ITV

Tag: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

  • Innovative I-Day ‘Dangal’ on Zee with audio description & subtitles

    MUMBAI: Innovation in presentation and telecast seems to be continuing phenomenon. Versatile actor Aamir Khan’s ‘Dangal’, which is having its television premiere on Zee Cinema on 15 August, will be a special Independence Day treat for the visually impaired and hearing viewers: it will have subtitles for those who cannot hear and audio description for those who cannot see.

    Marking its silver jubilee this year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd is launching a “Zee For All” initiative with strong content and technology support. ZEE covers 172 countries and it has reached over one billion viewers, driven by its philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – The world is one family. The film is being telecast on 15 August at 12 Noon.

    The telecast of ‘Dangal’ was long awaited for its emotional resonance, technical artistry and compelling performances. Director Nitesh Tiwari’s sports biographical drama features Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Suhani Bhatnagar, ZairaWasim, Aparshakti Khurrana, Ritvik Sahore and Girish Kulkarni. It is based on the true story of a former Indian national wrestling champ who battles the existing social order to train his two young daughters to be world-class contenders in the otherwise male dominated sport of wrestling.

    According to World Health Organisation 2010 Report, India accounts for eight million blind, 54.5 million people with low vision and 62.6 million people with visual impairment – which makes India home to the second largest visually challenged population globally.

    The objective of ‘ZEE For All’ is to ensure that the large population of the Visually and Hearing Impaired receives access to what is truly world class, inspiring entertainment. Zee Cinema has also associated with the National Association For The Blind (Mumbai, Indore, Chandigarh and Lucknow), National Association For The Blind – The Workshop for the Blind in Mumbai, Institution For The Blind in Delhi and Patiala School of Blind & Deaf in Punjab. Zee Cinema will host preview screenings with audio Description and subtitles to sensitize the visually Impaired with the technology of audio description to bring entertainment within their reach,

    The audio description feed will be available on Dish TV, Videocon, Tata Sky and Airtel. The subtitles will be in English on HD and in Hindi on SD.

    Zee Entertainment (ZEEL) CEO – domestic broadcast business Punit Misra said, “On India’s 70th Independence Day, ZEE redefines the ‘freedom to see’ and offers all our audiences a superlative movie watching experience in the comfort of their homes. We hope that the premiere of Dangal reaches out to the maximum number of visually and hearing Impaired audiences in India. We are also exploring adding audio description in other Indian regional languages in the future. Just like Aamir gave us the audio description assets for Dangal, we will reach out to all our content partners requesting for the same as we expand the initiative. ‘ZEEForAll’ will surely be a milestone in the history of TV broadcasting in India.”

    Zee Hindi Movie Cluster Business Head Ruchir Tiwari said, “It is wonderful to associate with Aamir Khan on this pioneering initiative with Dangal – a film that is inspiring, emotional and entertaining. I am personally very happy that Dangal has inspired our team to do what is needed to make the movie accessible to all our viewers.”

    Aamir Khan said, “It is with great anticipation that I look forward to the television premiere of Dangal on 15th August on Zee Cinema SD. I instantly agreed to the idea of premiering Dangal with audio description for the visually impaired and it is a matter of absolute pride to associate with ZEE on this Independence Day premiere of my film.”

    Essentially, audio description conveys the most important visual aspects of the story by providing commentary during natural pauses and moments of quiet. It is a voice-over narration that explains what is happening on the screen, including physical actions made by various characters and other important visual elements. The narration is inserted between lines of dialogue. This audio description is recorded and made available as a separate audio track that can be selected by the audience on their remote.

  • Zee Cine Awards hops on to Zee Cinema & Zee Anmol; regional categories introduced

    Zee Cine Awards hops on to Zee Cinema & Zee Anmol; regional categories introduced

    MUMBAI: In its 16th year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) awards property – Zee Cine Awards 2016 has made several changes and introduced new elements.

    Zee Cine Awards 2016 will be held on 20 February in Mumbai and will be simulcast on 5 March across the Zee Network channels like Zee Cinema, Zee Cinema HD and its free-to-air channel Zee Anmol. Pertinent to note here is that previously, the awards were aired on the network’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV. However, this time round it has been put on its Hindi movie channel – Zee Cinema as well as its FTA channel Zee Anmol, which has been doing well on ratings front ever since the BARC rural inclusive data was released last year.

    “The reason why we shifted Zee Cine Awards from Zee TV to Zee Cinema is because initially it started from Zee Cinema itself. As it’s an award of cinema, it should belong to its home on Zee Cinema and now onwards we will be airing it on Zee Cinema,” ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka tells Indiantelevision.com.

    ZEEL chief business officer Sunil Buch added, “ZEEL comes alive in a synergistic way to deliver Zee Cine Awards 2016. Zee Music Company continues to be our music touch point in the fraternity. This year’s Zee Cine Awards has been conceptualised, created and produced by Zee Studios, our state-of-the-art film and TV production arm. And there is a goodness of fit to a film awards show being premiered on Zee Cinema rather than on a GEC. Zee Cinema with an average weekly base of 184 million viewers is higher than any other channel across Hindi Speaking Markets (Source: BARC-Urban + Rural India, Average of Week 41’15-Week 3’16, NCCS 4+). The simulcast of the awards on India’s leading FTA GEC channel, Zee Anmol also adds to its reach in rural India.”

    Moreover, for the first time ever, the awards, which until now lauded the best of Hindi cinema, will also award Marathi, Bangla, Telugu cinema this year. ZEEL will also showcase the regional awards content on its regional channels namely Zee Bangla, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu.

    Goenka added, “Keeping the Zee’s ethos, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World Is My Family, into consideration we have introduced a few new elements this year in Zee Cine Awards 2016. For the first time on the national award stage, regional content will be presented awards this year. Renowned personalities from Telugu, Marathi and Bengali cinema will perform on stage and that exclusive content will be telecast on Zee Bangla, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu respectively, so that people can see the talent that regional cinema has.”

    Apart from that ZEEL has also introduced the Jury Awards this year, which will be adjudged by a panel comprising Rakesh Roshan, Resul Pookutty, Ravi K Chandran, Anurag Basu, Leena Yadav, Prasoon Joshi and Shantanu Moitra.

    The 15th edition of Zee Cine Awards was telecast on Zee TV in 2014 and a no show in 2015. Talking about the same, Goenka said, “We missed the awards last year because we were in the process of launching new brands from our network. However, we will ensure that it doesn’t happen in the future.” 

    To authenticate the voting mechanism of both, the Jury Awards and the Viewer’s Choice Awards, Zee has appointed the Ernst & Young.  

    This year the award ceremony will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Karan Johar.

  • Zee Cine Awards hops on to Zee Cinema & Zee Anmol; regional categories introduced

    Zee Cine Awards hops on to Zee Cinema & Zee Anmol; regional categories introduced

    MUMBAI: In its 16th year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) awards property – Zee Cine Awards 2016 has made several changes and introduced new elements.

    Zee Cine Awards 2016 will be held on 20 February in Mumbai and will be simulcast on 5 March across the Zee Network channels like Zee Cinema, Zee Cinema HD and its free-to-air channel Zee Anmol. Pertinent to note here is that previously, the awards were aired on the network’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV. However, this time round it has been put on its Hindi movie channel – Zee Cinema as well as its FTA channel Zee Anmol, which has been doing well on ratings front ever since the BARC rural inclusive data was released last year.

    “The reason why we shifted Zee Cine Awards from Zee TV to Zee Cinema is because initially it started from Zee Cinema itself. As it’s an award of cinema, it should belong to its home on Zee Cinema and now onwards we will be airing it on Zee Cinema,” ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka tells Indiantelevision.com.

    ZEEL chief business officer Sunil Buch added, “ZEEL comes alive in a synergistic way to deliver Zee Cine Awards 2016. Zee Music Company continues to be our music touch point in the fraternity. This year’s Zee Cine Awards has been conceptualised, created and produced by Zee Studios, our state-of-the-art film and TV production arm. And there is a goodness of fit to a film awards show being premiered on Zee Cinema rather than on a GEC. Zee Cinema with an average weekly base of 184 million viewers is higher than any other channel across Hindi Speaking Markets (Source: BARC-Urban + Rural India, Average of Week 41’15-Week 3’16, NCCS 4+). The simulcast of the awards on India’s leading FTA GEC channel, Zee Anmol also adds to its reach in rural India.”

    Moreover, for the first time ever, the awards, which until now lauded the best of Hindi cinema, will also award Marathi, Bangla, Telugu cinema this year. ZEEL will also showcase the regional awards content on its regional channels namely Zee Bangla, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu.

    Goenka added, “Keeping the Zee’s ethos, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World Is My Family, into consideration we have introduced a few new elements this year in Zee Cine Awards 2016. For the first time on the national award stage, regional content will be presented awards this year. Renowned personalities from Telugu, Marathi and Bengali cinema will perform on stage and that exclusive content will be telecast on Zee Bangla, Zee Marathi and Zee Telugu respectively, so that people can see the talent that regional cinema has.”

    Apart from that ZEEL has also introduced the Jury Awards this year, which will be adjudged by a panel comprising Rakesh Roshan, Resul Pookutty, Ravi K Chandran, Anurag Basu, Leena Yadav, Prasoon Joshi and Shantanu Moitra.

    The 15th edition of Zee Cine Awards was telecast on Zee TV in 2014 and a no show in 2015. Talking about the same, Goenka said, “We missed the awards last year because we were in the process of launching new brands from our network. However, we will ensure that it doesn’t happen in the future.” 

    To authenticate the voting mechanism of both, the Jury Awards and the Viewer’s Choice Awards, Zee has appointed the Ernst & Young.  

    This year the award ceremony will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Karan Johar.

  • Zindagi: Catering to the progressive woman in you!

    Zindagi: Catering to the progressive woman in you!

    The two countries were divided, thousands were left homeless, and since then many wars have been fought between the two nations as well. But there still remains that minute thread which continues to join the chords amongst us all.

    Border, Veer-Zaara or the latest Google ad plays on those emotions. We might be divided by a line but culturally we still share the same nuances. And taking a cue from this media powerhouse, Zee, which goes by the corporate philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The world is my family’, recently launched a Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), Zindagi.

    The channel’s proposition ‘Jodey Dilon Ko’ is based on the fact that even if the people from various parts of the world are culturally different, the stories of their lives are universal. Maybe that is why all women want a husband like Zaroon and men looked for a perfect wife in Zara.

    The channel showcases four shows every night from 8 pm narrating stories of various characters torn between relationships, duties and work. The stories are set in natural locations giving a true-to-life portrayal to not just the characters but also storyline.

    However, one element common between all these shows is that they have strong women characters dealing with issues. Be it a woman hesitant to trust a man after her father left her mother for another woman or two estranged sisters vying for a man’s attention. The portrayals are relatable and tell a story of woman’s struggle.

    Remember Shanti, Rajani or Udaan? The popular shows on Doordrashan in the eighties and nineties before the heavily-makeup saas-bahus took over the entertainment space. The characters in the shows on Zindagi remind of that era where life happened beyond the four walls of a set.

    The channel’s business head Priyanka Datta recalls the strenuous hours spent scrutinising content and then selectively handpicking drama with a lot of care, such that they were relatable to the viewer’s emotions and fulfilled the channel’s proposition.

    She points out that there was no conscious effort in choosing woman-centric shows, but since Pakistani television industry is known to highlight social issues amongst others that are prevalent in their society which are mostly woman centric, it happened naturally.

    Through the pragmatic content, the channel aims to cater to the new-age woman, for whom the primary concern is work-life balance and not solely entertainment. “She is the woman with a progressive mindset. The women in the dramas on Zindagi are regular ordinary women like you and me. Their emotions, feelings and day-to-day issues that they deal with are very similar to what women in our society go through. Unlike serials on other GECs, women on Zindagi’s shows do not wake up in the morning loaded with make-up and jewellery. Their lives do no revolve around conspiring against each other. There are many more relationships explored besides just saas-bahu on Zindagi,” elaborates Datta on the differentiating programming lineup.

    The content on Zindagi which includes storylines, script, language, natural acting, fashion, apart from just the good looks of the actors have become the most talked about in India. The social media is buzzing with millions of impressions online.

    The reason why it is creating a buzz especially among urbanites is the fact that there is a certain section in viewers who desire for something different, something better that could enhance their television-watching experience. Datta points out that through the various researches the network did before launching the channel, it found out that the attention span of viewers has only decreased over the time with the use of multiple screens and it has become a bigger challenge than ever to excite the audience and keep them glued. “We knew that we had to break the monotony-and so attempted to bring – content with depth and reliability. The saas-bahu sagas have been there since years and will continue to coexist parallel. While such shows cater to viewers with traditional mindsets, the likes of dramas that are on Zindagi will cater to viewers with progressive mindsets,” she says.

    If that wasn’t enough, there is stark difference between the longevity of shows as well. In the era when shows are competing with each other to cross 1000 plus episodes, the series on Zindagi lasts only for 20-25 episodes. The dramas aired have finite plots written by reputed authors and literary stalwarts. The numerous researches show that the viewers want to move away from long running shows that air for years at stretch. “However, the early adopters will be the people with progressive mindset followed by others. Viewers will surely take some time to adapt to this kind of format,” believes optimist Datta.

    When asked how are male audiences reacting to the channel? Datta answers, “The content on Zindagi seems to be going down well with the men. Celebrities like Subhash Ghai, Kunal Kohli, Jaaved Jaafferi are amongst the few from the industry who have been very appreciative of the content and it’s encouraging that our dramas are not restricted to any gender in specific. We understood that we had to break the monotony and showcase quality of content that was not similar to that associated to the Hindi GEC industry. The saas-bahu sagas have reigned for years and are mainly targeted towards female audiences. Content is king and all shows that have been shown on Zindagi since its launch have appealed to audiences (males and females) of all ages.”

    Media observers too agree with the fact that though the channel may not have got the ratings it expected, but has surely created enough noise in the market because of its content. “Kitni Girhain Baqi Hain is very popular amongst women in my office as well as outside,” says a woman media planner.

    The strong content has even got insight teams of competition talking. “The washroom talks rotate around the shows and the handsome men,” laughs an insights manager from a top-ranked GEC.

    Most of the shows airing on the GEC were previously broadcast on Hum channel which is run by a woman, Sultana Siddiqui. And what’s interesting to note is that the channel, which is a window to see how life is at the other side of border, creative and business heads too are women. “It’s just a mere coincidence,” laughs Datta. 

  • Zee to capture world viewers with a corporate film

    Zee to capture world viewers with a corporate film

    MUMBAI: Films are one of the best ways to express oneself. And that is exactly what even Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) is doing with a Corporate Brand film that was unveiled today. It is based on its brand positioning – “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Family”.

    Through the film, the company reinforces its vision to welcome the entire world to be a part of the Zee Family in an extremely unique and creative manner.

    The musical film, which has been created by Scarecrow Communications, blends people from various countries staying with Indians like a joint family – working together, enjoying rituals and celebrating festivals in an Indian style. It reflects the essence of Zee’s brand image, conveying that it has been a cultural ambassador of India, to millions of viewers across the globe for more than two decades. The network has also roped in Hot Films Production Company for the corporate brand film.

    Zee’s head corporate brand Roland Landers said in a release: “I am extremely glad to unveil the new brand film. Zee’s brand positioning envisions its world as a unified family, without any caste, boundary or religion, which this film has beautifully brought to life showcasing a blend of multiple nationalities celebrating togetherness.”

    Zees brand positioning envisions its world as a unified family, says Roland Landers
    		 We are confident that this communication will establish the perfect connect with the audience, says Manish Bhatt

    The channel will be rolling out the film on all Zee channels, social media platforms and the newly launched corporate website and other key on ground properties very soon. It will certainly ensure that the film reaches all the key internal and external stakeholders of Zee.

    Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt, said: “It was like an opportunity to create this one-of-its-kind World Anthem. Creating communication for the brand that connects with more than 700 million viewers and over 169 countries was a mammoth as well as a prestigious assignment for Scarecrow. We are confident that this communication will establish the perfect connect with the audience.”

    The entire music video has been shot at exotic locations – like the Royal lands of Rajasthan and scenic Maharashtra. Monumental sites like Patwa Haveli, Jaisalmer Fort, Gadisar Lake, Suryagarh Palace along with Streets of Jaisalmer and Koyna Lake in Satara were chosen to bring out the essence of distinct visual that the world identify India with.

    The song in film is sung by Keerthi Sagathia, who became popular after singing the title song for Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate. She has also sung A R Rahman’s compositions like Maiya Maiya from Guru, Veera from Raavan among others, Vivienne Pocha, who has sung many hits for movies like Taare Zameen Par, Housefull, Fashion, Delhi-6, Bachna ae Haseeno, The Blue Umbrella, Bas Yun Hi, Yuvvraaj among others, and Akshat, a young classical singer.

    It is composed by Rooshin Dalal, one of the youngest music directors known for his composition and background score for Ram Gopal Varma’s The Attacks of 26/11, Rajat Kapoor’s Mithya and Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex aur Dhoka.

    The music video has been directed by Vijay Maurya of Hot Films, who is known for his performance as an actor in movies like Socha Na Tha, Black Friday, Paanch and Mumbai Meri Jaan. 

    This brand film can be watched on www.zeetelevision.com