L&K Saatchi & Saatchi Wins Creative Mandate for Mondelez Gum & Candy Brands

Mumbai, April 19, 2016: Following APAC regional alignment, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has come on-board as a lead agency for strategy and creative work for Mondelez Gum and Candy brands in India.

Saatchi & Saatchi China’s successful track record with Mondelez led to the decision to consolidate rest of the APAC gum and candy business with the agency. Saatchi & Saatchi will take charge of all gum & candy business for whole APAC region with key markets like China, Japan, Thailand and India and others, effective immediately.  

Commenting on this win, Mr. Anil Nair, CEO & Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi India said, “Choclairs and Halls are iconic brands in India and we look forward to building a winning partnership with Mondelez in India. We are all very excited with the opportunity to create excellent work and together we hope to grow the brands and our clients’ business in India”

Commenting on new partnership, Mr. Amit Shah, Associate Director - Marketing - Gum, Candy & Powdered Beverages from Mondelez India said, “We look forward to creative excellence and work that will help grow and strengthen our brands. Saatchi & Saatchi has delivered impressive work in APAC region and we hope to see the same in India”

About L&K Saatchi & Saatchi:

L&K Saatchi & Saatchi operates in 4 cities viz. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai with a strength of over 450 employees. Other than mainline advertising, it has specialized service units such as Digital L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, Design L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, Ngage L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and Saatchi X.  These units specialize in an array of marketing communication services from digital and social media to retail marketing, promotions & activation. The agency boasts of an expansive repertoire of clients across product categories like ITC, P & G, Renault, Dabur, Hero Motocorp, Emirates, Godrej, Jockey, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Kent, Exide Life Insurance, Tuborg, Novartis HSBC, Total Oil India, Thomas Cook, and Siemens Home Appliances. For more information, please visit: www.lawkenneth.in

Matthew Brown’s The Man Who Knew Infinity set to release on 29th April, 2016

 ~The biographical drama film that depicts Srinivasa Ramanujan’s life is based on the 1991 book of the same name by Robert Kanigel~

 

The Man Who Knew Infinity written and directed by Matthew Brown is based on the book byRobert Kanigel. The story revolves around ace mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan’s life and the struggles he had to face to prove his merit.

Srinivasa Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions. Living in India with no access to the larger mathematical community, which was centered in Europe at the time, Ramanujan developed his own mathematical research in isolation. As a result, he rediscovered known theorems in addition to producing new work. Ramanujan was said to be a natural genius by the English mathematician G. H. Hardy, in the same league as mathematicians such as Euler and Gauss.

The Man Who Knew Infinity is the true story of friendship that forever changed mathematics. In 1913,

Srinivasa Ramanujan played by Dev Patel, a self-taught Indian mathematics genius traveled to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he forged a bond with his mentor, the eccentric professor GH Hardy played by Jeremy Irons, and fought against prejudice to reveal his mathematic genius to the world. The film also stars svelte looking Devika Bhise, Stephen Fry and Toby Jones.

The film introduces Devika Bhise, who is essaying the role of Ramanujan's wife Janaki. A trained classical dancer, Devika did a lot of research to get into the skin of her character and she also spoke to author Robert Kanigel, who had met the real-life Janaki later in her life, to understand the nuances of her character.

The supporting and eminent star cast include, Kevin R. McNally, Jeremy Northam, Arundhati Nag, Dhritiman Chaterji, Anthony Calf, Richard Johnson, Padraic Delaney, Shazad Latif, Raghuvir Joshi, Roger Narayan.

The film will release in English and Tamil on 29^th April, 2016.

About The Man Who Knew Infinity:

An Edward R. Pressman/Animus Films production in association with Cayenne Pepper Productions, The Man Who Knew Infinity, starring Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons,  Devika Bhise, Stephen Fry, Toby Jones and Arundhati Nag, has been written and directed by Matthew Brown and is slated to release on April 29, 2016.

How to become Mankind’s Angel – Step by Step Tutorial

If you have remained untouched by the magic called Taher Shah, you are probably living on Mars still waiting for the civilization to hit the planet! Otherwise there’s no way you could have missed this MANKIND’s ANGEL strolling in the perfectly manicured lawns with those long tresses, over the top makeup and stark purple gown!

Considering this Pakistani sensation has cult following and recently broke records on the internet with his iconic single ‘Angel’, we won’t be surprised if very soon people start throwing ‘Mankind’s Angel’ themed parties. In times like those, we don’t want you to feel left out! So here it is - step by step guide to get the perfect look of the part! The video is hosted at Culture Machine’s lifestyle channel – Blush.

Statutory Warning: This video has been shot under expert’s supervision! Try this at home at your own risk!

Greater co-operation among BRICS Cities needed: Fadnavis

 Mumbai April 16, 2016: Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis today said BRICS Cities Conclave will ensure greater co-operation between cities and people of the emerging countries bloc.

“BRICS will change the city to city and people to people cooperation,” Shri Fadnavis said at the valedictory function of the two-day BRICS Cities Conclave here. He said Maharashtra Government was inspired from St Petersburg to make the Mithi River clean and navigable. He stressed on the need for inclusive development where the under- privileged had a lot to contribute towards development by citizens involvement.

The Chief Minister termed the conclave hosted by Mumbai First, a city based think tank, in association with the Maharashtra Government and the Central Government, huge success and said, “After the deliberations it is the time to act now.”

After India took the presidency of the BRICS countries since February 2016 for one full year, BRICS Cities Conclave is the first major activity by India providing a platform for the participating nations to exchange knowledge and information on urban development.

Shishir Joshi, Chief Executive Officer, Mumbai First summarized the deliberations of all the nations. During the occasion he also announced that the proceeds from the book ‘The Making of Vibrant Cities’ that was launched on the inauguration day of the conclave will be donated towards the drought relief fund of Maharashtra. 

Narinder Nayar said that conferences like this would help in capacity building of the cities. The two day session included deliberations on various topics related to growth of cities in the BRICS nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. More than 75 delegates representing different BRICS countries exchanged their experiences, plans and programs on topics related to Urban governance, safety of cities, infrastructure development, urban planning and many other related topics. The conclave also included cultural performances of all the nations where each country presented their unique culture in an impressive manner.

 About Mumbai First:

The concept of Mumbai First drew inspiration from emergence of London First which assumed the role of facilitating the repositioning of London through various initiatives.  Like the big business houses in London came together to form London First, major industries and private sector in Mumbai, with the initiative of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, came together to create Mumbai First.  Mumbai First was formed largely as a think tank for the city and also to assume a more specific role as a catalyst to foster partnership with various stakeholders.  Some of our highly eminent promoters and patron members

are Tatas, Godrej, Mahindras, Hindustan Lever, Asian Paints, SBI, ICICI, HDFC among others.

Bombay First, now branded as Mumbai First, was established in 1995 with the vision of improving the quality of life in Mumbai and making it globally competitive, world class city. Mumbai First’s journey with Mumbai Transformation began nearly 10 years ago, when with the agreement of then Chief Minister, we together with McKinsey carried out a study titled as the ‘Vision Mumbai’.  This study proposed a comprehensive program for next 10 years of the transformation of the Mega City.  It showed how Mumbai could be transformed into world class city.   The Urban Development Ministry of Government of India described us as a ‘Best Practice’ for Public Private Partnership.

Bombay First is working closely and actively with the Government of Maharashtra, in close partnership with the European Union and the World Bank by organizing workshops and conferences for sharing and exchanging best practices in areas like managing solid waste, waste water management, energy conservation, security etc.  Mumbai First has been instrumental in helping the government set up a War Room, to monitor the major transformation projects. 

Bisleri Swachh Bharat Plastic Bottle Recycling Initiative

Mr. Ramesh Chauhan, Chairaman, Bisleri International, and Bollywood Actor John Abraham felicitating school students

BISLERI ALONG WITH BOLLYWOOD ACTOR, JOHN ABRAHAM, FELICITATES SCHOOLS FOR HELPING THEM WIN THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

- Over 2 lakhs Kids from more than 105 schools collected more than 1.1 million plastic bottles for recycling as they learned about their impact on the environment

Mumbai, 13th April, 2016: To mark the success of the Bisleri Swachh Bharat Plastic Bottle Recycling Initiative, Bisleri International felicitated schools who had helped Bisleri in winning The Guinness World Record for collecting the Highest Number of used Plastic Bottles for Recycling. These schools were rewarded with participation certificates from Guinness World Records, Limca book of records and gifts & certificates from Bisleri.

The earlier Guinness World Record was 13,408 kgs which was achieved by a school in Florida. Bisleri surpassed that record by collecting 23,538.9 kgs of PET bottles i.e. 1.1 million bottles, and entered Limca Book of Records as well as Guinness Records.

The idea behind the record was to propagate the Swachh Bharat campaign, initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by launching a school contact programme. To reach out to maximum students and spread awareness, the world record attempt was taken up.

105 prestigious schools in Mumbai and over 2 lakh students had participated in this collection activity to help the beverage company achieve this milestone of winning Guinness World record.

To honour and motivate the students Bollywood Actor, John Abraham, Mr. Vijay Merchant, One of the founder members of Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment and Mr. Sameer Unhale, State Mission Director, Swachh Maharashtra Mission directorate, Govt. of Maharashtra were also present.

Bisleri promotes the idea of collection of bottles to avoid environmental nuisance. The company believes in recycling the plastic bottles to non-food items only.

Speaking on the school felicitation, Mr. Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman, Bisleri International, said, “The message to Indian consumers is that plastic bottles are valuable resources even after they’ve been used. The simple act of recycling helps generate local revenue, supports recycling jobs, and enables us to continue to benefit from these useful resources. It is a matter of pride for us as a company that we have been able to gather more than 1.1million PET bottles for recycling with the help from all these kids who are going to be the future of the country. This initiative has helped change the mindset of the people towards plastic bottles and has inculcated good values in the children and made them believe that they can make a big difference by taking a small step.”

The bottles collected during the activity will get a second lease of life as eco-friendly products and will be recycled into non-food items like T-shirts, bags, sheets, carpets, etc. To encourage the use of such products Bisleri handed goodies made from recycled bottles to the students.

PET is the acronym for Polyethylene Teraphthalates - a kind of plastic among the several types available and used for different purposes on a day-to-day basis. Bisleri's bottled mineral water too is manufactured by making use of PET plastic. Over decades, Bisleri has been successfully supporting the recycling of tonnes of PET every year, leading to fruitful 'asset management'.

Top ten Mumbai schools with maximum collection were, Infant Jesus School, Pawar Public School, D. G. Khetan International School, Christ Church School, Ryan International School, St. Xavier's High School, Kudilal Govindram Seksaria Sarvodaya School, Yashodham High School, Bombay Scottish School and Don Bosco High School.

About Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd.

Bisleri is known for introducing the concept of bottled water in India and in last 50 years it has maintained its reputation as the pioneer in this industry. Today, Bisleri is a household name and the most trusted choice for pure water. Bisleri has witnessed this successful growth under the leadership of the visionary chairman Mr. Ramesh Chauhan. Bisleri has always felt responsible toward the society and Mother Earth, and hence various activities are initiated on regular basis to help preserve the environment.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES’ CINEMACON PRESENTATION HITS THE JACKPOT IN LAS VEGAS

Big Movies, Big Stars and Big News Take

Center Stage at the Studio’s Big Picture Presentation

Warner Bros. Pictures showcased an impressive lineup of talents and highly anticipated films at this year’s CinemaCon, which generated tremendous excitement for the Studio’s wide-ranging slate.  Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara opened the program and announced that Ben Affleck—who will again play the role of Batman in the upcoming Justice League movie—will direct, as well as star in, a new stand-alone Batman feature.  

The Studio’s presentation was highlighted by trailers and film clips—including some never-before-seen footage—and appearances by some of the major stars and filmmakers involved in each of the movies.  It also served to illustrate Tsujihara’s statement about the diversity of the slate: built on the foundation of the key franchises of DC Super Heroes, animated LEGO® features, and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” but also encompassing a broad scope of dramas, action adventures, horror thrillers and comedies.

There were also speeches from Sue Kroll, in her new post as Warner Bros. Pictures President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, who was recently named President of Worldwide Distribution.

Remarking on the Warner Bros. event, Kroll said, “CinemaCon is always one of the high points of our year: when we get to introduce our upcoming slate to our partners in the exhibition community who are responsible for bringing our films to audiences worldwide.  It was wonderful to have this opportunity to showcase the broad range of films Warner Bros. has on the horizon, as well as some of the extraordinary artists behind them.”

Kwan Vandenberg added, “We appreciated the enthusiastic participation of actors and filmmakers from every title, who added tremendous star power to the presentation.  CinemaCon gives us a chance to reinforce our commitment to the big-screen experience on a global level.”

Kicking off the film presentation with a bang, Ben Affleck and Amy Adams introduced a thrilling reel spotlighting the Studio’s ambitious slate of DC films.  The roster includes the new Justice League film, as well as stand-alone features for Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg.  Director Zack Snyder closed the reel with a greeting from the Justice League film set, surrounded by his stars.  

The DC preview also included a glimpse of the summer’s hotly anticipated action adventure “Suicide Squad” and, immediately following, writer/director David Ayer took the stage and introduced the main ensemble cast, led by Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie and Joel Kinnaman.  The extended version of the “Suicide Squad” trailer was met with loud applause and the buzz surrounding the film was palpable.

Host Mario Lopez then took the attendees through the rest of the summer line-up, including advance footage from the wide range of titles.  The stars and filmmakers who excited the crowd about their upcoming films included: Russell Crowe for the action comedy “The Nice Guys”; Emilia Clarke for the drama “Me Before You” (from New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn Mayer); James Wan, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson for the supernatural thriller “The Conjuring 2” (from New Line Cinema); Teresa Palmer and David F. Sandberg for the horror thriller “Lights Out” (from New Line Cinema); Kevin Hart and Rawson Marshall Thurber for the action comedy “Central Intelligence” (from New Line Cinema and Universal Pictures), which included a taped greeting from Dwayne Johnson; Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie, Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz for the adventure “The Legend of Tarzan” (from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures); and Todd Phillips and Bradley Cooper for the comedic drama “War Dogs,” which is based on real events.

Looking past the summer, Warner Bros. unveiled some of the films on the drawing board from the Warner Animation Group, or WAG for short.  Three of the brilliant minds in the WAG think tank—Christopher Miller, Phil Lord and Nicholas Stoller—came to the stage to introduce a special reel featuring a few of the titles in the pipeline, anchored by three new films in the LEGO® movie franchise: “The LEGO® Batman Movie,” “The LEGO® Movie 2” and “Ninjago.”  Stoller, who co-directed the next WAG film on the slate, “Storks,” was joined by fellow director Doug Sweetland and voice talents Andy Samberg and Katie Crown to present new footage from the heartwarming and hilarious family adventure.  

The animation portion wrapped with never-before-seen footage from “The LEGO® Batman Movie,” which gives the breakout star of the hit “The LEGO® Movie” a film of his own.  Drawing laughter and enthusiastic applause, the clip was presented by producers Lord and Miller, joined by the voice of LEGO® Batman himself, Will Arnett, who made a surprise appearance to the delight of everyone there.

Warner Bros. closed the presentation with a look at the most magical film of the year, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” written by Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, which will bring moviegoers to a new place and time in the wizarding world.  Four of the film’s stars, Eddie Redmayne, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler and Colin Farrell, came to the stage to introduce the new teaser trailer and a look behind the scenes of the film, which has already captivated fans.

6th PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2016 to be held on 14th April 2016!

The most sought after PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2016 are all set to enter in its sixth glorious year.

PTC Punjabi Film Awards, an annual award ceremony initiated by the channel in 2011 have singularly become the most coveted award ceremony for the Punjabi film industry.

For the last five years, the biggest of Hindi and Punjabi film personalities have graced PTC Punjabi Film Awards and compared the stature of the award ceremony with the biggest ones conducted in Bollywood.

After a year of meticulous and impeccable performances, the finest talent in Punjabi cinema is all for its fair share of accolades and acknowledgements. And the recognition begins at PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2016 scheduled at Mohali on 14^th April, 2016.

Besides notable names of Bollywood including veteran action director Sham Kaushal along with his talented son Vicky Kaushal, Abhay Deol, Divya Dutta, Chitrangda Singh, Gauhar Khan, Arjan Bajwa, Honey Singh and Pavan Malhotra, the award ceremony will be attended by the biggies of Punjabi film industry including Gurdas Maan, Kartar Cheema, Feroz Khan, Prabh Gill, Ammy Virk, Ravinder Grewal, Veet Baljit, Harish Verma, Nav Bajwa, Dev Kharoud, Hobby Dhaliwal, Teji Sandhu, Shamsher Sandhu, Harpal Singh, Karamjit Anmol among others.

Rajiee M Shinde, Director and CEO, PTC Network says, “Among the fastest growing language cinema in the country today, the Punjabi Cinema has achieved a predominant position in the field of Indian cinema not only in the country but also across the globe. As PTC Punjabi Film Awards enter in its sixth year, we look forward to showcase another scintillating award ceremony to be attended by the who’s who of Punjabi film industry and Bollywood.”

Here are the nominations for the 6^th PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2016:

Best Film

Angrej

Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi

Judge Singh LLB

Sardaarji

Shareek

Best Director

Atharv Baluja (Judge Singh LLB)

Baljit Singh Deo (Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi)

Navaniat Singh (Shareek)

Pankaj Batra (Dildariyaan)

Rohit Jugraj (Sardaarji)

Simerjit Singh (Angrej)

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male)

Ammy Virk (Angrej)

BN Sharma (Judge Singh LLB)

Girja Shankar (Faraar)

Guggu Gill (Shareek)

Jaswinder Bhalla (Munde Kamaal De)

Mukul Dev (Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi)

Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female)

Anita Devgan (Judge Singh LLB)

Kiran Juneja (Mukhtiar Chadha)

Mandy Thakkar (Sardaarji)

Upasna Singh (Myself Pendu)

Best Music Director

Jaidev Kumar (Shareek)

Jatinder Shah (Angrej)

Jatinder Shah (Faraar)

Jatinder Shah (Dildariyaan)

Jatinder Shah/Nick Dhammu (Sardaarji)

Best Lyricist

Bachan Bedi – Heer – Mitti Na Pharol Jogiya

Davinder Khannewala – Mainu Ishq Lagaa – Shareek

Happy Raikoti – Kurta – Angrej

Happy Raikoti – Parne Nu – Faraar

Manpreet Sidhu – Jinde Meriye – Qissa Punjab

Kumar – Dil Kafiraa – Shareek

Veet Baljit – Naina – Hero Naam Yaad Rakhi

Vinder NathuMajra – Mil Ke Baithange - Angrej

Best Playback Singer (Male)

Amrinder Gill – Kurta – Angrej

Amrinder Gill – Vanjhali – Angrej

Diljit Dosanjh – Taare – Sardaarji

Diljit Dosanjh – Veervaar – Sardaarji

Gippy Grewal – Budhwaar – Faraar

Jassi Gill – Aazma – Dildariyaan

Javed Bashir – Mere Saiyaan – RSVP

Manmohan Waris – Parne Nu – Faraar

Mickey Singh – Dil Kafiraa – Shareek

Shafqat Amanat Ali – Naina Bawre – Munde Kamaal De

Best Playback Singer (Female)

Kaur B – Dilbara – Mitti Na Pharol Jogiya

Harshdeep Kaur – Tang Sajan Di – Naughty Jatts

Nooran Sisters – Jinde Meriye – Qissa Punjab

Shipra Goyal – Mainu Ishq Lagaa – Shareek

Sunidhi Chauhan – Jind Mahi - Angrej

HDFC Life launches ‘HDFC Life YoungStars’, a first-of-its-kind digital talent hunt for kids

•        India’s first digital talent hunt for children in association with #fame
•        Lauren Gottlieb, Cyrus Sahukar, Raghav Sachar & Siddharth Mahadevan to mentor the  selected kids

Mumbai, 12th April, 2016– HDFC Life, India’s leading private life insurance company and #fame today announced the launch of India’s first ever digital talent hunt for kids for categories in dancing, singing, musical instruments and comedy. This unique initiative will invite talented children between the ages 6 and 14, from across the country to participate in the competition by uploading their video on its websitewww.hdfclifeyoungstars.com. 

Keeping with HDFC Life’s digital-first focus, HDFC Life YoungStars is driven primarily on the digital medium. Right from the call for entries round, wherein one just needs to upload a video on the website, to all its following phases, to the grand finale, the entire property is digital based.  Selected contestants who make the cut will be nurtured through the course of the show in their respective fields by the mentors. Finalists from each category will then get a chance to perform with their mentors and also win various other exciting prizes. 

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Sanjay Tripathy, Senior Executive Vice President & Head - Marketing, Analytics, Digital & E-Commerce, HDFC Life said, “The insight for this platform came from the understanding that parents are the first to spot a child’s potential talent. Parents are always looking for ways to help nurture the talent of their children, with the hope that their child will be able to harvest his/her complete potential. HDFC Life has always partnered with parents through financial planning to help children realize their full potential and capitalize on their talents. However, as a brand we have always believed in being more than just a financial enabler. Hence, with HDFC Life YoungStars we have gone a step further and created a platform where parents can help their kids to showcase, and nurture their talents under the guidance of our four talented mentors.”

Further, Mr. Shreyas Rao, Senior Vice President, #fame said, “We are glad to associate with HDFC Life, one of the most forward thinking and digitally savvy financial services brands and Maxus in this exciting new initiative. At #fame, we have pioneered several properties capitalising on the power of mobile video to discover the new wave of exciting talent. HDFC Life Young Stars is a unique platform which will give young talented kids a digital stage to showcase their skills and get recognised.”

Maxus ESP, the content arm of marketing services agency Maxus, played a pivotal role in conceptualizing the property with the brand’s objectives in mind. Besides partnering the creation process the team helped find the right platform and partner in #fame by leveraging on its understanding of the media universe. Pooja Verma, Head, Maxus ESP said, “At Maxus ESP we believe that great content created by leveraging technology can significantly enhance the consumer’s experience of a brand. HDFC Young Stars is a great example of how we help make it happen. Today, the most commonly found gadget in the country is a handheld mobile device. What better way than using something as simple as a mobile to help encourage parents from all parts of the country to participate and showcase the talent of their kids. ”

Here is what the Mentors had to say:

The ABCD 2 actress, Lauren Gottlieb who was extremely enthusiastic about the launch, commented, “The kids today have a lot of exposure to the different dance forms, thanks to the internet. HDFC Life YoungStars will be a medium of both exposure and personal learning for them. I look forward to mentor the young dancing dynamites of India.”

Distinguished VJ, comedian and Bollywood actor Cyrus Sahukar said, “The entire concept is innovative and unique. It’s the perfect mix of talent and digital. All one needs is a smartphone and talent for their ticket to fame. There's so much to comedy be it stand-up, sketch, improv, mimes… I am eager to see the kids get started"

The Musical sensation, Raghav Sachar said “I believe the virtual world is taking over and I am really happy to be a part of HDFC Life YoungStars, especially since instrumental music is not normally in the spotlight. Not only will this be fun and energetic, it will also give an opportunity to push young talent onto bigger avenues."

The playback singer and composer who is known for his songs in the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,  Siddharth Mahadevan said, “Music is the best stress buster. It would be a privilege to judge these little ones. Platforms like this will give these kids the required boost. I am sure it’s going be a tough and exciting way ahead.”

About HDFC Life
Established in 2000, HDFC Life is a leading long-term life insurance solutions provider in India, offering a range of individual and group insurance solutions that meet various customer needs such as Protection, Pension, Savings, Investment, and Health. Customers have the added advantage of customizing plans, by adding optional benefits called riders, at a nominal price. As on 31 December 2015, the Company had 28 individual and 8 group products in its portfolio, along with 7 optional rider benefits catering to a diverse range of customer needs.
HDFC Life continues to benefit from having a wide reach with 402 HDFC Life offices in India and 8,000+ distributor touch-points. The Company has a strong base of Financial Consultants. The Company has also recently completed incorporation of its wholly owned subsidiary in Dubai to offer reinsurance services.
HDFC Life is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd., India’s leading housing finance institution and Standard Life, a global long term investment savings player. Currently HDFC holds 70.65% and Standard Life holds 26.00% of equity in the joint venture, while the rest is held by others. On August 14, 2015 HDFC Ltd. has entered into a share sale agreement with Standard Life to sell a 9.00% stake in HDFC Life to the latter. The transaction is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals. Post the completion of the above transaction, HDFC will hold 61.65% stake in HDFC Life and Standard Life’s stake will increase to 35.00%, with rest to be held by others.
For more information, please visit our website, www.hdfclife.com. You may also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Google+.

About #fame
#fame is India’s No.1 Live Video Social Platform catering to mobile millennials through an integrated ‘talent-first’ strategy, #fame is set to become Asia’s premier digital entertainment network through its presence across 6 countries over the next 3 years. #fame’s content centres around mobile-led LIVE video programming and innovative video-on-demand content including high impact digital properties, shows and formats in genres such as entertainment, food, fashion, music, comedy. With a multi-platform approach in distribution and a strong presence across all digital and social platforms, #fame helps brands reach and engage audiences through customized solutions spanning talent-based content, properties and digital video services. 

fastfilmz brings the world’s fastest mobile video technology to Regional Movie Lovers

…Targeting the ever-expanding smartphone population, the fastfilmz app offers unlimited download of HD movies at Re. 1 a day

…Exclusive to fastfilmz, V- Nova’s PERSEUS^TM compression technology enables a movie download at as low as 150MB data per movie versus 600MB data usage by any other app

…Now high quality streaming even over congested and unreliable 2G networks

Chennai, India, April 07, 2016: fastfilmz – a start-up with its headquarters in Bangalore and London, has launched the world’s fastest video app: an HD movie app that has gone live on Google Play. 100% dedicated to Regional movies, the company is redefining movie watching for India’s film-crazy fans, powered by the world’s fastest video compression technology: V- Nova’s PERSEUS^TM. With over 150+ hit HD Tamil movies, fastfilmz offers unlimited downloads and has lowest data consumption, for as little as Rs. 30 a month, i.e., Re. 1 a day!

fastfilmz is co-founded by Harvard and Kellogg alumni and previous employees of McKinsey & Company - Dominic Charles and Karam Malhotra – co-CEOs and co-Founders, fastfilmz. The company has been funded by multiple angel investors from the USA and Europe.

The fastfilmz app is designed for the common man and woman in India who love their regional cinema but cannot afford high data charges, an expensive smartphone or even movie tickets on a regular basis. On the other hand, the subscription cost for this app starts at only Rs. 10 per week and Rs. 30 per month.The payment model has been simplified by the company to appeal to the end-consumer, where the amount will be deducted from talk-time balance. At launch, fastfilmz has tied up with the four largest network service providers in TN (Aircel, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea).

fastfilmz has exclusively partnered with V-Nova for its PERSEUS™ Technology – the world’s fastest video compression technology – to solve the issues of high data costs for downloads and buffering when streaming. V-Nova’s PERSEUS^TM allows fastfilmz to provide full movie downloads at as low as 150MB data per 2.5-hours movie versus >600MB data usage by any other app. V-Nova Limited is a London-headquartered software company providing advanced video compression technology and software solutions. The technology also enables streaming of quality video over the 2G networks that 70% of India’s consumers use for Internet access.

“We noticed that small-town, regional consumers didn’t have access to fast networks and affordable data to watch movies on their smartphones at ease. We decided to create fastfilmz to bridge this gap. By partnering with V-Nova exclusively, we have rights to use their world-class video compression technology PERSEUS™, which enables us to provide HD quality movies to our users at affordable data costs. Moreover, the technology has helped us increase our potential customer base by 4x, from a possible 30 million customers using 3G to over 120 million customers using 2G and 3G”, says co-CEO and Co-Founder, Karam Malhotra.

“While conducting our market study, we saw that the consumption of regional cinema in India is as large as Bollywood, but not one single service dedicated to this devoted audience. We are launching with the best catalogue of recent and classic Tamil movies featuring all the top Heroes and we will be adding 5-10 more titles each and every week. Meanwhile, we will also be adding some of the best Telugu movies to the app by the end of this year.” says co-CEO and co-founder, Dominic Charles.

About fastfilmz:

At fastfilmz we are revolutionizing Mobile Video. Using PERSEUS™, the world’s leading compression technology built by V-Nova, we have launched the ‘World’s Fastest Video App’.

100% dedicated to Regional movies, we are redefining movie watching for India’s film-crazy fans!

About V-Nova Limited:

V-Nova is a London-headquartered software company providing advanced signal compression technology and software solutions to address the global explosion in network traffic. V-Nova is at the heart of digitalisation, serving multiple industry segments, including TV and Media where it provides solutions spanning the whole media delivery chain, from UHD/4K contribution to distribution to connected devices and set-top-boxes.