnership, exclusive to Visa consumers, will offer a wider range of payment options that they can pay for seamless access to unlimited and superior entertainment content.

    Eros Now CEO Ali Hussein said: “Eros Now is known to entertain audience, since generations and an association such as this with Visa helps in further strengthening our promise of offering consumers with the best of entertainment. Visa, a leader in payments technology around the world, has been offering a great value proposition to Indian consumers. Therefore, this association will help in further boosting the viewership by offering them easy access to the vast content catalogue of Eros Now.”

    Arvind Ronta, head of products, Visa India & South Asia, says; “Today, there is an uptick in the consumption of digital entertainment through OTT platforms by consumers. We are happy to partner with Eros Now to give its customers the option of paying for subscriptions through Visa cards, that too at a special rate.  This offer will enable more users to avail of the vast Eros Now library to watch superior content and pay for it securely and seamlessly through existing Visa credit and debit cards.”

  • The year’s first quarter ain’t even done and Love Aaj Kal’s music has already won

    The year’s first quarter ain’t even done and Love Aaj Kal’s music has already won

    More often than not, in Bollywood, a soundtrack is tied to a film's fortunes at the box-office. Very rarely does an OST make its mark independently and shine brightly nevertheless. And that's what makes Love Aaj Kal's music, released through Sony Music India, an exception in a sea of norm.

     Here's why this is significant. In the era of multi-composer OSTs, this soundtrack by Pritam and Irshad Kamil is a first full-length album packed with great songs. Much has changed on the Bollywood soundscape in the interim. Shorter albums have become a mainstay with promotional schedules for songs getting tighter and tighter. Releasing albums with longer run-times are widely considered a risk few will take. And yet, LAK boasts of a 11-track album that has found favour with audiences and industry experts as well (more on that in a bit). It’s a celebration of melodies.

     Right from the release of the first single Shayad to Haan Main Galat to the third, Mehrama — LAK's musical run has been exceptional. This much is evident in the fact that Shayad, Haan Main Galat and Mehrama feature in Top 20 lists across audio streaming platforms — Spotify, Apple, JioSaavn, Wynk Music — consistently since its release.

     The picture is no different on national television, radio and on Shazam, where the film's songs feature in the Top 10 lists. Haan Main Galat is sitting pretty at the #1spot across national television channels with Shayad and Mehrama following close at a tied #3. Haan Main Galat is ranked #2 and Shayad is ranked #5 on radio (Source?). The all-India chart of music search and discovery platform shows that Shayad is the 10th most searched song in India. The film’s music has crossed 300 mn+ streams across major audio and video streaming platforms and is the most streamed album of recent times.

     And it isn't just the figures doing the talking. The music has been loved by audiences as can be gauged by the comments below the song videos. But let's not be as surface-scratching as that. The Indian national daily, The Hindu went as far as noting that "Love Aaj Kal's songs belong to a blockbuster".

     Writer Vipin Nair observed, “The soundtrack by Pritam is even better than that of Imtiaz Ali's 2009 original (which was also composed by Pritam, with lyrics by Irshad Kamil).

     Acknowledging that the OST features 'repeats from the earlier soundtrack' — KK and Mohit Chauhan return for vocal duty on Aur Tanha and Yeh Dooriyaan respectively — Nair notes that Yeh Dooriyaan and 'Twist' redux Haan Main Galat are two aptly contemporised "throwbacks" evoke "welcome memories".

     In fact, Nair went on to add that while the 2009 Love Aaj Kal soundtrack has "aged wonderfully and will always be counted among Pritam-Irshad Kamil's best works", "for sheer number of quality songs (and fewer Punjabi influences) in this  [2020] album, I'd rate the new soundtrack higher".

     Case in point: Love Aaj Kal (the 2020 version), as Nair concludes, joins a rare league of films by visionary directors, "whose movies get looked forward to purely for their music."

  • Center fresh, Love Aaj Kal 2 collaborate for a special TVC

    Center fresh, Love Aaj Kal 2 collaborate for a special TVC

    MUMBAI: Center fresh 3 Layer Gum has partnered with Love Aaj Kal 2, one of Bollywood’s most awaited movies of 2020 to build and create a buzz about special connections on Valentine’s Day. Bollywood heartthrobs Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan will be seen in the special TVC shot for Center fresh 3 layer Gum in collaboration with the movie Love Aaj Kal 2. 

    Talking about this collaboration timed around Valentine’s Day, Perfetti Van Melle India director – marketing Rohit Kapoor said, “Center fresh as a brand enjoys immense love amongst consumers as it provides fresh breath confidence in key situations of proximity. Our 3 Layer Gum targets consumers who have an on-the-go lifestyle and require fresh breath for extended periods.  We look out for activations that seamlessly connect with the brand proposition and resonates well with our target audience of young adults. Our collaboration with the upcoming movie Love Aaj Kal 2 is a step in this direction.“

    The communication for this association builds on the benefit of 3 layer gum in various boy-girl situations like first meetings, long conversations and moments of togetherness and fits perfectly well with the brand world of Center Fresh. 

    Speaking more about the collaboration with Love Aaj Kal, Kapoor added, “Kartik and Sara speaking about the brand in the co-branded TVC was a natural fit and we wish them luck for this new release. 

    Bling Entertainment Solutions partner and business head Swati Iyer said, “Love Aaj Kal is all about the feeling of love that transcends time and geographies. The chemistry of the connection between two people is the essence on which these stories are based. Center Fresh as a brand owns the “fresh breath confidence” space through its product offering like 3 layer Gum, tailored for occasions that require fresh breath for extended periods. This makes it a perfect partner for the movie. It was great to have worked with the Center Fresh team on this association and we are confident of this being a fruitful one. I am sure that this Valentine’s Day will not just be about the feeling of love, but also about the confidence backed by fresh breath to pursue matters of the heart.”

    Center Fresh 3 Layer Gum is a unique combination of fondant with special cooling ingredients sandwiched between layers of gum and promises ‘fresh breath that lasts long’. The pack is available in a multi pack that has tear-refold packaging, in peppermint and strawberry flavours at price of Rs 5 (pack of 4 gums). The product is also available in a sugar-free variant priced at Rs 25 (pack of 7 gums) exclusively in Modern Trade stores. 

  • Spotify invests in 3 original podcasts for Indian market

    Spotify invests in 3 original podcasts for Indian market

    MUMBAI: Opening new opportunities for the growing creator community in India, Spotify has announced three original podcasts for the country, which will go live on the platform on 3 December. Tapping into pop culture, cricket centric ‘22 Yarns with Gaurav Kapur’, fiction thriller ‘Bhaskar Bose’ narrated by Mantra, and love and relationship advice-based ‘Love Aaj Kal’ by Aastha & Ankit, Spotify is looking forward to strengthen its position within the market.

    The announcement comes as a reiteration to Spotify’s global audio-first strategy that focuses on the brand’s potential to grow faster with more original podcasts. As with music artists, Spotify aims to offer better discovery, data, and monetization to podcast creators.

    Spotify marketing director—India Amarjit Singh Batra said, “Storytelling is intrinsic to India, and almost nostalgic because most of us have grown on stories that our grandparents and parents told us; Spotify wants to re-establish that listening culture here, especially as users seek more screen-free moments. We are so happy to partner with these talented storytellers who’ve managed to explore different aspects of the local culture to deliver differentiated content and rekindle the love Indians have for audio.”

    With over 500,000 podcast titles on the platform, up from 10,000 in 2018, Spotify has seen exponential growth in the podcast hours streamed globally (up approximately 39 per cent from Q2 2019 to Q3 2019), with podcast adoption reaching almost 14 per cent of total monthly active users (MAUs). And while the U.S. accounts for the largest share of podcast streams, a majority of the growth and listening is now coming from outside the U.S.

    “Just a little over one year ago, we announced Spotify for Podcasters, which provides listener insights to all creators who have podcasts on our platform. Today, we have 140,000 registered creators across the world, on the platform, and the data for a few of these creators shows that India features in their top streamed markets. Much of this content is lifestyle, educational, and news,” added Batra.

    India features in the all-time top 3 streaming markets for tech show Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast, and for On Purpose with Jay Shetty, a show that’s been number 1 on Spotify’s India podcast chart since the time of launch. The country is also currently in the top ten streaming markets for TED Talks Daily and The Mindset Mentor. Other globally acclaimed podcasts such as Stuff You Should Know, and BBC’s Global News Podcast are also in the top 20 most streamed podcasts in India. Interestingly, local charts showcase 60 per cent of the top 10 podcasts on Spotify are on self-motivation-based lifestyle content.

    Globally, Spotify has invested in new original podcasts in the US, Europe, and South America. In June this year, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, announced a partnership with Spotify to produce podcasts exclusive to the platform. The acquisitions of podcast networks Gimlet, and Parcast, and creator platform Anchor have also enabled the company to invest in high-quality content as well as providing an easy way for creators to record a podcast, respectively. In fact, the Sandeep Maheshwari podcast is an example of how Indian creators can leverage Anchor to create their content. 

  • Music adds stronger recall value to films says Imtiaz Ali

    Music adds stronger recall value to films says Imtiaz Ali

    MUMBAI:  “Music can make or break a movie,” said Jab We Met director Imtiaz Ali as he spoke about his love and passion for music at the MixRadio Music Connects (MRMC) today. He went on to disclose that the most fun part for him while directing a movie was when he was involved in making the music.

     

    Speaking specifically about his love for Bollywood music and songs, Ali reckons that in an Indian movie movies were incomplete without music as was energy here. “In Highway, I started with one song in mind and ended up having nine songs in the movie.” He revealed. His latest flick Tamasha also has eight songs tracks in the movie.

     

    He informed that in India, music recording started in 1902 and the music library today consists of around 1.2 million songs, which is more than in several countries of the world.

     

    According to Ali, the shelf life of music is more than that of movies. Providing an example, he said “Even today we listen to songs from the 1950s and 1960s, playing on radio at times, we may not remember the movie or the actors, directors, but we always remember songs.”

     

    He went on to speak about the phenomenon of movie directors and producers launching music titles before a movie. He felt that if the music was well received, half the battle was won as movies are remembered through their songs.

     

    Ali, known for his special connect with young audiences, said that the connect comes when the content flows from the heart. “Anything pure and true has more chances of success and therefore Rockstar connected with the youth. They youth doesn’t want to be spoon fed or told what to do and therefore, Sadda Haq, which was a tough song  to understand lyrically, but with a strong message stood out and was  the most popular songs in the movie.”

     

    Before joining movies Ali worked for two TV shows and worked on their respective music with Pritam and then ventured into producing films. His mantra for making movies was “Imagination going beyond the real vision” he said.

     

    Starting with Socha Naa Tha, the director rose to fame with Jab We Met. His movies Love Aaj Kal and Rockstar were both critically acclaimed as well as commercial hits at the box office. He is currently working on his latest project Tamasha starring Bollywood stars Deepika  Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor.