ITV

Tag: Shantanu Moitra

  • Sony Pictures Networks India ventures into creating ‘Animation For All’

    Sony Pictures Networks India ventures into creating ‘Animation For All’

    Mumbai: The leading Indian media conglomerate Sony Pictures Networks India unveils seven new shows for global audiences across all ages, produced by YAY! Animations. The fresh slate offers a wide range of content across diverse genres, including action, adventure, sci-fi, drama, fantasy, and horror, which will cater to both adults and teens. Additionally, it features comedy and edutainment content that will appeal to kids across the globe.

    The studio’s maiden venture into animation content production made headlines with the release of the 2D-animated series ‘Sudha Murty’s Tales of Wit and Magic,’ which premiered exclusively on Netflix earlier this year and maintained number one position in the charts for multiple weeks across the kid’s category on the platform.

    Below is the current slate of content crafted from the storyboard to screens by the studio:

    Animation for adults –

    ●    Karna – The Guardian: The show is a unique production, that blends the rich story material hailing from India with the creative prowess by Ascension, a Japanese studio. Directed by Tetsuo Hirakawa, this ambitious and groundbreaking show combines Indian mythology and science fiction. The story takes you on a journey of an ordinary boy who discovers his lineage as the guardian of the three realms.

    Episodes – 12

    Duration – 22 mins

    ●    Uncanny Short Stories- Satyajit Ray – The show is an animated adaptation of a selection of 13 short stories written by the acclaimed Academy Award Winner – Satyajit Ray. The series delves into supernatural, psychological and macabre elements and explores dark secrets. The original works written in Bengali will be re- produced under the creative supervision of Sandip Ray with background music rendered by the National Award Winner Shantanu Moitra.  

    Episodes – 13

    Duration – 22 mins

    ●    The Besiegement – A horror show that narrates the gripping tale of Victor’s adventurous quest to confront, and vanquish Demon, the ancient ghoul who is responsible for the curse on his family. His true challenge lies in battling this ghoul, creating a spine-chilling atmosphere throughout the series.

    Episodes – 10

    Duration – 45 mins

    ●    Makeup My Life: The show delves into the insecurities faced by teenage girls and follows the transformative journey of Maya, a timid teenager. It begins with Maya, initially shy and socially awkward, stumbling upon a magical makeup box. Each makeup product she uses unlocks a unique aspect of her personality, leading to her blossoming into a self-assured and confident individual as the season progresses.

                Episodes – 13

    Duration – 22 mins

    Kids Animation –

    ●    W.H.A.T & the Dog – This chase comedy series follows the adventures of a resourceful stray dog as he navigates risky encounters while searching for food, water, shelter, and affection around a house. Inhabited by a human family and their four pets, the house becomes a hilarious battleground where the dog’s determination clashes with the pets’ efforts to keep him at bay. This dynamic results in a blend of rivalry and occasional moments of friendship amongst them all.

    Episodes – 78

    Duration – 7 mins

    ●    Young Achievers – The show is a thrilling blend of entertainment and adventure brought to life in collaboration with PowerKids Entertainment. This captivating series is designed for children aged 6 years and older, featuring extraordinary young talents excelling in diverse fields, from aviation and skydiving to underwater exploration, spy training, martial arts, and advanced combat operations.

    Episodes – 52

    Duration – 11 mins

    ●    Omi No. 1 – The show revolves around Omi, a privileged 9-year-old boy who is the sole heir to India’s milk magnate. Omi is pampered by his opulent family of six, while he remains blissfully unaware of the outside world as he enters school life. This sets the stage for comical clashes between his unreal riches and the harsh reality of the outside world.

    Episodes – 104

    Duration – 11 mins

    Sony Pictures Networks India business head, kids and animation Leena Lele Dutta: “At Sony Pictures Networks India, we’re dedicated to pushing creative boundaries, and our animation slate embodies that commitment. We see animation as a universal medium of storytelling that transcends borders resonating across all age groups. All shows are a celebration of captivating narratives, where every frame is an imaginative canvas and every character a vessel of emotion. With this creative venture, we aim to redefine storytelling through animation and inspire hearts globally.”

  • #Unstoppable21 initiative celebrates India and its youth through a new anthem

    #Unstoppable21 initiative celebrates India and its youth through a new anthem

    Mumbai: The Times of a Better India, an initiative of Times of India is excited to launch an anthem for its initiative, #Unstoppable21. This empowering and inspiring new anthem titled ‘Hum Ho Rahe Kamyaab’ is a fantastic, hummable music piece composed by the celebrated Shantanu Moitra.

    With a young population of 512 million Indians under 21, India is poised to reap its demographic dividend. To celebrate India’s youth, the #Unstoppable21 campaign is felicitating 21 Indians under 21 in humanities, science, sports, fine arts, performing arts, social activism and entrepreneurship.

    As a celebration of the achievements of our youth and the country, this groundbreaking masterpiece is set to captivate and galvanise the young and hopeful, offering a voice to the thoughts, dreams, and aspirations of a new generation.

    To celebrate the spirit of India’s youth, #Unstoppable21 is highlighting the limitless potential of our people. Inspiring stories of individuals, institutions and organisations that symbolise a coming together of various facets of India to contribute to their success.

    This song marks a significant milestone in the journey of celebrating our collective success and resilience – from ‘hum honge’ to ‘hum ho rahe’, and finally ‘hum ho gaye’ kamyaab. This song aptly supports #Unstoppable21 in celebrating our country’s human spirit and our unstoppable achievements.

    1. Catchy lyrics: The anthem’s lyrics are crafted to reflect the authentic celebration of the youth and their achievement 
    2. Upbeat melody: Composed by Shantanu Moitra, this energetic melody is bound to get people moving and feeling the rhythm of today’s India 
    3. Empowering message: The anthem carries a powerful message of our youth’s success, its empowerment, and the belief that India is winning the world 
    4. Meet the talent behind ‘Hum Ho Gaye Kamyaab’ anthem:  
    5. Esther Hnamte from Mizoram is a little singer – winning hearts through her music and singing 
    6. Chotu Khan, a young musical spark from the Merasi community is a folk singer who got his first break in a music video called Hariyo Patang through and gained considerable fame. 
    7. Ayaan Deshpande is a 9-year-old piano prodigy from Mumbai 
    8. Sartaz Khan Barna is a folk singer from a small village Barna, in Jaisalmer with a powerful voice 
    9. Rahul Vellal started his journey with Indian Classical music at the age of four   
    10. Anirban Roy started learning flute at the age of four and a half and gave his first public performance at the age of five.  
    11. Steven Samuel Devassy is a child prodigy adept in playing drums, and singing.  
    12. Imnainla Jamir is a musician, and guitar artist from Nagaland 
    13. Aditya started learning classical vocal and violin from the age of 3. 
    14. A bunch of talented, cool kids making music – Dharavi Rocks is a collective of slum kids jamming to a better life.

    Speaking on the occasion Indian composer and musician Shantanu Moitra said, “The concept of Unstoppable21 by The Times of India is simply mind-boggling. What truly astounds me is the unwavering confidence of these young talents. Their level of self-assuredness is profoundly inspiring and is quite a departure from my own experiences at their age. I’ve been learning so much from them. These prodigies are from our own nation, the future of our country, and they are nothing short of incredible. Talent is undoubtedly abundant, but the spotlight you’ve cast on these young achievers has bestowed upon them a sense of significance that is truly praiseworthy.”

  • Zee Bangla to refresh channel campaign to dominate Bengali space

    Zee Bangla to refresh channel campaign to dominate Bengali space

    MUMBAI: The regional space in India’s broadcasting industry is blooming. One of the most widely spoken languages in the country, Bengali has seen a surge in viewership off late. The Bangla channel from the Zee slate is all set to change the game.  

    Zee Bangla, that holds 44 per cent market share (WB U+R universe) and more than 50 per cent in the urban space, is all set to launch a refreshed channel campaign. Last year, the channel had 39 per cent market share and now it touches almost 50 per cent. Its latest brand philosophy “Notun Chhondey Likhbo Jibon” (Orchestrating life in a new rhythm) ignites a spark amongst the middle-class Bengali women to draw from their inner strength, tide over internal and external battles and take charge of their future to achieve the extraordinary. The brand promise will inspire the middle-class Bengali women to break the shackles of prejudice and preconceived notions, overcoming their apprehensions and taking their families ahead. 

    The channel soundscape has been expressed through a brand anthem orchestrated by Shantanu Moitra and sung by Shreya Ghoshal. Capturing the current day aspirations and changes in the middle-class Bengali households are two brand films, directed by Dibyendu Bose from Opus Communication and music by Shantanu Moitra. The brand strategy has been co-developed by Publicis with its Kolkata Counterpart – LKSS.

    This new brand identity will be revealed during the telecast of musical reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa which starts from 7 October 2018 at 9.30 pm.

    ZEEL business head for Zee Bangla and Zee Bangla Cinema Samrat Ghosh said that over the last 19 years, Zee Bangla has been successful on the back of good offering and among the 14 prime time slots in the GEC space Zee Bangla holds 11. He said, “We lead the time band from 4.30 to 10 pm with all our fiction and non-fiction shows.”

    Ghosh added that Bengal has home-grown animated content on Sunday from 10-10.30 am Baatul the Great and Nonte Fonte which are known characters from Bengali comic books. “One of our previous offerings was Bhootu, which became extremely popular as fiction series on Zee Bangla. So we have also developed half an hour of cartoon animation around the characters.”

    ZEEL cluster head regional markets Amit Shah said, “Over the last two decades, Zee Bangla has endeavoured to be a catalyst for change for the quintessential Bengali. As we look forward to the next leg of our journey, it is important for us to continuously reflect the aspirations of the evolving viewer and inspire them to be their extraordinary self. With the new campaign, we are aiming to reach out to a wider audience base and the middle-class Bengali woman, who is an epitome of resilience, courage and social change.”

    ZEEL CMO Prathyusha Agarwal said, “Our new brand campaign for Zee Bangla is targeted to resonate with the middle-class Bengali household that revers a woman as the Lakshmi of the family. With our unique brand POV-led content and communication approach, this idea will reflect across all our shows and campaigns celebrating the Lokkhis who take charge of their lives and move their families ahead.”

  • Shreya Ghoshal: Today Bollywood is compromising a lot on good content

    Shreya Ghoshal: Today Bollywood is compromising a lot on good content

    Her fans address her by various names like ‘Selfie Queen,’ ‘Princess,’ ‘Songstress’ but the most common is ‘Queen of Melody.’ Shreya Ghoshal’s single post on social networking websites creates a hullabaloo. Fans flood her with praises and the songstress at times even replies to a few messages.

     

    In this exclusive interview with Dhairya Ingle of Indiantelevision.com the singer talks about various aspects of her life including Rabindranath Tagore’s project, which is collaboration between her, Shaan, Shantanu Moitra and Gulzar.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    How has your journey as a musician been so far?

     

    Quite exciting! Every day brings me something new and I think that is the beauty of being a musician. Especially in a country like ours where we are most of the time working for films. There is so much happening in this industry with so many languages, where different types of music comes together and co-exists. So it is wonderful being in the field of music, working with the seniors and new comers, learning new things everyday.

     

    You have crooned a few songs for ‘Jaanisaar.’ How was it working with Muzaffar Ali? And how different is it to sing a classical song as compared to a regular Bollywood number?

     

    I think there is a lot more freedom in this genre because if you hear the songs of ‘Jaanisar,’ each is a performance and there’s a constant need of improvisation. It is not something that can one can learn by heart and sing. Every line is different and there is a new expression that is required. Hailing from the era of mujra, every word has to be expressed, with the essence of pure classical music i.e. thumri, dadra, kajre.

     

    So I had an amalgamation of ghazals and classical music, which gave me more freedom. I don’t get to do that in any of the other songs, though I still have scope to improvise but not as much. It is not a commercial song. The songs of ‘Jaanisar’ are for people who understand and follow Indian classical music. One of the biggest reasons I did my album ‘Humnasheen’ was pretty much to feel that experience.

     

    Muzaffar sahab is a very revered man and I respect him a lot. His presence in the studio itself was very supportive and you know that he is there to appreciate the song and the art you possess. I give equal credits to Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan, who is the son of Salamat Ali Khan sahab. He is more of a singer composer and once he starts singing, you definitely get mesmerised and often get tongue tied.

     

    Which veteran musician did you always dream of working with?

     

    I cannot work with people who are no longer with us and so it will always remain a dream. Artists from earlier eras like Madan Mohan sahab was gifted with putting a soul into the music he composed. Same was with Anand Bakishiji, Gulzar sahab and Sahir Ludhianvi sahab, wherein the first word and the first sentence itself is poetry as it came naturally to them. These are gifted people, who possess power and sensitivity. I feel that there is still a lot of talent around and we have the audiences to appreciate the same. However, what lacks is a platform to do express freely.

     

    Previously a lyricist, singer or composer did not have the pressure of creating a hit song. All that a person required to do was to create a song, but now the pressure is to make a blockbuster money-making track. Hence it becomes very hard for talented people to portray their art. Today Bollywood is compromising a lot on good content.

     

    Tell us about your riyaaz schedule.

     

    I will be very honest with you. I was a very disciplined student of music in my early days and I would thank my parents for making me do so. I would travel long distances for learning music and my parents made sure that after coming from there, I would do my riyaaz. Even before going to school, my mother would wake me up at 6.30 am and I would do my riyaaz on a tanpura.

     

    No child would actually like doing their riyaaz so early, but that’s what built a strong foundation for me. Now I don’t give that many hours for my riyaaz but I do light vocal exercises to warm up my voice. There are thing that I cannot do very well and I keep practicing them so as to improve.

     

    I don’t devote hours and hours for praticising ragas as I’m in the studio the whole day and I end up singing too much. All I need to do is keep my voice intact and get better at my execution than tiring my voice. I think that is how every professional singer functions when they get to a very hectic lifestyle.

     

    Any non-film projects that you are currently working on?

     

    Yes. I just got the mixes for Gulzar sahab’s project on Rabindranath Tagore. Shaan and I have sung songs for the project and the music is composed by Shantanu Moitra. The project is very special and will be releasing under Saregama. Tagore’s style of writing has been adapted by Gulzar sahab. It takes you to an era of Tagore but completely in a new fashion. It will release in a couple of months.

     

    Which non-film song sung by you is your favorite?

     

    It would be ‘Yeh Kya Hua Tere Mere Pyaar Ki Baatein,’ from the album ‘Chandni Raatein’ in 2004, which I did very long ago. This was the first time I was doing a Hindi album song and it was really loved by people then.

     

    You sung Kishore Kumar’s old melody ‘Mere Mehboob.’ Do you wish to re-render any of the olden melodies? If yes, which one?

     

    Actually the song ‘Mere Mehboob’ got stuck in my head and I was recording a new song but ‘Mere Mehboob’ did not go off. So I got back home, sat on my piano and recorded it on my phone. I put it up on my social media and people loved it. I keep my social media very private and have never given it to any agency like many others. I personally read each and every tweet that comes to me and I was so overwhelmed with the love.

     

    When it comes to re-rendering any other tracks, I would say there are many. I love all Madan Mohan sahab and Lataji’s tracks. I would love to do the song ‘Jalte Hain Jiske Liye’ from the film ‘Sujata’ crooned by Talat Mehmood sahab.

     

    Basically I love re-rendering tracks, which are sung by male voices because when you sing a female version of the same track, you reinterpret the whole track.

     

    How does your partner Shiladitya react to the fame and love that you get as a singer? Is he your best critic?

     

    He is my best friend and likes everything I do, which is why he cannot criticise me. I feel my best critics are my parents. My dad will only point put crucial problems in what I do. 

     

    When it comes to Shiladitya, he has been my bestest buddy for ten years so we are each others’ confidant and now that we are married, there is an additional level of responsibility for each other. However, he is exactly the kind of spirit that I would want to be. He is the one who will push me to do all the good things even when I doubt myself. He will just ask me to follow my heart and do what I wish to do and makes me believe in me. Even my parents make me believe in myself, I feel a little responsible in front of my parents. But with Shiladitya around I can do anything I want to.

  • Zee Bangla to launch new season of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’

    Zee Bangla to launch new season of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’

    MUMBAI: Zee Bangla is all set to launch a new season of the musical show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

     

    The format of the show will be different this time. Three distinct genre of music will be showcased namely classical/semi-classical; folk and light music. Variety of music forms like Jhumur and Kirtan, etc will also be highlighted through the participants, giving the audience flavours of different musical genre and style in a new avatar.

     

    This season, there is no age bar, thus, providing a wider window for all aspiring musical talents. This season, the panel of judges includes Monali Thakur, Shantanu Moitra and Shubha Mudgal.

     

    Musical icons like Asha Bhonsle, Sonu Nigam, Kumar Sanu amongst others have graced the show in the past.

     

    Sa Re Ga Ma Pa will launch on 8 June and will be aired from Monday to Wednesday at 10 pm.

  • Nissan launches a musical TVC for Evalia created by TBWA/India

    Mumbai: Nissan Motor India has rolled out a new television campaign “Evalia Moves like Music” to promote the Nissan Evalia.

    The campaign has been created by TBWA/India and is on air across leading news and entertainment channels.

    The ad film aims to impart an emotional engagement between the customer and the vehicle through a fusion of classical and contemporary music while highlighting some of the features of Evalia like spaciousness and fuel efficiency.

    According to the company, the campaign reinforces the promise of world class product that Nissan provides to the Indian customer.

    In 60 seconds, the new Nissan Evalia TVC brings out the proposition of ‘moves like music‘ while driving. The campaign features six musicians – Sunidhi Chauhan, Swanand Kirkire, Anushka Manchanda, Andrea Jeremiah, Shantanu Moitra and Vijay Prakash – who create music while they travel together in the Nissan Evalia.

    Film music composer Clinton Cerejo has composed the number while Shimit Aminhas directed the ad.

    TBWAIndia NCD Rahul Sengupta said, “For Nissan Evalia, we‘ve highlighted its drivability by comparing its movements to graceful musical notes. In casting some very gifted musicians for the new campaign, ‘Moves like Music‘, we were able to show the Evalia as an enjoyable space, moving in a new direction from the conventional ‘show us more of the car‘ in the campaign.”

    Hover Automotive India director – sales and marketing Nitish Tipnis said, “Innovation has been an integral part of our communication strategy at Nissan and our products too reflect that seamlessly. For the Nissan Evalia, we chose to convey the key features and innovations in a unique way through music, as music brings together people from all walks of life. TBWA‘s ‘Moves like Music‘ campaign beautifully captures the innovative story of the Evalia.”

    The TV campaign will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign including a new print ad campaign. Apart from outdoors and increased visibility at trade outlets, Nissan is also executing a number of demand generation initiatives to reap maximum advantage of the new TVC.

    The media agency working on the account is OMD.

  • Visa urges ‘Dream to Advance’

    MUMBAI: Credit and debit card service provider Visa has launched its latest nationwide campaign named ‘Dream to Advance‘ that showcases how Visa Debit helps fulfill dreams of Indians – no matter where they are.

    The campaign includes a television commercial (TVC) that revolves around the motto Dream to Advance and urges every Indian consumer to explore, discover and realise their dreams.

    The commercial highlights the benefits of e-commerce and Visa Debit, which enables consumers to achieve their ambitions, even if access to financial services in their small towns is limited. The new television campaign went on air recently.

    The concept and story created by BBDO Proximity India, the campaign Dream to Advance is a narrative of a young man who is able to achieve his dream for his village by using Visa Debit. It‘s a collaborative effort, dialogues written by Gulzar and directed by Amit Sharma from Chrome Pictures, with music director Shantanu Moitra composing the background score for the commercial. The commercial is shot in Kashmir.

    Visa India and South Asia group country manager Uttam Nayak said, “With the increasing use of Debit and eCommerce across India including smaller towns and cities, Visa believes in providing accessibility to Indians living anywhere in India to fulfill their dreams. Our new campaign is targeted at the common man and his aspirations. No matter in which corner of the world you are, Visa Debit can help you realise your dreams.”

    E-commerce, combined with electronic payments, is increasing accessibility and providing a higher degree of convenience for consumers. For those belonging to non-metro areas, the shift is empowering and creates a level-playing field as they can now buy the same products that their urban counterparts can. This has helped both e-commerce and the adoption of electronic payments in India‘s hinterland.

  • Disney to launch second local product ‘Dhoom Machaao Dhoom’

    Disney to launch second local product ‘Dhoom Machaao Dhoom’

    MUMBAI: As part of their five ‘local production’ roll out strategy, Disney has announced the launch of its second home grown production, Dhoom Machaao Dhoom, to premiere on 8 January in Disney Channel.

    This is Disney’s first original daily show for the tweens and the creative is handled by Show M, a joint venture between Ravina Raj Kohli’s production house Sundail.

    As opposed to the first attempt with Vicky Aur Vetaal, the channel is beefing up its localisation plan by introducing the second product as a ‘daily’ (Monday to Thursday 7:30 pm). The third original live-action production is expected in April next year.

    Specifically, eyeing live-action as a potent mechanism and the way ahead for Disney Channel, Walt Disney Television International (India) executive director Nachiket Pantvaidya believes that the channel requires a blend of local faces to be incorporated into the live action being introduced.

    As reported earlier, an emerging trend in kids television viewing suggests that the space is now inviting a large number of older girls (10 – 14 year old) as opposed to a previously a male dominated viewership attracted to action and cartoon based themes. In this respect, the channel is clearly trying to capitalize on these findings.

    With Dhoom Machaao Dhoom Disney Channel promises that it will now churn out 30 hours of locally produced content per week, moving towards its target of 130 hours. This is an important step towards building the channel’s viewership.

    The show is based on two core ideas – music and dance, which seems to have got reckoning from Indian kids following Disney’s interschool on ground activity, an adaptation the High School Musical, My School Rocks. Although, the theme seems to have a strong American resemblance, Dhoom Machaao Dhoom tells the story of four young girls who have teamed up to form a band. However, it will tackle issues often faced by teenagers like personality clashes, friendships and family influences.

    Kohli is of the opinion that the show has the potential to go beyond from being just a show, but rather to become a revolution! She believes kids programming should not merely cater to kids but to families at large. The challenge would be to drive kids from being ‘default watchers’ on GEC’s, movies and sports channels to come to kids channels.

    The marketing campaign for the daily show is, for the first time resorting to print, in addition to the expected multi media activity on outdoor, television, radio and internet.

    Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’s Shreya Ghoshal voice will feature in the show along with musician Shantanu Moitra’s. The pilot episode also includes a special performance by new kid on the block Sanchita, the winner of Lil’ Champ’s contest on Zee TV.

    “Following the success of the first local production ‘Vicky Aur Vetaal’ earlier this year, Disney Channel seeks to further strengthen its already robust connection with kids and their families with this cool and contemporary show”, says Pantvaidya. “We are a committed local player in the kid’s entertainment space and ‘Dhoom Machaao Dhoom’ is our next strong bid to showcase all that Disney Channel stands for.”

  • Pogo Amazing Kids Awards crowns little achievers; to air on Pogo & Cartoon Network on 17 Dec

    Pogo Amazing Kids Awards crowns little achievers; to air on Pogo & Cartoon Network on 17 Dec

    MUMBAI: The third edition Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 (PAKA) kicked off in Mumbai on 10 December crowning the winners with a trophy, citation and a child benefit policy worth Rs 5, 00, 000. The Pogo Kids Awards category recognises the extraordinary achievements of Indian kids across eight categories including Artist, Dancer, Entertainer, Musician, Leader, Sports, Genius and Singer.

    The awards ceremony will be simulcast on Pogo and Cartoon Network on 17 December at 7:30 pm.
    The final eight winners from the 24 finalists were decided upon based on votes received from kids across India. The twenty four finalists had been selected through detailed assessment by an executive jury comprising Kiran Bedi (for Leader), Shakuntala Devi (for Genuis), Shantanu Moitra (for Musician), Bose Krishnamachari (for Artist), Kunal Kohli (for Entertainer), Anita Ratnam (for Dancer), Charu Sharma (for Sports), Vasundhara Das (for Singer) and Derek O’ Brien who judged all the categories with the panel.

    The gala affair included performances by Bollywood super star Preity Zinta and Shaimak Davar’s Junior Dance Company, as well as the talented finalists from this year’s Awards.

    Speaking on the occasion, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc (TENA) senior vice president and general manager Ian Diamond said, “Being a channel especially created for Indian kids, it is only befitting that Pogo salutes young achievers of this great nation. With Pogo Amazing Kids Awards providing these gifted children a platform to showcase their talent, we do hope that in some way we can become catalysts in their future success. I am glad that this year the final winners of POGO Amazing Kids Awards were chosen by kids themselves and there can be no greater success than by being recognised as truly amazing by one’s own counterparts.”

    The winners of Pogo Amazing Kids Awards include:
    Felicitated by Mona Singh, Pallavi Mazumdar from Kolkata won the Pogo Amazing Kid – Artist. Pallavi has won the National Balshree Award 2005 for Art. Her chef d’oeuvre also includes – winning ‘Design a Stamp Contest’ by Ministry of Communication and IT and a medal in the Asian Children Art Contest 2002.

    Rajkumari Sanathoi from Imphal, Manipur, who is the winner of National Balshree Award 2004, was declared Pogo Amazing Kid – Dancer and was presented the award by Pogo hosts Chinu, Niall and Rob.

    5 year-old Muskan Vijay from Gwalior was given the title- Pogo Amazing Kid – Entertainer by Anupam Kher. She has been under 11 Maharashtra Skating Champion and has also made a record by skating under 45 Tata Sumo cars.

    13 year-old Akrit Jaswal from Chandigarh was crowned Pogo Amazing Kid – Genius by Ian Diamond. This young genius completed his primary education (class 10) at the age of 7. His achievements includes – conducting an independent surgery of post burn contracture of a burnt hand at 7, winning National Child Award for exceptional Achievement in the field of Medical Research in 2004. This little whiz kid is presently studying in his Second year, B Sc at Punjab University!!

    Shravya M from Hyderabad received the Pogo Amazing Kid – Leader Award from Priya Dutt. Shravya is an active environmentalist bringing awareness about conservation of the environment.

    K Sathyanarayanan from Chennai, was awarded Pogo Amazing Kid – Musician by Sivamani. This little Mozart has excelled Keyboard playing and completed grade eight from Trinity College of Music at the age of 10. Touring the world with 280 concerts, he has also released several albums and received various awards.

    Aaron D’souza from Bangalore has not only won seven international awards in swimming but has also created seven national records. He received Pogo Amazing Kid – Sports Award by Manav Gohil.

    While Vignesh Chandrashakhar from Chennai was selected by A R Rahman to sing “Yeh Tara Who Tara” in Swades. He was given the title – Pogo Amazing Kid – Singer by acclaimed singer Babul Supriyo.

    In addition, Sudev N M from Chennai was chosen as the lucky winner of the Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 Vote and Win contest’ and was the winner of an exclusive, Dilip Chhabria custom designed car.

    Ecouraging Indian kids to voice their choice, the Pogo Voice Awards yet again enabled children across India to choose their favourite celebrity icons amongst nominees in various award categories.

    The winners of Pogo Voice Awards this year are Hrithik Roshan (Most Amazing Actor – Male, for Krrish), Priyanka Chopra (Most Amazing Actor – Female, for Krrish), Krrish (Most Amazing Film), Special Effects in Krrish (Most Amazing Moment in a film), Masti Ki Pathshala (Most Amazing Song, from Rang De Basanti), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ (Most Amazing Foreign Movie), Paresh Rawal (Most Amazing Comedian, for Phir Hera Pheri), and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Most Amazing Sports Hero, Cricket). Five lucky kids chosen out of 1, 23,000 votes won the fabulous opportunity of attending the in-studio grand finale of the Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006.

    POGO Amazing Kids Awards this year boasts of an all new format with a nineteen episode series and for the first time, included audience interactivity nationwide. the show was hosted anchor/VJ Mini Mathur along with POGO anchors, Niall, Chinu and Rob. Derek O’Brien & Associates Pvt. Ltd, headed by quiz master Derek O’Brien who managed the entire selection and search process for Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006.

    The sponsors for Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 were Horlicks and Parle G (Presenting Sponsors), Kissan, Big Babol, Reynolds, Gini & Jony, Nestle Munch (Associate Sponsors) and Zee News, FUN Cinemas, Bright Advertising Agency (Media Partners).