Celebrating Sandip Soparrkar National Achievment Award

 Neetu Chandra and Rohit Verma at a Christmas Party held for celebrating Sandip Soparrkar National Achievment Award
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> > The United Sports Bar and Grill celebrated the National Achievement Award honour bestowed upon internationally renowned dancer choreographer Sandip Soparrkar in a unique Christmas style with bollywood actress Neetu Chandra as a special guest.
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> > This is the first time in 22 years of the award that a western dancer has been given this honour. Very emotional about the same Sandip said, "This award is not for me, but for all my students who believed in my art. This award has brought in responsibility and I shall make sure I keep the purity of international dances alive all the time."
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> > Sandip's friends and students from film and television world poured in to congratulate him on this special day. Designer Rohit Verma was seen hugging Sandip. Others present were Amit Dolawat, Jassi Kaur, Nakul Vaid, Amy Billimoria, Dev Balani, Prachi shah, Shraddha nigam, Mayank Anand, Nisha Jamvwal, Ruby Tandon and many more.
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> > Anil Laroia, AVP - TUSBG who hosted the fun filled party for Sandip said "it’s an honor for us to felicitate and celebrate Sandip’s achievement in The United Sports Bar and Grill. The dance performance by Sandip’s troupe every week for our Mexican Festival was truly appreciated and loved by all our guests."
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> > The party started with a interactive dance session by Maestro Sandip Soparrkar himself followed by performance of his students, then santa claus danced and gifted chocolates and candies to one and all. The highlight of the evening was when Sushant Divgikar from the Big Boss fame who was the host for the evening made Sandip shake a leg with his super model wife Jesse Randhawa and bollywood actress Neetu Chandra. Jesse and Neetu both looked gorgeous in a white gowns and danced with grace and elegance matching steps with the master of dance.
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> > Everyone was delighted with the Christmas gifts they received from Santa, while Sandip along with his parents, Jesse Randhawa, his friends and dancers enthusiastically cut the traditional cake. Christmas is all about smiles, friends, family and togetherness, there couldn't have been a better way to celebrate this special honour.
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Shantanu and Sheershak, praised for Bipasha starrer Alone's screenplay.

Shantanu and Sheershak, writer and director of Guddu ki Gun, have also done screenplay of Bipasha Basu starrer Alone.

After watching the trailer the duo have been praised a lot on social networking sites for their screenplay of Alone.

Shantanu and Sheershak, are ecstatic and overwhelmed with the response, Shantanu says, "We are glad that everybody is loving our work. To keep audience engaging with a horror genre is difficult, yet we have managed to do it well. After watching the trailer, response we are receiving is overwhelming."

When asked about their future projects, Sheershak adds, "Our next film is Guddu ki Gun, starring Kunal Khemu, we have completed the film shoot. We will announce the film soon."

NDTV & Dettol's Banega Swachh India Cleanathon

CII- IMRB jointly unveils ‘Bengal Bioscope: A Big Picture Outlook for Sustainable Growth’

                             

Report to be launched at CII Big Picture Summit – Vision Bengal, 2014

Mumbai and Kolkata, 15th Dec, 2014: CII has partnered with IMRB International conducting a study on Bengali film industry that focuses on understanding the emerging business models, importance of internet and innovative viewer engagement methods that are vital for the growth of the industry.

As a part of this project IMRB conducted a first of its kind consumer survey across eight districts in urban West Bengal to learn the changing nature of film viewership and the general perception of Bengali films among its target audience. In addition to the consumer survey, a series of interviews were conducted to understand the trade insights of the film industry through in depth interactions with producers, actors, directors, distributors, exhibitors and broadcasters of Bengali cinema.

The report titled ‘Bengal Bioscope: A Big Picture Outlook for Sustainable Growth’ will be launched at CII’s upcoming event CII Big Picture Summit – Vision Bengal, 2014 on 12^th and 13^th December in Kolkata. The two day event will witness eminent personalities from the Regional cinema and industry alike deliberating on the ways to realize the potential of the Bengali Media & Entertainment industry by touching upon key themes like Vision 2020: The Roadmap for Bengal, New era in Media- Innovation as the key driver, Conducive Policy Regime - enabler and facilitator for unlocking value to the Industry, Removing the Investment Conundrum in Bengal, Good Content makes for Good Revenue – moving from the Stereotype, and Overcoming barriers for Television in Bengal.

Commenting on the report, Hemant Mehta, SVP, Media & Retail, IMRB International, said, “We are delighted to partner CII in assessing the current status of the Bengali film industry and in formulating the strategies for taking Bengali film industry to newer heights. The study encompasses the key constituents of the industry - producers, creative artists, distributors- as well the opinions of consumers who decide the fate of the creative products. With the increasing investment in infrastructure and production as well as growing consumer interest in regional cinema, we see a very bright future for Bengali film industry which has always been a flag bearer of creative excellence”.

Commenting on the initiative, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said “CII’s vision is to take the Indian Media and Entertainment sector towards achieving 100 billion USD by 2020. CII expects that this growth will also come from regional Media & Entertainment markets across India. Regional is the new national and it fits well for the Media & Entertainment sector. Our focus on Bengal Bioscope as part of the CII Big Picture Summit is a step in this direction. Bengali Cinema has an enviable past and it continues to be one of the most vibrant regional film industries in the country. We at CII thank the key industry stakeholders for sharing their valuable views and supporting us in generating these insights. We are sure that the findings from our study will provide the guideline and a much needed fillip to the industry, taking it on a more sustainable growth trajectory”.

Key Findings:

·         Majority of Bengali film viewers in Kolkata have not been in theatres in last one year to watch a Bengali film despite proliferation of multiplexes.

·         In the districts around two thirds have visited the halls to catch a Bengali film but the frequency of visits are quite low, not even three films in a year.

·         Around 30% of Bengali cinema viewers do not contemplate watching a Bengali film in a hall in near future and an additional 10% have stopped watching Bengali films on big screens in the last one year

·         This is further corroborated by IMRB’s primary survey of 35 single screen theatres across Kolkata and West Bengal revealing 30% occupancy on weekends and around 20% on weekdays

·         The tastes and preference of viewers in Kolkata and rest of Bengal are quite different which is echoed by only handful of releases successfully straddling both geographies

·         Original engaging content, a larger pool of good actors/ directors and better in hall experience can drive Bengalis back to cinema halls.

The study reveals that Bengali cinema today releases around a 100 odd films every year which is almost three times higher than comparable figures in 2005 and the total investment pumped into the industry is pegged at 150 – 180 crores INR. The report also draws parallel with Marathi Film industry, which is perceived as the closest kin to Bengali industry interms of content, distribution and production values.

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About IMRB International

Established in 1971, IMRB International, a member of the Kantar Group, is a pioneer in market research services in Asia. IMRB's footprint extends across 53 offices in 18 countries spanning South Asia, Middle East, North Africa, South East Asia and Europe. With a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural workforce of over 1400 full time researchers and analysts servicing clients, IMRB is at the forefront of research and consulting services. IMRB partner its clients through the entire brand lifecycle by bringing together consumer research experts (IMRB One) with sector and domain expertise from its specialist units like Probe Qualitative Research (PQR), Customer Satisfaction Measurement & Management (CSMM), IMRB Kantar World Panel, Media, Retail, Digital, Social & Rural Research Institute (SRI) and B2B Research and Technology Consulting (BIRD). LIVELABS helps clients to innovate and develop new products and services. An eight time winner of the MR Agency of The Year, IMRB is also accredited with the ISO 20252: 2012 Quality Certification.

About CII

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes. CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in India's development process. Founded in 1895, India's premier business association has over 7200 members, from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 100,000 enterprises from around 242 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.With 64 offices, including 9 Centres of Excellence, in India, and 7 overseas offices in Australia, China, Egypt, France, Singapore, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 312 counterpart organizations in 106 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies review by ANIZ FILMVALA

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 

review by

ANIZ FILMVALA

*****

The epic fantasy adventure film ‘The Hobbit’ directed by Peter Jackson concludes with mammoth visual spectacle and intense drama. More than ninety minutes of warfare shot on enormous scale to create realistic visuals of battle between the Five Armies.

The film begins with where it ended in ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ dragon Smaug [Benedict Cumberbatch] is on a rampage mouthing fire on the people of Lake Town in the mayhem the dragon is killed by Bard the Bowman [Luke Evans].

King Thorin [Richard Armitage] and his gang of Dwarves are trapped within the limit of Smaug's castle as Thorin alleges to posse the massive gold which was shielded by dragon Smaug, also other great armed forces want to claim their right on the castle in consequence are heading for a war to prevail.

Gandalf the Grey [Ian McKellen] is out from the prison as he battles with numerous wraiths at Dol Goldur and he is saved by Galadriel [Cate Blanchett].

Bilbo Baggins [Martin Freeman] sneaks out of Erebor to hand the Arkenstone over to Thranduil [Lee Pace] and Bard to avoid further atrocities but does not succeed.

Legolas [Orlando Bloom] and Tauriel [Evangeline Lilly] see Bolg [John Tui] with a huge Orc army and hundreds of war-bred bats planning to attack the Dwarves and the army of Erebor.As the war begins the army of Erebor and Dwarves are slaughtered by the Orc’s leaving them Vulnerable to the last attack which Azog instructs from the Ravenhill mountain.
Thorin eventually overcomes his madness and heads towards the mountain with Dwalin [Graham McTavish], Fili [Dean O'Gorman], and Kili [Aidan Turner] to kill Azog [Manu Bennett] and his group.

Legolas and Tauriel join the battle to protect Thorin from the Orc’s , in anarchy Tauriel is killed while saving Fili [Dean O'Gorman] her love interest and she departs with a emotional roller-coaster leaving Fili distraught.The film concludes with Bilbo returning to Bag End.

Director Peter Jackson leaves no stone unturned in any department of the movie making as the result are apt and noteworthy. A huge cast and illustrious characterization from the first part has kept the continuity intact and flawless. ’The Hobbit’ fans who have followed the earlier installment have a mighty dividend in store so not to be missed at any cost.

Cast
Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins
Ian Holm as old Bilbo Baggins
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield II
Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug
Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf
Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel
Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman
Lee Pace as Thranduil
Graham McTavish as Dwalin
Ken Stott as Balin
Aidan Turner as Kíli
Dean O'Gorman as Fíli
Mark Hadlow as Dori
Jed Brophy as Nori
Adam Brown as Ori
John Callen as Óin
Peter Hambleton as Glóin
William Kircher as Bifur
James Nesbitt as Bofur
Stephen Hunter as Bombur
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
Hugo Weaving as Elrond
Christopher Lee as Saruman the White
Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown
Manu Bennett as Azog the Defiler
John Tui as Bolg
Billy Connolly as Dáin
Mikael Persbrandt as Beorn
Stephen Fry as the Master of Laketown
Ryan Gage as Alfrid
John Bell as Bain
Simon London as Feren