ITV

Tag: Mallika Sherawat

  • Mallika Sherawat chooses ZEE5 for her web-series debut!

    Mallika Sherawat chooses ZEE5 for her web-series debut!

    MUMBAI: In a first-of-its-kind series, ZEE5 has launched ‘The Story’, a web series that gives you a quirky peek into the lives of celebrities through incidents that are either their worst nightmare or their favourite fantasy. For the series, ZEE5 – India’s largest and most comprehensive digital entertainment platform for multilingual entertainment, has featured Swara Bhaskar and Sumeet Vyas’s stories, & the episode featuring Mallika Sherawat will release on 26th June 2018.

    The Story is a web-series which has a different take on bridging the gap between reel and real-life. The series highlights select incidents from the lives of each of the actors. Now it is anybody’s guess if the incidents are real or a figment of their imagination. The series is available on ZEE5 in the languages of Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu & Marathi.

    With the latest episode featuring Mallika, audience are in for a dose of drama watching Mallika fight off a stalker. It takes us through a thrilling experience where she is harassed by threatening calls from a stalker and on the verge of ambush. Her journey to finding out the true identity of the mystery stalker will have you at the edge of the seat all through.

    The first episode narrated by Swara Bhaskar talks about her story with her ex-flame. Swara describes it as the crazy break-up night where the couple was bothered by a jealous ex-girlfriend, cops running after them and a curious taxi driver.

    Sumeet Vyas, starring in the second episode, talks about his obsession (read as OCD) with hygiene. Be ready to have a fun-filled session while watching Sumeet react to an unclean car situation, making him anxious for a date and picking up fights.

    Commenting on the launch, ZEE5 India, Chief Marketing Officer, Manish Aggarwal said, “The Story is a successful experiment by ZEE5 with unscripted life stories of celebrities. The first two episodes with Swara and Sumeet have received a phenomenal response from our viewers and we are confident that the third episode with Mallika will be well-received too. This is a big one for us in our original content portfolio and viewers can expect many more such innovative formats from the ZEE5 stable.”

    ZEE5 has an exciting original content line-up which will feature some of the biggest and most entertaining faces from the world of Indian entertainment. The platform will have 90+ original shows by the end of March 2019.

  • The Naagin concept is back again with a vengeance, this time as Vishkanya on Zee TV

    The Naagin concept is back again with a vengeance, this time as Vishkanya on Zee TV

    MUMBAI: After the huge success of Naagin, it seems there is market for more stories based on the supernatural across channels.

    However, the ‘Naagin’ or ‘Ichhadhari Naagin’ trend is not new in India and has been seen in several films like the Sridevi starrers Naagin, Nagina, Sheshnaag and also Mallika Sherawat’s Hiss.

    In fact, Zee TV had in 2007 launched a show on the same concept titled Naagin – Waadon Ki Agnipariksha produced by AK Films. The series ran for three years and completed 219 episodes.

    Once again experimenting with this concept, Zee TV is all set to launch its upcoming show Vishkanyafrom 21 March, to be aired from Monday to Friday at the 10.30 pm slot.

    Produced by Peninsula Pictures, Vishkanya is an extraordinary love story of star crossed lovers from the mysterious heartland of Kolkata. It is a story about  the female protagonist who would be drawn into a revenge tale in the midst of a blossoming love story.

    Though the promo of the show looks appealing and promising because of its graphics and visual effects, it will be interesting to see how the show penetrates the minds of the viewers in weeks to come.

  • The Naagin concept is back again with a vengeance, this time as Vishkanya on Zee TV

    The Naagin concept is back again with a vengeance, this time as Vishkanya on Zee TV

    MUMBAI: After the huge success of Naagin, it seems there is market for more stories based on the supernatural across channels.

    However, the ‘Naagin’ or ‘Ichhadhari Naagin’ trend is not new in India and has been seen in several films like the Sridevi starrers Naagin, Nagina, Sheshnaag and also Mallika Sherawat’s Hiss.

    In fact, Zee TV had in 2007 launched a show on the same concept titled Naagin – Waadon Ki Agnipariksha produced by AK Films. The series ran for three years and completed 219 episodes.

    Once again experimenting with this concept, Zee TV is all set to launch its upcoming show Vishkanyafrom 21 March, to be aired from Monday to Friday at the 10.30 pm slot.

    Produced by Peninsula Pictures, Vishkanya is an extraordinary love story of star crossed lovers from the mysterious heartland of Kolkata. It is a story about  the female protagonist who would be drawn into a revenge tale in the midst of a blossoming love story.

    Though the promo of the show looks appealing and promising because of its graphics and visual effects, it will be interesting to see how the show penetrates the minds of the viewers in weeks to come.

  • ‘Dirty Politics’ collects Rs 4.2 crore at box office

    ‘Dirty Politics’ collects Rs 4.2 crore at box office

    MUMBAI: Badmashiyaan, a film sans face value and amateur script and handling, with exams season to contend with, adds to the year’s disaster list. The film had one of the poorest opening day with collections ranging around Rs 10 lakh; thereafter, any improvement was irrelevant. The film managed to collect just about Rs 50 lakh in its first weekend.

     

    The Mallika Sherawat starrer Dirty Politics does somewhat better. The film managed to put together Rs 4.2 crore in its opening weekend.

     

    Hey Bro, a misadventure by choreographer, Ganesh Acharya, backfires. An old saying: Monies made in film industry stays in film industry. The film will prove to be a total loss of investments plus expenses incurred on releasing it. The film barely manages to cross Rs 50 lakh mark in its opening weekend.

     

    Dum Laga Ke Haisha seems to be growing gradually by the day on strength of positive word of mouth and also due to poor oppositions limiting the viewers’ options. The film maintained steady collection in its opening week, albeit on the lower side, to end its first week with a reasonable Rs 10.64 crore. And, thanks to positive reports again, the film does better in its second weekend compared to its opening weekend by collecting Rs 6.72 crore (first weekend: Rs 6.8 crore) thus taking its ten day total to a healthy Rs 17.36 crore.

     

    Ab Tak Chhappan adds little to its already poor opening weekend of Rs 4.4 crore to end its first week run with Rs 6.2 crore.

     

    Badlapur: Don’t Miss The Beginning remained steady in its second week to collect Rs 8.3 crore to take its two week total to Rs 44.1 crore.

     

    Baby has collected Rs 35 lakh in its sixth week to take its six week tally to Rs 79.6 crore.

  • ‘Badmashiyaan’: Nothing of that sort

    ‘Badmashiyaan’: Nothing of that sort

    When one watches a film like Badmashiyaan  one can’t help but wonder: where do such films come from? A banter over drinks? Or, simply, a desire to feel the glamour and glitz of the film industry and an overwhelming desire to belong? For as soon as the film starts to unwind, you know it is a disaster unreeling on the screen.

    There is this girl, Suzanna Mukherjee, who pretends to fall in love with vulnerable men for the sole purpose of conning them. Fall in love, promise marriage, and vanish via the loo after looting them. Her first victim is Sidhant Gupta, a café owner in Chandigarh. Totally besotted with her, he begs, borrows, steals and buys a two crore house to settle his future wife, Suzanna. On a date at a café, she takes time off to go to loo and never returns. 

    Gupta is heartbroken while Suzanna has found a new target, Sharib Hashmi, a Haryanvi don notwithstanding the fact that we have had too much of these UP, Bihar and Haryanvi dons, comic as well as caricatures. 

    Suzanna makes away with some five lakh of the don’s cash, her accomplice is picked up and stripped naked by the don’s man. In case you happen to watch the film and miss it, this is supposed to be the comic element in the film! On his part, the don does not want his money back (despite wasting an hour of running time beating up this poor sod and stripping him to find where the money is), he has fallen head over heels in love with Suzanna and he wants her instead. 

    Producer: Vijay Gutte

    Director: Amit Khanna

    Cast: Suzanna Mukherjee, Sharib Hashmi, Sidhant Gupta, Karan Mehra, Gunjan Malhotra

    If watching this film is an ordeal, writing about it is even bigger torture. 

    Nobody performs in this film and that includes the writer, director and actors. 

    In a year that has seen some of the worst films being released, Badmashiyaan takes the crown for the first quarter of 2015.

     

    ‘Dirty Politics’: What’s the other kind?

    Producer: Nihal farhat

    Director: K. C. Bokadia

    Cast: Suzanna Mallika Sherawat, Jackie Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah

    Eons back, celebrated and one of the most gifted filmmakers, Kundan Shah, was working on a script about a Maharashtrian Tamasha girl going on to become the Chief Minister of the state. I suppose the film was too regional in flavour besides the fact that political themes don’t go down well with our audience and, hence, never made.

    Here, a similar theme seems to have been used for titillation rather than to weave a story around the idea that in politics, anything is possible. 

    Mallika Sherawat, a dancer, has a powerful politician fan in Om Puri. Their proximity sows the seeds of political ambitions in her. But, alas, come elections and she is not on the list of nominees. So she decides to use her ticket to attain her goal: CDs of close encounters between her and Puri, which would defame Puri and ruin his political career. 

    How corny can a plot get when people nowadays don’t care who sleeps with whom as long as they deliver? (Reminds me of a prominent politician spokesperson cum lawyer whose explicit videos were on public domain and he still continues to be all that he used to be!) What follows is predictable. Sherawat goes missing and all sorts of corny plots and subplots follow. 

    The film stars some of the great actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Anupam Kher besides Jackie Shroff and Ashutosh Rana but the script, the direction and Sherawat make sure they are rendered ineffective totally; they are neutralised by everything in this film of which they had no reason to be a part.

     

  • Mallika Sherawat exclusively speaks to Al Jazeera English on Bollywood’s impact on women

    Mallika Sherawat exclusively speaks to Al Jazeera English on Bollywood’s impact on women

    MUMBAI: I kissed on screen and was intimate with my co-stars to show realism on screen, Mallika Sherawat told Al Jazeera English in a candid panel discussion on Bollywood’s impact on gender norms in India in their special programming The Stream presented by Femi Oke and Malika Bilal.

     

    Bollywood’s multi-billion dollar industry has massive reach but can it shape gender norms in India? Seductive musical numbers stir debate about whether portrayals of women bleed into real-life relationships. Industry critics argue these films reinforce an unhealthy gender dynamic while others say its impact is overstated. Does Bollywood have a social responsibility?

     

    Speaking on Al Jazeera English, when asked about her views about the kind of roles you have done as an actress. Mallika replied,” When I started my career, it was almost a decade ago, I did films like ‘Murder’ which was a very-very controversial film for the time 10 years ago because it depicts a women having an extra marital affair, it depicts sexuality on screen, it depicts passion. But then I always thought that living in a 21st century how else will you show passion. It got to be real, it got to be realistic and that’s why I kissed on screen, I was intimate with my co-star because I wanted to bring a certain kind of realism on screen; which I think is very very important.”

     

    When asked about her thoughts on scantily clad no relevance to the plots item number. Mallika replied, “Singing and dancing has always been a part of Indian culture and Indian movies, that’s where Indian cinema is based of it came from Nautanki. Singing and Dancing has always been there. I don’t even know what is this called item number; I see it as a song and dance, which is a part of Bollywood movie, part of Bollywood tradition that makes Bollywood unique in every part of the world. I would like to say and ask what’s wrong with looking attractive and glamorous on screen for your audience. After all it’s a movie business and if you are glamorous and appealing. What’s wrong with that? Why actresses should be judged because they are looking good and glamorous. Are you trying to tell me that looking glamorous and sexy is invitation to rape? They definitely do not promote inequality. And why only actresses. You talk about men. There was very popular Bollywood movie called ‘Dostana’ where they objectified male star John Abraham. And if you talk about Brad Pitt, George Clooney. Traditionally I would say yes it is being women who were objectified but now it is just people. It’s objectification of people. There could be sexy and glamorous men; there could be appealing glamorous women as well on screen.”

     

    When asked about her comfort level on the roles she has been doing, Mallika said, “I look at it as art and I am again saying that I am doing nothing that promotes in equality of the women. On the contrary I have always portrayed very strong characters in my movies. And I have always looked to do parts which have a meaning. Be it ‘Murder’ where I have played a women who is lonely and she is having an extra marital affair and she is searching her meaning in life or be it ‘Pyar ke side effects’ or be it ‘Myth’ or be it any movie. I do nothing that promotes inequality. And as I said I mean where objectification is concerned, today it is objectification of people. But yes we all should take collective responsibility for it. We are all responsible for it. Why Bollywood everyone else is responsible for it. Are you trying to tell me those two poor girls who got raped in India and hanged on tree were objectified; were they provokably dressed. They were just relieving themselves in the field and they got raped. Are you gonna blame Bollywood for it.”

  • AXN eyeing July premiere for Steven Spielberg’s Extant

    AXN eyeing July premiere for Steven Spielberg’s Extant

    MUMBAI: Launched in 1998 as the first 24×7 cable and satellite television channel in Asia dedicated to action and adventure programming, AXN continues to stand by its promise of delivering intelligent, edgy and high-energy content for an unparalleled entertainment experience

     

    With programming encompassing the latest in action blockbusters, international hit series, reality and lifestyle sports programs and AXN originals, the channel enjoys a high viewership not just in metros but also tier II and tier III cities across the country.

     

    AXN business head Sunil Punjabi spoke to Aashay Dalvi of indiantelevision.com about the channel’s programming line-up this year, its digital strategy and so on. Excerpts…

     

    Q: How has the audience response been ever since the CBS acquisition deal?

     

    At a macro level, the audience response has been very good. Take for instance, the two shows with which we launched the CBS catalogue i.e. Elementary and Beauty & the Beast. We have seen a fairly growing traction for Elementary while Beauty & the Beast has its own loyal audience. The first season of both the shows premiered sometime ago, with Indian audiences being exposed to Elementary for the first time. Initially, there were comparisons between BBC’s Sherlock and Elementary and people were vehemently opposed to having a female Dr Watson; something we expected.

     

    The difference between the two is that Elementary has more investigation while Sherlock has more drama. This has led to a lot of people slowly getting accustomed to Elementary. So after the initial backlash, we have now seen tremendous growth in audiences, which has been very encouraging for us. We have season 2 airing right now and season 3 will air in September, very close to the US telecast.

     

    The other good news is Hawaii Five-O will have a special episode featuring Mallika Sherawat, and you will soon see it in India. Blue Bloods, the fourth series that we’d taken up is also expected to do well since it is a very strong series. In the US, the show has done phenomenally well. We have also acquired Sex & the City, which we plan to air soon at 11pm. We’re giving it some rest now but once it begins, episodes will air back to back.

     

    Q: Currently, you are airing Beauty & the Beast and Elementary five days a week. Will you be moving to airing them weekly to be closer to the US telecast?

     

    We had two options, the first of which was to run the series close to the US telecast, but for viewers who are not familiar with the older season, that tactic wouldn’t have worked. So, we decided to go with option 2 entailing stripping the first two seasons and allowing viewers to binge-watch them one after the other. This would build enough anticipation by September when season three premieres.

     

    Q: There has been no official statement from either CBS or The CW on subsequent seasons of Elementary and Beauty & the Beast. Can your earlier statement regarding the airing of season three of both series be considered official?

     

    As far as we know, both Elementary and Beauty & the Beast have been renewed for sure. However, from the public’s perspective, you will have to wait and hear from CBS and The CW since I cannot speak for them.

     

    Q: Programming-wise, what are your plans for the new fiscal year?

     

    The acquired properties we would like to talk about are some of the big ones like 24: Live Another Day. On Thursday, Variety Magazine reported that the second most expensive ad in the US is benchmarked on 24, with half a million dollars for just a 30-second slot. The entire prospect of 24 has blown out of proportion and this season is set in the UK. Content wise, it is shaping up really well. We believe that it is going to be one very large tent-pole property for us.

     

    After 24, the second large tent-pole property for us is Top Gear, with the new season returning in the month of July, which is where we have seen some tremendous amount of traction. We just had season 21 premiere in January and presently, only the core Top Gear audience is watching it though we want to get a much larger audience. Anybody who currently owns a car should be watching Top Gear, which is a fairly large population of the country by itself.

     

    Also in July, we are trying to get another big property, Extant, produced by Steven Spielberg, which marks the TV debut of Halle Berry. We have the second season of The Hero and we plan to air all episodes of 24: Live Another Day at a stretch. While getting so much new content, the old content tends to get lost. So, while I want new content, the problem lies in scheduling and timing.

     

    Q: AXN programming was earlier known for its male skew but over the past few years, it has been increasingly targeting the female audience. Was that deliberate?

     

    There are two main changes that we’ve seen; one, there has been a systematic change in female consumption, and two, the female audience too wants the thrill factor while watching TV. Shows like Orphan Black, with a female protagonist, have helped us get more female viewership.

     

    But whether we have become a female-skewed channel, we will never be that; we will remain a predominantly male-skewed channel. But, we have seen a lot women come and consume our content. The male vs. female audience ratio earlier was 70:30, but is now 60:40.

     

    Q: Which programmes get more advertisers? Are there any emerging large spenders?

     

    Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and telecom services form a significant share of the advertising spends. One very large advertiser that we’ve constantly been adding is automobiles, having already increased its share because of Top Gear. We believe it will be much bigger, going forward and it won’t be just auto but also auto accessories.

     

    Q: What’s in it for these advertisers?

     

    As an advertiser, the two main things you look for are a premium audience and a large brand fix, and we offer both.

     

    Q: How do you plan to engage digital media to increase viewership of your channel?

     

    We’ve now reached a stable point in the digital media initiative that we started a year and a half back. We had a couple of things to consider; the first being a consumer survey of social media and the second, connect, which has almost become equivalent to word-of-mouth. There is pre-launch and post-launch chatter that takes place. That is where we have been pushing ourselves on the digital front; what are people saying before the show is launched, and what are they saying after seeing the show. Engagement at the pre- and post- level helps us get loyalty for the channel.

     

    Q: Which platforms is AXN making its presence felt in terms of social media? Do you plan to add more social platforms?

     

    Facebook and Twitter have been our primary digital platforms. We have received more traction on Twitter than on Facebook. We have got a good response to a lot of good shows on Twitter in the last four to five months. We have trended many a times on Twitter; not just on the days of our premieres but even regular days.

     

    As for the second part of your question, we don’t want to be jumping too many trains. We started with Facebook and Twitter a year and a half ago and we want that to mature before getting onto a new train. The amount of people engaging with us on these platforms is growing almost daily. We want to grow our hold on Facebook and Twitter for the next six to eight months, and we hope other things will follow.

     

    Q: Do you have specific digital marketing strategies to bring out that extra special something?

     

    We have MSE, which handles social media for us. Gone are the days where you used to pay for posts. Now, people are getting more agnostic towards such posts. So, last year, we had a Supernatural Thrillathon and a six city on-ground activation along with it. We did that again at the time of Sherlock to know what people thought of the content. We have seen the community of Supernatural grow nearly 50 per cent in the last year. We are not driving it; we have been only the facilitator in the process. So, the viewers are driving it themselves…

  • ‘Tumhari Paakhi’ to replace ‘The Bachelorette’

    ‘Tumhari Paakhi’ to replace ‘The Bachelorette’

    MUMBAI: Life OK is all set to add a new show to its kitty – a differentiated love story called Tumhari Paakhi.

    Slated to premiere on Star Plus’s sister channel at 9.30pm on 11 November, the new series will replace the much-hyped Mallika Sherawat-starrer The Bachelorette India.

    Produced by Shashi-Sumeet Mittal Productions, Tumhari Paakhi is based on legendary Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Navvidhan.

    About the show, Life OK general manager Ajit Thakur says: “With this show, we are innovating and venturing into a whole new genre of general entertainment; book-inspired fiction. It is inspired from the novel, and we are going to bring it alive in viewers’ drawing rooms.”

    Yuvraj Bhattacharya, programming team, Life OK, reveals the show has only four characters, and is the story of handsome but self-centred Shimla-based businessman Anshuman (Iqbal Khan) and pretty but unassuming Chittor-based guide Paakhi (Shraddha Arya).

    Married off as children, a grown-up Paakhi waits for Anshuman to acknowledge their relationship even as Anshuman seems unaware of it.

    Explaining how it is different from run-of-the-mill love stories, Bhattacharya says: “Paakhi has waited 18 years for an answer, to close the pages of their story. She stands strong, undeterred and hopeful. This is not a show, but it is only about these two characters.”

    At the time of writing this article, 12 episodes had already been canned; shot at various locations including Udaipur, Shimla, Chittaur and Panchgani, with the basic set located at Film City in Mumbai.

    The channel always needs to be experimentative in nature believes Yuvraj Bhattacharya

    Isn’t the choice of prime time a bit dangerous, considering there would be viewers hooked on to other soaps on different channels? “The channel always needs to be experimentative in nature. On other GECs, this slot is occupied with mostly soaps and saas-bahu content. So we came up with the concept, breaking all the common factors. People always want to watch new content on television, and Life OK is the perfect destination for a change. It depends on us how better we engage with the audiences and give them some freshness,” reasons Bhattacharya.

    That said, the show still faces tough competition from the likes of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata hai on Star Plus, Big Boss season seven on Colors, Qubool Hai on Zee TV, Jeanie Aur Juju on Sab, and Jee Le Zara on Sony.

    Marketing wise, the channel has an official Facebook page which has not so convincing around 800 likes. On Twitter, the channel is constantly updating with news, polls and promo links using #TumhariPaakhi hashtag. The promos are already on air and lot of hoardings can also be seen across cities.

    So, will Tumhari Paakhi do for Life OK’s prime time slot what The Bachelorette was obviously unable to do?

    “The channel has definitely created out-of-the-box content, but it has never worked for them. Apart from shows like Mahadev and Shapat, which are the channel’s flagship properties, which it is known for, Life OK has experimented a lot in the past but it hasn’t really worked. People want to see something different and spicy. So taking that into consideration, I don’t think people can ever leave Big Boss and switch to this new show. Different would have been the case if the channel would have aired it during early prime time. Maybe channel loyalty could work for them,” says a highly-placed media planner.

  • Nimbuzz collaborates with ‘The Bachelorette’

    Nimbuzz collaborates with ‘The Bachelorette’

    MUMBAI: Nimbuzz, a leading communication and entertainment platform, has associated with Life Ok to provide an innovative and interactive brand engagement module on mobile – the Nimbuzz Chat Buddy for The Bachelorette, a dating reality show starring Bollywood starlet Mallika Sherawat. The Bachelorette Buddy would reach out to over 25 million Nimbuzz users in India on their mobile phones giving Life Ok an opportunity to initiate a dialogue with the masses through a format native to the Nimbuzz platform. The Buddy was made available to all Nimbuzz users from 5 October.

    Nimbuzz Chat Buddies appear as regular contacts on the chat roster of Nimbuzz users across India. The Bachelorette Buddy is an extension of Life Ok’s reality show that focusses on finding a match for Mallika Sherawat from among the 30 contestants. The Buddy intends to create one to one engagement through questions around Mallika’s eventful Bollywood career and her exciting personal life. The Bachelorette Chat Buddy on Nimbuzz gives users the opportunity to make live suggestions to Mallika on who she should date and who she could do without.

    Speaking about the association, Nimbuzz head of monetisation and strategy Anubhav Sharma said, “Nimbuzz Chat Buddies have been extremely successful in connecting the biggest brands to their relevant audiences. We are extremely excited about our partnership for primarily two reasons. Firstly, this is the first time that a reality show of such scale has recognised the engagement value that Chat Buddies bring to the entertainment industry and secondly our foray into the lifestyle-entertainment space is being marked by some of the biggest names in the ecosystem including Mallika Sherawat and Star network.’’

    Commenting on the launch of The Bachelorette’s biggest mobile campaign powered by Nimbuzz, Life OK head of marketing Pratik Seal said, “The Bachelorette is a unique concept that looks to capture the interest of a wide audience irrespective of their demographics. Keeping in mind the uniqueness of the format and the audience, we were looking at associating ourselves with a platform that could not only reach out to the masses but also offer engagement value that makes our users feel as much a part of the show as the contestants. We are confident that our partnership with Nimbuzz will be immensely successful in generating interest around the show.’’

    The Bachelorette Buddy on Nimbuzz will be the core of the brands mobile strategy for The Bachelorette. The reality shows premiered on 7 October at 9:30 pm on Life Ok.

  • Nimbuzz collaborates with ‘The Bachelorette’

    Nimbuzz collaborates with ‘The Bachelorette’

    MUMBAI: Nimbuzz, a leading communication and entertainment platform, has associated with Life Ok to provide an innovative and interactive brand engagement module on mobile – the Nimbuzz Chat Buddy for The Bachelorette, a dating reality show starring Bollywood starlet Mallika Sherawat. The Bachelorette Buddy would reach out to over 25 million Nimbuzz users in India on their mobile phones giving Life Ok an opportunity to initiate a dialogue with the masses through a format native to the Nimbuzz platform. The Buddy was made available to all Nimbuzz users from 5 October.

    Nimbuzz Chat Buddies appear as regular contacts on the chat roster of Nimbuzz users across India. The Bachelorette Buddy is an extension of Life Ok’s reality show that focusses on finding a match for Mallika Sherawat from among the 30 contestants. The Buddy intends to create one to one engagement through questions around Mallika’s eventful Bollywood career and her exciting personal life. The Bachelorette Chat Buddy on Nimbuzz gives users the opportunity to make live suggestions to Mallika on who she should date and who she could do without.

    Speaking about the association, Nimbuzz head of monetisation and strategy Anubhav Sharma said, “Nimbuzz Chat Buddies have been extremely successful in connecting the biggest brands to their relevant audiences. We are extremely excited about our partnership for primarily two reasons. Firstly, this is the first time that a reality show of such scale has recognised the engagement value that Chat Buddies bring to the entertainment industry and secondly our foray into the lifestyle-entertainment space is being marked by some of the biggest names in the ecosystem including Mallika Sherawat and Star network.’’

    Commenting on the launch of The Bachelorette’s biggest mobile campaign powered by Nimbuzz, Life OK head of marketing Pratik Seal said, “The Bachelorette is a unique concept that looks to capture the interest of a wide audience irrespective of their demographics. Keeping in mind the uniqueness of the format and the audience, we were looking at associating ourselves with a platform that could not only reach out to the masses but also offer engagement value that makes our users feel as much a part of the show as the contestants. We are confident that our partnership with Nimbuzz will be immensely successful in generating interest around the show.’’
    The Bachelorette Buddy on Nimbuzz will be the core of the brands mobile strategy for The Bachelorette. The reality shows premiered on 7 October at 9:30 pm on Life Ok.