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Tag: Shah Rukh Khan

  • Are film promotions on TV losing novelty?

    Are film promotions on TV losing novelty?

    MUMBAI: Television has carved a niche for itself in India.  There are many different kinds of shows ranging from fictional, non-fictional, reality and seasonal programmes. While the film fraternity used to earlier view television as a subordinate to movies, today, it is hard for the fraternity to imagine its existence without television. Over the years, television shows have become the most sought after platform when it comes to film promotions. Films are being promoted radically on every show and by doing so, the audience gets a chance to formulate opinions about an upcoming movie. The films get noticed and it builds curiosity amongst the viewers. But is this trend wearing out?

     

    Speaking on how the promotion of films influences the audience, producer of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Asit Kumar Modi says, “Film promotion on television shows is very common. These days, everybody needs media publicity. So, a film will definitely benefit by being on a popular show on TV. At the same time, the TV show will also have celebrities for an episode or two. It’s a win-win situation.”

     

    Having a similar opinion on the impact of film promotions on television, producer of Diya Aur Bati Hum, and Punar Vivah, Sumeet H Mittal opines, “I believe it works to the advantage of both the show as well as the film being promoted. For the television series, it gives the audience a twist to look forward to while in the case of the film being promoted, it helps to reach an assured mass audience.”

     

    With the stupendous success of ‘Happy New Year’ (HNY), one has to agree that marketing strategies are vital for a film to get the right kind of attention. The baadshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan promoted HNY on platforms like ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (KBC), ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’ and went a step ahead by even launching a reality show, ‘Dil Se Naachein Indiawaale’ on Zee TV.

    Founder of Director’s Kut Productions and director of many popular hit television shows, Rajan Shahi, expresses, “In terms of film promotions on television, I feel that the novelty has gone away. Few years back, it was a rarity to see a Bollywood celebrity on television. The audience used to look forward to it.  It was something new and generated lots of curiosity. These days, every film is being promoted on every show, on various channels. It is not as exciting as it used to be before. The audience has understood that these are all promotional tactics.”

     

    Well, the fact is – trends are temporary. The audience today is wise enough to understand that a celebrity appearing on a show is just part of the movie’s promotional campaign. Whether or not this promotional mechanism will be equally popular in the next few years would depend on what new marketing strategies film makers come up with.

  • Jacques Kallis set to take up new role with Kolkata Knight Riders

    Jacques Kallis set to take up new role with Kolkata Knight Riders

    MUMBAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) 2012 and 2014 champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), have announced that cricketer Jacques Kallis, has decided to continue his association with the franchise, this time in a different role. He will now be seen as a mentor and batting consultant. Kallis has been with the team for close to four years, from 2011 to 2014 and played a big role in the franchise’s success as well as at the Champions League T2O this year.

     

    Commenting on this development, KKR MD and CEO Venky Mysore said, “We are honoured to start a long-term relationship with Jacques in a different role as mentor and batting consultant and benefit from everything he brings to KKR. Jacques’s commitment to KKR has been brilliant and his contribution both on the filed and in the dressing room has been superb.”

     

    Kallis said, “KKR has been my Indian family for the last four years. Over the past year I have had a chance to think about my future and when KKR approached me with this long-term offer, I jumped at it. KKR is a great brand and am really looking forward to assisting them in my new role as mentor and batting consultant.”

     

    Kallis further added, “I had signed a two year contract with Sydney Thunder for 2014 and 2015 and have also committed to playing in The Caribbean Premier League next year.  These commitments were made prior to concluding my new role with KKR.”

     

  • Doordarshan launches slew of women-centric soaps as part of DD National revamp

    Doordarshan launches slew of women-centric soaps as part of DD National revamp

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan director general Vijaylaxmi Chhabra has announced that steps are being taken to launch DD Kisan soon and to revamp the public service broadcaster’s international channel DD India.
     
    Chhabra also highlighted other steps to revamp DD National, which now carries the tagline ‘Desh Ka Apna Channel.’
     
    She said the main aim was to streamline DD National which is the primary channel of Prasar Bharati and has already adorned new colours of purple and pink with a fresh palette of programming. While getting set for competition with general entertainment channels, she stressed the channel will continue to focus on traditional family values – ‘Rishtey’, ‘Nation before Self’, ‘Rashtra Gaurav’ and ‘Trustworthiness – Dilon Mein Vishwas’.

    When asked about the marketing plan for the revamp, she said DD was not averse to advertising on private news channels but had not yet commenced any commercials outside the DD network, newspaper campaigns and the social media.
     
    Chhabra also said that programmes from the archives would be confined to DD Bharati.
     
    She was speaking at a press meet which was addressed by representatives of all the new serials on DD, apart from additional director-general Deepa Chandra and V K Jain.
     
    Interestingly, as reported first by indiantelevision.com, majority of the programmes are women-centric or women-oriented.
     
    While eight programmes were launched in November, one is being launched this month and another next month – all at prime time.
     
    One of the programmes commencing later this month is a talk show ‘Stri Shakti’ which will be aired on weekends on Saturday and Sunday and will revolve around women who have faced certain hardships and have come through successfully. Each show will also have a celebrity presence.
     
    After ‘Fauji’ which launched Shah Rukh Khan, DD is telecasting an army-based show ‘Paltan’ commencing next month which will attempt to show the lives of the army officers even during peace time when they are called out to tackle internal emergencies such as floods etc. Producer Vijay Gopal said all the people he had approached for the show had been more than willing to come on board, and singer Shaan had rendered the title track.
     
    ‘Happy Homes – Khatte-Meethe Jeevan Ke Rang’ has been produced by Arun Govil (who acted as Ram in Ramayana) at 7.00 pm and is a light comedy of unity in diversity where people speaking different languages and from different regions live together in a colony. Govil said he is not playing any role in the series.
     
    This is followed at 7:30 pm by ‘Khwabon ke darmiyan – Sach Aur Sapno Se Jhoojhti Zindagi’ produced and directed by Kailash Tuli and starring Kapil Soni in a stellar role highlighting the struggle to bridge the gap between dreams and reality for women in the fast-changing social context.
     
    ‘Khamosh Sa Afsana – Jidd Aur Armano Ka Fasana’ at 8:00 pm by Ritu Chauhan has a fine cast of talented stalwarts like Tom Alter, Roopa Ganguly, and M K Raina who are the central characters in a story depicting the struggle of a daughter fighting to balance her work and managing her speech and hearing impaired parents.
     
    ‘Zindagi Ek Bhanwar – Rajneeti Me Mahila Ka Raaj’ produced by actor Tej Sapru (son of the late veteran actor Sapru) at 9.00 pm is a political drama which aims at reaching out to the aspirations of society and desiring changes in quality of life, followed at 9:30 pm by ‘Dard Ka Rishta – Badalte Sambandhon Ki Kahani’ produced and directed by Vinod Kapoor. The story revolves around disregard of the senior citizens in today’s urbanized societies. Sushma Seth will make a comeback on DD National after almost 30 years with this show. Sapru said that the question he has raised is why four sons cannot support a woman in her old age when she supported them when they were young.
     
    ‘Jab Jab Bahar Ayee – Janmon Ka Bandhan Ya Bandhish’ by Dolly Sohi at 10.00 pm is a serial which touches upon a dilemma of husband and wife trying to keep their family together and finding happiness not withstanding their personal differences.
     
    DD National is also building its weekend prime-time with two shows ‘Janmon Ka Bandhan – Insaani Rishton Ka Tana Bana’ produced by Sadhika Randhawa and directed by Prem Chopra which will air from Friday to Sunday at 7.00 pm. Randhawa said it is the story of the family of an honest Indian Administrative Service officer and shows various issues including the fight against corruption.
    ‘Prakriti – Kudrat Ko Bachane Ki Jung’ by the veteran actor filmmaker Parikshit Sahni tracks the story of an ideal woman forest officer who endeavours to save nature. It is set against the backdrop of scenic Jim Corbett Park. It is being aired every Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 pm. Sahni said he had taken the story under the banner of his father Balraj Sahni Films and would show the daughter of a forest officer not only taking up a profession not considered suitable for women but getting posted in an area that was not very women-friendly.

     

  • A blockbuster evening marks 21 years of ‘Aap Ki Adalat’

    A blockbuster evening marks 21 years of ‘Aap Ki Adalat’

    MUMBAI: India’s longest running television show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’ saw a gathering of icons including those from politics, sports, business and spirituality who came together to celebrate the 21 years of the show, with Rajat Sharma.

     

    The attendee list sported names like President Pranab Mukherjee, PM Narendra Modi, Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Smriti Irani, Venkaiah Naidu, Suresh Prabhu, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, Ram Vilas Paswan, Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajyavardhan Rathore and Najma Heptullah. BJP president Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and former LS Speaker P A Sangma also attended the event. Chief Ministers Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, and Harish Rawat were also present.

     

    The three Khans of Bollywood, Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir, along with others like Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Hema Malini, Anupam Kher, Sonakshi Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Rani Mukerji and cricketer Gautam Gambhir also attended the celebration.

     

    PM Narendra Modi talking on what makes Aap Ki Adalat so distinct and unfading observed, “In the 21 years of this show, nobody has been forced to reply, Rajat knows the art of extracting a reply through his sweet questioning. Another big quality of Rajat is that he uses his tongue sparingly in his show, but he uses his heart to the fullest. A clever mind works behind this.”

     

    Anil Ambani, Gautam Adani, Hari Bharatia and Raj Kumar Dhoot were among the business tycoons who were present at the occasion. Other personalities who attended included noted Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, Himesh Reshmiyya, Udit Narayan, Anu Malik, advertising guru and lyricist Prasoon Joshi, Rakhi Sawant, Dr. Naresh Trehan, Daler Mehdi, Sakshi Maharaj, Yogi Adityanath, Raju Srivastav, Shashi Sinha, and social activist Kiran Bedi.

     

    Senior Congress leaders Kamal Nath, Sachin Pilot, Janardan Dwivedi, Salman Khurshid, Jagdish Tytler, Vijay Bahuguna, Rita Bahuguna, Renuka Chaudhary, Sushil Shinde, R K Dhawan, Dr. Karan Singh, JDU chief Sharad Yadav, RLD chief Ajit Singh, Amar Singh and Jaya Bachchan were also present at the event.

     

    India TV chairman and editor in chief Rajat Sharma commented, “I am short of words to express how overwhelmed and humbled I feel right now. Over the last two decades I was simply focusing on doing my job right, I never expected the amount of affection and respect showered upon me by all including country’s topmost icons.”

     

    “I am more than grateful to all and mostly to my viewers who have backed me all through as their advocate while I tried to amplify their voice with who mattered,” he added.

     

    Speaking on the success of the mega event, India TV MD and CEO Ritu Dhawan observed, “When we first thought of marking the occasion, we always knew that this is going to be an industry benchmark, however I have no doubt now that our expectations have been hugely exceeded. This has been a truly superlative success & people will remember this for a very long time.”

     

    Star Plus has also decided to be part of the celebrations. The event will be simulcast on both the channels – India TV and Star Plus on 7 December at 10 pm. Cineyug, a premier event management companies managed the show that was hosted by singer Sonu Nigam.

  • Western Union signs Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador

    Western Union signs Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: Western Union, a global payment services company, has announced its association with the ‘King of Bollywood’ – Shah Rukh Khan, as its brand ambassador. With a massive fan following across the world, Khan will now represent Western Union and its quick, convenient and reliable money transfer services, offered across 200 countries and territories.

     

    Western Union salutes ‘global’ citizens who cross borders to work and live. Many of these people trust Western Union services to send regular financial support to their families and stay connected with their loved ones back home. According to research carried out by Western Union, watching movies from their native country is one of most common things that connect migrants to their homeland. The survey also revealed that for Indian diaspora who are living and working outside the country, Bollywood ranked second in terms of platforms helping them to remain connected to their homeland.

     

    Khan’s popularity, his remarkable ability to connect with his audiences across all age groups around the world, especially the connections he builds for the South Asian diaspora to their home countries, resonates with the Western Union brand promise of bringing families closer to their loved ones.

     

    Western Union regional VP & managing director- India & South Asia Kiran Shetty said, “We are very excited to have Shah Rukh Khan as a Western Union ambassador, as he truly symbolizes our ability to create connections for families around the world with their loved ones back home. We are certain, that with this association, our consumers across the globe will feel even closer to home.”

     

    Western Union consumers in the US and UK have already started to experience the charisma of Khan as he features in campaigns that remind Indian diaspora of the ease and reliability that Western Union provides when sending money to loved ones back home. 

     

    “I am extremely thrilled to be part of the Western Union family. Via their services they connect people around the world with their loved ones, like I do with my films. Western Union’s reliable, fast and convenient service is what makes Western Union popular amongst consumers across the globe – Transferring money, is fat-a-fat, or quick and easy,” said Khan.

  • DHFL signs Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador

    DHFL signs Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: DHFL, a housing finance company, has announced Shah Rukh Khan as its brand ambassador. This is the company’s first such brand association in its 30 year journey of providing financial access for home buying amongst Indian customers.

    DHFL chairman and MD Kapil Wadhawan said, “We are extremely pleased to have Shah Rukh Khan as DHFL’s brand ambassador. Today, DHFL is on its way to becoming a large financial services institution, reaching out to customers across the country, with its customised products and solutions. Shah Rukh Khan, with his people connect driven by diverse performances, has enthralled Indians over the years. This resonates with our brand philosophy of being able to cater to customers with tailor-made financial options, designed to suit their evolving needs. In this context, Shah Rukh Khan is a perfect brand ambassador in our endeavour to connect with every Indian for their financial well-being, today and in the future.”

    Shah Rukh Khan said, “It is an honour to be associated with DHFL. I truly believe that owning a home is the first step towards ensuring a secure and confident future for every family. I personally believe that DHFL’s mission of enabling home ownership amongst every Indian is as relevant today, as it was 30 years ago when DHFL began operations. It is exciting that, now I am associated with them as a brand ambassador in their journey of catering to customers with effective and relevant financial services products.”

     DHFL has been marketing its solutions to customers across 550 locations in India through national and regional level advertisement and event campaigns.

     

  • Who is the most valuable celebrity brand in India?

    Who is the most valuable celebrity brand in India?

    MUMBAI: A flip through various channels and one can see film stars and cricketers selling chocolates to balms to the consumers.
    There is no doubt that celebrity brand endorsements have come a long way in the country over the past three decades. As television spread to the masses and Doordarshan found its way into several homes in the country, companies and advertisers were quick to tap the new medium, giving several memorable advertisements to consumers, that some would say did more for the stars than they did for the brands.

    Over the last decade, the celebrity endorsement space has evolved significantly. Not only have new mediums of advertising sprung up (internet, digital media and social networks), but also “celebritydom” is no longer limited to just Bollywood stars and cricketers. The Indian Premier League, Pro-Kabaddi League and Indian Badminton League have given several new sports stars in addition to our Olympians, Asian and Commonwealth Games medal winners and World Champions.

    American Appraisal, an independent global firm providing valuation and related advisory services for business, financial, legal and tax purposes, has  launched the first edition of ‘Waiting for the Encore’, a concise report on India’s most valuable celebrity brands.

    The report tries to answer a few questions. Who is the most valuable celebrity brand in India? More importantly, how can one assess the value of a particular celebrity’s brand?

    The baadshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, tops the brand chart and is valued at $164.9 million, leaving behind the legend, Amitabh Bachchan. The shenshah stands at number 13 with $28.4 million while Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni ranks higher than other Khans at number 3 and valued at $71.9 million.

    “While the youth brigade of Indian celebritydom ranks high on the popularity scale, brand values remain highest for celebrities who have stood the test of time. Brand Shah Rukh, valued at over $160 million, is here to stay,” says American Appraisal vice president Kapil Bellubi.

    The report goes on to highlight that the top 15 celebrities generated over Rs 11 billion in endorsement fees in 2013-14 alone. Celebrities themselves are no longer just using brand endorsements as something to bridge an income gap between films and games. A significant proportion of a celebrity’s annual income, close to 50 per cent to 75 per cent, is generated through brand endorsements.

    It goes on to report that celebrities understand that being affiliated with brands like Coke or Pepsi means that their images and likenesses may be associated with Coke or Pepsi whose reach even to the remotest part of the country can be more valuable to the celebrity than the fee that they hope to receive. Similarly, youth-centric iconic brands like Levis, Guess and luxury brands like Rado, Tissot or Louis Vuitton command immense brand presence and celebrities are normally happy to be associated as brand ambassadors for even a fraction of their normal fees. Alcohol and tobacco brands provide the best compensation, though A-Listers tend to steer clear of promoting these brands mainly on account of the potential for negative publicity.

    The report states that viewers have higher recall for celebrity endorsed brands and associated credibility were the most compelling reasons for running a celebrity campaign.

     

  • 20th Kolkata International Film Festival begins

    20th Kolkata International Film Festival begins

    KOLKATA: The 20th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), which opened on 10 November, saw the heavyweights of Bollywood and Hollywood attending it.

     

    The eight-day extravaganza saw Amitabh Bachchan and his celebrated family, superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the state’s brand ambassador and a host of film personalities at the Netaji Indoor Stadium at Central Kolkata.

     

    The inaugural ceremony will be presided by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with the Bachchan clan, SRK, Deepika Padukone, Tanuja and Irrfan Khan.

     

    Boasting of a rich oeuvre of around 137 films from 60 countries, the fest will see 40 international delegates and 15 segments. There will be 31 Indian films, including 13 Bengali films.

     

    For the first time, the fest will see 15 films by women directors from across the globe, competing for the top jury award, the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger trophy in the Women Directors segment.

     

    Headed by award-winning Australian filmmaker Paul Cox, the jury will comprise Iranian director Nikki Karimi and Indian filmmaker Amol Palekar and others.

     

    It should be noted that this year there is no private sponsorship.

     

    The focus will be on cinema from Arab nations too and a special section has been earmarked as a tribute to legendary Bengali actress Suchitra Sen, who died on January 17 this year in Kolkata. Seven of her films will be screened as part of this.

    Hollywood classics such as Guns of Navarone, The Sound of Music and Jighangsa by Ajoy Kar will be screened in the ‘Centenary Tribute’ section.

     

    The Satyajit Ray Memorial lecture will be delivered by director Govind Nihalani and the screening locations will be spread across 12 venues.

     

    Other highlights include ‘Children Screening’ section and ‘French Classics’ segments, apart from contemporary world films of 2013 and 2014.

     

    The inaugural film selected is the Italian movie Italo Barocco by Alessia Scarso.

     

  • Wanted to name my book ‘TsuNaMo’, says Rajdeep Sardesai

    Wanted to name my book ‘TsuNaMo’, says Rajdeep Sardesai

    MUMBAI: “I had initially thought of naming it ‘TsuNaMo: The Election That Changed India’,” says one of India’s most recognised journalistic faces on television.

    Rajdeep Sardesai, who quit Network18 as IBN18 editor in chief in July this year and later on joined the India Today Group as consulting editor, recently launched his book ‘2014 : The Election That Changed India’.  The book tracks the story of the 16th Lok Sabha elections with a media insider’s view.

    The man with over 26 years of experience in the field first thought of writing a book last year but it was only in July, this year that he thought of penning his expertise. Sardesai was initially approached by Penguin Publishers to write a biography on Prime Minister Narendra Modi but he says he felt that he was more qualified as a journalist to write about the elections than just a biography.

    When asked why he chose 2014 elections to write the book on, he informs “I have been covering elections since 1989, but this was a historic election. For the first time, we had a non-Congress single political party winning by a huge and thumping majority. It was an election that saw the emergence of a larger than life Modi image, extensive media coverage along with new styles of campaigning that were very different from the past. The book while focuses on the 2014 elections has slices of elections from the previous years as well,” says the veteran.

    He provides three reasons why journalists and media students should pick up the book. “First, this was the biggest election we have seen so far. It documents a slice of history that people would want to be a part of. Secondly, people love to read good stories. With my 26 years of journalism experience, I have compiled interesting anecdotes of many years that bring to life many personalities from the political field. Thirdly, TV programmes today are like fast food while a book is like good wine that people will enjoy indulging in,” he says.

    Sardesai who singlehandedly wrote the book of 135,000 words without a team, informs that he was helped by Centre For The Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) for valuable statistics and insights. CSDS along with CNN-IBN together kept audiences abreast about election trends. He mentions that his wife Sagarika Ghose was the one who helped boost his confidence and pushed him to write the book. “She really energised me. She, in fact, is the book writer in the family. My daughter helped me out on the computer and printouts while my son set the deadline for me that was before his holidays began,” adds Sardesai.

    He is extremely happy with the response that the book has garnered, so far, as audiences have already termed it as a page turner. “One does not have to be politically obsessed to read the book. It is accessible for all to read,” he says.

    He is glad that even politicians have taken a liking to the book which goes for its second print next week.

    Talking about the marketing aspect for the book he says that while films by actors like Shah Rukh Khan need marketing to promote a film, for a book it boils down to the quality of prose and content.

    When asked if he plans to write another book on the elections or his autobiography, he chuckles and says “No, not for now. I will take a break of at least one year from book writing,” he concludes.

     

  • Sonam Kapoor to work opposite SRK in ‘Raees’?

    Sonam Kapoor to work opposite SRK in ‘Raees’?

    MUMBAI: After working with Fawad Khan in her last film Khoobsurat, Sonam Kapoor is set to work with the Khans of Bollywood.

     

    While she has already been finalised for Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, opposite Salman Khan, it is rumoured that the actress will also be working with the king of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan in his upcoming movie Raees.

     

    According to media reports, the 29-year old actress has been signed to play the lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Raees.

     

    Directed by Rahul Dholakia, Raees is Khan’s third movie with Farhan Akhtar. An action drama set in Gujarat, the film also stars Farhan Akhtar. Reportedly, while Khan plays the role of a bootlegger, Akhtar will be playing a cop.

     

    As per the reports, talking about Salman Khan, Kapoor said, “its double dhamaal with Salman since he is in double role. I am super excited to work with him. I am not allowed to talk about it. You will see. He is looking good in the film.”

     

    Sonam first shared the screen with the Dabangg star in her debut movie Saawariya in 2009.

     

    “I am living a dream right now. The shooting of the movie has started. Salman is so handsome and such a fantastic and amazing person to work with. I am on cloud nine,” she added while talking to the media.