ITV

Tag: Telugu

  • Pustaka launches India’s first language eBook portal

    Pustaka launches India’s first language eBook portal

    BENGALURU: Pustaka Digital Media today launches India’s first ebook selling and lending portal in vernacular languages -www.pustaka.co.in. Initially www.pustaka.co.in will have 150 plus titles from the eminent authors of Tamil, Kananda and Telugu languages. The company plans to launch digitization model for all Indian language books by the end of 2020 based on the response from both reader and author community.

     

     

    Book lending library is a gift for book lovers and avid readers. With the new language eBook portal, Pustaka is introducing the traditional book subscription model on eBook platform. www.pustaka.co.in will address the need of the growing e-reader community of India and abroad who wants to read and cherish various literature of their own language. While bridging this gap, this new concept of eBook lending service opens a new stream of revenue for the authors in addition to current conventional revenue model.

     

     

    Commenting on this development, Nivetha, Founder & CEO, Pustaka Digital Media said, “www.pustaka.co.in will provide a whole new experience to the Indian language book readers with rich mobile content. We often complain that the young generation do not read native language books. Unfortunately, most of the native language books are not available as eBooks and they slowly migrate to English. Pustaka’s goal is to bridge this gap by publishing regional language books as eBooks. By the end of 2020, we plan to have few lakhs eBooks from all Indian languages on the platform of Pustaka”.

     

     

    Initially, the readers will be able the access the works of the eminent authors including Indira Soundarrajan, Pattukottai Prabhakar, Yandamoori Veerendranath, Neela Padmanabhan, Devibala, Rajesh Kumar, K.T.Gatti, Balabhadrapatruni Ramani and many more authors. The company is in the process of digitization various works of other prominent authors which will be available in a month’s time.

     

     

    ”Pustaka’s goal is to connect authors and readers of regional language books using technology. The new age readers are techno savvy and reads on the go. This trend has been driving the eBook market. Along with the English language books, Indian readers want to read their native language books of their favourite authors. Our plan is to target the readers of all age groups across India and other parts of world who desires to read their own language books”, said, Padmanaban, Director of Pustaka Digital Media.

     

     

    Few best seller books which will be available for the readers on Pustaka’s platform includes Tulasi, Tulasidala, Pallikonda Puram, Aindhu Vazhi Moondru Vaasal, Khajuraho etc.

     

     

    Delighted by this initiative Mr. Indira Soundarrajan (One of the prominent author in Tamil), said, “Nowadays, the way people read is changed and I feel it is necessary to adapt to that change. I would like to congratulate the team of Pustaka Digital Media for this great initiative. This will be able to bond the new age readers with our rich Indian literature and culture.”.

     

  • Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu (MEK) Season 2 to commence soon

    Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu (MEK) Season 2 to commence soon

    MUMBAI: Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu (MEK), the most sought after game show in the history of the Telugu Television screen, is all set to come back soon.

     

    The visual treat to the viewers of the Telugu TV with the big-time film star Nagarjuna as the host has achieved phenomenal reach and success with over 4 Crore Telugu people watching the MEK game show in Season 1.

     

    As per the TAM data, MEK has recorded 17.61 TVR in CS Female AB 25-44 Years category, 14.58 TVR in CS Female ABC 25+ years category, 10.20 TVR in CS Male ABC 15+ Years category, 12.31 TVR in CS ABC 15-44 Years category and 10.15 TVR in CS 4+ Years category, which is a record of sort for a game show in Telugu.

     

    The unprecedented emotional connect and engagement brought by Nagarjuna Akkineni as the host resulted in this kind of large scale family viewing and appointment viewing for 5 days a week in the prime time. To take the MEK game show to the next level, Maa TV has decided to launch the MEK Season 2 soon with Nagarjuna as the host again.  

     

    As the first step towards the launch of MEK Season 2, the registration process to participate in the game show through Call for Entry (CFE) process would commence on 9th October at 7.00 PM and would continue for 10 days till 6.30 PM on 18th October.

     

    As part of the CFE process, one question is flashed every day at 7.00 PM on Maa TV. Those who are interested can respond to the question before 6.30 PM on the next day. Another question is flashed at 7.00 PM on the next day.

     

    The 10-day CFE process with 10 questions provide a big chance to come to the MEK hot seat and win a maximum cash prize of Rs. 1 Crore. Telugu speaking people interested in participating in the game show can register themselves during this 10 day period either through SMS or IVRS.

     

    The details for SMS & IVRS Registrations are as follows.

     

    To Register through SMS:

     

    Send MEK<space> Option <space> Age <space> gender to 57337. Each SMS would cost Rs. 3.

     

    To Register Through IVRS DIAL:

     

    1255573 for BSNL users and 5057337 for all other operators.  Registrations through IVRS would cost up to Rs. 7, depending on the operator.

     

    Detailed terms and conditions can be seen by logon to http://mek.maatv.com 

     

    Successful registrations will be put through a randomization process and followed by auditions. An elaborate selection process under the close supervision of the reputed international audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) will determine who will eventually become eligible to participate in the game show.

     

    MEK has taken a shape with the visionary thinking of Maa TV Chairman Nimmagadda Prasad, who emphasized on making a social impact through this game show on Maa TV. The game show took the Telugu TV entertainment space to the next level with a good meaning and purpose with several heart touching life stories coming into light as a source of inspiration for common men.

     

    Seen as a Life Changer for people, the most successful international format game show will be produced by Big Synergy.

  • Dish TV’s Zing now targets Telugu viewers

    Dish TV’s Zing now targets Telugu viewers

    MUMBAI: After making inroads into West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura and Maharashtra, Dish TV’s regional targeted brand Zing Digital has now made its presence in the Telugu market of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

     

    38 Telugu channels and services and over 100 channels will be available for selection with packs starting at Rs 99 per month. This is the maximum number of channel for any state till now.

     

    Speaking on the development, Dish TV India COO Salil Kapoor said, “Zing is our unique initiative where a complete new brand is being launched to address this need for regional content. Now not only will packages cater to specific audiences across states, but even communication will be in the customer’s language of choice. Zing will address this need and provide maximum available regional content to viewers through exciting packs as compared to other DTH brands.” Therefore, customers will have a dedicated Telugu call centre and local dealers to help solve their issues.

     

    A consumer demographic study conducted by them has indicated that a large segment of TV viewers from medium and small town prefer content from their own region. Which is why Dish TV has ventured into creating this sub brand.

     

    Four packs have been offered:

     

    -Namaskaram Pack that 16 Telugu channels for Rs 99.

     

    -Shubharam pack that has maximum Telugu channels and Hindi entertainment for Rs 165.

     

    -Kridangam pack which will cater to sports lovers for Rs 199.

     

    -Utsawam pack with sports, English entertainment and 38 Telugu channels and services for Rs 349.

     

    Dish TV is looking at acquiring a decent amount of subscribers from the large analogue market in the state into first time digital subscribers. As per a TRAI report, Andhra Pradesh has the highest cable TV homes in India at 15 per cent of the total cable TV homes.

  • Tata Sky completes half of its MPEG-4 STB rollout

    Tata Sky completes half of its MPEG-4 STB rollout

    MUMBAI: It was a year ago that Tata Sky decided it would stop depending on the government for giving its additional transponder space and switched to the alternative method of compression that others in the industry had already begun.

     

    A huge order for six million MPEG-4 boxes were given to Broadcom that would mean Tata Sky spending close to Rs 1,000 crore to replace all the initial MPEG-2 boxes that it had seeded at peoples’ home with MPEG-4. A year later, the DTH operator has converted nearly half of its MPEG-2 subscriber base to MPEG-4.

     

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com Tata Sky MD and CEO Harit Nagpal says, “We have replaced close to three million boxes. Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Odia, English, Gujarati and Marathi language channels have already been compressed and boxes have been deployed in the respective areas.” Now, the large Hindi base of north India is left which it says it will soon complete.

     

    With this compression technique, the DTH operator has managed to fit three channels in the space of two in its existing transponder space. Nagpal adds that in the last one year, Tata Sky has added nearly 50 channels.

     

    The cost of this entire exercise is being borne by the operator. Tata Sky’s signals are being beamed off Insat 4A; but it had signed a contract to lease 12 transponders on ISRO’s GSAT-10 satellite around six years ago which have not been delivered to Tata Sky yet, even after the satellite launched in to space in September 2012.

     

    Emergency teams were also brought to seed the large amount of boxes. Tata Sky is continuing to add more channels to its regional packs, despite the fact that it hasn’t got any additional transponder capacity. However, a source from the company says that it has given up hope of having more space. 

     

     

  • Endemol India gets Ashok Vidyasagar as senior VP for south

    Endemol India gets Ashok Vidyasagar as senior VP for south

    MUMBAI: Endemol India is getting an expert hand to lead operations of the entire south India business in new senior vice president Ashok Vidyasagar. His mandate will be to focus on scripted business opportunities as well as exploit the non scripted catalog of Endemol in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

     

    Vidyasagar will be based out of Chennai and report to Endemol India COO (Television) Abhishek Rege. He has had nearly five years of experience in the media and entertainment industry and TV programming.

     

    Prior to this he was with Big Synergy Media as business director for south operations, Bates 141 as senior VP and general manager, Enfatico as country lead, group business director at DDB and account director at HTA Bangalore and JWT.

     

    Speaking on his appointment Rege said, “Regional markets, especially the southern markets, are fast-growing verticals for Endemol India.  We have always been focused on building regional franchises of our global shows especially in the south. In the past too we have seen great success with Deal or No Deal in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam and now most recently Bigg Boss Kannada has been a huge hit.  With Ashok leading the southern market, we hope to further expand and build more such ventures. We welcome him to the Endemol India team and look forward to benefiting from his talent and experience.”

     

    Ashok has a commerce background with a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration with additional studies completed under the Executive Education from IIM, Bangalore on Integrated Marketing Communications.

     

    “I am excited about my new role at Endemol India.  Endemol India, is one of India’s largest TV content companies with presence in television, film and digital content, and has in a short time, taken great strides in the south market most recently with the success of Bigg Boss in Kannada. I look forward to building its business down south and establishing new ventures while growing and driving forward existing business. Branded content and branded engagement in TV is huge business and other new media like digital, YouTube, cinema and mobile make interesting avenues for expanding the scope of content strategy and business. I would like to leverage my brand experience and work on content strategies for brands and channels in the south of India which is an exciting set of four markets. With the increasing percentage of ad spends of national brands in south, the possibilities are huge for branded engagement and content. Value and volume of new content in south India have shown impressive growth year on year. Hence, brands and channels are ready to make high investments for content resulting better ROI for them and therein lies the business opportunity for content,” said  Vidyasagar.

  • Sonakshi and Imran lend their voice for Rio 2

    Sonakshi and Imran lend their voice for Rio 2

    MUMBAI: In a first, Hollywood and Bollywood will come together in Rio 2 – the sequel to 2011’s hit animation flick Rio – and see two of Bollywood’s leading stars feature as the main voices for the dubbed Hindi version.

    Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan will feature as the lovable and memorable macaws Jewel and Blu respectively, for Rio 2. The English version of the movie will see the voices of Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg again which will be dubbed in Hindi by Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan. 

    Though in the past B-town actors have lent their voices on a small scale, like Shahrukh Khan in The Incredibles, this is the first time such a huge Bollywood association has taken place for a Hollywood franchise. 

    Rio 2 which is one of the most anticipated Hollywood movie in India, is an adventure comedy set in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro. The movie will feature the return of Blu, Jewel and their three kids who leave their domesticated life for a journey to Amazon rainforest. 

    Rio 2 (3D) releases on 11 April 2014 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

  • Sun TV Network app now on Nokia Asha touch and Windows phones

    Sun TV Network app now on Nokia Asha touch and Windows phones

    CHENNAI: Nokia has partnered with Sun Group recently on the availability of Sun TV Network app on its Nokia Asha touch and Nokia Windows Phonesrange. The app provides schedule of the programs for various TV channels and Video of the TV serials available in these channels. Additionally, the app caters to all the four south Indian languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam.

    The Sun TV app can be accessed by Nokia’s Windows Phone users as well as Nokia’s Asha range users and the videos can be accessed from the devices using 3G or WiFi connections.The application will continue to have newer features including live TV as and when the service is made available by Sun TV.

    Commenting on the launch of Sun TV network app on Nokia Asha and Windows phones rangeMr. Viral Oza – Marketing Director, Nokia India said “Today mobile devices are beyond voice for consumers as they are increasingly using their handset as an entertainment hub. We are very excited to partner with Sun TV Network that is India’s largest media conglomerate and we look forward to provide improved user experience to our consumers with the availability of this app”

    From Windows 8 phones perspective, Sun TV app can be accessed by Nokia Lumia 520, Nokia Lumia 620, Nokia Lumia 720, Nokia Lumia 820, Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 925, Lumia 625and the more recently launched Lumia 1020. Even consumers using Windows 7.5 phones such as Nokia Lumia 800, Nokia 710, Nokia 610, Nokia Lumia510 and Nokia Lumia 900 can access the app. The Sun TV apps also supports all Asha full touch devices including, Nokia Asha 305, Nokia Asha 306, Nokia Asha 308, Nokia Asha 309, Nokia Asha 311.

    Reiterating the new offering, Mr. Kannan, Chief Technology Officer, Sun TV said “The Sun TV Network app is an important milestone for the company. With more and more consumers looking at their mobile devices for entertainment, we are happy to offer services that will help them stay connected to their favourite show on their favourite channel on-the-go. We are confident that through our partnership with Nokia, we will also be able to strengthen our bond with their large consumer-base.”

  • Amish’s SHIVA TRILOGY crosses 2 million copies in print and gross retail sales of Rs. 50 crores

    Amish’s SHIVA TRILOGY crosses 2 million copies in print and gross retail sales of Rs. 50 crores

    MUMBAI:  The Shiva Trilogy, written by Amish, is a compelling, fictional tale of a Tibetan tribal called Shiva, whose adventures nearly 4000 years ago, morphed into the mythical legends of the Hindu God Shiva. The Shiva Trilogy (The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas & The Oath of the Vayuputras) has more than 2 million copies in print with gross retail sales of over Rs 50 crores, making it the fastest selling book series in the history of Indian publishing.

     

    Over the last few months, The Oath of the Vayuputras, The Immortals of Meluha and The Secret of the Nagas have remained at the top in the A C Nielsen bestseller list in India, one of the rare occasions where one author’s books dominate the national bestseller lists so completely!

     

    Published by Westland Ltd, the books have been released across the Indian subcontinent in various languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Bengali, Assamese. It has also been released in the Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia. They will also be released very soon in other languages like Tamil.

     

    Additionally, Jo Fletcher Books (an imprint of Quercus Books) have bought the English language rights outside of the Indian sub-continent and has published the first book, The Immortals of Meluha, in the UK in January 2013. The book will be released in the US in Summer 2014. The book is also due for release in Vietnam soon.

     

    The Shiva Trilogy has attracted a wide and devoted audience since its publication, with publishing gurus calling it a genre-creating book series. It has also received positive reviews from various eminent personalities. Spiritual guru, Deepak Chopra, complimented the books saying, ‘Amish’s mythical imagination mines the past and taps into the possibilities of the future. His book series, archetypal and stirring, unfold the deepest recesses of the soul as well as our collective consciousness.’ Renowned Film Director, Shekhar Kapur, called Amish ‘India’s first literary popstar’, while celebrated author Anil Dharker called him ‘a literary phenomenon’.

     

    Many marketing innovations have also been attempted for the Shiva Trilogy. For the 1st book, The Immortals of Meluha, the first chapter had been printed and distributed, free of cost, as a sampler. A trailer film had also been made and uploaded on YouTube, probably for the first time in the history of Indian publishing. For the 2nd book, The Secret of the Nagas, a professional film-quality trailer film had been made and showcased in cinemas, once again for the first time in Indian publishing history. The string of innovations has continued in the marketing of the 3rd book of the trilogy, The Oath of the Vayuputras. For the first time in Indian publishing, an original soundtrack album has been created for a book series called ‘Vayuputras: the soundtrack of the Shiva Trilogy books’. For the festive season a box set of the Shiva Trilogy books is being released as a special hardbound edition for gifting.

     

    Giving the life of music to the soul of the words, all the 10 songs in the album have been originally created out of various sections of the 3 books of the Shiva Trilogy. Top-notch musical artistes like Taufiq Qureshi, Sonu Nigam, Palash Sen & Bickram Ghosh have contributed their talent to this album. A professional, world-class music video has also been produced which is being telecast in various music channels.

  • UAE to play host to second edition of SIIM Awards

    UAE to play host to second edition of SIIM Awards

    NEW DELHI: The second South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) is to be held at the Sharjah Expo Centre on 12 and 13 September this year.

    Actress Shriya Saran, along with Rana Daggubati and Arya, announced at a press meet in Dubai that shortlisting of the best films of all South Indian languages – Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada – was in progress.

    SIIMA has been instituted with the aim of creating a global platform for the South Indian film industry which releases over 500 films in a year and is one of the largest in the world.

    SIIMA founder and MD Vishnuvardhan Induri said: “SIIMA is a platform for South Indian Film industries to showcase their cinema to the world, SIIMA will travel to a different country every year and it will be a great platform for south Indian films to market and publicise their movies.”

    Arya, Indian Tamil actor and co-host at SIIMA, said: “I am very excited to be a part of a function where South Indian cinema is presented on a global platform.”

    The awards ceremony will be spread over two days. Day one will comprise the ‘Generation Next Awards Night’, and will be hosted by former Miss India World and actress Parvathy Omanakuttan, and co-hosted by stand-up comedian Ash Chandler. The ‘Popular Awards’ will be held on day two, and will be co-hosted by Arya, Shriya Saran, Rana Daggubati and Sonu Sood.

    Shriya Saran, co-host at SIIMA said, “I am very excited to be a part of SIIMA. I had started my career with South Indian films so this industry is very close to my heart. I am really thrilled that I am co-hosting this prestigious award function and will be sharing the platform with three handsome co-anchors.”

    The prestigious panel of experts at SIIMA have chosen the nominees of the awards, and the winners will be chosen by an online voting system.

    Rana Daggubati, Indian actor and co-host at SIIMA said: “I am really looking forward to being with a room full of attractive, admired and extremely successful people from the South Indian film industry that are being honored for their artistic contribution. As the host, it will be a pleasure to ensure that amongst all the cheer, the stars have a good time, are thoroughly entertained, and cherish their moment of praise.”

    The awards night will be packed with breath-taking acts and performances by some of the biggest stars in South Indian cinema.

  • 60th Idea Filmfare Awards 2012 (South)

    60th Idea Filmfare Awards 2012 (South)

    Chennai: As Indian cinema turns a 100, Filmfare, which has chronicled that journey for the past 60 years, is proud of its long association with the South Indian film industry that continues to raise the bar with its creative, thrilling and exhilarating productions.

     

    Once again, Filmfare is set to celebrate the Black Lady’s date with the South Indian film industry at the 60th Idea Filmfare Awards 2012 (South) to be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre on July 20, 2013.

     

    Over the years, the award ceremony has grown into a star-studded extravaganza that generates some of the highest TRPs. The gorgeous stars on the red carpet, the scintillating performances and the suspense surrounding the potential winners make this an evening to watch out for.

     

    Filmfare has always respected public opinion and this year too, readers and movie buffs nationwide have voted for their favourites across 10 categories each, in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. As the vote count continues, the nominees for the year will soon be chosen. A specially-appointed jury will pick the final winners from among nominees drawn from these responses.

     

    The sensational Tamanna Bhatia, along with Mr. Tarun Rai, Chief Executive Officer, Worldwide Media and Mr. Rajat Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Idea Cellular lit the lamp at a press conference to announce the date and venue of the 60th Idea Filmfare Awards 2012 (South).

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Tarun Rai said, “This is a very special year for Filmfare as we are celebrating the 60th year of the Filmfare Awards. From just two awards in 1953 to the fifty one Black Ladies that we would be giving out this year, it has been a long journey. And to be able to have the awards every year for 60 years is a huge achievement. We respect the immense talent of South Indian cinema and I know that the industry here has huge respect for the Black Lady.”

     

    Extending their association with the popular Filmfare Awards for another glorious year, Mr. Rajat Mukarji said, “South Indian Cinema has played an integral role in shaping the success of 100 years of Indian Cinema. In the 5th year of our association with Filmfare, we endeavour to reach out to a large number of subscribers and deliver rich content through mobile telephony in the region. At the forefront of communication, innovation and entertainment, the Idea Filmfare Awards is an endeavour to honour talent, innovation and excellence in cinema by the stalwarts of the industry.”

     

    The Filmfare Awards (South) were first held at the prestigious Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai, shifting later to the distinctive Music Academy. Initially, only Tamil and Telugu films were considered for the awards, but Malayalam and Kannada films became part of the event in 1966 and 1969 respectively. The spirit of the awards lies in their popularity not just among the masses, but also with the film fraternity.

     

    The Black Lady is the ultimate recognition of talent.