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Tag: Taj Mahal

  • Q3-2016: HUL YoY marketing spends up 16.4%

    Q3-2016: HUL YoY marketing spends up 16.4%

    BENGALURU: Indian FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) Advertisement and Promotions expense (marketing spends, ASP) in Q3-2016 (quarter ended 31 December, 2015, current quarter, Q3-16) was 16.4 per cent more YoY at Rs 1,137.79 crore (14.3 Total Income from operations or TIO) as compared to Rs 977.12 crore (12.6 per cent of TIO), but declined 0.6 per cent QoQ from Rs 1,145.04 crore (14.4 per cent of TIO).

    Note: (1) 100 lakh = 100,00,000 = 1 crore = 10 million.

    (2) All figures in this report are standalone figures filed by the company. The trends are based on the numbers submitted by the company or picked up from the company’s website.

    Company Speak

    HUL chairman Harish Manwani said, “We have stepped up investment behind our brands and delivered another quarter of profitable volume led growth, consistent with our strategic intent. In an environment of moderating growth and benign input costs, we remain focused on innovation and market development to drive volumes competitively whilst improving operating margins. As channels and markets evolve, we continue to make strategic interventions to strengthen our portfolio and sharpen our executional capabilities to serve our consumers even better.”

    Advertising and Sales Promotion (ASP) trends

    Last quarter (Q2-16), HUL’s ASP was the highest both in terms of absolute rupees and percentage of TIO at Rs 1145.04 crore and 14.4 per cent during a 15 quarter period starting Q1-2013 until Q3-2016. The current quarter’s ASP (mentioned above) is the second highest during the same period. It must be noted than in the current fiscal (FY-2016) during all the three quarters to date, HUL’s ASP has been the highest in rupees and in terms of percentage during the period under consideration and has been above 14 per cent – in Q1-2016, it was 14.2 per cent.

    The lowest ASP in absolute rupees was in Q2-2013 at Rs 768.98 crore (12.2 per cent), while it was lowest in terms of percentage of TIO in Q4-14 at 11.8 per cent (Rs 840.34 crore). The white broken trend line indicates that ASP in absolute rupees during the period under consideration shows an upward trend. ASP in terms percentage of TIO (broken pink line) also shows an upward trend, though not as sharp as in the case of absolute rupees during the period under consideration. As a matter of fact, since Q1-2013, the company’s ASP has been the highest in absolute rupees in the first quarter (Q1) and the lowest in the second quarter (Q2), the only exception being in the year 2014, where Q2-2014 ASP was the highest in the year and was more than Q1-2014 ASP, which was second highest in that year. In FY-2013 and FY-2014, ASP was lowest in Q4, while in Q4-2015, ASP was more than in Q3-2015.

    HUL Revenue and PAT

    Please refer to Fig B above. HUL reported 2.7 per cent YoY growth in TIO in Q3-2016 at Rs 7,980.99 crore as compared to Rs 7,774.32 crore and was 0.3 per cent higher QoQ as compared to Rs 7,955.39 crore. The company’s TIO shows a linear increasing trend as indicated by the broken blue trend line in Fig B. TIO in Q1-2016 is the highest reported by the company during the 15 quarter period under consideration in this report.

    HUL’s PAT in Q3-2016 was 22.4 per cent lower YoY at Rs 971.40 crore (12.2 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 1,252.17 crore (16.1 per cent margin) and was one per cent more QoQ as compared to Rs 962.24 crore (12.1 per cent margin). During the period under consideration, HUL’s highest PAT was highest in Q1-2013 at Rs 1,331.19 crore (20.9 per cent of TIO), both in terms of absolute rupees and in percentage of TIO. While PAT in absolute rupees shows a linear increasing trend as indicated by the broken pink trend line in Fig B, while in terms of percentage of TIO, the linear trend is declining as indicated by the broken yellow line.

    HUL’s take on categories and its brands

    Soaps and Detergents

    Robust volume growth offset by price deflation was seen. The segment witnessed continued price deflation in the quarter given the benign input costs. Skin Cleansing was driven by strong volume growth on Dove, Pears and Lifebuoy. The liquids portfolio registered another quarter of double digit growth. In Laundry, growth momentum was sustained with both Surf and Rin growing volumes in double digit while Comfort Fabric Conditioners led market development of the category and delivered another quarter of high growth. Household Care performance was driven by Vim.

    Personal Products

    The reported growth of this segment was impacted by the delayed winter and the one-time realignment of channel spends undertaken with a view to driving its effectiveness in the marketplace Skin Care delivered volume led growth driven by Fair and Lovely, Pond’s and Lakme. Fair and Lovely continued to do well and saw an encouraging response to the BB cream. The performance of Pond’s was led by premium skin lightening while Lakme growth was buoyed by premium innovations and facewash. Hair Care maintained its strong volume led growth momentum, with Dove and TRESemmé leading the category performance. In Oral Care, the overall performance was subdued. Close Up growth was driven by impactful activation while Pepsodent Clove and Salt continued to do well. Lakme Colour Cosmetics sustained its strong innovation led growth across the core, Absolute and 9 to 5 ranges.

    Beverages

    In Tea, Red Label, Taj Mahal and 3 Roses grew well, driven by focused in-market initiatives. Lipton Green Tea registered another quarter of high growth on sustained market development. In Coffee, Bru delivered double digit growth and achieved market leadership.

    Packaged Foods

    The segment saw its ninth successive quarter of double digit growth. Sustained market development and recent innovations resulted in another quarter of double digit growth across all key brands. Kissan maintained its strong growth momentum across both Ketchups and Jams. Knorr growth was led by new variants of Instant Soups and a new range of Knorr Chef’s Masalas was introduced at the quarter end. Ice Creams delivered another strong quarter, led by Magnum and sharper in-market execution on Kwality Walls.

  • Ravi Shankar Prasad to inaugurate free Wi-fi connection for tourists at Taj Mahal

    Ravi Shankar Prasad to inaugurate free Wi-fi connection for tourists at Taj Mahal

    NEW DELHI: Within days of Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s announcement about strengthening broadband base throughout the country, BSNL has said visitors to the Taj Mahal in Agra will get free Wi-Fi internet facility across the sprawling campus for 30 minutes from 16 June.

     

    However, any browsing or usage like downloading, surfing after this period would invite charges at Rs 30 an hour, a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited official said.

     

    The trials have been completed and the service will be launched by Prasad in Agra on 16 June.

     

    While the bandwidth is being provided by BSNL, the system integrator – Bengaluru based Quadgen – is providing the wireless support.

     

    Due to security and other reasons, the ASI has only permitted the Wi-Fi availability in a radius of 30 metres from the main gate of the Taj Mahal, officials further said.

     

    Millions of domestic and foreign tourists visit the Taj Mahal, often considered as the epitome of love as it was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.

     

    The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had requested the BSNL to work on the project to start the facility in the complex. Wi-Fi internet facility at public places in Agra is currently available only at the Agra Cantonment railway station.

     

    If the trials are successful, BSNL may extend the facility to Fatehpur Sikri as well.

  • Digital Short Film Festival commences in Film City, Noida

    Digital Short Film Festival commences in Film City, Noida

    NEW DELHI: The AAFT Festival of short Digital Films at Marwah Studio has created a record of sorts. 

     

    Throwing light on the same, Marwah Studio president Sandeep Marwah said, “We have created a world record by touching the 86th edition of our festival. There is no other festival in the World to reach to 86th edition so far.”

     

    “This is the only festival, which has given opportunity to more than 2000 directors from all over the world to showcase their debut film in the last 22 years,” added AAFT dean Kalyan Sarkar.

     

    The films that were screened during the festival were: Taj Mahal – Crown of Earth directed by Aamir Naqvi, Maa Ki Aankh by Hitesh Tandon, Bloody Red by Anjali,Sunaina by Parvesh Saini, Side Effects of Criticism by Alok Chaturvedi and Masoom by Nikhil Kapoor.

     

    “This is for the first time in the world that any film school has adapted a historical monument – A Wonder of The World – as a part of its syllabus for making and studying cinema,” Marwah added.

     

    AAFT also celebrated its curtain raiser a day before where Ecuador Ambassador Mentor Villagomez released the poster of the festival. He was also accompanied by Dr. Patricio Garces, Head of political and cultural affairs in the Ecuador Embassy.

  • Taj A Flavor of Darjeeling – Taj’s richest flavor

    Taj A Flavor of Darjeeling – Taj’s richest flavor

    MUMBAI: Brooke Bond Taj Mahal has been a forerunner in setting the standard of fine tea in India. Over the years it has pioneered  innovations and provided superlative connoisseur experiences. Enhancing its brand commitment towards master-craftsmanship, , Taj Mahal has launched its richest and most premium blend – Taj A Flavor of Darjeeling. Taj Mahal continues its connection with well-known personalities of Indian classical music by associating with Sitarist Niladri Kumar for its new premium variant.The young maestro has also composed “Raag Darjeeling” – a fitting tribute to Taj A Flavor of Darjeeling.

     

    The brand has always been personified by icons who symbolize perfection, passion and unmatched finesse. To capture the essence of the new variant, Taj A Flavor of Darjeeling was unveiled during an enthralling evening of Indian classical music. The music programme was beautifully crafted by young maestro Sitarist Niladri Kumar. Madhuri Dixit Nene the current brand ambassador, also attended the event and added further splendour to the evening. 

     

    On the eve of the launch, Krishnan Sundaram, General Manager, Tea, Hindustan Unilever Limited. said, “Taj Mahal tea has been India’s most loved premium tea brand and it has been our consistent endeavour to improve our offering. Taj A Flavor of Darjeeling,is definitely our most premium offering and we are confident that we will improve the tea drinking experience for our growing consumer base. This launch is also special as it sees us continuing our collaboration with Indian classical music with Niladri Kumar, Rahul Sharma and Ayaan Ali Khan personifing our brand commitment.”

     

    As the face of the brand, Niladri Kumar said, “I have been a Taj Mahal tea loyalist, and it is indeed my pleasure to be associated with it. Taj A Flavor of Darjeeling is also special. I have composed the Raag Darjeeling, in honour of the superlative flavour and experience related with Taj Mahal’s newest offering.”

     

    Enriched with long leaves of pure Darjeeling tea and carefully sourced finest tea leaves from choicest tea gardens in India, Taj A Flavor of Darjeeling promises to make your tea drinking experience extra  special as it is created with a great amount of precision and passion. Every sip promises to reflect great craftsmanship of our master blenders and truly become a connoisseur’s delight.

  • HUL y-o-y ad spends up by 13 per cent, down q-o-q by 2.6 per cent in Q3-2014

    HUL y-o-y ad spends up by 13 per cent, down q-o-q by 2.6 per cent in Q3-2014

    BENGALURU: Indian FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Limited spent 13 per cent more in Q3-2014 towards advertising and marketing at Rs.929.46 crore as compared to the Rs.822.16 crore during Q3-2013, but 2.57 per cent lower than the Rs.954.02 crore for Q2-2014.

     

    During the nine month period ended December 31, 2013 (y-t-d), the company spent Rs. 2773.26 crore, 15.04 per cent more than the corresponding period during the last year. During FY2013, HUL spent Rs.3231.88 crore towards advertising and marketing during FY2013.

     

    Overall, the FMCG giant saw standalone revenue during Q3-2014 increase by 9.39 per cent to Rs.7037.78 crore from the Rs.6433.69 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year and increase by 4.31 per cent from the Rs.6747.20 crore during the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Its nine month revenue to December 31, 2013 increased by 8.67 per cent to Rs.20472.47 crore from Rs.18839.25 crore during the nine month period ended December 31, 2012. HUL had revenue of Rs.25206.38 crore during FY2013.

     

    Based on this advertising and marketing  spends percentage with respect to revenue during Q3-2014 was 13.21 per cent, in Q3-2013 it was 12.78 per cent and in the immediate preceding quarter it was 14.14 per cent.

     

    The corresponding advertising and marketing spends percentage of overall standalone revenue was slightly higher at 13.55 per cent during the nine month period ended 31 December 2013 at Rs.2773.26 crore as compared to the 12.8 per cent (Rs.2410.75 crore) during the corresponding period of last year. During FY2013, the percentage of standalone revenue that the company spent towards marketing and advertising was 12.82 or Rs.3231.88 crore.

     

    HUL’s PAT jumped by 22.02 per cent to Rs.1062.31 crore during Q3-2014 from Rs.871.36 crore in Q3-2013 and was up by b16.26 per cent from the Rs.913.80 crore during Q2-2014. PAT for the nine month period of FY 2014 at Rs.2995.36 crore was lower by a little less than half a per cent as compared to the Rs.3009.47 crore during the corresponding period of last year. HUL’s PAT for FY2013 was Rs.3796.67 crore.

     

    The company reported healthy performance and growth in most of the segments it operates in. Here is a reproduction of a part of the company’s press release.

     

    Soaps and Detergents deliver a healthy performance

     

     Skin Cleansing delivered another quarter of volume led growth. The category performance was driven by Dove, Pears, Lifebuoy and Breeze. Pears was relaunched during the quarter with a new proposition around younger looking skin. The liquids portfolio saw accelerated growth led by Lifebuoy Handwash.

     

     In Laundry, growth was led by the premium segment. Surf growth was buoyed by the robust performance in Surf Excel Easy Wash and Excel Matic while Rin saw good growth on the bars portfolio. Wheel was re-launched with a superior formulation at the end of the quarter. Comfort fabric conditioners continued to lead market development with sustained high growth. Household Care delivered another strong quarter with both Vim and Domex growing in double digits.

     

     Personal Products growth steps up

     

     Skin Care grew well in a slowing market. The re-launch of Fair & Lovely, with the new ‘Best Ever Formula’ and a focused activation plan in the last quarter, is on track. Lakme and Dove grew well and the facial cleansing portfolio registered strong growth, driven by a range of differentiated innovations launched earlier in the year.

     

    Hair Care sustained its strong growth momentum with broad based double digit volume growth. Dove led the category performance with accelerated growth while Sunsilk, Clinic Plus and TRESemmé continued to make very good progress.

     

     In Oral Care, both Pepsodent and Close Up delivered stepped up double digit growth in a competitive market. Pepsodent GermiCheck which was relaunched in the last quarter with a superior product and proposition did particularly well. A&P investments were significantly stepped up to sustain our competitive position in this category.

     

     Colour Cosmetics maintained its strong innovation led growth momentum across both Lakmé and Elle 18. Lakmé continues to strengthen its position in premium make up driven by a range of exciting and contemporary offerings from Absolute and 9 to 5.

     

     Beverages led by double digit growth in tea

     

    Tea delivered another quarter of broad based growth with Taj Mahal, Red Label, 3 Roses and Taaza growing in double digits, driven by a strengthened mix and focused in-market activities. The sustained thrust on leading market development for tea bags, enabled flavoured and green tea bags more than double sales in the quarter. The Lipton Clear Green Tea portfolio was expanded with the launch of new packs. In a slowing Coffee market, Bru continued to drive category premiumization, led by Bru Gold.

     

     Packaged Foods growth steps up; Kissan, Knorr and Kwality Walls grow in double digits

     

     Kissan further accelerated with both Ketchups and Jams delivering strong growth on the back of impactful activation. Knorr had a good quarter particularly on Instant Soups which more than doubled volumes while the growth in Kwality Walls was driven by sharper in-market execution and the robust performance of Cornetto and Creamy Delights. Magnum continues to do well.

  • Indian consumers prefer holiday abroad this festive season

    Indian consumers prefer holiday abroad this festive season

    MUMBAI: A new IBM Social Sentiment analysis of 250,000 online conversations reveals the travel preferences of Indian consumers – which point to consumer interest and enthusiasm for spending holidays abroad. The preferred international holiday destination for 2013 is London and preferred domestic holiday destination is Goa.

    According to the latest IBM Social Sentiment analysis, travel and hospitality was trending as high as 33 percent of all social conversation tracked, indicating a particularly high volume of discussions about flying, driving and vacation with family and friends, among others. The IBM “Desire Ratio” – the proportion of positive versus negative comments – indicates that 59 percent of people are “looking forward” to taking vacation this December.

    Diving deeper into the social dialogue, ‘destinations’ emerged as the dominant theme being discussed. Positive sentiment associated with ‘luxury destinations’ also showed a huge surge. People’s choices for travel and vacation destinations primarily revolved around service and experience, while price was a key driver when it comes to hospitality and travel agents.

    In the era of Big Data, amidst the explosion of social media, measuring public sentiment through social listening can help travel industry chief marketing officers tap real time trends and customize incentives and services to be more in tune with what customers are asking for, using data to tailor their offerings to address fast-moving trends and real time customer needs.

    “Measuring social sentiment has the potential to enable the travel industry to design travel offers and services tailored to what travelers are telling us,” said Dr Lata Iyer, Partner, Global Business Services, IBM India & South Asia. “Big data has the power to offer new insights to the travel industry including airlines, hotels and other travel providers that can translate customer desires into irresistible offers that they will welcome.”

    The IBM Social Sentiment Index combines sophisticated analytics and natural language processing technologies to gauge consumer public opinions from Twitter, blogs, message boards and other social media. In this instance, the Index was used to measure and understand consumer views around the holiday travel season in the India from the period of September 1 – December 12 in 2013.

    Additional insights from the IBM Social Sentiment Index for holiday travel include:
    ·Top travel preference – International destinations received the most buzz (32 percent) on all social media channels. London is the most mentioned destination city, while Thailand emerged as the most recurring country in social conversations.

    ·Preferred Indian cities – Goa is the ‘buzziest’ travel destination in India, followed by Delhi-Agra-Jaipur and Golden-Temple. Taj Mahal followed by Golden-Temple is top most mentioned monuments in social media content. Beaches and palaces are top places to visit on people’s vacation agendas. Kerala tops the charts for being the top trending state in India.

    ·Luxury travel drives positivity- Luxury establishments garnered both very high affinity with positive sentiments and highest proportion of positive sentiments.

    ·Up in the air on air travel – For a mode of transportation air travel has highest proportion of negative sentiments.

    The wealth of online content around travel from public conversations on social media has become very influential in how people determine their travel plans. Understanding the positive, neutral and negative nuances of their conversations and who is influential can help airlines, hoteliers and other travel service providers market better products and services to their customers.

  • Vashu Bhagnani presents Youngistan with son Jackky in the lead

    Vashu Bhagnani presents Youngistan with son Jackky in the lead

    MUMBAI: With movies like Ajab Gazab Prem, FALTU etc, actor Jackky Bhagnani has almost become a youth icon. Now, the actor will be seen in MSM Motion Pictures and Vashu Bhagnani, Youngistan, a love story set in the backdrop of Indian politics. The film, besides Jackky stars Neha Sharma, Farooq Shaikh and Boman Irani.

     

    While the first schedule of the film has been shot overseas and Lucknow, the second schedule of the film will go on floors soon at the picturesque Taj Mahal in Agra making it the ideal locale to launch the film and its unique campaign titled “Yo Youngistan Go Youngistan”. Uttar Pradesh lends itself very nicely to this film that has a political backdrop. To add to it, Agra, a symbol of power and love supplements the entire setting. Yo Youngistan Go Youngistan is a ground rally that will travel across the country and collect youth pledges and will also see several youth icons from various walks of life join Jackky Bhagnani in getting the young Indians to pledge to vote. The campaign will also generate findings on the change Young India wishes to see in their policies and their politicians.

     

    Jackky Bhagnani said in a press release, “For me as the name suggests Youngistan stands for the youth by the youth and of the youth of India. The film is a common live story in a very uncommon premise “.

     

    The film is scheduled to release on 1 May 2014.

  • ixigo unveils its first integrated marketing campaign

    ixigo unveils its first integrated marketing campaign

    MUMBAI:  ixigo.com, a travel planning and search engine, has kicked off its first ever integrated marketing campaign across television, OOH, radio and social media.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, ixigo co-founder and CEO Aloke Bajpai said, “Since ixigo’s inception in 2006, it has been our goal to become the most trusted travel planning and research website in India. We strive to make travel an enjoyable and informed experience for our users with our apps, in-depth content and smart comparison of the best deals across travel sites.  We are optimistic that our first ever marketing campaign  will  help  us  reach  out  to  many  more  travellers  across  geographies  and  strengthen  our positioning of being the most trusted travel website in India.”

     

    The campaign, in line with the brand essence of “know & go”, aims to position the portal as the ‘go to’ destination for travel information and planning. This has been rendered in the form of a TVC which is the backbone of the campaign and highlights the pitfalls of unplanned travel.

     

    In addition to the TVC, ixigo has partnered with leading radio channels to engage listeners ‘on the go’ through contests and trivia based activities. Innovative ixigo branding using TVC motifs will also be seen across major airports and OOH media.  Along with a strong offline campaign,  ixigo  will  also  be promoting interesting ‘know & go’ facts, videos and contests across social media and online channels.

     

    Added, vice president marketing and product strategy Saurabh Srivastava, “Our marketing campaign is clearly aligned with our core brand message of “know & go”. With our first marketing campaign, we are confident that ixigo will find resonance and preference amongst users across the spectrum and through our innovative mobile apps and responsive website, we will be able to help people travel in the know.”

     

    The creative idea dramatises the pitfalls of travelling without knowing. The execution is built around one of the most famous travel destinations of the world – The Taj Mahal. It isdirected by E Suresh from Eeksaurus films and conceptualised by ixigo’s creative AOR From Here On.

     

    From Here On founder and MD Rajesh Aggarwal said, “In the crowded space of travel advertising, our cue was simple – demonstrate the peril of traveling without knowing, in a quirky manner, which breaks the clutter and creates a memorable and sticky visual metaphor for the brand.”
     

  • India.com launches in true Bollywood style, the new online destination for everything Indian

    India.com launches in true Bollywood style, the new online destination for everything Indian

    MUMBAI: India.com, a Zee Entertainment initiative, launched in the United States with a big Bollywood fanfare at the 33rd annual India Day Parade in New York City. The parade which is the largest gathering of the Indian community outside India, had more than 150,000 footfalls.

    India.com built a 70ft replica of the Red Fort, aka “Lal Qila”. The Red Fort is the 255-acre complex in New Delhi built in the 17th century by Mogul emperor Shah Jahan, who also built the Taj Mahal. Every 15 August on Independence Day, the Red Fort is the chosen location where the Prime Minister of India hoists the country’s flag and delivers a national speech from its ramparts to a loud and proud crowd.

    Inside the fort, a royal red carpet welcomed the enthusiastic crowd and invited them to sign up for a new @india.com email ID. There were more than 40 Macintosh computers laid out on a glass table. The inside walls of the fort were decorated with images that defined India.com. After registration, people went home with fun India.com freebies.

    India.com is a new online platform for everything Indian in an instant – from breaking news, business, and Bollywood to sports, travel and free classifieds. The website combines these one-of-a-kind features with an e-mail portal that will keep you connected. India.com launched in India back in 2011 and has since gained 28 million unique users making it one of the fastest growing portals.

    Other highlights of the parade included marching bands, over 40 floats, 100 food vendors, and the presence of famous Bollywood actress Vidya Balan and anti-graft crusader, Anna Hazare.

    Zee America GM Sameer Targe said, “The timing of our launch in North America could not have been any better. India Day Parade, which celebrates India’s Independence Day, by any measure, is the biggest, most vibrant south Asian event that happens on the east coast. We had a tremendous response for the site. India.com is customised for the south Asian diaspora and the Indophile segment. It was about time someone catered to the real needs of the Indian-American digital consumer.”

  • Nawazuddin Sidiqqui stars as Manjhi in Ketan Mehta’s next directorial

    Nawazuddin Sidiqqui stars as Manjhi in Ketan Mehta’s next directorial

    MUMBAI: Taj Mahal was constructed in the loving memory of Mumtaz Mahal by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. This monument took 21 years to build and thousands of artisans and craftsmen worked tediously to erect the magnificent structure.

    Then there is Manjhi, an inspiring love story of a poor Shah Jahan, Dashrath Manjhi. Over 22 years, with just a hammer and a chisel, he carved out a path through a mountain, in memory of his beloved wife who had fallen down while trying to cross it. He did it so that no one else would have to suffer her fate.

    “The story of Manjhi is truly inspiring, and for a man to actually break a mountain with just a hammer and a chisel for 22 years for his lost love just gave me goosebumps”, said director Ketan Mehta. “This has certainly been the toughest shoot of my life; we shot in Naxal infested areas on actual location in Bihar.”

    Marking the occasion of Dashrath Manjhi’s sixth death anniversary, renowned director Ketan Mehta announced the completion of his movie Manjhi – The Mountain Man. A biopic on Dashrath Manjhi, famous for being the man who broke a mountain for love, is a co-production between Maya Movies and National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

    The movie is co-written and directed by Ketan Mehta and produced by Deepa Sahi and Nina Lath Gupta, with an ensemble cast. The movie has been shot on actual locations in remote areas of Bihar.

    “It was one of the most difficult films to shoot, with the unit having to climb a mountain on foot, every day literally”, said Manjhi – The Mountain Man producer Deepa Sahi. “The movie is looking very nice with brilliant performances by all the artists. We have completed the post-production and are looking forward to release it by the end of this year”, she further added.


     Acclaimed actor, Nawazuddin Sidiqqui, who has won the hearts of audience and critics alike, for his commendable performances in Gangs of Wasseypur, Talaash, Kahaani and Bombay Talkies, will be essaying the role of Dashrath Manjhi. Actress Radhika Apte, will be seen as Manjhi’s wife. Tigmanshu Dhulia, Pankaj Tripathi, Prashant Narayan, Gaurav Dwivedi, amongst others round up the ensamble cast.

    “I wanted the character of Manjhi to be as real as possible and after considering a few actors Nawaz suited the bill perfectly”, Ketan expounded. “The feel of the movie is really raw, intense and earthy; I am really pleased with the final product and am confident the audience will be too.”

    NFDC was approached with the script and they agreed to co-produce the feature film. The complete film has been shot in digital and Ketan is really pleased with the outcome. “This is the first time that I have shot with Red Epic cameras and the result is just amazing.” The duration of the film is just over two hours and should be releasing by end of the year or early next year.

    On being asked if he is confident of the film raking in the moolah at the box-office, here is what Ketan had to say, “Cinema is not just a numbers game. I make movie for the sheer passion of cinema. This is not just a movie, but a triumph of human spirit and to prove that nothing in this world is impossible.”

    Ketan Mehta’s magnum opus – Rang Rasiya – that has been stuck in the doldrums for quite sometime now has also finally got the green signal and should see the light of day by end of this year.

    Ketan has been off the radar for quite sometime now, hope with Manjhi and Rang Rasiya his fans can again have the opportunity to connect with him on the silverscreen.