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Tag: Mithali Raj

  • “Cricket’s success on the field has a very real impact on Indians”: FGII’s Anup Rau

    “Cricket’s success on the field has a very real impact on Indians”: FGII’s Anup Rau

    Mumbai: In line with its continued thrust on ‘Innovation’, Future Generali India Insurance Company (FGII), has launched its annual report for FY 2022-23 in a never-seen-before avatar. This report comes in the form of a book and is one of India’s most comprehensive cricketing memoir-cum-annual report. The annual report consists of a specially curated collector’s item – a section on Game Changing Moments – penned by the sports journalist, Ayaz Memon.

    The book encapsulates the vibrant journey of Indian cricket since 1932 – showcasing a remarkable voyage through 18 pivotal Game Changing Moments that have reshaped Indian cricket’s narrative and left an indelible mark on the nation’s collective consciousness. The report is, further, enriched by exclusive interviews by Memon with four cricketers across different eras – Mohinder Amarnath, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Mithali Raj.

    The memoir-cum-annual report was launched by cricketer Anil Kumble, in the presence of the author of Game Changing Moments Memon and Future Generali India Insurance MD & CEO Anup Rau, along with other dignitaries. Host and actress, Mandira Bedi, anchored the ceremony, and Kumble faced a few turners from her repertoire – reminiscing the long climb of Indian Cricket to its present glory and his experiences. At the event, Memon narrated a book chapter, beautifully brought to life through a sand art presentation. To add an exciting twist to the proceedings, Kumble took centre stage and performed an extraordinary act by bowling to Rau. The climax occurred when Kumble’s delivery to Rau struck the LED screen, shattering it and revealing the long-awaited annual report.

    Indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of the launch of the book, caught up with FGII’s MD & CEO Anup Rau

    Edited excerpts

    On the brief about the book launch

    We always make our annual report interesting to connect with our stakeholders. We had a comic book format, we had it as a cookbook. Last year we sold 3500 for the Bollywood blockbuster report. This year is cricket, which we believe it’s kind of a new religion in this country. I do believe there’s a lot of inspiration businesses can take from sport because my personal view is that be it sport or be it business, It’s a combination of both science and art. It’s not just science alone, I think it’s somewhere the intersection of these two. Ayaz has beautifully penned 18 pivotal moments of Indian cricket like from the time when we made a debut, to the recently concluded WTC finals, and back to back series with Australia, which is one of my personal favourites. And obviously, the 83 World Cup, 2011 World Cup so on and so forth. We also believe we will gain changes in many ways in terms of the way we approach our business, we’re in terms of product distribution technology, by having products for same sex couples being an employer of choice where we tried to be an inclusive employer in many ways. Today, close to one per cent of employees are differently abled, for instance. So you will see a lot of that being captured in the book. And obviously, it’s very interesting reading, and it’s for a good cause in case whatever the proceeds go to charity.

    On including cricket in the annual report and any strategy behind it

    The idea was just to make it interesting. I do believe that one of the things we really want to do is to make sure that some of these financial numbers and figures and understanding is more accessible to the public at large and one of the ways to do this is to make it interesting and easy for people to understand. And the annual report just attempts to do it.

    On some inputs about the book and the reason for being a must read for cricket enthusiasts

    That’s because it captures the history of the game through some of India’s best and most pivotal moments. It takes your eyes, it’s taken us right from our first match. In 1932 to what’s happening right now, we got interviews with legends like Mithali Raj, VVS Laxman, Mohinder Amarnath etc. Today Anil Kumble was himself on stage. Like I said, businesses and sports inspire each other. Not just that, cricket’s success on the field has a very real impact on Indians. And if we do well we will spring in our step that we want to do well, we get inspired by and so on and so forth.

    On any more such initiative in future

    We’ll see. I mean there’s a new annual report for next year, so let’s see what we will do with that!

  • Harbhajan Singh and Mithali Raj play cricket with school children

    Harbhajan Singh and Mithali Raj play cricket with school children

    Mumbai: Students at Raje Shivaji Vidyalay in Dharavi, Mumbai, were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when cricket legends Harbhajan Singh and Mithali Raj visited their school on Wednesday. The veterans spent a fun-filled morning with the school children at the special event organised by Disney Star in collaboration with Yuva Unstoppable.

    The duo, who are part of the Star Sports commentary panel for the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, played cricket with the kids and gave them real-time game insights.  

    The students had a memorable day because an exciting game of cricket was followed by a heart-to-heart conversation with their favorite heroes.

    Former Team India spinner Harbhajan Singh said, “I would like to thank Disney Star, along with Yuva Unstoppable, who gave me the opportunity to come here and spend quality time to play cricket with these children. Whenever we meet with kids, the happiness and smiles we see on their faces, is the real victory in life. Today, their day was made along with mine.”

    Former India Women’s captain Mithali Raj said, “Today was a surreal experience and it was amazing to interact with some talented students at Dharavi. I had a lot of fun playing and even shared a few cricket tips with them. Our country has plenty of talent, both girls and boys, and such kind of events will only inspire them to excel and work hard in everything that they want to do. Today was a special day which I will remember for a long time!”

    For over two years, Disney Star has been associated with Yuva Unstoppable for the School Transformation Program. Disney Star has so far transformed 40 schools across the country.  

    The program will enhance government-run schools by renovating the school campus, thereby encouraging students to continue their education. Sanitation (separate toilets for boys and girls), improved access to water (separate drinking and dishwashing areas), making the school building brighter, educational paintings, smart classrooms, rainwater harvesting, providing tablets for digital learning, equipping science labs, and more are some of the key areas of this intervention.

  • Viacom18 Studios partners with HeyHey! to launch NFTs

    Viacom18 Studios partners with HeyHey! to launch NFTs

    Mumbai:  Motion picture studio Viacom18 Studios has collaborated with HeyHey!, an online platform powering experiential engagement between celebs, influencers, creators and brands globally via new-age tech – to venture into the Web3 space. In line with this, the film studio has launched its first-ever NFT project called the “Shabaash Mithu.” This is an NFT collection. HeyHey! is its technology partner.

    “Shabaash Mithu” stars Taapsee Pannu in the lead role. It is directed by Srijit Mukherji and produced by Viacom18 Studios. The film is based on the life of the former Indian cricket team captain, Mithali Raj, who is considered one of the greatest female cricketers in the Indian squad. The film chronicles the ups and downs and moments of glory in her life. Intending to provide fans and audiences with a holistic experience of this film that transcends beyond the movie screens, Viacom18 Studios is foraying into the Web3 world. For this, the media company has partnered with HeyHey! to launch its “Shabaash Mithu” collection of NFTs and, in turn, build a thriving Web3 community of movie fans.

    NFT holders including audiences and enthusiasts will be allowed to claim their free NFTs that will allow them to be a part of the “Shabaash Mithu” NFT film club and enjoy several benefits alongside the updates they will be receiving on the same. The other set of NFTs that consumers can purchase will give buyers exclusive access to unlock offline experiences.

    While talking about the partnership with HeyHey! and the NFT collection launch, Viacom18 Studios COO Ajit Andhare said, “Good storytelling makes for an immersive experience, and we are taking it one step further by layering digitally forward engagement avenues. Our partnership with HeyHey! to launch an NFT collection for “Shabaash Mithu” is a unique collaboration that will appeal to cricket enthusiasts and the digitally savvy audiences.”

    HeyHey! Founder and CEO Caleb Franklin mentioned, “NFT is the future of experiencing experiential engagement in the virtual world and has opened an infinite number of opportunities in building brand value. We are delighted to collaborate with Viacom18 Studios, and we believe that we will empower the fan base by providing a personalised and premium experience with our new-age Web 3.0 technology. Our technology experts have dedicated themselves to making the launch a success, and we believe that it will bring triumph for both HeyHey! and Viacom18 Studios in building a unison community.”

    Previously, HeyHey! had partnered with actress Sunny Leone for her “I Dream Of Sunny” NFT collection and The Olive Group of Restaurants’ “Oliverse” to mint NFTs for them. Besides that, the platform said that it is on the verge of signing artists, production houses and brands to empower them to create their fanverses – thereby building a strong track record for itself in the dramatically growing Web3 space.

  • LupinLife Collaborates With Payal Singhal and Mithali Raj at Lakmé Fashion Week 2020

    LupinLife Collaborates With Payal Singhal and Mithali Raj at Lakmé Fashion Week 2020

    MUMBAI: Corcal Bone & Beauty calcium supplement from LupinLife (Consumer healthcare business of pharma major Lupin) returns to Lakmé Fashion Week at the Summer/Resort 2020 edition. In its 2nd edition, LupinLife collaborated with designer Payal Singhal and Mithali Raj — Captain of the Indian women's national cricket team in test and ODIs — for its #Beautifullystrong initiative that aims to create awareness on linkages between inner health and outer beauty in women.  

    As part of a celebration of beautifully strong women, five lucky women got a chance to walk the ramp for designer Payal Singhal’s Spring Summer Collection at Lakmé Fashion Week.

    Sharing her thoughts on the initiative, Mithali Raj said, “The collaboration with Corcal Bone & Beauty is synonymous with my own belief of ‘Beautifully Strong’ women. When you are strong and healthy on the inside, it reflects on the outside and shows your confidence. Being a sportsperson, I focus a lot on my health. Payal’s ensemble was comfortable and that is my style statement. I also loved the colours which reflect Corcal Bone & Beauty’s brand colours.”

    Commenting on the campaign objective, Mr. Rajeev Sibal, President — Indian Region Formulation, Lupin Limited said, “We strongly believe that beauty is not limited to outer appearances only and comes from within. Our campaign #Beautifullystrong has been an important step toward furthering this thought. Corcal Bone & Beauty prioritizes our objective to make health fashionable and the Lakme Fashion Week is a best opportunity to drive this idea. The objective of associating with sport icons like Mithali Raj and Geeta Phogat – with whom we partnered last year – is to inspire millions to be healthy from within. Corcal Bone & Beauty is a true health and beauty partner for the women of today.”

    Mr. Anil V. Kaushal, Head — LupinLife Consumer Healthcare said, “This is our 2nd year in collaboration with Lakme Fashion Week and we are proud to be associated with celebrities like Payal Singhal and Mithali Raj. This association marks the continuation of LupinLife’s efforts to celebrate strong women who epitomize inner strength and are beautiful from within. It is a great occasion for women from all walks of life to get an opportunity to walk the ramp alongside stars and icons, spreading the message of inner strength.’’

    Commenting on the association with Mithali Raj, Prasoon Joshi, CEO & CCO of McCann Worldgroup India, and Chairman of McCann Asia-Pacific remarked, “It is always amazing to see women’s strength and beauty come together. Mithali Raj is one such unique woman and this association with Corcal Bone & Beauty will inspire millions of Indian women to reach for their dreams.”

    Corcal Bone & Beauty is available in pack of tens and also monthly pack of fifty easy-to-consume mini-tablets. These come with a serving suggestion of one to two tablets to be had with water. It is available at leading pharmacies across India as well as e-commerce sites.

  • Can cricket be now called both gentleman and gentlewoman’s game

    Can cricket be now called both gentleman and gentlewoman’s game

    MUMBAI: Cricket is termed as a religion in India and it’s said that the game unites Indians better than any religion can ever do. However, the game despite being dominated largely by the men, has lately seen growth and steady performance of the women’s cricket team that has turned the eyeballs of the audience as well as advertisers towards them.

    The growth story has become quite evident since the day Indian women’s team entered into the finals of the world cup against England organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2017. The Indian team failed to clinch the title but was hailed for the overall performance, post this there was no looking back for Indian women’s team as it won all the following matches.

    According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the 2017 world cup final match between India and England at Lords in London clocked over 19.5 million impressions on television. This was the most-watched women’s sporting event in India so far. Meanwhile, BARC’s 2018 data reported that the cricket alone drew 93 per cent of sports viewership among other sports in India.

    Moreover, the ICC claimed that over 180 million people around the world watched the women’s world cup and its official Twitter hashtag was the most ever used for a women’s sports final in 2017. Perhaps being optimistic about the overall growth of women’s cricket, ICC decided to organise the upcoming women’s T20 world cup as a standalone event rather than bundling it with men’s T20 world cup like earlier tournaments.

    The surge in audience TV impressions and social media engagements are evident that women’s cricket is proving its mettle and perhaps, the advertisers have started perceiving it as an asset that could be leveraged for brand promotion, be it through a campaign or official sponsorship. The brands such as CEAT, Uber, RedBull, and Vaseline among others have already been cashing on the women cricketers’ popularity.

    Despite being doubtful about the substantial growth of women’s cricket viewership, IPG Mediabrands’ Initiative chief executive officer Vaishali Verma said: “There is a lot of conversation happening around it and believe there would certainly be a growth in viewership of women cricket. This has been built up over the last couple of months and should definitely be better going forward.”

    Meanwhile, the international council with an aim to celebrate womanhood, has scheduled the final match of the T20 world cup on 8 March 2020 on International Women’s Day at Melbourne Stadium, which is likely to see a huge crowd with at least 200 dignitaries. The tournament that begins from 21 February will have knock-out matches with each team playing four matches along with one semi and final match each.

    The Initiative CEO further said, “Cricket has been established since ages and it’s unfair to compare men and women cricket as has become an established format, whereas the latter has been flourishing in the recent past. There’s definitely surge in audience viewership with respect to women cricket and it has become a niche category as compared to a few years ago.”

    With an aim to promote women’s cricket, BCCI has also increased the player’s fee as it revised the Grade A contract from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh and Grade B from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. Meanwhile, Indian women cricketers such as Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, and Jemimah Rodrigues have also started to become prominent faces in global cricketing events.

    To support his fellow mates of the same industry, the Indian captain Virat Kohli had launched a campaign called #JerseyKnowsNoGender to gain more momentum towards women’s cricket. Kohli urged his fans to support the female team by wearing the Indian jersey ahead of the T20 world cup and also nominated the sportsperson from various spheres to take up the challenge in a video message shared on his official Twitter account.

    With the rising popularity of women cricketers, the brands have started roping the women cricketers as official brand ambassadors due to their exemplary performance in every match. For example, The Indian T20 format captain Harmanpreet Kaur has achieved a title of ‘highest score by a woman cricketer in the knockout stage of ODI world cup’, scoring 171 (not out) against Australia in 2017.

    Meanwhile, the opening batswoman Smriti Mandhana was named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2018. The One Day International (ODI) captain Mithali Raj was the only cricketer to achieve the highest score in the T20 format before retiring, she even had surpassed Indian batsman Rohit Sharma in this feat.

    The women team’s T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur has bagged a sponsorship deal with CEAT, a leading tyre company, along with Nike and ITC’s juice brand B-Natural. In this regard, ITC’s vice-president marketing services Shuvadip Banerjee said: “Harmanpreet embodies some of the values that challenger brand like B Natural, hence the choice and fit to make her an ambassador.”

    Batting for equality in cricket, Banerjee also said: “If KL Rahul, Rohit or Virat can deliver, so can Harmanpreet and many others from the women’s cricket team such as Mithali, Smriti and etc.”

    The Indian T20 captain is currently an ambassador of B Natural in the Punjab and Haryana markets. “Harman will gain attraction across the country especially because she’s representing Indian women’s cricket and giving a lot of importance of looking at this particular tournament this year. Probably, we may make her pan India ambassador of B Natural considering the popularity she gains in the upcoming event as it’s a game of finance,” ITC’s vice-president marketing services added.

    Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana, the fastest run-scorer in all formats, has registered brands to her name such as Hero, Bata’s sportswear Power, Vaseline among others. Moreover, Mithali Raj is not only a skipper on the cricket pitch but also on a commercial pitch, when it comes to sponsorship, in terms of fee per endorsement. She promotes the US-based cab aggregator Uber and also Australian diamond brands called Rio Tinto’s.

    Dentsu Aegis Network chief executive officer Anand Badhkamkar said: “Brands' first priority is traction, they bankroll on any event or person considering the viewership and popularity of the person/event. However, with the increasing audience impression and women cricketers’ fame brands are ready to spend but seek a good return from the investment they have put in for the campaign and advertising their product.”

    He added, “The sudden change in the perception towards women, cricket has changed due to the power of women and the popularity of the game in India. ICC organising the women’s T20 world cup separate from the men’s tournament is itself becoming an important event and something to be proud of with women cricket.”

    While adding feathers onto the cap, Raj, Kaur and Mandhana has also made into the Forbes India Celebrity 100 List of 2019 as women cricketers; they were added into the list as a sub-category among sports personalities given their rising popularity and performances.

    The current women cricket team, who has brought the women category to glory, is also being seen as a social media icon with an increased number of followers on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. And, the brands have also been trying to get the leverage this social media fame. In this regard, Smriti Mandhana, who has active 1.6 million followers on her Instagram page, has been roped as an influencer by brands. In 2019 alone, she promoted brands like DBS Bank, OnePlus, Greenply, Vivo, and CricBuzz on her Instagram page.

    Agreeing to the fact that momentum for women’s cricket has grown in recent years, Madison Media’s senior general manager Chirag Shah said: “This primarily has happened on the back of good performance of women’s cricket team and scheduling of the game. Similarly, Steller performance by players like Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemmia Rodrigues in the past season has further given a huge boost to the sport.”

    He added, “Currently most of the brands are associated with sport only for the broadcast part in terms of spot buys but I see there is a great opportunity for brands targeting females especially progressive women to leverage the popularity of women cricketer by associating with the game in a holistic way.”

    Is it the new high for women cricket or the good is yet to come? This would only be decided going forward with viewers’ traction and brand attraction towards the game. The question lies in how well both domestic and international cricket body is going to transform the so-called gentleman’s game into gentlewoman’s game. As the action speaks louder than words – this quote has worked quite well for the women’s cricket team as their performance has put them in a niche category.

  • Entertainment One’s Peppa Pig concludes India’s visit with a package full of celebrations at their Grand Finale Event!

    Entertainment One’s Peppa Pig concludes India’s visit with a package full of celebrations at their Grand Finale Event!

    Peppa Pig and George have created unforgettable memories for children during their visit to India this summer for their cricket campaign #PeppaPlaysCricket. From teamwork, trust building to sportsmanship – kids experienced everything cricket with their favourites for two whole months! And with their visit coming to an end, Peppa and George culminated the campaign with a grand event in Mumbai today.

    With immense love and warmth, Peppa and George welcomed Save the Children and Ayushman, Lusi, Soni and Waris from Team India North, the gender equal team who represented India at the Street Cricket World Cup 2019 in Lords. The event was also graced by one of the pioneers of women’s cricket in India – Mithali Raj, Captain of Indian Women’s Cricket Team who spoke about the sport, everything that goes behind becoming a sportsperson and her support for Save the Children and Team India North.

    Today I spent an amazing day with Peppa, George and the true champions from Team India North – engaging and educating the children present on Cricket and everything it takes to become a sportsperson. It was heartening to see so many families and children come together for their love of Peppa, George, and the spirit of the sport! I thank Save the Children for inviting me to be a part of such a great event and thank Peppa and George for coming all the way to India to celebrate cricket and also, spread awareness on India's street connected children, I am sure this will help children get the right start early in their lives”, said Mithali Raj, Captain India Cricket Team and Goodwill Ambassador Team India North, Save the Children

    The event additionally had a great surprise in store – Mithali Raj, Team India North, Peppa Pig and George unveiled a special cricket-themed video starring Soha Ali Khan, daughter of former Captain of the Indian Cricket Team Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and famous Indian Film actor, who, along with Team India North is seen offering kids some fun tips and advice on sportsmanship and teamwork. Created by Nick Jr., the video is now live on the channel as well as Voot Kids.

    While kids and their families were in awe of Captain Mithali, and were seen taking inspiration from Team India North, they also indulged in some fun Peppa Pig themed activities including a storytelling session on the book Peppa Plays Cricket, followed by a special meet and greet with Peppa and George.

    The day was full of fun activities, quizzes, games, great time for kids and their families – giving them yet another reason to love and remember their dearest Peppa and George!”

  • Royal Challenge Sports Drink launches #ChallengeAccepted campaign

    Royal Challenge Sports Drink launches #ChallengeAccepted campaign

    MUMBAI: Royal Challenge Sports Drink has launched #ChallengeAccepted, a campaign that challenges gender-based stereotypes in cricket and spotlights a world of equality that will lead to a better tomorrow both on and off the field. The campaign has been conceptualised by DDB Mudra Group.

    In the film, Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy from the Indian women cricket team come together with Virat Kohli, the men’s cricket team player, to say that ‘A day is coming where the world needs to become equal’ and urges fans to accept the challenge to break the barriers in their mind and to see men and women’s cricket as one game and one team which is not divided by gender.

    The campaign is also people to support the first-ever mixed gender T20 match that the brand will organise with women cricketers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore team.

    Talking about the campaign, DDB Mudra South creative head Vishnu Srivastav said, “Royal Challenge as a brand has always stood for forward thinking and boldness. It has stood for the spirit of challenging the ‘now’. So, when it came to this campaign, with the euphoria linked to the cricket season we wanted to talk about what’s missing in all this excitement – Women Cricketers. We wanted to create a campaign that challenges the world to move towards a more progressive and inclusive space for women, in sports and life. And we’re just getting started.”

    Diageo India executive vice president and portfolio head Amarpreet Anand noted, “With #ChallengeAccepted, the idea is to challenge stereotypes in life, because the bold are the ones who are fearless to do so. Our first point of view is to challenge gender stereotypes in cricket, where the game is being divided by gender & not skills & prowess. We believe that it’s a cause worthy of a conversation in culture & we are supporting the first mixed gender match with international cricketers. We are rolling out a full 360-degree activation plan supported by like-minded influencers and the RCB cricket team.”

  • CNN-News18 ‘Indian of the year’ 2017 special Telecast on 9 and 10 December

    CNN-News18 ‘Indian of the year’ 2017 special Telecast on 9 and 10 December

    MUMBAI: The awards night of the annual and flagship initiative of CNN-News18, ‘Indian of the Year – 2017’ will be telecasted on the 9 and 10 of December at 9:30 PM on the channel. The initiative, whichrecognizes and awards the exceptional contribution and achievements of the iconic Indian citizens and organizations, has already received exceptional interest from all over India.

    The event, in its eleventh year, witnessed participation from several industry stalwarts, ministers, and renowned personalities from the sports and film fraternity – Minister of Finance, Arun Jaitley, Minister of Commerce, Suresh Prabhu, Stalwarts of the Indian Cricket Fraternity, Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri, Mithali Raj and Kapil Dev, the newly crowned Miss World Manushi Chhillar, Actors Rajkkumar Rao & Ramya Krishnan, Business Honchos Adar Poonawala & Acharya Balkrishna to name a few.

    Sharing his thoughts on the Awards, TV18 president- revenue and Forbes India CEO Joy Chakraborthy said,“Over the past ten years, CNN-News18 Indian of the Year awards have evolved to a significant stature, recognizing the outstanding contributions of the Indians in various categories. The colossal success of this initiative in the past decade, including participation by some of the country’s most distinguished citizens, has raised the bar for this platform making it one of the most accredited awards in the industry. I am of the firm belief that a marquee event like this not only builds equity for the channel but also creates tremendous value for the brands associating with it and my belief was validated when over 10 sponsors partnered with us this year.”

    Presented by Jio, this year, the reach of the Awards was multifold. The audience included not just the ones seated at the venue but also across the nation with the event being digitally streamed live on the JioTV app & news18.com and through live television dip-ins on CNN-News18, engaging audiences across the country. It was followed widely on social media and trended on twitter with #IndianoftheYear all through the star-studded evening.

    Ace badminton player, Kidambi Srikanth was the winner in the sports category while lawyer and environmentalist Afroz Shah took the honors in the Public Service category. Acharya Balkrishna emerged as 2017’s ‘Indian of the Year’ in Business and Rajkummar Rao was adjudged the winner in the entertainment category. In addition to these, Adar Poonawalla was conferred the Outstanding Achievement in Business & CSR award, Indian Women’s Cricket Team and Miss World Manushi Chhillar were Special Achievement awardees and Team Baahubali was given the Outstanding Achievement award.

    The highlight of the grand finale was the final award of the night, the overall ‘CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2017’, an honour that went to the Captain of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli.

  • Star Bharat’s Dusshera campaign shows why Dhoni, Mithali and Devgn advocated ‘Burn your Fears’

    Star Bharat’s Dusshera campaign shows why Dhoni, Mithali and Devgn advocated ‘Burn your Fears’

    MUMBAI: Star Bharat has unveiled a campaign to further communicate the channel philosophy and inspire the nation to be fearless. Maestro A.R. Rahman’s signature music for Star Bharat is used in these films adding further weight to the thought, Bhula de Darr.

    Leading the movement “Burn your Fear” are icons of the natio — MS Dhoni, Mithali Raj and Ajay Devgn who come together in the campaign produced and directed by Star India’s creative team in association with Leo Burnett who thought of the idea and drafted script. It shows these icons taking the first step and revealing how they overcame their fears and fulfilled their potential and dreams. Their act of proclaiming their deepest fear and “burning it” sends the message that on the other side of fear lies glory, thus encouraging Indians to overcome fears, roadblocks and limitations.

    “As a society we instill fear from childhood right up to adulthood,” says Star India entertainment CEO Amit Chopra, “Of course, this is disguised as caution, prudence or even concern. But the fact of the matter remains that this fear holds us back from achieving our dreams or, maybe even dreaming. “Burn your Fear” inspires people to conquer their fears, unleash their true selves and chase their dreams. Just like the icons in our brand film. The campaign which culminates this Dussehra will be all about burning one’s fears.”

    In the promo film, Dhoni talks about how he had to grapple with the security that his job with the Railways entailed and his dream of being a cricketer. “Cricket mein bhi career na bana, aur ye naukri bhi haath se gayi toh?, he says. “Agar life mein kuchh alag karna hai. Toh iss darr ka saamna toh karna hi padhega. Yaani iss darr ki wicket toh giraani padhegi.”

    Mithali Raj was dissuaded from pursuing cricket. “Jab maine cricket ko apna career banaane ka socha, toh sabne kaha main bahut badhi galti kar rahi hoon. Women’s cricket kaun dekhta hai, she notes in the film. “Per cricketer banna tha, toh banna tha.” Today, she is an inspiration to millions of girls and boys alike.

    Ajay Devgn’s debut film involved a stunt with two bikes. In the promo, he talks about how people around tried to stop him from undertaking this dangerous act. “Sabne samjhaya bevakoofi mat kar. Kuch gadbad ho gayi toh tera career shuru hone se pehle hi khatam ho jaayega, he reminiscences. “Jhoot nahi bolunga, darr toh bahut laga tha. Kahin meri pehli film meri aakhri na ban jaye. Par uss din, agar main darr se darr jata, toh jo aaj hoon vo kabhi na ban pata.”

    Actor Sidharth Malhotra along with the other Bollywood personalities will be seen joining the campaign later.

    The brand campaign will go live across Star India network along with social media; encouraging the nation to share their fears and take the first step towards overcoming them in the journey to achieving their dreams.