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Tag: Saurabh Varma

  • Close Arvind Sharma steps down from Leo Burnett, Saurabh Varma to take chargea

    Close Arvind Sharma steps down from Leo Burnett, Saurabh Varma to take chargea

    MUMBAI: Tom Bernardin, Chairman and CEO, Leo Burnett Worldwide announced today the new leadership of the India operations. Chairman and CEO of Indian subcontinent Arvind Sharma will be leaving the agency to pursue other business interests outside the industry after a successful stint of 30 years.

    The currently regional chief strategy officer of Leo Burnett Asia Pacific Saurabh Varma has now been appointed as the CEO Leo Burnett Group India.

    The appointment will be effective from 1November, 2013. In his new role as CEO for the India operations across Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, Varma will report directly to Leo Burnett Asia Pacific President Jarek Ziebinski.

    As chief strategy officer of Leo Burnett Asia Pacific, Varma oversees all heads of strategy and planning directors in the region. His role also sees him playing a key role in the management of regional and global accounts. A post graduate in Communications from Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Varma has 16 years of experience in the business. He has spent seven years with Leo Burnett based at Singapore. Some of the brands he has worked on include Indian Oil, Lakme (Unilever), Vicks (P&G), NIVEA, Fosters, Philips, HP, Blackberry, Samsung, Friesland Campina Asia Pacific (Dutch Lady/ Foremost/ Frisian Flag), MCYS and UOB Bank.

    Varma has spent the first nine years of his career in advertising in India. He began his career with DDB India and within four years of being in the business, he was made head of account management at TBWA India. In the last three years, Varma has won more than 50 awards including the Effie Gold, the Appies Gold, the Grand Prix for Direct Marketing, the most effective media campaign at Hall of Fame, 2 Gold Lions at Cannes, the Grand Prix at the ADFEST, the Viewers’ Choice Award (Mediacorp) and many more. In 2010, Varma was awarded the ‘Strategic Planner of the Year’ at the Hall of Fame Awards.

    His strength lies in being able to bring life into a strategic process, unearthing societal contexts and creating out of the box briefs.

    Commenting on his new role, Varma said, “India is home to me. This new role is coming full circle to where it all began. Over the years, I have always kept a keen eye on the developments in India and in some ways, I felt like I have never left. I look forward to coming back with a fresh perspective gained from my time away and bring the best learnings of Leo Burnett network to India. Being a part of the regional team for Asia Pacific has given me a unique perspective and experience of diverse markets across the region and I look forward to bringing this understanding to my new role. Together with the management team, most of whom I already know and have the privilege of working with, we will be focused on driving a positive change for the agency to take it to the next level.”

    Varma’s strength lies in being able to bring life into a strategic process, unearthing societal contexts and creating out of the box briefs

    Bernardin, who is in Mumbai today with the regional management team for the announcement said, “We would like to take this opportunity to express our deep gratitude and appreciation to Arvind Sharma. He has worked tirelessly over the past 30 years to build Leo Burnett into one of India’s leading creative agencies and laid down a solid foundation for the agency to progress to the next level. During his tenure, Arvind built a stellar client base that includes blue chip multinational and local clients and nurtured some of the brightest stars within the Indian advertising industry today. Though he remains available for his advice and counsel, we bid farewell to Arvind today, in his official capacity, with our very best wishes and as a dear friend.”

    Ziebinski added, “I’d like to thank Arvind for his contribution to our success and close collaboration over the past four years since I arrived in the region. I wish Arvind nothing but the best for his new future.”

    While bidding adieu, Sharma had some fond memories, as he said, “I had a very long and fruitful run as the leader of Leo Burnett in India Subcontinent. As I approached the company-defined age of 58, I would like to start something totally new. I look back at my 30 years at the agency and 21 years of leading it with a great deal of satisfaction.”

    The agency was awarded Global Agency of the Year by Leo Burnett Worldwide for 2003 and 2008. In partnerships with its clients, the agency has been recognised creatively across leading award shows globally including Cannes, Clios, D&AD, One Show and London International Awards. Work produced by Leo Burnett India has also run in multiple countries worldwide. Last year, the agency successfully completed the acquisition of digital agency, Indigo Consulting and integrated it into the Leo Burnett Group.

    Continued Bernardin, “We are fortunate to have a strong management team on ground in India and equally fortunate in having the bench strength in the region in naming Saurabh to this role. Saurabh’s talent and track record is well-recognised within the network. His combined experience and knowledge of having worked across creative, media and digital agencies is invaluable as we look to elevate the agency to its next stage of development in India, a key market for the network globally. He will have the full support of the global and regional management in his new role.”

  • Micky Virus: There is a virus in my cinema ticket!

    Micky Virus: There is a virus in my cinema ticket!

    MUMBAI: Micky Virus attempts a contemporary theme of computers and hackers, weaving it around a murder mystery and bank fraud. The approach is kept on a lighter note for the most part, at least until the interval.

    Manish Paul (Micky) belongs to a group of computer geeks in Delhi, with each member specialising in some sort of computer trick. They are led by the Harvard educated Nitesh Pandey, referred to as professor. The other members of the group are Puja Gupta, Raghav Kakkar and Vikesh Kumar. However, Paul has mastered the art of hacking and can get into any computer anywhere in the world however safe and secure.

    Now, the ACP Manish Chaudhary and Inspector Varun Badola are looking for Paul not because hacking is a crime but because they need his expertise to crack a very tricky case. Two hackers of repute, both foreign citizens, have been found murdered in broad daylight and in a public place in the city with no obvious marks of harm. On investigation, Chaudhary learns that they were killed with a cyanide-tipped needle, both are non-Indians. Concluding that they were called to India to break into some computer, the cops want to enrol Paul to hack a site belonging to a gang of hackers.

    Paul is allergic to any kind of job; the idea of working for someone is not his thing. But, with a little arm-twisting by the cops and a sudden need to make a living, as he has fallen in love in the meanwhile, make him accept the assignment. Paul’s romantic interest is Eli Avram, an executive at an investment firm. By the time the romance is a month old, Eli makes her move and asks Paul to correct a computer error she made with a client’s account. So far neither the film nor its story has moved anywhere except the hero falling in love with a very willing heroine.

    Producer: Arun Rangachari, Vivek Rangachari.
    Director: Saurabh Varma.
    Cast: Manish Paul, Eli Avram, Manish Chaudhary, Varun Badola, Puja Gupta, Nitesh Pandey, Raghav Kakkar, Vikesh Kumar.

    By the end of the interval, the director finally feels the need to introduce some story in the film. Paul has been used by Eli to transfer rupees 100 crore from a government middleman’s account to another account. He has been framed. What is more, Eli is not around to tell him what happened because she has been killed the same way two hackers were killed earlier, with a poisoned needle. Paul finds out whose account the money is transferred to but that story ends as soon as it started as the man is killed in a very predictable road accident while being chased by Paul!

    All the key punching in computers of all kinds continues until Paul suspects the identity of at least one of the people behind the plot. And after 2 hour and 10 minutes of running around, dropping hints, punching computers and displaying lot of geekeryon screen, it is not the script that tells you the story but through verbal outpouring by the culprits that all the plots are revealed. Some hacker story!

    Micky Virus tries to fit in too much of effects without relevance or to any positive results. The film should have had an ideal length of 90 to 100 minutes. But it stretches by almost 30 minutes. The one time that the film generates some interest is when Eli is killed. Direction falls victim to a weak script. Paul acts the typical loud Delhi lad with set expressions throughout. Eli Avram is a misfit. Puja Gupta is good while Chaudhary and Badola are impressive.

  • Stars rally to promote Mickey Virus

    Stars rally to promote Mickey Virus

    An established television anchor and actor Manish Paul’s debut film – Mickey Virus is ready to grab a larger eyeball before its release. Manish Paul and director Saurabh Varma have launched a unique kind of celebrity promo of the movie which has never been seen in Bollywood.

     

    In the promo, many Bollywood celebrities who are friends of Manish Paul like Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Karan Johar, Farah Khan, Remo D’souza, Kapil Sharma were seen talking about Mickey Virus film.

     

    Dabangg Salman Khan was seen asking ‘Who is Mickey Virus…?’, and gave his advice to people to be aware of this virus. Ranbir Kapoor also shares his views on Mickey Ideas. Bollywood’s Lakhan, Anil Kapoor also featuring in the promo, was seen telling Mickey Vela Kahi Ka Dekhte hai..? Choreographer Farah Khan was seen shouting Mickey and said, “Mickey Arora internet par koi Qutub Minar bejata hai?”

     

    Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixit blushed and said whatever he is but he is the cutest guy I have seen. Bollywood director Karan Johar praises Mickey for his ideas. Kapil Sharma describes the names and said, “Naam hota hai Chaddha, Khurana, Sharma ye koi Naam hai Mickey Virus”. Choreographer Remo can’t stop explaining Mickey’s nature, he said, “Din me aate Bejata hai aur raat me logo ko aate me leta hai”.

     

    Mickey Virus is set against the backdrop of hacking where Manish Paul is playing a character of Mickey Arora. He is a smart guy who runs a grocery store in the day time and creates viruses for antivirus companies in the night. Mickey Virus also marks the debut of Elli Avram, now a contestant in Bigg Boss 7 house, who is half Greek and half Swedish.Mickey Virus is all set to hack people’s brain and will soon enter in everyone’s heart. The movie is stated to release on 25 October.