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Tag: Punjab

  • Release date of Bitoo Boss preponed

    Release date of Bitoo Boss preponed

    MUMBAI: The release date of Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Wide Frame Pictures‘ Bitoo Boss has been preponed by eight days and will release on 13 April. The film was earlier slated for release on 20 April.

    Bittoo Boss is about a wedding cameraman who is the star of all wedding celebrations of Anandpur Sahib, a small town in Punjab. Bittoo believes in spreading happiness through the beautiful moments he captures.

    He falls in love with an educated and strong-headed girl who makes him realise the importance of financial stability and monetary gains. Smitten in love and bitten by the one he loves, the smart and righteous cameraman is lured to take a shortcut in order to earn a quick buck and get his life back on track. What follows forms the crux of the film.

    Said producer Kumar Mangat Pathak of Wide Frame Pictures, “We have got a very good response since we released our first teaser. Our film is set in Punjab and releasing the film on Baisakhi is perfect step as it is a film about celebration and happiness.”

    Directed by debut director Supavitra Babul, the film stars newcomer Pulkit Samrat and Amita Pathak.

  • Irrfan Khan signs third international film

    Irrfan Khan signs third international film

    MUMBAI: After having worked in films like The Amazing Spider-Man, and Ang Lee‘s Life of Pi, Irrfan Khan has been signed to work in an Indo-European venture titled Qissa. The film is being co-produced by German-Dutch-French and NFDC.

    NFDC managing director Nina Lath Gupta said, “Germany‘s Heimat Films met up with us at Rotterdam Cinemart. They are the principal producers of the film, and then, Dutch production house Augustus Films, France‘s Cine-Sud and India‘s NFDC joined hands. We have planned at a medium budget level.”

    Khan said, “I am excited about this venture. Set in the interiors of 1940s Punjab, Qissa will revolve around a logger who is seeking to rebuild his life after the Partition of India. A fine emotional narrative, it also explores his relationship with his son.”

    The film will be made in Punjabi with subtitles for an international audience, and will be distributed worldwide.

  • Monte Carlo awards creative duties to McCann Erickson

    Monte Carlo awards creative duties to McCann Erickson

    MUMBAI: Oswal Woollen Mills‘ (OWM) knitwear brand, Monte Carlo, has shifted its creative account to McCann Erickson.


    A senior executive from McCann has confirmed the news.


    According to industry sources, the account was shifted following a multi-agency pitch, which also involved agencies such as Law and Kenneth and Leo Burnett.



    Bates 141 handled the account until now.


    OWM is based in Ludhiana, Punjab – which is one of the knitting industry hubs of the country and also houses brands such as Neva, Duke, Rage and Madame. Tirupur in Tamil Nadu produces nearly 60 per cent of India‘s total knitwear exports.

  • Cellebrum develops contest for BSNL, MTNL

    Cellebrum develops contest for BSNL, MTNL

    MUMBAI: Cellebrum, a MCorpGlobal group company and an integrated telecom VAS solutions provider has announced its tie-up with BSNL and MTNL in North India to launch its Kaun Banega Lakhpati contest. The contest, developed by Cellebrum, aims to provide a rewarding experience for subscribers of the telecom operators.

    Subscribers of BSNL and MTNL will be able to win total cash prizes worth Rs 5,00,000 (Four prizes of 1,00,000 each, 20 prizes of Rs 4900 each) as part of the contest. The contest will be available for all GSM and landline subscribers of BSNL and MTNL from 15 October to 30 November, states an official release.

    While playing the contest, the subscriber will have to correctly answer five simple questions. However, subscribers can participate in the contest as many times as they wish to. Winners of the contest will be chosen by Cellebrum after a lucky draw of the eligible subscribers who managed to correctly answer all questions in the contest, the release adds.

    Speaking about the contest, Cellebrum COO Saket Agarwal said, “BSNL and MTNL are two of the largest telecom conglomerates in the country. We believe that our association with these operators will help us reach the virgin territories of this country, vis-à-vis the value added services market. Moreover, with the festive season of Diwali in the offing, we believe that a contest like Kaun Banega Lakhpati will definitely touch millions of aspiring individuals who want to make it big in a short span of time and we are sure that the contest will be received with great enthusiasm across all telecom circles where it is being launched.”

    “At Cellebrum, we have always prioritised on providing new, innovative and rewarding services to our customers and keeping them at the forefront of the revolution,” Agarwal added.

    How does the contest work?
    BSNL/ MTNL Users

    Through IVRS: Users in Haryana and Delhi will have to dial 126300 to access the service while subscribers in Punjab and UP (W) will have to dial 12630000 to participate in the contest.

    Charges as follows: 
    BSNL Mobile/GSM subscribers: Rs 3.60 / minute
    BSNL Landline subscribers: Rs 1.20 / 30 secs
    MTNL Mobile/GSM subscribers: Rs 4 / minute
    MTNL Landline subscribers: Re 1 / 30 secs
    Through SMS [for Mobile subscribers in Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, UP (E) and UP(W)]: Users are required to register for the contest by sending SMS “KBL” to 6300 and follow the instructions thereafter.

    Charges will be levied as follows: 
    Messages to 6300 for contest will be charged at Rs 2 per SMS.

  • Bharti Airtel inks $ 1 billion network expansion contract with Ericsson

    Bharti Airtel inks $ 1 billion network expansion contract with Ericsson

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel today announced the signing of an estimated $ 1 billion network expansion contract with Swedish telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ericsson.

    The contract will enable Bharti Airtel to rapidly expand its mobile services footprint further and reach out to all towns and cities in 15 telecom circles in the country. The three-year service contract with Ericsson is towards the design, planning, supply and installation commissioning of Airtel networks in these circles.

    Ericsson will also upgrade the network with mobile softswitch (Media Gateway and MSC Servers), the solution that paves the way to an all-IP network. Bharti Airtel will be able to reduce the operational costs and introduce new services in a cost-efficient way.

    The scope of the agreement extends to 15 Airtel circles of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, UP (West), Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, UP (East), Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and North East.

    Manoj Kohli, president, Bharti Airtel said, “At Bharti, it has been our endeavor to find innovative business models to deliver better customer experience. Our partnership with Ericsson is testament to this belief as it allows us to focus on delivering better customer experience even as we leverage the world class expertise of our partners to roll out our networks across all census towns by March 2007. In addition, we are also sourcing next generation products that will allow us to deliver innovative products & services to our customers.”

    This partnership will enable Airtel to channel its resources and expertise to its core areas of product innovation, value added services, marketing, branding & pricing, while simultaneously providing world class mobile services by leveraging Ericsson’s world class expertise in network management.

    “Our partnership with Bharti Airtel resulted in the first managed services contract in the industry. Speed of roll-outs plays an extremely important role in large expansions of this nature. Ericsson has demonstrated expertise in this area. We are honoured and pleased that Bharti Airtel has chosen to partner with us to expand their footprint across India” said Mats Granryd, managing director, Ericsson India.

  • Punjab Government to pass anti-piracy bill in September

    Punjab Government to pass anti-piracy bill in September

    MUMBAI: The Punjab government has decided to pass a bill to prevent piracy in September. The decision was conveyed to film maker Yash Chopra, by the chief minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, post a meeting between the two.

    In the meeting, Chopra apprised the CM of the grim scenario that the industry was facing because of the threat of piracy. Captain Singh took note of the points and declared his government’s resolve to take firm steps to combat the menace.

    Chopra said, “At Yash Raj films, we regard piracy as a cancer that is afflicting the whole industry. The Indian film industry loses a whopping Rs.17 bn annually due to piracy. If not checked right away, it will cause the eventual destruction of this great industry that provides livelihood to thousands of people. And for a creative person there can be no greater tragedy than seeing his labour of love debased in poor quality reproductions where hardly 10 per cent of the creative thought comes across in the manner it was intended.”

    Yash Chopra has been at the forefront of the anti-piracy movement in the industry for a while now. Through his efforts, and otherwise, various government and regulatory bodies, have begun to take note of the dangers of piracy and have passed regulation to combat the same.

    The Tamil Nadu government passed a similar bill in 2004, and since then Yash Chopra has been in talks with the Punjab CM, and finally his efforts have borne fruit. With the Punjab government taking a similar step, the anti-piracy movement has taken a significant step forward.

    Chopra adds, “I would like to thank the government of Punjab for having taken this significant step, and would request other state governments to lend their support to the anti-piracy movement. We are always on the alert to the threat of piracy, but only with support from state and national governments can we bring about the change that is so sorely required.”

  • ESS launches Hindi feed for English Premier League

    ESS launches Hindi feed for English Premier League

    MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has announced special Hindi commentary for the English Premier League with an eye to promoting soccer across India.

    The channel had earlier introduced Hindi commentary during Euro 2004 and the Fifa Confederation Cup 2005.

    ESS VP sales and marketing Sricharan Iyengar said, “Localisation of content has helped us increase our penetration in traditional markets of India. The Hindi telecast also enabled us to open up several non-traditional markets for soccer like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

    “The viewership numbers of Confederation Cup 2005 as well as Euro 2004 testifies this. The localisation adds a lot of value to our telecast especially for viewers who find it difficult to understand the heavily accented English or for viewers who are not familiar with English at all.

    “Soccer is gaining popularity as one of the most viewed sport in Indian homes and we find that EPL is particularly well liked by viewers in metros. ESPN Star Sports has been making special efforts to further grow EPL’s popularity nationally. Live screenings, building viewer affinity for EPL clubs and growing knowledge among Indian viewers are some of the steps we have taken to enhance the passion associated with the game and in turn grow the league. The introduction of Hindi commentary will further help in growing the popularity of English Premier League across the country,” added Iyengar.

    Sunil Taneja and Puneet Pal Singh will do the Hindi commentary for English Premier League on a rotational basis. Both will be based in the broadcaster’s headquarters in Singapore.