The SPECTRE teaser trailer in English is here

Director: Sam Mendes 
Cast: Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, David Bautista and Andrew Scott

A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

          

​Multiple-station FM radio to reach 800 cities in a couple of years: MoS Col. Rathore

 

MUMBAI, March 27, 2015.The three-day FICCI FRAMES 2015 convention drew to a close with a valedictory session, where Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Union  Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, delivered a keynote address on the theme ‘Making India the Entertainment Superpower: Innovating for an Entertainment Ecosystem”.

Mr Rathore paid tribute to the media and entertainment industry, saying that they are at the foundation of nation building. “What truly makes a nation is character, and what all of you are associated with is something that builds character.” He heaped praise on the industry, saying that it has the ability to reach out to the world. But he also cautioned that content is important despite all the technology. “We should be able to produce content irrespective of packaging and marketing and should be able to take a foothold in any nation.”

He pledged his Government’s support to the industry. Speaking about how radio is expanding by leaps and bounds, he said that the Government is about to launch phase 3 auctions in 315 cities. In a couple of years, they hope to cover about 800 cities with multiple FM stations. They are also re-doing the Cinematographic Act. They want to make certification content based, and go online. Film and television institutes will be improved and the ministry wants to create a centre of excellence for gaming, animation and special effects. This will be a benchmark for all centres of excellence that come up later. He called upon the industry to partner the Government in this pursuit.

His keynote address was followed by a question-answer session with Mr Siddharth Roy Kapur, MD, Disney India. Mr Kapur hoped that India could be viewed as the soft power of the 21^st century. “India and the US are the only two countries where 90 per cent of the revenue and viewership comes from local content. Most other countries don’t have such a thriving film and TV industry.” Mr Rathore concurred that this would be the best way to enter the hearts and minds of all citizens throughout the world. “There is nothing better to promote our culture than film,” he said.

Mr Kapur also highlighted some of the pitfalls faced by the industry, particularly in terms of regulation and taxation. Mr Rathore agreed that changes were needed, but called for an interaction between the Government and the media and entertainment industry, so that the former could be seized of the constraints faced by the latter. “We want to make it clear that if there is something that the Government can do, we will be more than pleased to do it.” Mr Kapur acknowledged that it is refreshing to have a minister and a Government so open to dialogue, and looked forward to the journey in the future.

Deepika's interview on mental awareness has created a buzz on social media

Deepika Padukone recently took up the cause of spreading mental awareness.

Deepika did an intricate research on the matter. She collaborated with a team of doctors for research and  has also up The Live Love Laugh Foundation’  to spread the word on mental health care.

Deepika admitted that she underwent depression last year and after a lot of support, understanding from her family and guidance of doctors she overcame it.

The actress openly shared her experience on a reputed national television show with her mother and doctors by her side. It was an interesting exchange where they discussed the issue at length.

The audiences applauded Deepika’s courage and the show was widely discussed and spoken about. It got more than 50,000 views in no time and has been abuzz on social media platforms aswell.

People have also been tweeting and commenting about the same.

Deepika’s foundation even in the nascent stage has received support from varied organizations and individuals who are keen to partner or support the initiative in their own manner.

Maharashtra Govt. to unveil AVGC and ESDM Policy soon to make the State a global M&E destination

 (FICCI FRAMES, Day 3)

MUMBAI, March 27, 2015. The Government of Maharashtra by the end of April proposes to finalize the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effect, Gaming and Comic) Policy and ESDM (Electronic System Design & Manufacturing) Policy. The AVGC Policy envisages an environment to promote growth of indigenous digital content, education and entertainment for masses whereas the ESDM Policy proposes interest free term loans, assistance for cost of quality certification and setting up of Electronics Development Fund for the development of the ESDM sector in the state.

This was stated on day three of FICCI FRAMES 2015 in a session on ‘Making Maharashtra the Global Destination for Media and Entertainment’ by the state government representatives Ms. Valsa Nair Singh, Secretary-Tourism & Culture, Government of Maharashtra; Mr. Apurva Chandra, Principal Secretary - Industries, Government of Maharashtra and Mr. Surendra Bagde, Secretary, SMI, and Development Commissioner-Industries, Government of Maharashtra. 

The three government representatives unanimously supported the cause of the media and entertainment (M&E) industry, as they believed that the industry did not get its fair share in the past. They extended support to providing a greater thrust on creating a comprehensive M&E policy in order to facilitate a world-class infrastructure and policy framework to attract the global M&E industry to Maharashtra.

Ms. Singh stated that the M&E sector was marred by red tape, which the state government was aiming to replace with a red carpet for the filmmakers and studios. She agreed that the sector faced many challenges such as multiple authorities for approvals and licenses, lack of fair tax regime and need for ready availability of infrastructure of processes and resources. 

Ms. Singh informed that the Maharashtra Government was working towards operationalizing a single window clearance process and reducing the number of approvals by eliminating redundant compliances. She added that to make Maharashtra the global destination for M&E, awareness creation about the locations through reckoner for locations, accessibility to locations through single window clearance and infrastructure & facilitates at locations, attractive propositions by providing incentives for film shooting in the state and tax subsidies were some of the steps that the state government plans to adopt.

Speaking about the proposed AVGC Policy, Mr. Chandra said that the policy tends to focus on bridging demand supply gap for stakeholders, attracting global companies, larger share of outsourcing international AVGC work, legal framework for Intellectual Property creation and protection, program to train the trainer and setting up a Centre of Excellence with state-of-the-art facilities.

Mr. Bagde said that the Government of Maharashtra was proactively working towards easing of  doing business in the state. Speaking on the issue of a large number of compliances required for opening a theatre for screening a movie, he said that screening a movie was as important as shooting a film. Mr. Bagde assured the industry that the state government would look into the issue and facilitate the sector in this regard.

Sharing the industry’s perspective, Mr. Namit Malhotra, Founder, Executive Chairman & Global CEO, Prime Focus, said that access to creative and an enabling environment along with ease of doing business could attract international studios and filmmakers to the country. He urged the state government to chalk out clear-cut and well-structured policies and processes for seeking approvals and clearances for shooting in the state and suggested that a single window system approach should be adopted as that would help in removing the present set of roadblocks.

The session was moderated by Dr. Arbind Prasad, Director General, FICCI.

Consumer choice & preferences will determine a sustainable revenue model for digital

MUMBAI, March 27, 2015. Bandwidth limitation, high data charges, content size, piracy, payment mode, pricing and content production and aggregation were some of the major issues that OTT (over-the-top content) faced in India, stated Mr. William Pfeiffer, CEO, Dragongate, in his opening remarks on day three of FICCI FRAMES 2015 in a session on ‘Making Money off the Digital Native - Sustainable Revenue Models’.

The digital consumer is on his way to becoming the M&E king. It is he who will dictate future content trends, platform specifics and most importantly – revenue flows. How can the vast media and entertainment ecosystem channelize its vision towards a sustainable revenue system reaping off the all-encompassing digital landscape – overhauling payment gateways, broadband speed and consumer sensitisation were some of the issues discussed by the eminent panellists at the session.

Mr. Pfeiffer said that the future of digital lies in focusing on regional languages, catering to unique demands of consumers, discovering new talent, keeping a track of changing socio dynamics where consumer would switch to event-based viewing, creating great content, engaging in compelling interactions and adopting new technologies for serving the audience better. 

Mr. Ajit Mohan, Head, Digital, Star India, said that from a consumer’s point of view, OTT space in India has been underserved but now it is fast gaining a market and India needed to shape its own unique revenue model and innovate as it had a mass market for digital. He added that the audience is ready to consume real content and now is the time to leverage it.    

Mr. Gurmit Singh, MD, Yahoo India, said that key to building a sustainable revenue model in digital is to understand the audiences’ choice and preferences. The technology today was allowing the service providers and content creators to collect more data that could help in understanding a consumer’s needs. However, he added that advertisements need to be in a subtle and receptive environment, rather than being forced for increasing the probability of them being consumed and viewed by the audience.   

Mr. Kenny Ye, Managing Director, UCWeb India, said that the Indian Government’s launch of ‘Digital India’ campaign would enable the digital platform to reach wider audiences. Internet through mobile technology would connect people and the relationship between service provider/business and consumers is the central to this economics.

Mr. Srinivasan Gopalan, Director & CEO, Global Voice & Data Business, Airtel, said that confluence of operators and content providers and an enabling ecosystem was needed for the digital platform to create a successful revenue model. He added that in India Internet usage was primarily taking place through mobile and the need was to look at revenue models that could support the Internet on mobiles.

The session was moderated by Mr. Matthew Amroliwala, Presenter, BBC Global News.

Margarita with a Straw faces cuts from the Censor Board

Shonali Bose’s award winning film, Kalki Koechlin starrer ‘Margarita, with a straw’ has been told by the Central Board of Film Certification to follow moral guidelines and make a lot of cuts.

Margarita, with a Staw is a story on Laila who has cerebral palsy. It is a slice of life film wherein Laila embarks on a journey to seek love and acceptance.

After watching the film, the Examining Committee (EC) asked the makers to tone down a kissing scene between Kalki and Sayani Gupta, to which Shonali Bose says, “There is a 12-second long kiss between the two characters, but the CBFC had problems with it. They want me to reduce it to just a few seconds. I explained that as it is their first kiss, it can't be that brief.”

The members also asked her to edit out two scenes; one where Kalki shows the middle finger and another sequence which shows a male character removing her undergarments so that she can use the washroom and she then proceeds to urinate.

Shonali shares, “I told them this is reality, not titillation. My cousin sister suffers from cerebral palsy and when nobody else is around; her father has to take off her underwear so she can use the loo. She will pee her pants otherwise,”

She adds, “The film will go to the Revising Committee now. I hope better sense prevails as the EC, to my shock, told me they had moral guidelines to follow. I'm not going to settle for a single cut and will go to the Tribunal if required. It's a sensitive film and the CBFC should see it in the context it's made. Fortunately, my producers are backing me in this fight.”

Digital is an opportunity but should be used correctly, say experts

MUMBAI, March 27, 2015. On the concluding day of the FICCI FRAMES 2015 here, Ms Pooja Kohli, founder of Filmkaravan, moderated a session on ‘Digital Disruption: Trends, Analysis, Insight and Projections’. The session looked at disruption effected by the digital ecosystem upon the entertainment sector. The panellists analysed future and current trends in the digital business for these platforms to become growth drivers.

 Mr Abhay Deol, actor, producer and one of the key disruptors of the digital media, shared his experience in releasing One by Two to international audiences. He took a risk, but it made sense. He wasn’t getting distribution abroad, and conversations with the NRI community convinced him that they were willing to pay for watching the movie online. He saw that as an opportunity. “Here was a chance. I didn’t have to stress my studio out into a theatrical release anywhere outside India; I could just provide them with that content on my platform.” He feels that changing technology is a godsend; it enables producers to create content that doesn’t fit ‘the formula’.

Mr Paulo Matteo Agostinelli, Chief Content and Business Development Officer, Tata Sky Ltd, agreed that digital is an opportunity, but will soon become a threat if the industry does not move quickly. Hence his company offers non linear content that subscribers can watch on demand. “What’s needed is an open minded approach to what’s happening.” The right approach, according to him, is to create value for consumers by selecting the right content and packaging and delivering it in an appropriate way for the consumer, regardless of the device. That helps them understand the changing behaviour of consumers. “It’s a disruption, but a positive one.” In America which is the most advanced video market in the world, the ‘millennials’ or 18-35 year olds now consume 50 per cent of their video time on a non linear basis; a third of their video time is spent on a device. “In India there are 350 million millennials walking on the street at this moment,” he averred, referring to the tremendous opportunity in the digital entertainment space. 

“We have to be aware that new technologies are being developed; and how we monetise these opportunities,” said Mr Erik St Anthony Pence, President N. America / Global Digital Strategy / Facebook Walla. For the last decade he has been helping to monetise new technologies, and the struggle comes down to still being able to market content. There is no magic there.

But Mr James Veraldi, Digital Media Advisor, LA, felt that the challenges in the US are different from those in India. “There are different reasons why some have sputtered and some have taken off, but across the board the same opportunity to source traditional providers and go to the consumer in the same way creators are doing online is there.” In his view, there is an assumption that people are looking at new forms of content; they still love well produced movies and TV shows. The difference is in how the content gets delivered and monetised. Yet, he does not believe in the death of cable and satellite television, only in their evolution with changing consumer demands.

The panellists also discussed the kind of content that works on digital. Mr Abhay Deol felt that the content has to bring in business success, and hoped that the new platforms create an opportunity for new content to get funded. Mr Veraldi stressed that there will always be good content and bad content. “What’s changed is marrying digital stars with traditional writers and filmmakers and not relying on traditional distribution to get it monetised.” Mr Pence’s advice to filmmakers was that rather than focusing only on the main feature, they should look at digital as a complete marketing ecosystem, and bring in the franchise idea behind it, because digital has made that possible.

FICCI Media Division 

Care World TV

‘Wellness’ To Be The New Theme

Care World TV To Revamp Itself With Reinvented Programming

Mumbai: Care World TV, the seven-year-old health and fitness television channel will be revamping itself to address the fast evolving lifestyles of the urban population. The first and largest healthcare satellite channel in Asia has already set up a new state-of-the-art studio at its Mumbai office and has kept ready 1000 hours of content on new wellness programmes that will be both informative and Do It Yourself (DIY) in nature. From aerobics to traditional massages, yoga to fitness gyms, diet and nutrition to healthy cooking, the new avatar of the TV channel will reinvent the subject matter on Wellness.

In its successful seven year run, Care World TV has produced more than 4000 hours of content related to health and fitness. Over 1200 subject experts and 1000 Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) from the sector lend their expertise on healthcare through this TV channel.

“Keeping in tune with the boom in the healthcare Industry and the increased health awareness of the public in general, we have designed new programmes that will be in sync with the times. While continuing to be in the health domain, it has been a conscious thought to create content on Wellness as the trend in this industry has been witnessing tremendous appreciation. Hence, with thorough research and interactions with top subject experts, Care World TV has planned to focus content on Wellness,” says Mr. Ajit Gupta, Managing Director, Care World TV – Asia.

With this latest revamp, Care World TV will yet again become the one and only satellite TV channel to create innovative and interactive content on Wellness.

“To produce high quality content, Care World TV has now moved the entire production and channel operations into a new 12,000 square feet, technologically equipped studio at Andheri, Mumbai. On the one hand we are working to create explicit content and on the other we are trying to shoot some material on 4K as visual quality matters a lot to the audience. Our future shows will have an international and contemporary feel with classy presentation, state-of-the-art production values and exclusive content,” says Mr. Ashok Singh, Creative Head, Care World TV.

The exclusive healthcare channel, which launched its United States of America (USA) edition, marked yet another milestone by crossing eight crore hits and signing up 1.75 lac subscribers for its YouTube channel.

“We plan to offer various innovations in customized and interactive programming thus offering a range of formats for health industry to communicate their valuable messages to a widespread and highly focused; and a very responsive audience. I am confident that with this improved approach we will surpass any other medium in the healthcare segment and be the preferred bridge between the functionary and the beneficiary,” concludes Mr. Gupta.

About Care World TV: CARE WORLD TV, Asia's only Satellite healthcare TV Channel, emerged as the need of the hour by fulfilling a vacant niche, has successfully completed 7 years of disseminating health related information to the masses thus bridging the gap between the functionary and the beneficiary. Keeping in tune with the boom in the healthcare Industry with constant changes, in trends, development, research, the channel has introduced various innovative shows with exclusive content. The content is produced in its Mumbai involving experts from the industry has generated viewers in India, Bangkok, Pakistan, Nepal and many more Asian countries. Care World is available on all major Cable Networks across the country and also can be accessed on Videocon DTH.

The Caricature Motion Poster for Tanu Weds Manu Returns

Dev + Tina Desai

Tina Desi stars in the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opposite Dev Patel and recently both of them were at the LA Premier  of the movie.

Court Restrains Shruti Hassan from signing any new movie, criminal proceedings also initiated

Picture House Media Ltd, a leading media and entertainment house based out of Chennai and Hyderabad has initiated Civil and Criminal Proceedings against actress Shruti Hassan.

Shruti Hassan after entering into a contractual agreement to be the female lead in a bilingual starring Nagarjuna and Karthi directed by Vamsi Paidipalli has reneged on her contractual obligations. She has arbitrarily pulled out of the project citing dates clash as a flimsy excuse. The dates were mutually discussed with her and schedules were planned around her convenience. The said movie has commenced its shoot and first schedule was completed and unexpectedly Shruti conveyed through an email that she wanted to exit the project.

This unethical and unprofessional act of Shruti Hassan has resulted in Picture House Media Ltd incurring financial as well as reputation loss. Though the financial loss is running into several crores, it is the loss of time and reputation that is significant because the schedules of all other artists who have committed their dates will be disrupted.

With an intention of ensuring that such unprofessional attitude is not repeated and to protect the interests of its various stakeholders, Picture House Media Ltd has initiated both civil and criminal proceedings against Shruti Hassan and the Honourable Judge has taken cognisance of this civil offence and issued an injunction restraining her from signing any new movie until further orders. For the criminal offence, Police have been instructed to investigate the matter.

Barkhaa hits the silver screen

Mumbai, 27^th March 2015; Zahara Productions' maiden film, 'Barkhaa' is a women centric film. The film is being releases by Essel Vision Pvt. Ltd. This ambitions film brings alive the complexities of life while weaving the highs and lows of love in the life of a girl shunned by society. In a rarely seen bold move, Zahara Production’s maiden film has Sara Loren as a female protagonist and Taaha Shah as the lead. Also featuring in the film are Priyanshu Chatterjee, Puneet Issar and Shweta Pandit as a supporting role.

All praise for his actors' performances, director Shadaab Mirza said, "Sara has brought with her her own brand of elegance and mysterious beauty. Taaha, who plays her love interest, has spun his own magic into his character. His vulnerability and dedication has touched the hearts of everyone who has seen the movie."

Optimistic about the story, that deals with ordinary people stuck in extraordinary circumstances, finding resonance with the viewers, Shadaab said, "The emotions our characters feel are the same that every one of us live with almost every day." Encouraged by the support of his producers, he further added, "The subject deals with the life of a girl who is ostracized by society. The producers never shied away from what most people would consider a controversial subject."

Producers Shabana Hashmi and co-producer Sanjay Bedia have had a great journey creating ‘Barkhaa. They sum up their experience saying, "Shadaab has made a film that has taken all of us on an emotional journey. Both Sara and Taaha have done justice to their characters and for us, as our first film, Barkhaa is a story that we are proud of. We now look forward to audience reactions."

सोनम कपूर फ़िलहाल हेवी वर्कआउट से दूर ,कर रही है बेसिक वर्कआउट।

सोनम कपूर पूरी तरह से स्वाइन फ्लू से बाहर आचुकी है और वे स्वस्थ भी है , सोनम ने स्वस्थ हिने के बाद अब उनकी आगामी फिल्म की शूटिंग में जुट गयी है। स्वस्थ होने के बाद अब सोनम कपूर उनके रेगुलर फिटनेस वर्क आउट से दूर नहीं रहना चाहती।  

​सोनम ने वर्क आउट शुरू करदिया है और वे हेल्दी डाइट पर है ​। सोनम फ़िलहाल डॉक्टर्स की सलाह पर योगा और बेसिक कार्डिओ जैसे वाकिंग और जॉगिंग कर रही है , डॉटर्स ने यह भी कहा है की वे फ़िलहाल हेवी वर्कऑउट से परहेज करे। 

Koyal Rana, The New Face of HyperCITY’s Fashion brand ‘Masala Chai’.

Mumbai, 26^th  March 2015: Crowned Miss India in 2014, the Indian beauty Koyal Rana has been signed on as the fresh brand ambassador of HyperCITY’s In-house brand – Masala Chai. The fashion brand, Masala Chai launched its Spring Summer Collection this week.

Inspired by the true spirit of a young woman - her zest for life, her playfulness, her energy and her spunk, Masala Chai is the epitome of her everyday life, new beginnings and journeys. Masala Chai collection will make you take centre stage with the fun and gallant you. It breaks monotony and boredom, letting you explore with variety of colours, prints, patters of folklore and floral art.

“I am glad to be associated with ‘Masala Chai’ by HyperCITY as this collection is a reflection of the young and confident women who are assertive yet rooted to traditional flair curating culture. It's stylish, trendy, fused with global culture, comfortably Indianized and fit for today’s women.”,  says Koyal Rana.

Work the jazzy look like Koyal Rana with Masala Chai’s kurta of interesting print that can be paired with Aztec printed leggings for a modern-chic look. Masala Chai unbolts and lets you evoke a sense of zeal with focal printed kurtas, fun print leggings and summery palazzos of your choice available at HyperCITY.

Digital Media and Print Sector will continue to co-exist 

Newspapers need to rethink strategy to keep pace with digital platform

MUMBAI, March 26, 2015. Digital media and print sector are here to stay and would continue to co-exist in the Indian market for a long time. This could be deduced from the fact that the circulation of newspapers was still in the positive zone and was growing from strength to strength and the print media continues to have the lion’s share of the ad spend pie. Digital media was also gaining ground quickly. The need was to rethink strategy and tactics for the print media for it to be at par with the digital platform, which was evolving at a fast rate. 

This was stated here today by the panellists deliberating on ‘Redefining Traditional Paradigms: Digital Media and the Print Sector’ at FICCI FRAMES 2015.

Mr. Anant Goenka, Wholetime Director, The Indian Express, was of the view that digital platform had opened  a myriad of opportunities for the market and had the ability to reach a wider audience and penetrate the interior of the country,  while newspapers had a loyal readership base and the regional newspapers were growing steadily and do not look to be fading out in the near future. He added that innovation and original content creation was the key to success in both spaces.

Mr. Sachin Kalbag, Editor, Mid-Day, said that online medium provides a platform to a media house to build upon a story, which was carried in the newspaper,  throughout the day by using social media platforms, mobile apps and other digital medium. Digital platform could ensure that the stories were being discussed during the day and not forgotten after being read in a newspaper. 

Mr. Nidheesh Tyagi, Editor, BBC Online, said that newspapers have enjoyed an indispensable position but were now at a tipping point and there were indicators that showed that consumers were shifting from newspapers to the digital platform. Newspapers had “stiffness” and it would be a challenge  to compete with the digital medium, which was faster in dispensing news. 

Mr. Vinay Maheshwari, Senior Vice President, Sales, Market Development & Brand Marketing, Danik Bhaskar Group, felt that the two mediums would co-exist and one would not cannibalise the other. The two mediums enjoyed a very different genre of readership and audience. However, he added that newspapers still have the advantage of being affordable by all. But the Internet was catching up fast as it was also now being considered a serious business.

While speaking about the ad spend Mr. Shripad Kulkarni, CEO, Percept Allied Media, said that print and television had a greater advertisement share than digital. However, he pointed out that digital had emerged as one medium, like no other, which was able to affect both print and television.  He added that newspapers could well co-exist in future with digital but there was a need to rethink strategy and recalibrate. It was essential to rethink about distribution, content and monetization of content of print media for its sustainability.

The session was moderated by Mr. Pradyuman Maheshwari, Editor in Chief & CEO,mxmindia.com.

FICCI Women in Media Forum launched at FICCI FRAMES

If you do well as a woman, be prepared to be hated: Barkha Dutt

MUMBAI, March 26, 2015: The ‘FICCI Women in Media Forum’ was launched here today during FICCI FRAMES 2015. Keynote speaker Barkha Dutt, Consulting Editor, NDTV, held the audience spellbound as she described her journey as a successful media executive, now about to embark on her own entrepreneurial venture.

She began with an acknowledgement of her mother’s role as a media person three decades ago, in shaping her. She recounted how her mother, as a 19 year old, was refused a job as a reporter at the Hindustan Times. She was told there was no space for women, and when she insisted, was asked to report on flower shows in Delhi. But her mother persisted and went on to head the Investigative Bureau of the Hindustan Times. “When I reported on the Kargil war, many people thought I was the first woman, but that role belonged to my mother,” Barkha clarified. During the 1965 Indo-Pak war, when the senior Ms Dutt was denied an opportunity to go to the front, she took leave and reached there on her own. She sent her despatches to her paper, and the paper had no choice but to publish them. “Such strong role models make a difference in your life,” said Barkha.

Barkha spoke of her own experience during the Kargil war. She too was denied permission initially but finally allowed after repeated pleading. But her travails did not end there. She had to deal with the Army. The Army tried to dissuade her from entering the “all male domain”, saying that there would be “complications” since there were no toilets for women. “This is war. I will do what the men do,” was her simple response. But she disclosed that today, at 43, she is not as uncomfortable with the gender tag as she was at 26, although she worked hard to resist it. She recalled how during the Kargil war, the journalists got close to a group of soldiers who saved them. When the soldiers left for battle, not knowing whether they would return, her male counterparts had no problem shedding tears during their goodbyes; but she was petrified of being called ‘girly’. “I would not even cry off camera. That was my first realisation that those who shrug off gender grapple with it in subliminal ways.”

“But we can’t hide from gender anymore.” What Anushka Sharma shared with her a few days ago was a case in point. The actor informed her that even today, a young man is paid much more in the film industry than established women. This is ironic during a year in cinema that was the year of women. “We also have ourselves to blame, we are uncomfortable to ask for more,” felt Barkha. Citing a recent UN study on depiction of women in the film industry, she informed the house that India did very well in sexualising women on screen. “How can it be that a woman can only be either a Tulsi with sindoor in her maang or an item number?” she argued.

Today, only nine per cent of film directors are women, and 15 per cent are producers. “If you do well as a woman, be prepared to be hated. You will be scrutinised for every word that comes out of your mouth, even for your weight.” She ended by voicing dismay over how even trained, brilliant women like Indira Nooyi are expected to fulfil the conventional role of a wife and mother at home. “Unless we push men into equal parenting, equal householding, we will not be able to rise.”

Earlier, Ms Jagi Mangat Panda of FICCI welcomed the gathering and described the ‘FICCI Women in Media Forum’ as another milestone for FICCI FRAMES. “Media is the most progressive business, a tool for gender sensitisation.”  However, she felt that media today is still as gender insensitive as any other sector. She called for close examination of the depiction of women in TV. The Forum will be a platform for exchange of knowledge and ideas between women in media both nationally and internationally. It will aim to represent women to relevant policy makers on issues pertaining to employment terms and practices in the media and entertainment sector.

Don’t ignore the numbers, say investment experts to filmmakers

Don’t ignore the numbers, say investment experts to filmmakers

MUMBAI, March 26, 2015: A panel discussion on ‘Making the Impossible Possible: Dating and Investor and Getting Funded’, on the second day of the FICCI FRAMES 2015 saw the participants focussing on the key value drivers that investors look at. The discussion, moderated by Mr Girish Menon, Director, Transactions and Restructuring, KPMG India Pvt. Ltd, centred on finding money to release small, medium and regional cinema at a profit. The participants were Mr Saurabh Srivastava, Co-founder and past Chairman, NASSCOM, IVCA and TIE and Co-founder, Indian Angel Network; Ms Padmaja Ruparel, CEO, Indian Angels Network; Mr Gautam Patel, MD, Zodius Capital; Mr Sanjay Nath, Blume Ventures; and Ms Nandini Mansinghka, Founder, Idyabooster.  

Mr Srivastava spoke about how the success of investment in technology can be replicated in entertainment. “It’s all about venture capital,” he suggested. Today the manner in we communicate or travel, or even access healthcare and education has changed dramatically from a few years ago. This change has happened “because we found a way to finance innovation.” The old paradigm of low risk funding does not apply to innovative technology which is high risk. So new investment models that fund several innovations at a time with high annualised returns came into the market and that made Google, Facebook and Twitter possible. That hasn’t happened with movies because the dynamics of the investment structure are flawed. “The success rate is low because if you have a scenario where you cannot take it to enough people, then a movie that could make money will not, and people will not take risks.” In his opinion, this will change with the new technology that will disrupt how movies are made, distributed, and what screens they are made for.

Ms Ruparel shared her experience of two decades in the entrepreneur ecosystem. When she started, angel investment did not have the foothold that it has today. Today start-ups get a lot of backing. The work was hard, but it has brought them success. What worked for them was to leverage the expertise of “like minded people with different domain expertise to bring complementary strength.” They brought in huge value and created a mechanism where start-ups were able to thrive. Dropping costs and new technology are enabling content to get aggressive, which is what angels and venture capitalists look for. The good thing is that entertainment has its own chutzpah,” she added.

Mr Nath agreed that the investment climate has matured with the new disruptive technology. Highlighting the challenges, he said that there is a gap between media and entertainment executives and venture capitalists. E-commerce, on the other hand, is more investor friendly. “Companies are easier to evaluate because of the transactions. Content companies haven’t got funded because of monetisation.” Getting around monetisation will be a huge factor, he felt. He also saw a similarity in the movie or entertainment business and venture capitalism. Both are a ‘hits’ business. They talk to almost the same crowd, but there is a chasm in the way investors think, because the objective of investment is to make money.

Ms Mansinghka described her work as looking for a way “to reduce the entry barrier for people to invest in creative projects.” According to her, the challenges are that funding levels are higher, production houses are unwilling to experiment, and there is a differential in the primary objective of producers and investors. “When you go and pitch for money, you have to talk about numbers.” Without a change of mindset, investors will not come on board. She also felt that mere passion is not enough. “There has to be a business person who knows how to run this as a business that makes money.” Mr Srivastava agreed. “The risk-reward scenario needs to make sense.” Investors are willing to take risks; those investments that succeed should bring in good returns. “Position yourself as a savvy filmmaker. Don’t look at 10 million, see what you can do for one or two million.” he advised.

मिजवान फैशन शो में स्टार्स के साथ उनके माता पिता करेंगे रैम्प वॉक।

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​मिजवान एक छोटासा गाव जो की उत्तर प्रदेश में है इस गाव में कवि कैफ़ी आजमी जैसी सख्सियत का जन्म हुआ उन्होंने अपनी कला से सारे देश में नाम कमाया। वे अपने गाव  प्रति कटिबद्ध रहे ,  हर एक बच्चे को अच्छी शिक्षा मिले उसके लिए काम करते रहे वे यह मानते थे की अगर लड़की सीखे तो सच्चे तौर पर भारत की प्रगति होगी। अब देखे तो मिजवान एक मॉडल गाव बनगया है यह सब  कैफ़ी आजमी साहब के मेहनत से ही हुआ है। 

​इस साल ४ अप्रेल २०१५ को ५ वा सालाना मिजवान फैशन शो होने जा रहा है ,और इसकी थीम "मिजवान - द लिजेंसी" यह है ​इसे मनीष मल्होत्रा सूत्रधार होगे। यह फैशन शो कैफ़ी आजमी और उनके अच्छे विचारो की याद में आयोजित होगा। 

शबाना आजमी जो की कैफ़ी आजमी की बेटी है वे अपने पिता की विरासत  बढ़ाते हुए यह विरासत उनकी गॉडडॉटर नम्रता गोयल को बढ़ाने दी है। इस फैशन शो में बच्चो के साथ माता या पिता रैम्प वॉक करेंगे यह खास तौर पर बच्चियों के सक्षमीकरण के लिए किया जा रहा है। इस फैशन शो जय बच्चन समेत अभिषेक बच्चन तो जावेद अख्तर संग फरहान अख्तर तथा अनिल कपूर के साथ सोनम कपूर रैम्प वॉक करेंगे और यह जोड़िया इस विरासत और फैशन शो की शोभा और ज्यादा बढ़ाएंगे।  

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The "Mijwan" Legacy Lives On !

Kaifi Azmi was a colossus of our times who marched across our nation’s canvas of art and culture. He was a rare poet who practiced what he preached and worked to empower Mijwan a tiny village in Eastern UP where he was born.

From his tireless commitment to the betterment of his village, rose his  passionate determination to ensure a right to education for every child. He believed India can make real progress only when the girl child is placed at the center of development and is guaranteed equal opportunity to education health and employment. From a village frozen in time ,Mijwan has been transformed into a model village.

This year on the 4^th April 2015, as we celebrate the 5th year of the Annual Mijwan fashion show by Manish Malhotra, our theme -MIJWAN - THE LEGACY epitomizes the continuing realization of Kaifi Saab’

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s vision and the wonderful legacy of hope and empowerment for the assured future of all, particularly the underprivileged.  

This is the legacy bestowed upon us. This is the legacy we must nurture, celebrate and fulfill.In Kaifi Sahebs words

Koi tto sood chukaye

Koi tto zimma ley

Us inquilab ka

Jo aaj tak udhaar sa hai...

His daughter Shabana Azmi has been carrying forward her father's dream and in turn her goddaughter Namrata Goyal continues to help in its realization. It is only befitting that this year’s show will have parent child couples from the Film Industry walk the ramp for the empowerment of the girlchild. Jaya and Abhishek Bachchan, Javed and Farhan Akhtar, Anil and Sonam Kapoor are a few legacy pairs that will be walking the ramp for the show.​​

Shoojit Sircar talks about the characters in his quirky family drama,Piku

As the trailer of Shoojit Sircar's Piku is out today,the director of Vicky Donor fame, talks about the characters in his quirky family drama, their eccentricities and the stars that brought them to life -

PIKU - Piku is a working girl in a cosmopolitan city. An architect by profession, Piku is a simple, independent and strong girl from Delhi who lives life on her own terms and is yet grounded and rooted to what matters most - family...and in this case...her father, who she looks after.Piku is the kind of girl who doesn't shy away from responsibilities .The film takes audiences through the ups and downs and everyday problems she faces with her father.I was very clear when Juhi and I were working on the script that Deepika was Piku ,there could be no better actress to essay this role.

BABA - Bhaskhor Banerjee is retired and spends most of his time obsessing about age related issues . He is stubborn, dramatic and comes with his own set of problems...he has very specific, but unconventional, likes and dislikes and fixed idealogies.He is not a man who enjoys socialising.Baba is not the hero here, but the film takes a look into his household .Mr.Bachchan is a legend and to have him play an eccentric role such as Mr.Banerjee was awe inspiring.He is a child on the set and is open to experimenting with something that holds merit.Audiences will be surprised to see him in this avatar.

RANA- Rana is the outsider who has nothing to do with the Banerjee family but gets entangled with them and all their drama.He is the owner of a taxi service who comes with his own quota of problems and then happens to get some more, when he finds himself entagled in the Banerjee family and how things take a funny turn. For Rana we needed an actor who was restrained and yet brought comedy into a frame .Irfaan is not only one of the finest actors we have in india but has also made his mark internationally.We approached Irfaan even before writing the script and I told him I am writing something for you.

‘Piku’ is a roller coaster ride of a crazy father-daughter relationship essayed by Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone with Irrfan Khan top lining the cast, in a pivotal author backed role. ‘Piku’ also marks coming together of Shoojit Sircar, Ronnie Lahiri and Juhi Chaturvedi, the team that had scripted Vicky Donor.

"Teaming up with Juhi and Ronnie yet again on this film gave me a huge kick. We make a solid team and have lots of fun working together" says Sircar.

PIKU produced by MSM Motion Pictures,Saraswati Entertainment  and Rising Sun Films will release  8th May 2015.

NH10 hits the box office jackpot

In an industry like Bollywood, it ideally shouldn't have gone past the first narration but a young female star not only produced that idea but has backed the film till its release. And Anushka Sharma's gamble has paid off and how! The Navdeep Singh-directed NH10 has been cruising at the box office emerging as a big winner.

Released on Friday the 13th of March, NH10 has gone on to collect Rs 20.6 crore in its first week and a further Rs 5.23 crore in its second weekend taking its total 10-day collection to a fantastic Rs 26 crore. That makes the low budget film, produced under Anushka's Clean Slate Films banner, a hit and beyond! And when you add the 1 million USD overseas collection to it, the picture gets rosier.

Says Anushka: "I was always confident about NH10 scoring big with the audiences. Conventional wisdom might make it sound dark and violent, but it also connects emotionally and so well made that everyone could get into Meera's shoes and spend that nightmare of a night out there. The box office jackpot will only inspire us to continue on the same path and make films like NH10."

KASHISH welcome National Award for Ravi Jadhav’s Mitraa

Film had won Best Indian Short Narrative Film Award at KASHISH 2014

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival welcomes the National Award for Marathi director Ravi Jadhav’s short film Mitraa. Jadhav’s film had won the Best Indian Short Narrative film award at the fifth edition of South Asia’s biggest LGBT film fest in May 2014.

"It is truly momentous for the LGBT movement that a lesbian-themed film has won the National Award. And we are more so thrilled because the film won the Best Indian film award at KASHISH 2014 too, which goes to show that our festival recognizes and awards excellence in cinema", said filmmaker and festival director Sridhar Rangayan.

Mitraa tells the story of a lesbian protagonist in the newly independent India in 1947 and is based on Vijay Tendulkar's play Mitrachi Goshta

The KASHISH 2014 jury while awarding Mitraa had said that the film was a ``journey of a woman’s self-discovery and her sense of freedom against the backdrop of modern India’s freedom from the Colonial rule, thereby linking her destiny with her nation’s. A beautiful, thoughtful & tasteful cinematic transformation of a piece of literature on to celluloid.’’

Ravi Jadhav  said at KASHISH 2014, “I’m truly honored with the award and response I have got for my film MITRAA. I want to send out a strong message to those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender - you are not alone. Your struggle, for the end to violence and discrimination, is a shared struggle. Today, I’m also with you through my film. Tomorrow world will be!!!

KASHISH also programmed Mitraa at several international LGBT film festivals including Chicago South Asian Film Festival (Chicago, USA), Iris Prize Festival (Cardiff, Wales, UK), Prague Bollywood Festival (Prague, Czech Republic), Homochrom (Cologne, Germany), Cinema Queer (Stockholm, Sweden), Glitch Film Festival (Glasgow, UK); as well as in India at KASHISH Forward at IIT, Mumbai and Best of KASHISH at Gujarat LGBT Pride Festival, Baroda.

Rangayan, whose film Purple Skies, a documentary on Indian lesbians, bisexuals & transmen, was recently screened on National Network Doordarshan, added, ``Finally same-sex loving women's sexuality is coming out of the closet in India and is being recognized as an important national issue.’’

KASHISH also welcomes the national award for the best actor to Vijay Sanchari for his role in the Kannada LGBT themed movie 'Nan Avanalla Avalu' in which he acted as a woman trapped in a man’s body. The Kannada movie is based on the autobiography of transgender writer and activist Living Smile Vidya. 

``It a proud moment for queer portrayal in Indian cinema and we hope this will encourage a lot more filmmakers to make sensitive mainstream films on LGBT lives,’’ said Rangayan.

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival

The sixth edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, scheduled to be held between May 27-31, 2015. South Asia’s biggest and India’s only mainstream LGBT film fest will be held at two venues, Mumbai’s iconic art deco Liberty theatre and Alliance Francaise de Bombay.

Voted as one of the Top 5 LGBT Film Festival in the World, KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is South Asia's biggest queer film festival and the only LGBT film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theater.

Founded in 2010, KASHISH is held over 5 days at two venues. The festival this year will be held at Liberty Cinema and Alliance Francaise in South Mumbai. It is the only Indian LGBT festival to be held with approval by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India.

THEME: ‘REACHING OUT, TOUCHING HEARTS’

The theme of KASHISH 2015, 'Reaching Out, Touching Hearts', reflects the urgent need for all of us to reach across barriers and boundaries, reach out to everyone - parents, families, friends, colleagues and peers.

An equal society without stigma and discrimination is a shared responsibility.

The Indian LGBT movement is at a crucial time in its history, where it is fighting an unjust law - section 377 of the Indian Penal Code - that criminalizes the community. It is important to broad-base this struggle and build alliances across race, class, caste, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation to challenge prejudice, change attitudes and create a society that allows each person to live with love and dignity