ITV

Tag: Varun Dhawan

  • Varun & Alia become Romeo & Juliet to teach you cleanliness

    Varun & Alia become Romeo & Juliet to teach you cleanliness

    MUMBAI: Did you ever think that the epic Romeo and Juliet could make a case of ‘keep your city clean’ initiative? That’s just that Adar Poonawalla’s Clean City advertisement has attempted with Bollywood actors Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt.

    Created by Dharma 2.0, the TVCs highlight the importance of keeping your city clean and urges people to take smaller steps to do their bit for their city. The two adverts, titled ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and ‘Astronaut’ reinforce the core message of keeping a city clean by taking essential steps like throwing waste in the bin.

    In the first ad, Juliet waits in her balcony to be proposed by Romeo. However, during their conversation, Juliet happens to throw a juice box outside. This disturbs our hero, who retracts the proposal and leaves her. He picks the box and throws it in the garbage bin showing how necessary it is to properly dispose waste and keep the surroundings clean.

    The second advertisement features two astronauts, a woman and a man, who descend from a spaceship on the moon. The two crack a few jokes during which, the man unwraps a chocolate bar and mindlessly throws the wrapper which floats owing to lack of gravity. Here, the woman gets irked and tells him to not throw garbage on the moon, before leaving him behind and shutting him out of the spaceship. The TVC ends with her asking the audience to keep their city clean.

    The quirky themes employed for the adverts are humorous and urge people to take necessary actions, in a light-hearted manner.

    Dharma 2.0 head Punit Malhotra said, “The importance of a greener and cleaner environment needs to be reinforced and the two TVCs intend to do just that. The campaign draws strong humorous elements and features the two youth icons, Alia and Varun to establish a strong connect with the millennials.”

    Serum Institute of India owner and CEO Adar Poonawalla added, “The Clean City initiative works tirelessly to encourage people to take smaller steps that go a long way in keeping a city clean. The initiative brings together the people in the city because it is only through their active participation that positive change can be brought about. It also tackles the task of cleaning 800kms of Pune streets on a daily basis. It is imperative to get the word out and urge other cities across the country to join in the movement. The campaign created by Dharma 2.0 is engaging and entertaining.”

  • Mirchi associates with Delhi govt on substance use

    Mirchi associates with Delhi govt on substance use

    MUMBAI: Radio Mirchi has culminated the second season of Mirchi Degree and educated students on the issues of substance use.

    Radio Mirchi 98.3FM – a leading radio station, saw the culmination of its flagship campaign, ‘Mirchi Degree’ to to boost the confidence of every student. This year, Mirchi has associated with the Government of Delhi to talk about the sensitive issue of usage of drugs by college students.

    The campaign, which started last year, is curated to encourage students to believe that it is not only the formal degree that will take them to heights but the unconventional talent hidden in them also plays a vital role to achieve success. This year, the campaign was endorsed by celebrities such as Ajay Devgn, Varun Dhawan, Raj Kumar Rao, Ileana D’Cruz, Shreyas Talpade and Esha Gupta. The initiative was aimed to address the issue of substance use and compelled students to get high only on their talent and not on any substance.

    As part of the activity format, fully branded activity vehicle was deployed in campuses in Delhi/NCR including elite colleges like SRCC from the Delhi University North Campus. Led by RJ Naved, Radio Mirchi team along with the Mirchidaar RJs invited the students to showcase their talent through Live performances inside the bus and provided them a chance to earn a Mirchi Degree.

    With the students posting funky pictures on their social media handles, RJ Naved was seen entertaining and cheering them.

    As part of the drive, Mirchi spoke to several addicts, peddlers, doctors, NGOs to shed light on the growing concern. To spread the message, the Mirchi team conducted both on-air and on-ground activities to college campuses in Delhi NCR.

    Radio Mirchi cluster head Pritesh Chothani said, “The idea that passion is as important as education, we want all students to be confident of their talent and stay away from substance. Talent will take you far, anything else will not.”

  • Discovery’s ‘India Best Jobs’ to feature those who followed ‘inner calling’

    MUMBAI: Discovery Channel, India’s leading destination for factual entertainment, is launching a new series titled ‘India’s Best Jobs’ which will feature 13 extra ordinary individuals who followed their inner calling and turned their passion into profession. Hosted by popular actor and singer Meiyang Chang, the series decodes the careers of select trendsetters who chose unusual yet extremely successful career paths proving to the world that ‘Aaj ke India mein sab kuch mumkin hai!’. The series opens a world of possibilities and breaks myths around jobs and careers for the youth of India. The show has generated lot of advertiser interest – Bluestar Water Purifiers, Project Management Institute, Kirloskar and Abbott Healthcare have come on-board as on-air partners.

    It will premiere on July 01 and will air every Saturday at 8pm.

    The series will feature ‘a day in the life of’ each of the individuals with Chang delving into the reasons behind their bold career choices. Each episode will answer the HOW, WHY & WHAT of these life-changing decisions and the misconceptions, ridicule, criticism that each one had to overcome to pursue their dream jobs. The series features well known personalities including RJ Naved, stand-up comedian Zakir Khan, chef Ranvir Brar, fitness trainer to the stars- Prashant Sawant and celebrity yoga instructor Anshuka Parwani, amongst others.

    Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific VP & head of real world products – South Asia Sameer Rao said, ‘India’s Best Jobs’ is an important step in our endeavor to showcase programming reflective of Indian zeitgeist. This series is a salute to the extraordinary individuals who lived their lives without limits and reveled in their passion.”

    Featured artists:

    •       RJ Naved – Star Radio jockey of a renowned FM channel, Naved is famous for playing pranks on his listeners. Interestingly, Naved discovered his passion and mastered the art of mimicking people at a very early age.

    •       Ranvir Brar- A celebrity chef, TV show host, successful restauranteur, a food stylist and an executive chef for one of India’s leading hotel chains. The episode delves into how he was inspired by the local kebab vendors in Lucknow to pursue his love for food and how he took his passion to the next level and was named as the youngest executive chef in India at a young age of 25.

    •       Prashant Sawant- A celebrity personal trainer who has been working in the fitness industry for more than two decades. The go-to trainer for Bollywood’s elite including Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. The episode will give a sneak peek into his life, both professional and personal, including views from many of his esteemed clientele, his loyal followers, his wife and other family members.

    •       Anshuka Parwani- A celebrity yoga instructor based in Mumbai. Her clientele includes Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez and Tushar Kapoor. She is one of the renowned aerial yoga experts in India.

    •       Zakir Khan- An Indian stand-up comedian, writer and presenter. He had won Comedy Central’s India’s Best Stand Up Comedian competition and rose to fame in 2012.

    •       Avi and Anita Malik – An ex-Indian Air Force fighter pilot, Avi Malik, along with his wife Anita Malik, founded Temple Pilots paragliding club. Over the past 18 years, they have taught paragliding skills to over 500 individuals. They both left high-flying corporate careers to pursue what they firmly believed was their eternal calling – paragliding. Avi and Anita were the first ones to professionalize the sport in India and recently also trained a visually impaired person to complete his first ever solo flight.

    •       Manoor Sachdeva – Founder and Director of Canine Solutions Rehabilitation Centre, Manoor is a dog behaviorist and looks after as well as treats dogs with issues like anger management, excessive timidity, anti-social behavior and more. Manoor along with his wife Anjali runs this centre at their farm Phoebe’s Farm, named after their dog Phoebe. Manoor credits Phoebe for teaching him everything there is to know about handling dogs of all kinds.

    •       Siddhartha Joshi – One of India’s most successful and followed travel bloggers, who strongly believes in the power of travelling to build bridges and break down barriers. Through his blog called ‘The Wanderer’, Siddhartha shares his passion for meeting and interacting with new people while travelling. His biggest dream is that one day the world will know no boundaries, and people will be able to travel anywhere, visa-free.

    •       Vijay Singh Ajairajpura – Hailing from a Rajput family in Jaipur, biking runs in his blood. His father used to race for Jaipur Motorcycle club in the 70s and his grandfather organized the first all-India MotoX race in Jaipur in 1977. Vijay is proud of his Rajputana heritage and founded Rajputana Customs, one of the first custom motorcycle operations in the country.

    •       Akriti Khatri- Akriti always had a curious mind and a knack for investigations which led to Venus Detective agency, India’s leading female private detective agency. Her agency provides services like Pre-matrimonial, Post-matrimonial, Infidelity/Adultery, Divorce Cases, Surveillance/Follow, Missing Person, Under Cover Operations, and Loyalty Test etc.

    •       Shivang Mehta- A journalist turned PR professional; now a traveler and natural-history photographer, Shivang Mehta wears many professional hats. His love for the forests of Kumaon pushed him to leave the cozy comfort of corporate offices and start an organization Nature Wanderers with Corbett as the main area of work. An official trainer for Canon India, Shivang conducts wildlife photography workshops across India, Sri Lanka and Africa.

    •       Harpreet Bacher- ‘The Wedding Story’ is the brain-child of Mumbai-based photographer and cinematographer Harpreet Bachher. Filming, photographing, editing and showcasing a crisp cinematic record of weddings in a well-scripted, and visually stunning way is all what he seeks in his life. His clientele includes Aahana Deol, Divyanka Tripathi and many others.

  • Colors to air live Saif & Karan-hosted IIFA awards on 16 July

    MUMBAI: As the countdown to the biggest celebration of Indian cinema worldwide draws near, the IIFA management revealed that the charismatic duo — Saif Ali Khan and Karan Johar, would host the upcoming NEXA IIFA Awards powered by Vivo at the iconic MetLife Stadium.

    Bollywood’s youth icon Varun Dhawan is all set to make a debut at IIFA Awards with a stunning performance and will be also be seen co-hosting a segment of the star-studded awards night.

    The 18th Edition of IIFA awards will air exclusively live on Colors from New York at 9am and repeat at 6pm on 16 July 2017, Sunday. IIFA Awards 2017 will witness performances by Bollywood superstars, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Katrina Kaif, Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon, to name a few.

    Johar said, “New York will be spellbound with the magic of IIFA!” Khan added, saying, “This year it’s going to be super fun and glamorous in every way as Karan and I are going to have lots of surprises.” Dhawan shared: “This year is truly going to be a grand celebration and I can’t wait to be there!”

    Wizcraft director Andre Timmins says, “The line-up is being enhanced with more star power with Dhawan making his debut performance on the IIFA stage with a spectacular act and co-hosting for a special segment this year.”

    Viacom18 COO Raj Nayak said, “No longer will the Colors viewers have to wait to satiate their anticipation as this time they will get to see all the action unfold in actual time and in all its splendor across 140 countries. Our aim is to take IIFA to the level of the Oscars and beaming it live is a step towards that direction.”

  • Only India still has 70:30 ad-to-distribution rev, says Sony’s Neeraj Vyas

    MUMBAI: On 13 June, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI)’s comedy channel Sony Sab unveiled its latest identity. It has roped in the Bollywood hearthrob Varun Dhawan as its brand ambassador.

    The ‘re-energised’ channel will see a new line-up of comedy shows, lively packaging and vibrant visuals aimed at providing an enriching and revitalised visual experience to its audience. The channel has relaunched with new shows but, by August 2017, the channel has planned to launch an exciting line-up for its viewers.

    The positioning of the channel as a family channel will remain the same as assured by the network but, going forward, the network has planned to expand the prime time.

    Talking to Indiantelevision.com about extending the prime time and launching afternoon band, SPNI Sab and Max cluster senior EVP and head Neeraj Vyas said that it’s a learning phase right now. He also said that a channel dropped by 50 GRPs in the last six months, but refused to name the channel.

    “(However,) Star (India) seems to be getting it right with the help of its huge base. But, I don’t think it’s working for many other people (channels). So, we will wait and watch, because the critical mass audience in the afternoon band is not significant. Also, women are not my primary TG right now. To get them to watch television in the afternoon is difficult. To experiment now may not be the right thing to do, but you never know. We might come up with something like a weekend afternoon,” Vyas added.

    Speaking about the distribution investment, SPNI CEO NP Singh said, “We have made investment in distribution in the last couple of years. In fact, in the last couple of months, we have made investments across major DPOs — and, all that will impact the reach of the channel.” “This repositioning and relaunch will also help to build the reach,” he added.

    Prodded about the ratio of distribution and ad revenue, Vyas informed “It’s too early to talk about that, particularly, and the television ecosystem at large. We are the only country which still has 70:30 ratio of advertising-to-distribution revenue. Everything needs to be digitised, and there has to be a subscriber management system. Not only for Sab TV but I think, for everyone, the ratio should be reversed.”

  • Refreshed avatar of Sony Sab unveiled

    MUMBAI: Underlining its purpose of flipping every frown and turn it upside down, Sony Sab, India’s only family humour channel, has launched its a new brand identity. The ‘re-energized’ channel will see a new line up of comedy shows, lively packaging and vibrant visuals aimed at providing an enriching and revitalised visual experience to its audiences. The new brand expression underlines the channel’s conviction “if you are not laughing, you are not living”. Sony Sab’s new creative expression encompassing new logo, tagline, brand films and new shows is aligned to its goal of making Sony Sab the comedy icon of India.

    The new avatar of Sony Sab has:

    • New logo, on air packaging, brand films
    • Fresh line-up of shows with refreshed flavor of comedy
    • New tagline – Haste Raho India
    • Varun Dhawan as Sony Sab’s Happiness Ambassador

    The new logo features happy colours including bright orange and yellow symbolising vibrancy yet comfort and warmth with a little oomph in the purple. Varun Dhawan has been roped in as a Happiness Ambassador for SAB. Varun brings in the desired youthfulness, fresh of wave energy and contemprariness to the brand. The channel promise of Haste Raho India is being brought alive through a series of brand films anchored by Varun against a fresh and energetic foot tapping music track. The new brand personality is aligned to changing aspirations of new India.

    The laughter movement is being driven by a line of shows with refreshed flavour of comedy, while keeping the core of the content intact. Recently launched ‘Sajjan Re Phir Jhoot Mat Bolo’ along with upcoming line up of shows like ‘TV, Biwi Aur Main’, ‘Tenali Rama’, ‘Shankar Jay Kishan, 3-in-1’ and ‘Aadat Se Majboor’ will herald a youthful, contemporary and relatable feel.

    There’s something for everyone, Haste Raho India! The latest look of Sony Sab will go live on 13 June, 8.30 pm.

    Sony Pictures Networks CEO NP Singh: “For over a decade, SAB has emerged as the most distinctive channel in GEC and built a sizeable loyal audience. The new, re-energized SAB is all set to deliver on the promise of Haste Raho India as its mission is to be recognized as the ‘frown flipper’ for Indian audiences. The essence of this new Avatar will be reflected in SAB’s new identity and show line-up.”

    Sony Sab and MAX cluster of channels Sr. EVP Neeraj Vyas said: “The re-energized SAB further strengthens our core proposition through a reinvigorated language of humor and a compelling purpose of making more than a billion Indians laugh more, every day. The new brand identity along with a range of new shows offering more laughter, modernity, relatability and variety, will help us strengthen the connect with our core audiences as well as attract newer audiences to the channel.”

    Varun Dhawan: “As SAB’s Happiness Ambassador, I am excited to partner with the channel to spread laughter and joy amongst millions of Indians. Having always enjoyed SAB’s distinctive content, I look forward to its fresh range of shows lined up. This refreshed flavour of comedy from SAB, will certainly kick-start a happiness movement.”

  • Skybags announces ‘Canvas Project’s new edition

    MUMBAI: Skybags has announced the 3rd season of much awaited annual design event ‘The Skybags Canvas Project’, providing an opportunity to people who are creatively inclined to design a new collection for Skybags.

    The Skybags Canvas Project is a platform for the designers to showcase their creativity on a larger scale. For this online competition, Skybags has created a separate microsite that will host the contest. Designers have to download the design kit from the website and upload an original design including Skybags Logo to the microsite once created. The designers ask their peers to vote for their designs and the designs with maximum likes have a chance to win the award.

    Varun Dhawan, the Skybag’s brand ambassador, and VIP Industries VP design and development Vasant Dewaji will review all the entries and select the best design. The winning design will be featured on the Skybags latest collection. Also, the winner will be awarded a high-performance 4K desktop and the runner up of the contest will get a 4K camera. Skybags will gift a backpack to the best design of the day.

  • #PlayBackToBack for Skybag

    MUMBAI: Skybags has presented a refreshing campaign #PlayBackToBack to launch its latest range of backpacks.

    Creatively conceptualised and executed by Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi, PlayBackToBack showcases an imaginary scenario where brand ambassador, Varun Dhawan comes out of a bag portraying a non-stop life, packed with fun and style.

    The campaign is dubbed to some foot tapping background music describing the features of the new backpacks and at the same time representing multiple styles for different lifestyles. The new collection includes 81 fresh designs that reflect the passion and personality of college goers, young professionals and explorers who are ready to take on the world. From sturdy weekend rucksacks to impressive professional laptop bags to stylish college backpacks and colorful glow in the dark school bags there is something for everyone.

    Brand ambassador Varun Dhawan says, “PlayBackToBack is filmed on a very unique concept and it is extremely different from any brand film I have done so far. During the narration when I was told that I had to come out of backpack that itself got my attention and I so wanted to see how we can execute it. I hope my fans enjoy watching this campaign as much as I have enjoyed shooting it.”

    V.I.P Industries sales and marketing VP Sudip Ghose says, “As always the new collection will offer the best and the latest trends in backpacks. Today backpacks have become an essential part of our lives. People don’t just carry backpacks anymore, they wear them like an accessory. In this campaign, we have used an imaginary way of storytelling that unveils the collection and also depicts the lifestyle of our consumers which is portrayed exceptionally well by Varun.”

    Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi joint national creative director Rahul Nangia says, “Skybags is fun stylish brand, meant for the youth. The centre piece of the campaign is a film which captures the energy of the brand and its endorser, but is not limited by logic. And the best part is, it’s all been shot live. No CG!”

  • ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ is on its way to becoming a hit

    The time period for the release of Badrinath Ki Dulhania was dicey to say the least. The film was released bang in the middle of days of election results in the most politically volatile states of the North India, board exams and the pre-Holi Friday. Also, cinema halls are closed till mid-noon on Holi day and one or two shows are cancelled across most cinemas.

    Being a youth-oriented musical romance, the film could have drawn and deserved a better opening response over the weekend. The film did have a sagging second half till it picks up later towards the end. But, the young pair of Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt had a great chemistry going, and the film sustained all the onslaughts best as it could.

    Badrinath Ki Dulhania opened on Friday with about Rs 12 crore, improving a little by little over Saturday and Sunday. Being the solo release and an entertainer helped. The film collected Rs 54.7 crore in its extended weekend of four days.

    *Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai has managed a poor Rs 20 lakh in its first week.

    *Commando 2, a forced sequel, had nothing to offer except action by Vidyut Jammwal. He may be an ace martial arts exponent but how many times can one watch the same person doing same action sequences? What people prefer is stunts and that, just about every hero seems to be doing, thanks to special effects.

    The film, which did Rs 14.6 crore business during its first three days, managed to add little over seven crore for rest of the four days to close its first week with Rs 21.8 crore.

    *Rangoon adds to its misery as the film dropped Rs 19.1 crore in first week to Rs 65 lakh in its second week. The film takes its two week tally to Rs 19.75 crore which, for all practical purposes, is the film’s lifetime business.

    *The Attack On Ghazi continued to add bit by bit to the collections. The film collected Rs 2.5 crore in its third week to take its three week tally to Rs 17.95 crore.

    *Jolly LLB has collected Rs 2.4 crore in its fourth week to take its four week total to Rs 106.2 crore.

  • Badrinath Ki Dulhania: Part fun, part dull

    Director Shashank Khaitan seems to be creating a franchise of his own as he comes back with ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’ after his earlier film, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. This film too starts off in Hindi belt but later traverses to Singapore to break the monotony.

    In the process, Badrinath Ki Dulhania also heavily promotes the woman’s cause, her independence and right to choose.

    Varun Dhawan’s character is a barely educated lad from Jhansi working as a recovery man for his well-off but steadfast and old-fashioned father played by Rituraj Singh. Singh’s character considers himself lucky. Since he has sired two sons, daughters, according to him, are a liability. He does not care if his sons love some girl, they have to marry according to his wishes and the dowry that the girl brings is his prime consideration.

    Accordingly, his elder son, Yash Sinha’s character had to sacrifice his love and marry Shweta Basu Prasad’s character who brought along a car showroom besides cash as dowry. She is well-educated but a working woman is no-no for Rituraj.

    Varun joins the baraat of his friend headed for Kota. There, he spots Alia Bhatt, also a guest, and instantly falls for her. It is a one-sided love as Alia is a headstrong and independent girl who wants to work to bring her middle-class family out of a tight financial situation. Also, Alia has an elder sister, played by Aakanksha Singh, who, according to tradition, has to marry first.

    Nice guy that he is, Varun decides to help Alia and her family find a suitor for Aakanksha on the condition that Alia will marry him in the same mandap. Varun does manage to find a match for Aakanksha and the wedding day is decided.

    Things don’t go as planned, however, and Varun has to chase Alia all over again.

    Enjoyable so far, the film loses pace as the location shifts to Singapore where Alia has taken up a career in an airline. Varun is left to do a Devdas act, slipping into a bout of self-pity. This part slows down the film considerably for a while before it comes back into some fun and songs. The climax is interesting while it also delivering a message.

    The script is penned keeping in mind that the theme is youth-oriented and romance, with light moments aplenty, especially in the first part. The second half needed to be spruced up. Direction is competent and the songs are well placed.

    The film has a popular musical score with Humsafar…..,Rokenaruke…. Tenutakiyabina…. being hummable while the title song has a sectional appeal. The remixed Tammatamma… is already popular number from the film Thanedaar (1989). Cinematography is good.

    Varun plays his carefree character with élan. Alia makes a good pair with him, and acts well. Sahil Vaid makes a mark. Rituraj is impressive. Yash, Shweta and Aakanksha land good support.

    Otherwise a plus film, Badri Ki Dulhania will have to contend with pre-Holi weekend which affects collections, especially in the Hindi belt, board exams and election results aftereffects for next few days.

    Producers: Hiroo Johar, Karan Johar.

    Director: Shashank Khaitan.

    Cast: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Gauahar Khan, Mohit Marwah, Aakanksha Singh.