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Tag: Mohan Kumar

  • GSAT-18 successfully launches, new capacity for DTH operators, TV channels

    GSAT-18 successfully launches, new capacity for DTH operators, TV channels

    MUMBAI: Indian DTH operators, television channels, VSAT and digital satellite news gathering providers are a happy lot because of a development in Kouro French Guiana this morning. The reason: the successful launch of Arianespace’s Ariane 5 VA 531 rocket with its passenger, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s GSAT-18 satellite. When the satellite starts ticking fully a few weeks later, its 48 transponders ranging from Ku-band, C-Band to extended C-Band will be beaming their signals over India to Indian TV viewers and companies.

    32:28 minutes after blasting off from the launch site, the 3,400 kg GSAT-18 was placed in geo-synchronous transfer orbit (GTO) this morning around 2:30 am. And, ISRO officials including the Indian ambassador in France Mohan Kumar leapt up, fisting the air in triumph.

    Following that, ISRO’s master control facility took charge of it and will perform operations which will result it being placed in a circular geo-stationary orbit. Following this, ISRO will deploy the solar panels – which will provide it power over its 15 year life – and antenna. The satellite will then be stabilized on three axis, placed at 74 degrees East longitude, and become part of ISRO’s 14 telecom fleet in space

    Later, it is planned to experimentally turn on the communication payloads of GSAT-18. After the successful completion of all the in-orbit tests, GSAT-18 will be ready for operational use.

    This was the Indian space organisation’s twentieth satellite mission through Arianespace. It will add to that count when it launches two more satellites – GSAT 11 and GSAT-11 – using Arianespace launchers in 2017.

    The VA 531 flight had another payload – Australia’s SkyMuster II satellite – which too was placed successfully in orbit. SkyMuster II aims to provide broadband facilities to remote locations in Australia.

    Prime minister Narendra Modi sent out his congratulatory message on Twitter to the scientists at ISRO.

  • GSAT-18 successfully launches, new capacity for DTH operators, TV channels

    GSAT-18 successfully launches, new capacity for DTH operators, TV channels

    MUMBAI: Indian DTH operators, television channels, VSAT and digital satellite news gathering providers are a happy lot because of a development in Kouro French Guiana this morning. The reason: the successful launch of Arianespace’s Ariane 5 VA 531 rocket with its passenger, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s GSAT-18 satellite. When the satellite starts ticking fully a few weeks later, its 48 transponders ranging from Ku-band, C-Band to extended C-Band will be beaming their signals over India to Indian TV viewers and companies.

    32:28 minutes after blasting off from the launch site, the 3,400 kg GSAT-18 was placed in geo-synchronous transfer orbit (GTO) this morning around 2:30 am. And, ISRO officials including the Indian ambassador in France Mohan Kumar leapt up, fisting the air in triumph.

    Following that, ISRO’s master control facility took charge of it and will perform operations which will result it being placed in a circular geo-stationary orbit. Following this, ISRO will deploy the solar panels – which will provide it power over its 15 year life – and antenna. The satellite will then be stabilized on three axis, placed at 74 degrees East longitude, and become part of ISRO’s 14 telecom fleet in space

    Later, it is planned to experimentally turn on the communication payloads of GSAT-18. After the successful completion of all the in-orbit tests, GSAT-18 will be ready for operational use.

    This was the Indian space organisation’s twentieth satellite mission through Arianespace. It will add to that count when it launches two more satellites – GSAT 11 and GSAT-11 – using Arianespace launchers in 2017.

    The VA 531 flight had another payload – Australia’s SkyMuster II satellite – which too was placed successfully in orbit. SkyMuster II aims to provide broadband facilities to remote locations in Australia.

    Prime minister Narendra Modi sent out his congratulatory message on Twitter to the scientists at ISRO.

  • Govt working to provide seamless work environment to film industry: Rathore

    Govt working to provide seamless work environment to film industry: Rathore

    NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore today said that the government was rigorously working towards providing a seamless work environment for the film industry by establishing a single window clearance mechanism.

     

    Inaugurating the India Pavilion at the Cannes International Film Festival in France today, he said a centre of excellence for gaming and visual effects had been announced. The government would do its best to be an infrastructure partner and would like to have faculty coming from the industry itself and looks forward to more faculty exchanges. 

     

    Rathore said, “India had already signed coproduction agreements with a slew of countries. In the last one year, five co-productions had been undertaken with France alone. We need to take these partnerships to the next level now.”

     

    He said the film industry is an important part of campaigns like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India’ given its tremendous potential towards job creation. 

     

    The session also saw unveiling of the 46th IFFI 2015 regulations and ‘India Film Guide’ by the Minister.

     

    The India Film Guide is a comprehensive booklet with information on policy initiatives by the government pertaining to film sector, the listing of Indian companies at Cannes Film Market, Indian Films at Cannes and contacts of important people in the business of filmmaking. 

     

    The session was attended by Indian Ambassador to France Mohan Kumar, Bobby Bedi, Nandita Das, Karnataka Information and Public Relations Minister Roshan Baig, I&B ministry joint secretary (films) K Sanjay Murthy and Film Federation of India former president Ravi Kottarakara. 

     

    Bedi in his welcome address said, “India’s presence at Cannes had increased tremendously over the past decade and we have seen an increase in representation in terms of quantity and an improvement in the quality of content as well.”

     

    Kumar added that the aim should be to get Indian films in the most important category of films at Cannes. He added that over the next two to three years he would strive to work on that. The quality of films from India had been rich in content and quality. 

     

    Kottarakara felt that India has on offer some of the best shooting locations. “There has been a tremendous change in the Indian film landscape and the sector is definitely going to grow by leaps and bounds. We should try to experiment more to have a wider global acceptability. Also, India’s linguistic cinema which includes films in Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Bhojpuri are as good as mainstream Bollywood films and should get an equal opportunity to be showcased,” he said.

     

    Talking about the much-debated issue of censorship in India, Das said, “As we mature, it is important to promote freedom of expression rather than curtailing voices.”

     

    On his behalf, Baig suggested that it will be great if the regional film industry is showcased as a part of the delegations to some of the major international film festivals.

     

    Murthy added that over the next few days,he hoped to learn from various film commissions and carry back new partnerships and learning experiences.

  • Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore to inaugurate India Pavilion at Cannes

    Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore to inaugurate India Pavilion at Cannes

    NEW DELHI: The India Pavilion at 111 Village International Riviera (Cannes, France) will be inaugurated by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore on 14 May, 2015.

     

    Eminent people including Indian Ambassador to France Mohan Kumar, Marche Du Film Director Jerome Paillard, producers Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra and Bobby Bedi will also be present at official opening of the Pavilion. Marche Du Film is one of the most important film markets in the industry.

     

    Two Indian films, Chauthi Koot by Gurvinder Singh and Masaan by Neeraj Ghaywan have been chosen under the Un Certain Regard category.

     

    A session on journey to Cannes of the film Chauthi Koot will take place on the first day. A post screening reception for the film has also been organized.

     

    FICCI is coordinating the India Pavilion at Cannes Film Festival with the Ministry for the second consecutive year.

     

    The India Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema’s linguistic, cultural and regional diversity by showcasing trailers, displaying literature and brochures on varied aspects. The primary focus would of course be boosting co-production opportunities with countries India has signed treaty with, attracting international studios to shoot in the country and exploring new international partnerships in the realms of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, and promoting film sales and syndication.

     

    Also, the fourth edition of the ‘Indian Film Guide’ will be placed at the Pavilion for the delegates. The ‘Indian Film Guide’ is a comprehensive booklet with information on policy initiatives by the government pertaining to film sector, the listing of Indian companies at Cannes Film Market, Indian Films at Cannes and contacts of important people in the business of filmmaking.

     

    FICCI along with the Ministry will be holding sessions on the sidelines of the festival. The sessions would focus on important aspects like co production agreements, international distribution – challenges and way forward and how to make films reach out to worldwide audience amidst a wider range of issues faced by the sector.

     

    The sessions would have speakers with wide ranging experience in their fields and the likes of Film France COO Frank Priot, Telefilm Canada director international promotion Shiela de La Varende, Film London senior inward investment manager David Shepheard, CNC France director Pierre Emmanuel, ASAP Films producer Marc Baschet, Australia India Film Fund head Anupam Sharma, Special Treats CEO Colin Burrows, Indian filmmakers Nandita Das and Rishi Mehta, PVR Pictures president Kamal Gianchandani, Mongrel Media distributer Charlotte Mickie, Westend Films’ Eve Schoukroun, Dragongate CEO William Pfeiffer, Film London CEO Adrian Wooton and Cinestaan founder Rohit Khattar.

     

    The Government is proactively supporting the sector and has even listed it among the 25 focus sectors under the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

     

    Punjabi film ChauthiKoot (The Fourth Direction) is based on two short stories by Punjabi writer Waryam Singh Sandhu, titled Chauthi Koot and Hunn Main Theek Haan. The story is set in Punjab against the backdrop of the Sikh separatist movement in the ‘80s. It catches the mood of Punjab during the turbulent period.

     

    Masaanset in Varanasi revolves around four key characters, that of a young orphan, a low-caste teenage boy, a girl and her father as they attempt to fight against the morality and traditions typical of the small town they live in. Their lives intersect tangentially when the low-caste boy, played by Vicky Kaushal, falls in love with an upper-caste girl and Richa Chadha’s character finds herself in a sex scandal. Her father Sanjay Mishra finds himself fighting the taboo but in him, the young orphan, played by Nikhil Sahni, finds a father figure.

  • Berlinale opens with Farewell My Queen

    Berlinale opens with Farewell My Queen

    MUMBAI: The 62nd Berlin International Film Festival opens today with the world premiere of Benoît Jacquot’s film Farewell My Queen (Les adieux ? la Reine)

    While Mohan Kumar Valasala’s Panchabhuta will compete in Berlinale Shorts at the festival, Gattu, directed by Rajan Khosa and produced by the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) will compete in Generation KPlus section of the festival.

    Kutch, a project to be directed by Bobby Bedi will be the first Indian project to participate in Berlinale co-production market.

    Farhan Akhtar’s Don 2 which is a co-production between India and Germany will have a special screening at the festival.

    Indian film curator and journalist Meenakshi Shedde is on the FIRPRESCI jury of the festival. All members of the International Jury- Anton Corbijn, Asghar Farhadi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mike Leigh, François Ozon, Boualem Sansal and Barbara Sukowa – will be present. The 62nd Berlin International Film Festival will close on February 19, 2012.