ITV

Tag: Yuvraj Dua

  • Balaji hits it for six with cricket-fan dramedy debut

    Balaji hits it for six with cricket-fan dramedy debut

    MUMBAI: When the cricket’s on, life takes the back seat, plans are paused, emotions run high, and remote controls become battlegrounds. Balaji Originals clearly gets the memo. Making its digital debut with The Great Indian Cricket Fan, Balaji Telefilms is tapping into the sacred Indian ritual of watching cricket with irrational passion and comedic chaos. Streaming now on YouTube with two episodes dropping every week, the series is part sitcom, part stadium and wholly relatable.

    With Abigail Pande, Yuvraj Dua, Priitamm Jaiswal, and Neha Bharti leading a spunky ensemble, the show isn’t about players, it’s about the people glued to their screens, frantically adjusting lucky cushions and whispering “don’t jinx it!” into the ether. From missed deliveries (both Swiggy and romantic) to household tiffs over match-day superstitions, TGICF is a breezy tribute to the cricket-fuelled frenzy we call everyday life.

    Set during a high-octane cricket season, the show swings between emotional googlies and laugh-out-loud yorkers capturing how fans experience every ball, boundary and breakdown like they’re on the pitch themselves. Think café screenings turning into mini-Wankhedes, and friendships forged or fractured over favourite captains.

    Balaji Telefilms Ltd head for brand revenue & partnership Kavvya Bharathi said, “Balaji has always been known for its compelling storytelling that deeply resonates with audiences in the heartland. With The Great Indian Cricket Fan, our first offering under Balaji Originals, we’re excited to expand our reach and connect with a younger demographic by tapping into India’s unmatched passion for cricket. This dramedy captures the true spirit of a cricket fan their loyalty, their rituals, and the electric atmosphere in local cafés during matches. Releasing during the summer break, the series brings the thrill of the stadium straight into living rooms, promising joy, nostalgia, and entertainment with every episode,”

    Expressing her excitement, Abigail Pande shared, “Honestly, it was so much fun shooting for The Great Indian Cricket Fan. The energy on set was absolutely palpable! If you’ve been missing Sia Dhillon, you’re going to love this show because I genuinely loved being a part of it. The concept is fresh and something we haven’t really explored before. While we’ve often seen stories around football fan rivalries, cricket which is practically a religion in India hadn’t been tapped into like this. From passionate fan clubs to the electrifying vibe in cafés during big matches, and how these spaces turn into mini-stadiums for fans, we’ve tried to capture it all. This show will definitely make you want to head to a café with your gang and cheer for your favorite team!”

    Yuvraj Dua added, “Being a sports enthusiast since childhood, I naturally gravitated toward sports journalism and then social media found its way into my life. But through all the transitions, one thing remained constant: my love for cricket. When I signed The Great Indian Cricket Fan, the first thought that crossed my mind was wow, a show about sports! This time, I wouldn’t be acting; I’d just be myself in front of the camera. I’ve always been that crazy cricket fan: canceling dinner plans, ghosting WhatsApp groups, sitting in the same spot for hours because India was doing well and I didn’t want to jinx it! The madness, the emotions, the superstitions we’ve all lived it. And the fact that this is Balaji Originals’ first-ever show makes it even more special. To be one of the first faces representing a platform launching something so rooted in our culture, it’s a proud, full-circle moment for me.”

    With Gen Z relatability, millennial nostalgia, and desi family drama all stitched together in one innings, The Great Indian Cricket Fan is Balaji’s pitch-perfect attempt to bowl over a digital-first crowd.

    And remember in India, when the match begins, the drama’s only just getting started.

  • Zee TV rolls out 360-degree campaign for its reality show DID Super Moms 3

    Zee TV rolls out 360-degree campaign for its reality show DID Super Moms 3

    Mumbai: Over the last three decades, Zee TV has been a pioneer in shaping the contours of reality television in India, introducing audiences to homegrown non-fiction formats like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Dance India Dance, and India’s Best Dramebaaz. These properties have not only emerged as immensely popular talent-based reality TV franchises but have become an integral part of India’s rich culture. In fact, launched earlier this year, season five of DID L’il Masters consistently topped viewership charts throughout its run, standing testament to the channel’s finger on the pulse of the audience when it comes to talent-based reality formats. And now, after receiving an overwhelming response to the previous two seasons that introduced audiences to some truly exceptional dancing mothers, Zee TV is all set to return with the third edition of its popular nonfiction property – DID Super Moms, which will air every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm from 2nd July onwards. 

    In the run-up to the much-awaited launch of DID Super Moms season 3, the channel has set out on a promotional blitzkrieg across the country to ensure that the new season creates mass hysteria of an unforeseen magnitude. With an aim to salute mothers across India who have always put their family interests before their own but are now finally on their way to give wings to their own dreams, Zee TV conducted several ingenious activities across the country. A social experiment in prominent malls of Mumbai and Ahmedabad asked mothers and their children questions about each other. At the end of this experiment, a touching montage highlighting how our mothers literally live their lives around us and how little we, as their children, know about their personal dreams and aspirations was created. The core idea was to wake us up to the fact that our mothers have an identity beyond being just our moms and that we need to turn into their biggest cheerleaders and support them in their journeys of reaching out to their goals and aspirations. 

     

     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     

     
     

     
     
     

     
     

    A post shared by ZEE TV (@zeetv)

     

    Another interesting coup pulled off by the marketing team at Zee TV is a reel put up by none other than popular television actor Rupali Ganguly, where she turns into a cheerleader for her mother who had auditioned for DID Super Moms in 2013 and every other super mom in the country. Re-living that memory, she danced to the title track of the show. Rupali extending an arm of support to the new batch of super moms who are setting out to pursue their own dance passions and carving an identity of their own with the support of their own family sits beautifully in sync with the journey of her popular on-screen character. This hook step challenge she participated in is called #SuperMomKaSuperStep and it has brought the entire dance influencer community together where children along with their super moms are recreating the hook-step that was kickstarted by the judges – Remo D’Souza, Urmila Matondkar, Bhagyashree Dassani & host Jay Bhanushali. While these dance reels have gone viral, social media is also buzzing with heartening messages from people across the country encouraging women to follow their dreams and passions. 

    Embed Link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CfbijzZgrbU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=  

    Celebrating the relentless spirit of some truly exceptional super achievers who have continued to scale even greater heights post motherhood, Zee TV sent DID Super Moms hampers to celebrity moms from different walks of life including Anushka Sharma, Anita Hassanandani, Juhi Parmar, wrestler Babita Phogat, chef Pankaj Bhaduria, singer Neeti Mohan and journalists from the media fraternity. Apart from saluting their spirit, Zee TV hopes to give wings to the dreams of moms across India, motivate them to pursue their passions and become super moms!  

    Another interesting layer to this innovative campaign had influencers Bhavin Bhanushali of Mumbai & Yuvraj Dua of Delhi drive people’s attention to volunteers lining the streets in both the metros with placards that read – ‘Khana Time Pe Kha Lena Beta’, ‘All The Best, Beta’, ‘Phone Kyun Nahi Uthate Beta?’ indicating the selfless and nurturing attitude of mothers who take care of their family. A pertinent question was raised where the people of Mumbai, Delhi & Ahmedabad were asked – How many of you ask these very questions to your mother? These posts populated under #JustSuperMomThings urged all of us to think more about our mothers, their goals and aspirations and join Zee TV in its journey of celebrating the dreams and passions of India’s mothers on DID Super Moms.

    With so many heart-warming ideas and initiatives driving multiple conversations around the journeys of moms to super moms, DID Super Moms seems poised for a truly buzzy launch.