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Tag: Shah Rukh Khan

  • Indian content at Netflix to be creatively lead by Disney’s Simran Sethi

    Indian content at Netflix to be creatively lead by Disney’s Simran Sethi

    MUMBAI: Netflix is plumping up on executives of Indian origin as it continues to build its content catalogue targeted at the 1.3 billion strong population nation. Amongst the first to be hired for India was former Star TV-exec-turned-independent film producer,  Swati Shetty, who has been shuttling between Los Angeles and India. The latest to be recruited is experienced programming executive from traditional media, Freeform’s SVP – scripted development Simran Sethi. Sethi has left the Disney-owned network Freeform (earlier ABC Family)  to join Netflix International Originals Production Group in its in the Los Angeles office as the creative executive for India. Her immediate reporting superior is executive Erika North.

    Netflix, in the past couple of years, has been employing executives from traditional TV networks and studios.

    It, along with Amazon Prime Video, sees India’s 300 million smartphone users  as the great hope for global expansion.

    Netflix, which rated India’s Spectranet speed in July as climbing up to 3.19 Mbps, recently unveiled the Gateway Shows that lead to a heroic binge as it seems to know what viewers watch. Viewers are finding their way to the adventures of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist through shows as diverse as the Defenders crew. And, it’s by design – more than 80 per cent of the shows are discovered through Netflix recommendations.

    “At Netflix, we know genres are just wrappers, which is why we work hard to create algorithms that help members break these pre-conceived notions and make it easier for them to find stories they’ll love, even in seemingly unlikely places,” said Netflix VP of product Todd Yellin.

    A couple of months ago, Netflix head honchos Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings met with Indian filmstars Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan as a part of its effort to break through in the subcontinent before competition does. Now, Netflix is bringing in experts such as Sethi to head India content.

    Sethi had joined Freeform in August 2015 where she helped lead the programming rebrand of ABC Family to Freeform, including developing the new series Famous in Love, The Bold Type, late-night show Truth & Iliza,  the upcoming Marvel series Cloak and Dagger,  the mermaid thriller Siren, and the Black-ish  spin-off, among others. Before joining Freeform, Sethi worked at NBC, Sony Pictures Television and Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison after receiving her MBA from Stanford Business School.

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  • Film audience rues being taken for granted: stars & others’ poor show this week

    *What Shah Rukh Khan and director Imtiaz Ali have done with Jab Harry Met Sejal can be called a patch-up job. The distributors may lose money but what Shah Rukh Khan has lost in this one weekend is his 25 years of stardom and goodwill.

    The Pandora’s Box opened with a poor response. The film turned out to be the most negatively rated film ever; the audience anger was palpable — for being taken for granted. To add to their fury were the escalated admission rates at the cinema halls, especially at the multiplexes.

    The film collected approximately Rs 145 million on day one, dropped a little on Saturday followed by and managed similar collections even on Sunday to end its first week. The film was expected to get some sustenance on Raksha Bandhan holiday in many parts of India.

    *Gurgaon, a film about a local land-grabbing mafia of Gurgaon city, found no takers. Local issues don’t draw viewers.

    *Mubarakan failed to encash on its potential. Despite being a family entertainer, it suffered due to poor opening and, then, also failed to pick during its first week. However, due to negative reports of Jab Harry Met Sejal, the film got a better second weekend. It collected Rs 349 million for its opening week and added Rs 60 million in the second weekend.

    *Indu Sarkar, the film on the Emergency, collected Rs 45 million in its first week. Very poor.

    *Raag Desh, the film about three INA soldiers facing the wrath of the British army, remained very poor. It collected about Rs 7.5 million in its first week.

    *Munna Michael added Rs 11.5 million in its second week taking its two-week tally to Rs 319.5 million.

    *Lipstick Under My Burkha collected Rs 64 million in week two to take its two-week total to Rs 169 million.

    *Jagga Jasoos collected about Rs 8 million in its third week to take its three week tally to Rs 512 million.

    *Mom collected Rs 7.5 million, taking its three-week total to Rs 326 million.

  • SRK & Gauri break gender stereotype in D’décor campaign

    MUMBAI: Dharma 2.0, the young creative unit from Dharma Production stable, recently bagged the mandate for D’Decor’s new ad campaign – ‘Touch of Love’. While showcasing the wide array of D’Decor’s designs and qualities, the campaign focuses on the new line of product highlighting softness and comfort. The campaign has been conceptualised and produced by Dharma 2.0. 

    The TVC features Shah Rukh Khan in the role of a home-maker, arranging the bedding with the D’Decor bedsheets, while Gauri Khan is busy at work. On this premise, the TVC brings to life the soft essence of love that the brand brings to its luxurious fabrics.

    Dharma 2.0 head Punit Malhotra said, “As this was the first product led campaign from D’décor, we had to introduce the new range in a way which is compelling and also stays true to the brand’s core value. With ‘Touch of Love’, we wanted to set up a fresh and relevant context for today’s generation. We did it by turning the clichés around and subtly breaking the societal stereotypes. I am happy by the way  the campaign has turned out and hope to continue this association with D’décor in future as well.”

    D’Decor MD Ajay Arora shared, “As a brand that deals in luxury fabrics, we wanted our TVC to capture that essence of D’Decor. Dharma 2.0 has created a lot of buzz in the market, for its excellent work. They understand our objective behind the campaign and have put their best foot forward in delivering excellent results.”

  • Jab Harry Met Sejal……they go bankrupt — creatively

    Jab Harry Met Sejal is a road movie where romance happens on the way. There have been some films on this theme like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and Jab We Met in the romantic- fun category while Dhanak was a beautiful film about two kids.

    On the heavier side were Highway and NH 10. All were very different from each other. But, how different can they be every time and look plausible at the same time?

    A road movie attempting to be a romantic film counting on just two stars for all of its length of 144 minutes can get tedious. Especially when the reason for taking to roads crisscrossing across Europe is feeble.

    Shah Rukh Khan, playing a Sikh farmer from mofussil Punjab, comes to England after a failed romance. He is now a Euro Tour Guide which means he is familiar with the entire European continent. He is seeing off a group of Gujarati family who are returning to Mumbai after a tour of Europe. Their tour also included an impromptu engagement ceremony of the character of Anushka Sharma.

    But, no sooner is Shah Rukh ready to depart from the airport after waving them adieu, Anushka is back and catches up with him. As it happens, she has lost her engagement ring making her fiancé unhappy. He was angry because the ring was a family inheritance.
    Anushka wants Shah Rukh to continue to be her guide for one more day till she finds her ring. She thinks she knows where she dropped the ring.

    As her memory keeps ‘remembering’ the next place when the ring is not found where she though she had lost it, the search for the engagement ring takes the duo to six countries across Europe.

    In the process, they sing, dance and get into tight situations while also falling in love—just the way it has happened in earlier such films. While the two stars do their bit, there are no distractions, no other actors to either relieve the two, Shah Rukh and Anushka, nor the viewer! Yes, there are European landmarks in the background, but they look lifeless in absence of a cogent content on the screen. And, then, this is a road romance, not a tourism film.

    The script is weak in all departments. Be it characters, drama, romance or emotions. There is no chemistry between Shah Rukh and Anushka, considering they take a couple of hours discovering they are in love. Just to make Anushka sound like a Gujarati, her character has been turned into a caricature; she is from a filthy rich Mumbai family and a law graduate but she speaks Gujarati like a native missing H in all her pronunciations.

    Like Asok for Ashok, for example. Greeting with JSK (Whatsapp language) instead of Jai Shri Krishna like Gujarati from Vaishnav sect do. Which audience will identify with this among Hindi moviegoers? To cap it all, the climax is stretched and lacking in imagination.

    The direction is lacklustre. The film has some good songs but they fail to impact the proceedings. Visually good, but the film’s editing leaves much to be desired.

    Anushka Sharma tries to save the film to some extent with a lively performance. Shah Rukh Khan looks past his prime and his face looks tired, not something that would gel with a romantic film.

    On the whole, Jab Harry Met Sejal lacks in imagination. It’s a poor film with opening response to match.

    Producer: Gauri Khan.

    Director: Imtiaz Ali.

    Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Chandan Roy Sharma,

  • Be MobiKwik, get on Cox bus to meet Harry & Sejal

    MUMBAI: MobiKwik and Cox & Kings have associated with Jab Harry met Sejal movie.

    Mobile wallet company MobiKwik has partnered with the upcoming Bollywood movie Jab Harry Met Sejal, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma. As part of the association, MobiKwik users can win free movie tickets, avail special cashbacks on film tickets and a lifetime opportunity to meet their favourite stars whenever they transact with the code ‘Harry’ or ‘Sejal’ till 3 August. Red Chillies Entertainment head of marketing Binda De said: “Jab Harry Met Sejal is a movie for all age groups. The idea behind the collaboration with MobiKwik is to offer our audience an easy-going cashless solution.” MobiKwik head – marketing Akash Gupta said: “India’s digital payments revolution is being led by the millennial and most of them are Anushka or Shah Rukh fans.”

    Khan aka Harry flagged off a GPS monitored bus specially designed for the promotion of the new film in Mumbai. The bus is actually a key to meet Harry, in person who are the lead protagonists in the film.

    Cox and Kings has introduced the unique contest wherein you get a chance to meet the lead couple by just clicking a picture of the bus when the bus visits your city. Cox & Kings has also introduced a romantic Europe package named after the film which covers the most beautiful and charming destinations such as Prague, Budapest and Amsterdam where the film is shot.

    In the next 4-5 days, the GPS monitored ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ buses will visit different cities in the country such as Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Raipur . Whenever you spot the bus in your city, you just need to click a picture of the bus and upload it on twitter with #JHMSonwheels. A few lucky winners can win Jab Harry Met Sejal and Cox & Kings merchandise and also get an opportunity to meet Harry and Sejal.

  • Word of mouth may help family entertainer

    Mubarakan came as a full family entertainer after a long gap, a gap when fillers and mediocre films reigned. However, the film’s opening day collections were poor to put it plainly. To a certain extent, the promotion and the presentation of the film were not quite attractive.

    The promos on theatrical as well as electronic media were really dull telling little about the film except that it was about Arjun Kapoor playing double roles with Anil Kapoor playing the uncle. Little was visible or came through about the other aspects, the talented other artistes or, mainly, the music of the film which is its asset.

    The film’s projection proceeded more like a family enterprise of Kapoors which is not an added attraction. Father sons, uncle nephews coming together is neither novelty nor assures a draw.

    The result was that, the film opened to 15 per cent footfalls on Friday, failed to pick up and ended its opening day with just a little over `50 million. However, the word of mouth was generally positive and the film was expected to gain some momentum over Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday improvement looked good in percentage as it was over 40 per cent but not really since the opening Friday was poor. The collections took a leap on Sunday with double the opening day figures to end its opening weekend with `226 million.

    If the film fails to cash in on the positive word of mouth that it enjoys through rest of the week, it is headed to be a loser. Also, because, this is the only week it gets to establish itself as come next Friday, there is a new, bigger release in Shah Rukh Khan- Anushka Sharma starring, Jab Harry Met Sejal.

    *RaagDesh is a film about a British era court martial of three Royal Army Indian soldiers who were captured by the Japanese, let off to join Subhash Chandra Bose’ Indian National Army and, later charged for the killing of some soldiers. This film is beyond comprehension.

    Which moviegoer would want to pay anything between `100 to 2000 to watch this film when they did not care to watch films on Sardar Patel, B R Ambedkar, Veer Savarkar, Nehru made over the years when even the ticket prices were not so high! The only film on a political leader of whatever we call history which got some attention was Gandhi and that too its English version; the Hindi version simply failed.

    The purpose of making this film about ‘unknown heroes’ of IAN defies logic and, why the RajyaSabha TV involved in this project is a question!

    As for box office, the film had no commercial prospects to explore to collect a mere `5.5 million for its opening weekend.

    *Indu Sarkar is another example of a film which should never have been made. The trade describes this as an enterprise of personal political aspirations. The film on the 1975 emergency bore no relevance a few months after it was over as films made on the subject like KissaaKurseeKa and Nasbandi proved to be capital loss.

    This shows on the box office. The film has been rejected. The film collected `26 million for opening three days.

    *Munna Michael fails. After a mediocre opening, the only day it picked up a little was on Sunday only going downhill thereafter to end its first week with a total of `308 million.

    *Lipstick Under My Burkha managed `105 million in its first week maintaining low but steady collection through the week. The film is holding steady in its second week.

    *JaggaJasoos added `73 million in its second week to take its two week tally to `504 million.

    *Mom has collected `22 million in its third week taking its three week tally to `318 million.

  • TBZ associates with ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’

    MUMBAI: TBZ is launching the ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ ring campaign on 21 July with a series of consumer centric activities till the release of the Shah Rukh Khan-Anushka Sharma film on 4 August, 2017, with different interactive elements such as ‘Seek the Ring’; ‘Meet and Greet with SRK & Anushka’; and ‘Limited Edition Box on Purchase of the Ring’.

    ‘Seek the Ring’ is a promo where women customers are invited to TBZ-The Original stores to win the real ring similar to what Anushka Sharma is wearing in the movie. The real ring will be travelling to each store and the winner will have to spot/ identify it from others; and there will be one winner every day from the store which has the real ring. Winners will be chosen for a ‘Meet & Greet’ with Shah Rukh Khan & Anushka Sharma through a lucky draw at the store. Additionally, customers who want to purchase the actual JHMS ring will be given the ring in a special limited edition box, which will have personalised signatures of Shah Rukh Khan & Anushka Sharma.

    TBZ director Raashi Zaveri, says, “One needs to design the ring in a way that matches the wearer, her moods, her routines and lifestyle. In this ring, given Anushka Sharma’s character, the challenge was to express her simple angel-like heart and therefore the halo around the solitaire, which acts like an angel that eventually leads her to her true love.”

    Khan has thanked TBZ-The Original for the ring lovingly created by jewellery retailer for the film.

  • T20 Global League incentivises cricket infra & aids other sports, say Ajay Sethi & SA official

    MUMBAI: The T20 Global League is making all the right noises nowadays and two prominent Indians have associated with Cricket South Africa by acquiring franchises. The player draft is scheduled for 19 August, with almost 400 players from 10 countries confirming their interest.

    While Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who also owns IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, has been named owner of the Cape Town franchise of Cricket South Africa’s upcoming T20 League, businessman and media mogul Ajay Sethi has acquired the Port Elizabeth franchise.

    Outlining his plans to local media and stakeholders at a welcoming event in Port Elizabeth, Sethi said, “Port Elizabeth is a beautiful city and is deeply entrenched with interesting cricketing history. I am very pleased and proud to represent this city as my franchise team. In the coming weeks, we look forward to working very closely with the Mayor and City Council to put together a robust plan of action to create value for both the city and the team.”

    He further added, “In addition, I would like to extend my thanks to CSA (Cricket South Africa) in accepting our bid and giving us an opportunity to become a part of this exciting T20 Global League journey. This tournament is about the fans, the players, rekindling the magic and reviving the battles, between bat and ball, between heart and mind, showing the world what makes this game extraordinary.”

    Marquee player Imran Tahir, who has great expectations, gushed, “I’m really looking forward to the new team; I hope we as Protea players and the international marquee players make this league the best league in the world and show what South Africa is all about.”

    Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture for Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Andrew Whitfield also attended the event. He too is excited by the possibilities presented to the city by the T20 Global League.

    “This franchise has further incentivised us to invest and support our cricket infrastructure for the city. The T20 Global League will show the youth in PE that there is opportunity in sport. Working together with Ajay Sethi and CSA, we can leverage opportunities beyond cricket,” Whitfield concluded.
    Former ICC CEO and incumbent CEO of Cricket South Africa (CSA) Haroon Lorgat, who feels they have a winner up their sleeves, said, “Fans can look forward to epic game experiences, complimented by action-packed stadiums, big entertainment, top class broadcasters and accessible ticket prices. We can firmly say that the era of ‘sportainment’ has dawned upon us. It’s now South Africa’s time to capitalise while reigniting and celebrating our love for the game.”

  • Star Sports may bid for T20 Global telecast rights, four Indians among team-owners, player draft on 19 Aug

    MUMBAI: Cricket South Africa (CSA), on 20 June, announced the eight successful team owners, who have earned the right to be part of South Africa’s new T20 Global League. Sources in the television industry said that Star Sports was preparing to bid for the telecast rights.

    With four Indian owners, namely, Shah Rukh Khan (from KKR) owning Cape Town team, GMR Group (Delhi Daredevils) owning Johannesburg,

    UAE-based Channel 2 Group chairman Ajay Sethi bought Port Elizabeth and Sushil Kumar is a Hong Kong businessman who has bought a franchise in Bloemfontein although he never visited the city.

    Shah Rukh owns 55 per cent shares of his Cape Town team. The announcement took place in The Bvlgari, London. The event set the tone for a new standard in T20 cricket.

    Player draft is scheduled for 19 August, with almost 400 players from 10 countries confirming their interest. T20 Global League matches to be played over a period of six weeks in November and December.

    EY (previously known as Ernst & Young) ran the team owner selection process to ensure integrity, compliance and due diligence was followed throughout the process by both CSA and potential owners.

    “Competition was stiff, with more than 150 expressions of interest (EOI) received from around the world and a shortlist of heavy hitters to consider, but after rigorous discussions and engagement with each of the potential owners, we are certain that our final eight owners have the perfect combination of strategic insight and passion needed to make the first T20 Global League a complete success,” said CSA President Chris Nenzani.

    “The announcement of the team owners is a key milestone to successfully launch our T20 Global League,” commented CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat. “We are thrilled by the international mix of owners and the passion and excitement that was clearly demonstrated during the bidding process by them and the marquee players. It sets up our #T20GL as a fans favourite in the cricketing calendar.”

  • KKR grew 24% as IPL value reaches US$ 3.8 bn, challenging times ahead

    MUMBAI: Even as the business value of the IPL system grew 9% to US$3.8 billion, KKR, worth US$58.6 million, is the IPL’s ‘Most Valuable Brand’ despite missing out on the title this year.

    Mumbai Indians has the most powerful brand and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s is the only brand to fall in rank, according to Brand Finance.

    Since 2009, it has calculated both the business value of the Indian Premier League system and the brand values of each individual franchise team, providing a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the teams and the IPL system as a whole.

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    Being the fastest growth year to year of 24%, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tops the Brand Finance IPL league table for the second year in a row. Despite missing out on the title, KKR has continues to consistent qualify for the playoff stages. The team has displayed strong leadership skills, team bonding, and a clear approach to composition and winning tactics.

    This year, however, surprising player choices in the playoffs did not pay off as KKR lost to Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier. KKR has its owner Shah Rukh Khan to thank for a larger part of its popular appeal. The Bollywood superstar attracts incredible media attention and fan following, acting as an icon for the entire franchise.

    Depending heavily on Khan’s personal brand equity and connections, KKR lands a host of local and national sponsorships and has been one of the first to introduce an effective merchandising strategy.

    This year’s champions, Mumbai Indians (MI) are the most powerful brand among all franchises, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 71. As part of Brand Finance’s analysis, each brand’s strength is assessed (based on factors such as marketing investment, familiarity, preference, sustainability and margins) to determine what proportion of a business’s revenue is contributed by the brand. This proportion is projected into perpetuity and discounted to determine the brand’s value. Despite creating the strongest brand, Mumbai Indians have been less adept at capitalising on this strength than KKR.

    At US$54.1 million MI’s brand value is over US$4.5 million behind KKR. MI must do more to convert its unrivalled brand strength into maximum financial returns and brand value.

    Impressive growth of 23% to a brand value of US$46.5 million landed Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in third place, up from the fourth position last year. In 2017, SRH continued to be the most balanced team in terms of the ratio between overseas stars and high-performing Indian players, investing especially in young, emerging talent.

    With a brand value of US$44.4 million, up only 4% year on year, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fall to 4th place. As a team, RCB had a forgettable year in 2017, which is reflected in the decrease of the BSI to 64 from 66 in 2016. RCB is the only franchise brand whose strength waned this season.

    Delhi Daredevils (DD) hold to 5th place in the study with a brand value of US$40.5 million, following growth of 13%. Zaheer Khan’s charismatic leadership infused a newfound spirit into the team and new talents such as Rishab Pant drove the team very close to playoffs, attracting praise from pundits and critics as well as a massive fan following far beyond Delhi.

    Kings XI Punjab has a brand value of US$36.2 million, putting it in last place. However, solid 18% growth hints at the brand’s relative success this year. Under the leadership of Glen Maxwell, the team was a force to be reckoned with.

    After a troubled 2016 season, the business value of the IPL System grew 9% in 2017 to US$3.8 billion. Celebrating 10 years of the IPL journey, opening ceremonies took place at all host stadiums this year, with a whole array of Bollywood entertainers and local cricketing celebrities. As the season progressed, fans without tickets could watch the competition in ‘Fan Parks’ in 36 cities across the country. Family-friendly and free to attend for all, Fan Parks offered music, entertainment, and a range of merchandise stalls, bringing stadium atmosphere to city centres on a scale larger than ever.

    The quality of the game did not disappoint either, improving ticket sales and enabling the teams to build brand equity. The emergence of strong contenders such as the Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab, challenging the usually dominant Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians, resulted in a seesaw in the points table throughout the season. The emergence of relatively unknown young Indian players created further interest. Young guns such as Nitesh Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant, Basil Thampi, and Mohammed Siraj, all began to build powerful personal brands, whilst adding to the interest in and value of the competition as a whole.

    Overall, stadium attendance increased 25% from 2016 even before the season was over, while last year’s television viewership numbers were beaten by the time match 43 of this season had been played. Social media engagement reached an all-time high, with nearly six million tweets sent over the season’s first five weeks.

    Brand Finance India managing director Ajimon Francis comments, “The 10th anniversary year is an inflection point for the IPL. The upcoming tender procedure for television and digital broadcast rights, the disbanding of Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiant and the revival of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, as well as the unavoidable reshuffling of players all present challenges for the management of the IPL. However, this year’s results show that the IPL is now operating from solid financial and reputational foundations, with increasing fan interest and engagement. The future looks bright.”