ITV

Tag: Zaheer Iqbal

  • Booking.com showcases its ‘Connected Trip’ vision with Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal

    Booking.com showcases its ‘Connected Trip’ vision with Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal

    Mumbai: Booking.com, an online travel company, along with actor couple Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal teamed up with Booking.com’s country manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia – Santosh Kumar to enjoy a guided cooking experience, highlighting one of many exciting experiences and attractions available on Booking.com.

    Planning a dream vacation can quickly turn into a logistical nightmare. A recent Booking.com survey reveals that nearly half (42 per cent) of Indians find trip planning stressful, including juggling flights, accommodations, car rentals, activities and the overall logistics. Booking.com, one of the world’s leading online travel companies, is addressing this need by orchestrating the best traveller experience and aiming to make every trip a connected trip.

    Booking.com empowers Indian travellers to seamlessly plan and book all key aspects of their journey on the Booking.com platform, eliminating the need to navigate multiple websites and apps. From finding the right flight to booking the perfect stay, travellers can craft their ideal itinerary with ease. Additionally, options for car rentals, private airport transfers and a vast selection of exciting local activities are all  readily available in one place, to create a frictionless travel experience.

    With nearly half (48 per cent) of the Indian travellers choosing a destination to indulge in local cuisines, the event was a perfect blend of travel, food and memorable experiences. At the ‘The Connected Trip: A Culinary Experience’ event on 12 September 2024, Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal shared their food inspired travel stories while learning to prepare their favourite avocado and cucumber sushi and sattu ka paratha with eggplant and tomato chutney, a delicacy from Bihar reflecting on their local and global adventures and childhood memories. The event illustrated how Booking.com connects travellers with diverse, authentic and immersive experiences based on their needs and preferences.

    Actor Sonakshi Sinha commented, “Travel is my passion. I love immersing myself in the destination’s culture,  exploring the local markets and of course relishing the local cuisine. But planning is a bit of a headache. Juggling flights, accommodations and activities can be overwhelming. Thankfully, Booking.com has simplified this and travellers can now book various elements of their trip on one platform and enjoy a stress free holiday.”

    Adding to this, actor Zaheer Iqbal said, “Food is integral to India’s culture. It has the power to unite people from all over the world. As someone who loves exploring local cuisines whenever I travel, I’m excited to be a part of this event showcasing Booking.com immersive experiences for Indian travellers. Travellers can easily book attractions like sushi making class in Japan or exploring Kolkata’s street food scene – everything in the palm of their hand.”

    Booking.com leverages smart, data-powered predictive technologies, like machine learning and AI, to enhance the traveller experience further. By analysing past choices and preferences, Booking.com can suggest other useful services for their trip, such as car rental, dining reservations, tickets to attractions, and shuttle services, ultimately creating a personalised, AI-enhanced and truly connected booking experience.

    “Today travellers are looking for seamless trip planning and travel experiences where they can search, book and manage different aspects of their trip on one platform,” said Booking.com’s country manager, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia – Santosh Kumar. “At Booking.com, we are dedicated to eliminating friction in travel by continuously innovating to address their evolving needs. Our ‘Connected Trip’ vision embodies this commitment by offering multiple elements of the travel experience in one place and providing seamless, end-to-end support throughout the entire journey. Today, we’re excited to see real progress with our vision for a ‘connected trip’. Today we are seeing real progress in our vision. According to our Booking Holdings Q2 2024 earnings, our connected transactions increased by 45 per cent y-o-y and continue to represent a high single digit percentage of Booking.com’s total transactions.”

    He further added, “We are excited to have partnered with Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal to showcase how travellers can easily book just about every element of their trip on Booking.com – whether it’s renting a car, enrolling for a cooking class or booking an airport taxi – and easily create a travel experience.”

  • &pictures brings World Television Premiere of notebook on November 16

    &pictures brings World Television Premiere of notebook on November 16

    MUMBAI: Nitin Kakkar’s romantic drama Notebook reminds the time when one didn’t have to swipe right to find love.  Introducing debutants Pranutan Bahl and Zaheer Iqbal as Firdaus and Kabir Kaul respectively, the movie is an adaptation of the Thai drama 'The Teacher’s Diary'. Notebook will have its World Television Premiere on Saturday, 16th November at 9:30 pm only on &pictures under the property Saturday Premiere Nights.  

    Commenting on her debut, Pranutan Bahl says, “Notebook is a one of kind love story where the characters fall in love with people they have not met. While the concept is lesser known in today’s day and age, we got to know of many such real-life stories while shooting for the film. The movie narrates a charming romance where there is longing, and unconditional love and I hope everyone watched the World Television Premiere on &pictures. Notebook will always be a film I hold close to my heart, as the character Firdaus will always be the most special to me.”

    Zaheer Iqbal said, “When the script of Notebook was read, I instantly liked the story because it wasn’t a conventional love story as it was unique in every way. Even the character I play, it is of a boy who has gone through a lot which traumatized him in a way. However, his life takes a U-turn when he decides to teach at a school where he stumbles upon Firdaus’ notebook. On Reading the way she perceives the world and expresses her feelings is what encourages him to look at life differently. Viewers who missed this in the theatres can catch this beautiful love story on &pictures on 16th November.”

    Set in a small secluded school in one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia – Wular Lake, Kashmir; the movie narrates the story of two individuals who fall in love with each other through a notebook. The school with an attendance of seven students lacks basic amenities like running water and electricity and is on the verge of shutting down as there are no teachers. Coming in as saviour is Kabir Kaul, an ex-army officer who decides to teach at his late father’s school – Wular Public School. With no professional training he finds it hard to teach and deal with the kids. Just when he is about to give up, he stumbles upon Firdaus’ notebook in the drawer of the desk. With small moments captured, and many thoughts jotted down, Kabir begins to fall in love with Firdaus. Will he ever meet Firdaus and express his love for her or will it remain a one-sided love story?