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Tag: Queen Elizabeth

  • Netflix launches in India; three pricing packages on offer

    Netflix launches in India; three pricing packages on offer

    MUMBAI: In one fell swoop, it is hoping to change the world of audio visual consumption. Netflix co-founder & chief executive Reed Hastings today announced the launch of the Internet TV network or OTT service in 130 countries all over the world at the CES show in Las Vegas. And India figures amongst the list, taking its footprint to 190 nations. 

     

    The price: Rs 500 for the basic service, Rs 650 for the standard package and Rs 800 for the premium one. The Rs 500 tag allows viewers to watch the content in standard definition on one screen only at one time. For Rs 650 viewers get access to HD content and can watch on two screens simultaneously. The Rs 800 package brings in the full monty with subscribers being able to watch both HD and Ultra HD content on four screens at the same time. 

     

    However, the first month is being offered free for trial to new subscribers.

     

    “Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global Internet TV network,” said Hastings in Las Vegas. “With this launch, consumers around the world — from Singapore to St. Petersburg, from San Francisco to Sao Paulo — will be able to enjoy TV shows and movies simultaneously — no more waiting. With the help of the Internet, we are putting power in consumers’ hands to watch whenever, wherever and on whatever device.”

     

    Viewers in India will get to watch Netflix original series such as Marvel’s Daredevil and Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Narcos, Sense8, Grace and Frankie, and Marco Polo, as well as a catalog of licensed TV shows and movies.

     

    While largely available in English in most new countries, Netflix has added Arabic, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports. He added that newer languages will be added from hereon.

     

    “From today onwards, we will listen and we will learn, gradually adding more languages, more content and more ways for people to engage with Netflix,” said Hastings. “We’re looking forward to bringing great stories from all over the world to people all over the world.” 

     

    He emphasised that the consumption on Netflix is on the up. “Our 70 million members consumed 12 billion hours of Netflix in Q4 of this year as compared to 8.5 billion last year,” he said. He also announced that Netflix will be adding high dynamic range (HDR) video delivery later this year, adding to the 4K or Ultra HD, which it produces most of its series in currently.

     

    Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos revealed that 600 hours of original programming will be delivered to its members in 2016. This will include 31 new and returning original series, two dozen original feature films and documentaries, a wide range of stand-up comedy specials and 30 original kids series — available at the same time to members everywhere. 

     

    Amongst the highlights are The Crown, which is about the young Queen Elizabeth while Baz Luhrmann will be directing a series called The GetDown about New York at a time when its crime scene was crumbling and giving way to the disco,  graffiti and hiphop culture. 

     

    Sarandos explained that Netflix is making a difference to piracy wherever it goes because it does not trap viewers in frustrating business models and linear viewing experiences in which television operates. 

     

    “We deliver all episodes at one go so viewers can watch when they want to watch and we are constantly improving our compression technologies to allow for a better viewing experience. We helped create binge viewing,” he said. 

     

    He stated that peer-to-peer torrent downloading via Bittorrent has dropped by 14 per cent in the first six months of the service’s launch in Australia. 

     

     

    A Netflix press release explained that the service is available on virtually any device that has an Internet connection, including personal computers, tablets, smartphones, Smart TVs and game consoles, and automatically provides the best possible streaming quality based on available bandwidth. Many titles, including Netflix original series and films, are available in high-definition with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound and some in Ultra HD 4K. Advanced recommendation technologies with up to five user profiles help members discover entertainment they’ll love.

  • ‘Shaandaar:’ Not really!

    ‘Shaandaar:’ Not really!

    Director Vikas Bahl has made a wedding movie of 146-minute duration. But, at the same time, he wants to be different from similar ‘wedding videos’ made in the past. After all, a comparison to the pioneer wedding movie, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun would be inevitable. To avoid this, Bahl tries to treat his film in a fairytale style. To this end, the film has been shot in a huge country side palace. The film even starts with Naseeruddin Shah narrating what is to follow a la ‘once upon a time’.

    Sushma Seth is a billionaire tycoon occupying the palace with her family of three sons, a daughter-in-law and the older son Pankaj Kapur’s two daughters, Sanah Kapoor and Alia Bhatt; Alia being an adopted child. Pankaj and his two brothers as well as the rest of the family are totally under Sushma’s thumb. She rules the palace like her own domain and its inhabitants like her slaves.

    Sushma has made it to the cover page of Forbes magazine but also sharing the cover with her is her relative to be, Sanjay Kapoor, who goes by the name of Fundwani. He is also a local tycoon. The wedding between Sanjay’s son and Sanah is actually a business deal for Sushma for her enterprise has gone broke and she expects this liaison with Sanjay’s family to give her bank balance some stability.

    For Sanjay, being a Sindhi is the ultimate thing to be and all those who are successful, including Queen Elizabeth and Michael Jackson are, in fact, Sindhi. Sanjay wears a huge pendant with the dollar sign, which he says stands for Sindhi. Well, that is meant to be the comic content in the film.

    Sushma wants the wedding to be a big tamasha and has appointed Shahid Kapoor to manage the event. Shahid has his first encounter with Pankaj and, soon enough, with Alia. Love happens at first sight. The rest of the film is about Shahid and Alia coming closer while Pankaj does his best to keep them part. All this while the rest of the wedding programme, including the sangeet, mehndi etc, takes place in the background. An attempt is made to make it funny by having Karan Johar in a cameo to compere Mehndi with Karan. Actually, there is nothing worthwhile happening in the film.

    The film has no story to tell and tries to weave this wedding video with a series of gags (poor), song-and-dance numbers and useless nothings. The attempt to give the fairytale touch to the story does not work despite gimmicks like bringing in a frog called Ashok or even choreographing a song in a Dick Tracy kind of setting. Some secrets tumble out through the course of the story. Sanjay himself is on the verge of bankruptcy and expects to benefit with this wedding deal into Sushma’s family. Meanwhile, Alia is actually Pankaj’s own daughter born out of an affair he had while training as a pilot.

    Scripting is very poor and patchy. Direction lacks imagination and the outcome is juvenile. The film has two hummable songs in Shaam saaandar…. and Nazdeekiyaan; a variety has been tried in song presentations to little effect. Editing needed to be crisper. Visually, efforts are made to give the film a pleasant look.

    No actor has a defined role to make an impression. While Pankaj is a pleasure to watch, Shahid and Alia play the usual romantic pair, Sanjay sticks to buffoonery. Of the rest, Sanah does well.

    Shaandaar caters to low IQ viewers which, at prevailing tickets rates, will be hard to find.

    Producers: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramditya Motwane, Karan Johar, Madhu Mantena.

    Director: Vikas Bahl

    Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Pankaj Kapur, Sanjay Kapoor, Sanah Kapoor, Sushma Seth, Karan Johar (cameo).

  • Cannes Lions 2012: McCann takes home India’s first Gold

    MUMBAI: McCann Erickson takes home India’s first gold at Cannes Lion 2012, holding high the trophy for its Western Union Money Transfer campaign.

    The agency’s win after a long gap at Cannes comes in the Outdoor category.

    McCann’s was the solo win in a category where India enjoyed 22 shortlisted entries.

    McCann’s win was expected as it converted a static into an interactive medium, communicating images of Abraham Lincoln to Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth II on a billboard that represented the change from Dollar or Pound to Rupee and demonstrated the strength of Western Union in transferring the money of Indians working overseas to their folks in India.

    The Outdoor category had two Grand Prix winners this year. Ogilvy Shanghai won for the Coke poster, created by 19-year-old artist Jonathan Mak. The campaign used the traditional media, showing the Coca-Cola logo as the bootle of drink passed on to a couple of hands.

    The other Grand Prix victor was the Mercedes Benz campaign that used technology by showing the invisible car from Germany. LED tiles covered the car to make it appear invisible. The basic communication was to stress on the zero emission proposition of the car.