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Tag: Sachin Tendulkar

  • “Mr Modi, when are you giving me the big interview you promised?”: Rajdeep Sardesai

    “Mr Modi, when are you giving me the big interview you promised?”: Rajdeep Sardesai

    He is one of Indian television’s most recognisable face as a news presenter and now the author of the best seller ‘2014: The Election That Changed India’. Rajdeep Sardesai may have quit Network18 as IBN18 editor in chief and later on joining the India Today Group as consulting editor, but the man with over 26 years of experience in the field continues to be recognised for his work.

     

    Sardesai was honoured with the Asian TV Award on 11 December for ‘The Best News Presenter’ for his coverage on the counting day of the general elections.

     

     The award is a special one for him as he becomes the first Indian to receive the recognition. On the occasion, in a quick chat with Indiantelevision.com’s Herman Gomes, Sardesai speaks about the recognition and upcoming plans for the New Year.

     

    Your feelings on receiving the award? Do you see Indian journalism receiving its due credit?

    When I was with NDTV, The Big Fight had won the Asian TV Award, three times in a row. At CNN-IBN, India at 9 and our election coverage had won awards for the best news coverage and best current affairs, but to win an individual award as the ‘Best News Presenter’ feels special. Being nominated with icons from CNN, Discovery, Nat Geo and CNBC, along with Chinese and Korean TV, makes it special. I feel honoured to be honoured as the only Indian.

     

    Are awards and recognition important for journalism?

    Being the first Indian to receive an award like this, feels nice, but only for a moment. Journalism is not about winning awards but about work or the interview you do.  Elections after all is a team game. The award is also for all those who worked with me as a team at my old organisation, CNN IBN.

     

    Any celebrations planned?

    I am going to have a quiet dinner when my son returns from his hostel. I am planning to take him out for dinner next weekend.  I owe a lot to the family.

     

    How well is your book ‘2014:The Election That Changed India’ been performing on the shelves?

    The book as of last week was placed at number two in the non-fiction category, behind Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography: ‘Playing It My way’.  It has been on the best seller list for six weeks. I am told that in one month it has sold more than any other nonfiction political book of 2014. I am taking the book across the country for various promotions and lit fests.  On the weekends I promote the book while on weekdays I am caught up anchoring my show. It’s a packed week!

     

    Are politicians affected by the revelations in the book?

    Interestingly I find the Congress politicians having more problems with the book than BJP. The BJP politicians had feared the book, but Congress seems to be unhappy now.

     

    How has the state of journalism changed over the last one year?

    One of the continuing fears I have is the tendency to sensationalise. That continues to remain a trend and has not stopped. This is what I call window journalism, where you have eight people in a window, talking at each other rather than talking to each other.

    But at the same time there is some good work being done. But the sad part is it does not get the due recognition, because some of the less important work dominates the more worthy work.

     

    We are destroying our credibility in the long run.

     

    How do you view the growth for online journalism?

    My belief is that digital is going to see a big revolution in the next few years. It will not happen overnight but will take two to three years.

     

    Are there chances of you joining back CNN-IBN?

    There are no such plans. 2014 has been a roller coaster year for me. Our election coverage is being recognised at the Asian level. The book was a high point while my departure from CNN IBN was an unfortunate one. 

     

    It has been six months since the new government came to power. Do you think Aache Din Aa Gaye?

    Ache Sitare Aa Gaye, ache din we don’t know. Maybe next year. It’s too early to judge.

     

    One question you would want to ask the Prime Minister Narendra Modi?

    Mr Modi, when are you giving me the big interview you promised?

     

    How do you see the year ahead for the Indian media and how are you planning to welcome the New Year?

    I view the year 2015 as the year of introspection for the media including myself. 2014 has been a year of excitement. I am welcoming 2015 by going to Goa and resting by the beach.

     

    For this year do you want to be known as Rajdeep Sardesai: the journalist or the author?

    I want to be known as a journalist who has written a bestselling book!

  • Jayawardene, Afridi, the most experienced players in ICC Cricket WC 2015

    Jayawardene, Afridi, the most experienced players in ICC Cricket WC 2015

    MUMBAI: Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Shahid Afridi of Pakistan are in line to become the most experienced players in ICC Cricket World Cup history, after they were named in provisional squads for the tournament that starts on 14 February.

     

    The two players made their World Cup debuts at the ICC Cricket World Cup 1999, and have appeared in every event since then.

     

    While Jayawardene featured in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 and 2011, as well as the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, Shahid Afridi was a member of the Pakistan side that played the final at Lord’s in 1999. He captained Pakistan at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 where Pakistan reached the semi-final.

     

    If the two players are named in the final line-ups, likely to be announced around 8 January 2015, then they will join the exclusive company of Wasim Akram, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralidaran, Thomas Odoyo, Ricky Ponting, Arjuna Ranatunga and Steve Tikolo, who have each played in five ICC Cricket World Cups to date.

     

    Pakistan’s Javed Miandad and India’s Sachin Tendulkar, with six ICC Cricket World Cups each, share the record for the most appearances at ICC’s pinnacle event.

     

    Interestingly, this will be the first ICC Cricket World Cup which will be held without either Javed Miandad or Sachin Tendulkar. Javed Miandad played from 1975 to 1996, while Tendulkar represented his country from 1992-2011.

     

    Miandad featured in semi-finals in 1979, 1983 and 1987, final in 1992 and quarter-final in 1996, while Tendulkar appeared in the 1996 quarter-final, and 2003 and 2011 finals.

    Besides Jayawardene and Shahid Afridi, seven other players are in line to appear in their fourth World Cup: James Anderson, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Younis Khan, Robin Peterson, Kumar Sangakkara and Daniel Vettori.

     

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is returning the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time since 1996, has named the oldest and youngest players of the tournament in its 30-player provisional squad. Khurram Khan at 43 is the oldest players (born 21 June 1971) while Yodhin Punja, who turned 15 on 24 April 2014, is the youngest player.

     

     

    The provisional squads are:

     

    Australia (squad submitted but has opted not to release the names)

     

    Afghanistan – Afsar Zazai, Aftab Alam, Amir Hamza, Asghar Stanekzai, Dawlat Zadran, Fareed Ahmad, Fazal Rahman, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Izatullah, Javed Ahmadi, Karim Sadiq, Merwais Ashraf, Mohammad Mujtaba, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Najeeb Tarakai, Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Nawroz Mangal, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari, Shabir Noori, Shafiqullah, Shapoor Zadran, Sharafudin, Usman Ghani and Yamin Ahmadzai.

     

    Bangladesh – Abdur Razzak, Abul Hasan Raju, Al-Amin Hossain, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Arafat Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Jubair Hossain, Liton Kumar Das, Mahmudullah, Marshall Ayub, Masrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohammad Elias, Mohammad Mithun, Mohammed Sahid, Mominul Haque, Muktar Ali, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Shabbir Rahaman, Shafiul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Shamsur Rahman, Shuvagata Hom, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed, Taijul Islam, Tamim Iqbal and Ziaur Rahman.

     

    England – Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Gary Ballance,

    Ian Bell, Sam Billings, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jack Brooks, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan, Stephen Parry, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, Boyd Rankin, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Tredwell, James Vince, Chris Woakes and Luke Wright.

     

    Ireland (squad submitted but has opted not to release the names)

     

    India – Varun Aaron, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Ashoke Dinda, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Virat Kohli, Dhawal Kulkarni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Parveez Rasool, Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha, Sanju Samson, Ishant Sharma, Karn Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, Murali Vijay, Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav.

     

    New Zealand – Corey Anderson, Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Neil Broom, Dean Brownlie, Colin de Grandhomme, Anton Devcich, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Ronnie Hira, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Rob Nicol, Luke Ronchi, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling and Kane Williamson.

     

    Pakistan – Ahmad Shahzad, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Ehsan Adil, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Misbah Ul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Talha, Nasir Jamshed, Raza Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Sami Aslam, Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Younus Khan and Zulfiqar Babar.

     

    Scotland (24 player announced) – Preston Mommsen (captain), Kyle Coetzer (vice-captain), Richie Berrington, Frederick Coleman, Matthew Cross, Joshua Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, George Munsey, David Murphy, Safyaan Sharif, Ruaidhri Smith, Robert Taylor, Andrew Umeed, Craig Wallace, Iain Wardlaw, Mark Watt

     

    South Africa – AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla (vice-capt), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Andrew Puttick, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Mthokozisi Shezi, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk and David Wiese.

     

    Sri Lanka – Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Lahiru Gamage, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne, Tharindu Kaushal, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhammika Prasad, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ashan Priyanjan, Lakshan Sandakan, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachithra Senanayake, Ramith Rambukwella, Lahiru Thirimanne, Upul Tharanga and Kithuruwan Vithanage.

     

    United Arab Emirates (UAE) – Ahmed Raza, Ahsan Ali, Amjad Ali, Amjad Javed, Andri Raffaelo, Asadullah Shareef, Chirag Suri, Fahad Alhasimi, Faizan Asif, Fayyaz Ahmed, Irfan Sajid, Kamran Shahzad, Khurram Khan, K. Karate, Manjula Guruge, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammad Tauqir, Nasir Aziz, Noor Ul Amin, Rohan Mustafa, Rohit Singh, Salman Farooq, Saqib Ali, Saqlain Haider, Shaiman Anwar, Swapnil Patil, Usman Mushtaq, Umair Ali and Yodhin Punja.

     

    West Indies – Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Leon Johnson, Imran Khan, Evin Lewis, Marquino Mindley, Nikita Miller, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Veerasammy Permaul, Keon Peters, Keiron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith and Jerome Taylor.

     

    Zimbabwe – Sikandar Butt, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Brian Chari, Elton Chigumbura, Justice Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Winstone Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Timycen Maruma, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Natsai M’shangwe, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Tawanda Mupariwa, Cuthbert Musoko, Richmond Mutumbami, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams and Cephas Zhuwao.

     

  • Narendra Modi triumphs again, this time on twitter

    Narendra Modi triumphs again, this time on twitter

    MUMBAI: Twitter as a global social platform, has always allowed netizens to express themselves in 140 characters, during moments of celebration, protest, mourning and joy. The micro blogging site receives more than 500 million tweets per day. And we Indian’s are not far away.

    Politicians, actors, cricketers, opinion leaders and citizens have taken to the platform quite well this year. But for the year 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t just steal the show during the elections, but also on twitter.

    The Golden tweet aka .the most-retweeted tweet for India in 2014 was Modi’s election-winning tweet. It received more than 70,000 RTs as it became the most retweeted tweet ever in India. The tweet read, “India has won. Bharat Ki Vijai. Aache Din Aane Wale Hain.”

    Globally, the golden tweet went to the Ellen Show’s starry photo from the Oscars telecast, which gave rise to the selfie phenomenon world over. It received more than 33,67,817 RTs.

    Meanwhile, India’s list of power tweeters is dominated by Bollywood stars, apart from Modi. In the top 10, Amitabh Bachchan leads with 1,18,18,056 followers, followed by Shah Rukh Khan at 1,02,46,755. Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli too make their entry but at number 15 and 16, respectively. Author Chetan Bhagat adds variety to the list, rounding off the top 20 for India.

    Rohit Sharma’s smashing the world record for the highest individual ODI cricket score of 264, on 13 November was the top peak moment for twitter. In fact, of the top 10 moments, three are related to cricket including the Indian Premier League. The second largest peak in twitter conversation for the year was Rajinikanth’s arrival on twitter. With over 2,00,000 followers in the first 24 hours and now over 1.1 million in total, it’s clear that he has many loyal fans both off and on twitter. Hardly surprising, two of the top five peaks in conversations were about Modi.  With 8.5 million followers, he is currently the second most followed political leader in the world (after President Barack Obama) and continues to grow his followers at a rapid pace.

    The fastest rising Twitter hashtag trends in India saw a mixture of sports, disasters and political campaigns. Conversations around the 2014 FIFA World Cup lead the trend, followed by the disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines flight, MH370. Meanwhile, Mufflerman, a campaign led by the fans of the Aam Aadmi Party in support of leader Arvind Kejriwal, gathered momentum towards the end of the year.

     

  • ‘Greatness is Contagious’, says World Cup

    ‘Greatness is Contagious’, says World Cup

    MUMBAI:  The countdown to the biggest sporting event, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, has officially begun with the ICC releasing the official TVC for the big game.

    With 67 days to go for the mega event to begin in February, the campaign titled ‘Greatness is Contagious ’ reflects the insight that one cannot help but be affected when one is in the presence of stalwarts.

    The ad begins with a few children, in different parts of the world, gearing up for a match by preparing a pitch by either arranging a set of stones to be used as make-believe wickets or sketching a wicket on a ruined wall. Now as the pitch has been set, determined young cricketers, both boys and girls, are seen getting ready to score the perfect six. Next, fans begin chanting and cheering the young teams.  

    A still from the film depicts how cricket is celebrated as religion in India, as temple priests and worshipers are shown performing an aarti of two cricket bats! Indian fans enjoying the game are spotted wearing the jersey of cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar.  Towards the end, left arm fast bowler and Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson, along with New Zealand’s Brendon Macullum ,are seen gearing up for the big match.

    The World Cup, this year, will be hosted jointly by New Zealand and Australia.

    The music in the 60 second TVC is that of Swedish Producer WDL’s Bob’s Beat, assisted by Markus Wetterberg’s (Mawe), vocals to the electronic sound. The agency for the TVC is CHE Proximity while the production was carried by Sweetshop. Ben Quinn is the director and the executive creative director is Leon Wilson.

    The ad put up on ICC’S Facebook page, so far has garnered 31,000 views and 603 shares and on YouTube 2,394 views and counting. On twitter, the video which was shared by the Council, garnered a paltry 81 re-tweets and 75 favourites as fans from a few countries expressed anguish over not many cricketers being included in the TVC.

     

    To watch the TVC, click here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxBL-qImwQU

  • Reliance Life launches new social media campaign

    Reliance Life launches new social media campaign

    KOLKATA: Reliance Life Insurance Company (RLIC), part of Reliance Capital Limited, launched its new social media campaign ‘Do-Good’.

     
    #DoGood campaign aims at recognizing and inspiring selfless acts of goodness by people across demographics, social strata and causes that impact society positively.

     
    The new social media campaign was launched by Reliance Life Insurance chief executive officer Anup Rau. “We firmly believe that any selfless act of goodness – across demographics, causes and regions – needs to be encouraged. There is a genuine need to create a platform where each such act by individuals or groups can be shared with a larger audience and amplified to be recognized. Our ‘Do-Good’ campaign aims to provide such a platform for sharing and recognition” said Rau.

     

    This is the third social media campaign unveiled by Reliance Life Insurance.

     
    Earlier, the company has launched highly successful campaigns namely – ‘Boundaries for Books with Room to Read’ and #GreatestFan campaign with Sachin Tendulkar’s greatest fan, Sudhir Kumar Choudhary.

     
    The #DoGood campaign has been initiated recently on all social platforms to create awareness and encourage people to take action in the ‘good’ direction.

     
    The initial phase of the campaign has received encouraging response on Face book with over 2 lakh likes across its posts within a span of two weeks in the soft launch phase.

     
    “The insurance industry leads by example in case of selfless act of goodwill. It is the only industry that prospers by protecting its customers and helping them in times of need. An insurance agent is that one person who wants you to protect what is valuable to you and help you plan for any eventuality. ‘Do Good’ therefore is our intent, our philosophy and our belief that we aim to spread through social media,” Rau further stated.

     
    Reliance Life Insurance has also launched #DoGood initiative as an internal campaign within the organization so that this positive and constructive thought is well entrenched in the minds of its employees and agents and rolled out to our customers.

     
    The company would also be building on this campaign by strengthening its presence across online and mobile platforms apart from holding various events that will enable to participate and get rewarded from the campaign.

  • Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography Playing It My Way released

    Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography Playing It My Way released

    MUMBAI: The highest run-scorer in the history of international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar  who retired in 2013 after playing for an astonishing 24 years is back again. Tendulkar along with publishers Hachette India released his much awaited autobiography, Playing It My Way.

    In an hour long event, master of ceremonies Harsha Bhogle took the audience through Tendulkar’s life and the evolution of Indian cricket with interesting on-stage conversations with Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Vasu Paranjpe, and the famed ‘class of ’98’ (with Sourav Ganguli, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar himself). The formal book release saw Tendulkar present the first copy to his first coach and guru Ramakant Achrekar. This was followed by the final session which was a solo conversation with the author himself.

    Talking about the events captured in the book Sachin Tendulkar said, “Playing It My Way’ is a different sort of innings for me, and was in the making for the last three years.  As with the game, I have been honest and sincere in putting together various aspects of my life, and the book is something I hope readers will enjoy.”

    Hachette India managing director Thomas Abraham commented “This is an absolutely outstanding book–at once cricketing history and personal narrative; and will delight every cricketing fan. We are delighted to welcome Sachin Tendulkar to our list and are proud to be publishing this landmark autobiography which we’re sure, like its author will go on to set new records.”

    The book has in fact already set the Indian record for the largest adult hardback orders on day of release with 1,00,000 copies being released by the publishers.  While lucky guests got the chance to purchase early ‘launch’ copies, the book is heavily embargoed and was transported across the country under security for simultaneous release today.

    The book y releases as a hardback and simultaneous eBook from today. An audiobook version will follow early next year as will Indian language versions in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam and Bengali.

     

  • Satyamev Jayate’s impact on digital

    Satyamev Jayate’s impact on digital

    MUMBAI: Amidst sporting resurgence, budding talent and encouraging medal hauls, India’s talk show `Satyamev Jayate’ (SMJ) returned for a third season on Star Plus, highlighting the need for holistic improvement in India’s sporting field – a call that won backing from none other than the Sports Minister.

     

    In an unprecedented show of support to SMJ, Minister of youth affairs and sports Sarbananda Sonowal live-tweeted three times during the screening of episode one of season 3, calling for more suggestions to improve the culture of sports in India. “I promise not to leave any stone unturned to make sports a way of life,” the minister had tweeted. 

     

    Sonowal’s tweets were among the more than 200 million impressions created in a single day on 5 October in an overwhelming show of positive sentiments to SMJ. More than 2 million people responded through missed calls to support the show’s initiative.

     

     Star, as part of the `Mumkin Hai’ (change is possible) initiative, separately organised a live dial-in with SMJ’s host Aamir Khan in Chandigarh on the d-day that saw Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar dial-in to share about his initiative called ‘sports4all’ and how sports should be reinforced at the grassroot level.

     

    “Aamir’s @satyamevjayate episode was a déj? vu for me, sports4all will change country’s future #MumkinHai,” Tendulkar said via Twitter afterwards.

     

    Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev also joined the live show and expressing his views, he said, “It is extremely encouraging to see how people in our country today are taking much interest in sports and paying attention to it in so many ways – whether it is in the form of discussions or even making blockbuster movies!”

     

     Sonowal and Tendulkar were joined by the likes of politician Naveen Jindal, former top cop Kiran Bedi, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in praising the show.

     

    “Felt very good watching prog of @aamir_khan on #MumkinHai on sports! He has spread out for sports what @PMOIndia did for #SwachhBharat,” tweeted Bedi.

     

    “Are authorities at sports federations responsible for the deteriorating conditions of sports in India?”Arvind Kejriwal retweeted Satyamev Jayate’s tweet.

     

    “Satyamev Jayate has done what it does best – initiate a debate and inspire people to aspire for the better,” said Star India co-creator and CEO Uday Shankar. “The overwhelming response shows the thirst for change and that change is possible.”

     

    Over the last three seasons, SMJ’s journey has been remarkable. Unlike shows that fade with time, SMJ has grown to become a positive change agent that continues to grip people from across the length and breadth of the country with issues that concern each and every Indian in the daily life. This can be validated by the immense viewer engagement that the show has received in the past and continues to, even in its third season.

     

    Cricketer Yuvraj Singh was part of the live dial-in held in Chandigarh. He wrote afterwards on Twitter: “Just finished a show with @aamir_khan 4 @satyamevjayate wth kapil Dev. Gr8 topic, Sports builds character n creates a healthy mind n body.”

     

    The show trended for 24 hours in India at No. 1, 2 and 3, and also trended worldwide at No. 1 on Twitter, demonstrating the mass support for the show’s message on sports. SMJ also received huge support from top celebrities on social media including from eminent personalities such as Harsha Bhogle and Virat Kohli.

     

     “Wonderful, moving episode of #satyamevjayate. Never know where champions are coming from, just need to empower more people,” wrote Bhogle on Twitter.

     

    Inspired by the show, Kohli tweeted, “Saw @satyamevjayate yesterday. Hope every school now starts to focus more on sport. Well said @aamir_khansport is education!”

  • Indian cricketer MS Dhoni forays into football

    Indian cricketer MS Dhoni forays into football

    MUMBAI: Indian cricket team captain M S Dhoni has been announced as the new team co owner of Chennaiyin FC team.

     

    Dhoni, who is known to have a passion for football and bikes other than cricket, will be part of the upcoming Hero Indian Super League that promises to create a revolution in Indian football and help launch a new era for the game. Other cricketers who own a stake in various teams include Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

     

    The announcement was made by Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dani who felt that it was an absolute honour to have Dhoni as one of the co owners of the franchise. “Mahi has a strong association with the people of Chennai and so with him coming on board, we take another giant step towards achieving the goal of creating a world class football club in Chennai” she commented.

     

    Expressing his excitement on becoming a co-owner of Chennayin FC, Dhoni stated that he used to be a goalkeeper in school and always enjoyed playing and watching the game. “The Hero ISL is a fantastic platform for football to grow with IMG-Reliance and Star India associated with it. I look forward to an exciting season ahead but at the same time it’s important that we develop the grassroots level and produce more football stars in India,” he added.

     

    Chennaiyin FC starts its Hero ISL campaign with an away game against FC Goa on 15 October while their first home fixture is against Kerala Blasters on 21 October.

  • Brett Lee all set for his new innings

    Brett Lee all set for his new innings

    MUMBAI: After a legendary inning in cricket, Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is all set to star in his first lead role as an actor in an Indo-Australian romantic comedy.

     

    Titled UnIndian, the movie is the first feature to be produced by the recently established Australia India Film Fund (AIFF). Lee will share screen space with Indian actress Tannishtha Chatterjee.

     

    The announcement about the upcoming film was done by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indian cricket’s living legend Sachin Tendulkar during their meet at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.

     

    Written by Thushy Saathi and to be directed by Anupam Sharma, the movie will be shot primarily in Sydney. Sharma and Lisa Duff are co-producing the film while Chandru Tolani is the executive producer.

     

    After being part of a Bollywood film and music video, former Australia cricketer Brett Lee is all set to become a full-time actor in an Indo-Australian romantic comedy, aptly titled ‘UnIndian’.

     

    “I’m honoured to have been cast as a lead in the first AIFF film, privileged to be working with Anupam Sharma and humbled to be working with an actress of the calibre of Tannishtha Chatterjee,” Lee said in a statement.

     

    Lee plays the role of a happy-go-lucky man who falls in love with divorcee and single mother, Meera (Chatterjee). The movie is set to go into production in October and expected to hit the theatres in March 2015.

     

    While this is not Lee’s first stint with movies, he has earlier done a cameo in Hindi film Victory starring Harman Baweja and has also featured in a music video with Asha Bhosle,  Chatterjee is best known for her role in Brick Lane (2007), a British film.

     

    AIFF was established in 2013 to invest in Australian films with Indian themes for a global audience.

     

    The 37-year-old pacer, announced his retirement from international cricket in 2012, however, the cricketer still plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Big Bash League.

  • Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography to launch on 6 November 2014

    Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography to launch on 6 November 2014

    MUMBAI: The highest run-scorer in the history of international cricket, Sachin Tendulkar who retired in 2013 after playing for an astonishing 24 years will be launching his autobiography on 6 November 2014.  The book has been titled ‘Playing It My Way – My Autobiography’.

    The most celebrated Indian cricketer of all time was conferred the Bharat Ratna – India’s highest civilian award – on the day of his retirement. Now Sachin Tendulkar tells his own remarkable story from playing in the by lanes of suburban Mumbai, to his first Test cap at the age of 16 to his 100th international century and the emotional final farewell that brought his country to a standstill.

    Speaking about the book, Tendulkar commented that “I knew that agreeing to write my story would need me to be completely honest, as that’s the way I have always played the game. It would require talking about a number of aspects I have not shared in public before.

    So here I am, at the end of my final innings, having taken that last walk back to the pavilion, ready to recount as many incidents as I can remember since first picking up a cricket bat as a child in Mumbai 35 years ago.”

    His many achievements with India include winning the World Cup and topping the world Test rankings. Yet he has also known his fair share of frustration and failure – from injuries and early World Cup exits to stinging criticism from the press, especially during his tenure as captain.

    Hodder and Stoughton editor Roddy Bloomfield said, “Over the past 25 years Sachin Tendulkar’s colossal batting triumphs for India have singled him out as one of the greatest players in cricket history. He is universally admired and respected and most impressively remains a very modest man.”

    “I can’t over-emphasise the pleasure it gives me to announce that Hodder and Stoughton will be publishing Sachin Tendulkar’s inspirational autobiography in November of this year,” he added.

    The book will be simultaneously released all over the world and in India will be represented by Hachette India.