The Star Cast of Grazing Goat Pictures’ upcoming film ‘Fugly’ visit fans in Ahmedabad

After Indore, next on the radar to get its first taste of Akshay Kumar and Ashvini Yardi’s Grazing Goat Pictures upcoming film ‘Fugly’ was Textile City, Ahmedabad.

The star cast - Mohit Marwah, Vijender Singh, Kiara Advani and Arfi Lamba - commenced their journey with a Press Conference at the Eastin Hotel in Ahmedabad where they addressed the local media and shared their experiences and memories from Fugly and why the fans should watch the film.

Post the Press Conference, the stars treated themselves to some traditional Gujarati delicacies at Govardhan Thal in the city centre where they were greeted by the hospitable staff and a few enthusiastic fans.

This was then followed with a last minute surprise visit to a Vacation Expo at the famous GMCD grounds. Vijender Singh seemed particularly excited about the visit due to his love for sports. The stars treated the crowd at the Expo to an impromptu jig on the title song, Yeh Fugly Fugly Kya Hai, which received a great roar from the onlookers! The surprise element was when the star cast broke into the traditional Garba routine which was greatly appreciated by all the people gathered at the venue.

The stars concluded their visit to the city with a quick tour to the local market where they tried out the traditional out fits amidst fans that were anxious to get a glimpse of their favourite stars. Kiara, Mohit, Vijender and Arfi interacted with the fans and seemed overwhelmed with the warm reception from the city on the whole.

‘Fugly’, directed by Kabir Sadanand, is shot extensively in Delhi and the breath-taking locations of Leh. It is a story of four friends: Dev, Devi, Gaurav and Aditya and how this carefree bunch, at the threshold of their lives, get caught in a ‘Fugly’ incident, which sucks them slowly into the big bad world of corruption, politics and the real society in the capital. The entertainingly original Fugly is wacky, kitsch and puts the best of friends through the most bizarre events of their life - the game is FUGLY!

Fugly is also the launch pad for Mohit Marwah, Olympic medalist Boxer Vijender Singh, Kiara Advani and Arfi Lamba, the freshest faces to join the film fraternity. They will be making their debut in style along with the supremely talented Jimmy Sheirgill, who will be seen in one of his most powerful performances ever.

Vrinda Dawda back on Yeh Hai Aashiqui : Plays a girl who changes the life of a rugged boy by her goodness

No matter how imperfect and different two people are, love is the only emotion that brings them together, leaving aside their differences. This week, Yeh Hai Aashiqui showcases a tale of two people who are completely opposite and have hatred for each other but, it is love that changes their feelings and lives forever. Popular actress, Vrinda Dawda will be seen playing the female lead – Priya, a young girl, who stands for the college GS elections. With the help of students’ support, Priya contests against Karan, an upcoming politician, who is famous for his bad deeds. The mischievous and ill-mannered Karan is mesmerized by Priya’s goodness and eventually falls in love with her, which changes him as a person.

While talking about her character and the show, Vrinda said, “It’s great to be back on bindass’ Yeh hai Aashiqui and yet again it was a wonderful experience. This time, I was more comfortable even though I was offered a totally different character from the one that I had portrayed before, which really intrigued me. Yeh Hai Aashiqui has always come up with interesting and exiting love stories and I believe that the show has taken bindass to another level. My character in the upcoming episode is of a simple girl. It was quite exciting playing ‘Priya’ and I could relate to her as she fights for her people and cannot bear to see injustice.”

Along with Vrinda Dawda, Puneet Chauhan will be seen as ‘Karan’ and Love Kawatra as ‘Karan’s’ brother on the show which will be hosted by popular television actor, Rithvik Dhanjani who will take the viewers through the entire story.

Watch this unpredictable love story, on ‘Yeh Hai Aashiqui’, this Sunday, 1st June 2014, at 7pm only on bindass!

Endemol India’s Lagori - Maitri Returns completes 100 episodes

Endemol India produced Lagori Maitri Returns completes 100 episodes on Star Pravaah with an explosive episode. The fun filled emotional roller coaster ride of friends Mukta, Poorva, Rujuta, Urmila and Dhanashree has received immense love and support from fans. The story line with the twists and truths of their life and friendship in the Marathi daily soap which started in February 2014, has already struck the right cord with its audiences.

On completing the journey of 100 episodes successfully; the entire team of the show celebrated this happy moment by cutting a cake while the cast and crew shared and relived some of the fun moments and experiences they have had so far with the show.

Commenting on the completion of the 100th episode of Lagori Maitri Returns, Abhishek Rege, COO - Television, Endemol India, said “Lagori Maitri Returns is a touching tale about the journey of friendship that viewers identify with. The storyline resonates with the audiences own life experiences, and further lends to the popularity of the show. With the completion of 100 episodes, the show has reached a new high. With the support from Star Pravah, the team behind the show, has done a super job. Here’s looking forward to many more.”

Stay tuned to the most popular girl gang on television On Star Pravah from Monday to Saturday - Prime Time 9 PM. 

Endemol India is one of the leading and most valuable content production companies in India across television, film and digital content. The company is a 51:49 strategic alliance between Endemol BV- the world’s largest independent television production company and CA Media – the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group (TCG). The company has over the years produced successful television shows like Bigg Boss, Fear Factor, Laughter Challenge, Jo JeetaWohi Super Star, over 400 episodes of Deal or No Deal and the recently launched The Money Drop for Sun Network amongst others. Endemol India has also forayed into the movie making business with the remake of blockbuster Kahaani in Tamil & Telugu.

Popular Bollywood and Television actor, Puneet Vashist on Emotional Atyachaar

Every girl wishes to have a fairy tale love story in her life,where her prince charming would protect her from the evils and dangers.But what happens when your defender himself makes your life miserable? This is exactly what happens with Gauri, a young and charming girl whose world eventually comes crashing down after an unimaginable mishap because of her boyfriend, Soham. Versatile actor, Puneet Vashist will be essaying the lead role as Soham in the recreated version of the story. Puneet, known for super-hit films like Josh, Taal, Zeher, Fanaa,etc will be seen on Emotional Atyachaar for the first time as an obsessive lover.

While talking about the show and his character, Puneet said, “This is the first time I am being associated with bindass and the experience was great. The concept of the on-going ‘Love Crime’ series on Emotional Atyachaar is quite intriguing and they showcase some interesting real life stories. It’s great that the show is helping in creating awareness about the crime incidents that take place in relationships. My character in the upcoming episode is basically of a split personality who cannot take a girl’s rejection and loses his mind, in turn committing a heinous crime.”

This week, as a part of their ‘Love Crime’ series, Emotional Atyachaar will narrate the story of a girl who gets kidnapped and tortured by her boyfriend. This upcoming episode will feature a story of a strong relationship which fails after two long years. Gauri’s happiness turns into horror when she finds out that Soham is married with a child and that is when she decides to break up with him. But, agitated and humiliated by this, Soham kidnaps her and holds her captive in a jungle, in order to forcefully marry her. Terrified with Soham’s behavior, Gauri decides to run from his clutches to save herself.

Will Soham be successful in his plan to marry Gauri? Or will she be able to escape? To find out, tune-in to ‘Emotional Atyachaar 4’, this Saturday 31st May 2014, at 7 pm only on bindass!

Halla Bol ropes in Neha Sangram to play the ‘Hero’ in the Upcoming episode

Often, weaker sections in our society are harassed and suppressed by powerful people. Halla Bol, the show that chronicles real life incidents of women who have fought back, will be narrating an inspiring story of a common girl, Ankita, which will be played by the talented Neha Sangram. She stands up against the injustice done to her by the influential and corrupt people around her.

Ankita, a young and intelligent girl from Delhi aspires to become a politician and work for the betterment of the nation. Since Ankita hails from a middle class family, who are facing hard times, she takes up a job as an air hostess in one of the prominent airlines to fund her further studies and support her family. But little did she know what obstacles she would face on her way to fulfil her dreams. During her work, Ankita meets Varun Lal, a rich spoilt brat and son of a renowned politician who harasses her every time he travels by the airline she works for. Ankita is depressed with the situation, but tries to keep herself calm as she knows how important the job is for her. Things spin out of control, when, during a layover he tries to molest her. Ankita fights him off and decides not to keep quiet about the incident. She approaches the media and the cops, but all turns out to be in vain. Agitated by Ankita’s actions, Varun decides to take revenge by getting her fired and threatening her family.

As Ankita is left defeated and depressed with the incident, a ray of hope knocks at her doorstep when she learns about an emerging political party. Ankita decides to join the party and fight against Varun. The upcoming episode will narrate this incident of a young girl who takes a stand for herself and fights against a powerful political family.

Will Ankita be successful in exposing Varun? What is Ankita’s plan of action? Will she emerge out as a winner? To find out, tune-in to Halla Bol, this Friday, 23rd May, 2014 at 7 pm on bindass.

Media & Entertainment sector is growing at 14-17% : India at Cannes Film Festival

Day 2 of activities at the India Pavilion - organized by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, in association with FICCI - at the Cannes Film Market 2014 started at 10 a.m. with structured B2B meetings between Indian and international delegates – with the aim of allowing Indian participants at the Cannes Film Festival to be able to promote and facilitate their business goals. Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India, met with Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival; Jerome Paillard, Executive Director, Marche du Film Festival de Cannes; and Amanda Nevill, Chief Executive, British Film Institute.

Post lunch, at 2.30 p.m., was the hugely awaited interactive session on 'Co-Production: Merging Resources to Create Magic'. Starting with a keynote address by Shri Julka, this session, with speakers from six countries, focused on the how co-production makes filmmaking viable and lucrative by providing access to public or subsidized funds to filmmakers and increases sales and chances of syndication in the international space. According to Shri Julka, co-production agreements not only enrich bilateral exchanges towards substantial cultural benefits, but also bring in foreign exchange to a country's exchequer, and contribute to actual economic growth. This power-packed session saw insights from Dave Gibson, CEO, New Zealand Film Commission; Carolle Brabant, Executive Director, Telefilm Canada; Franck Priot, Deputy Director, Film France; Nina Lath Gupta, Managing Director, NFDC; Cindy Shyu, CEO, Light House Productions, China; Pierre Assouline, Owner, Producer, Only Films, Paris, and Westeast Films, Mumbai; and Mr T.P. Aggarwal, the first Indian Vice President of FIAPF. Weighing in on the creative concerns of co-produced filmmaking were Indian film veterans Dr Kamal Haasan and Mr Ramesh Sippy. The session was anchored by veteran filmmaker and producer Bobby Bedi. Two important announcements were made at the session – that the first India-New Zealand co-production, Beyond the Known World, is on the verge of being finalized; and that an India-China audiovisual co-production agreement – it will be India's 10th audio-visual co-production agreement with other countries – is in the offing.

This session was followed by fascinating conversation wherein legendary filmmaker, actor, producer and writer Dr Kamal Haasan was interviewed by critic and anchor Ms Anupama Chopra. Dr Haasan captivated the tightly packed audience with his candid answers on all things film and his experience as an actor for fifty-plus years. On being asked why we have not yet cracked the competition section at Cannes and won the Palme D'Or yet, Kamal Haasan said 'The problem is that we are a self-sufficient nation!' He stressed that Indian filmmakers need to stop being satisfied with the familiarity and safety of local markets and start taking risks – so that India can constantly produce truly global content that is appreciated across the world.

Shri Julka also met with the artistic team of the upcoming Indo-French coproduction based on Rabindranath Tagore's short story 'Kabuliwallah' – the film will be directed by renowned Afghan filmmaker Atiq Rahimi. Shri Julka expressed that the Government of India is keen to collaborate on the project, which would provide a boost to Indo-Afghan ties.

The evening saw an exclusive networking evening co-hosted by the I & B Ministry of India and the New Zealand Film Commission. An intimate interaction between filmmakers, producers and commissions from New Zealand and India, the event was the first of a kind Indian initiative aimed at promoting and forging ties for co-production and other partnerships between the two countries.

Television actress Nikita Sharma portrays the challenging role of a bar dancer

Halla Bol, the show that narrates stories of heroic women who stood against injustice done to them, will take up the grave issue of ‘Human Trafficking ‘. This week’s episode revolves around Payal, a small town girl who unknowingly falls into the trap of human trafficking. The effervescent TV actress, Nikita Sharma will be seen playing the protagonist character, Payal.

Payal,a beautiful and talented classical dancer lives at her maternal uncle’s home with her mother and younger sister in Banaras. Inspite of teaching dance for living, she fails to earn enough for survival. A ray of hope comes at her doorstep when one of her distant relative, Gautam takes her to Mumbai promising her roles in the entertainment industry, but little did she know what his true intentions were behind bringing her to the big city. As days passed by, she realised awkwardness with her relative Gautam. One fine evening, she got the biggest shock of her life, when Gautam revealed that he had sold her to a dance bar.  Having no place to escape, she was compelled to go there where she felt discomfort with men wanting to prey on her.

Situations worsened when Payal gets to know that her maternal uncle was also involved in human trafficking and out of greed for money he sold her to a Sheikh. But Payal did not give up; she decided to take action against this whole racket not only to free herself but also the other girls who had fallen prey to this unethical business of human trafficking. The protagonist will be seen taking a stand and fighting for not only herself but also for the rights of other girls.

Will Payal manage to get out of the trap? Will she succeed in getting freedom for other girls too? To find out, tune-in to Halla Bol, this Friday, 16th May, 2014 at 7 pm on bindass

‘Change Aayega, Hum Laayenge’ takes up the grave issue of racial discrimination

Change Aayega, Hum Laayenge which has always taken up issues in the society to awaken the youth, will address the issue of racial discrimination this week.In a country like India which is known for its variety of spiritual and cultural practices, where people are never tired of talking about 'unity in diversity', cases of racism are a big shame. Through clever satire and real time experiment, the show will bring to fore the reaction of the youth to this matter.

This week, the show puts light on regionalism and the biased attitude of people towards certain sections of the society. The satire revolves around Bhed Bhuvan Singh, a restaurant owner, who suffers losses in business because of his racist behavior towards customers. A ray of hope knocks at his door when he learns about a food critic, Tenzing Dorjee, visiting the city. Assuming that the critic is a Chinese food lover, the restaurateur revives Indian cuisine with Chinese in order to receive good reviews and make up for his losses. As per his plan, when Tenzing Dorjee arrives, Bhed Bhuvan Singh serves him food without asking for his taste and preferences. The critic gets annoyed and furious after seeing such discriminatory attitude towards him and threatens Bhed Singh of writing a bad review about his restaurant. The restaurant’s north eastern waiter and cook, who were always treated badly by Bhed Singh, come to his rescue by cooking an authentic Indian dish for the food critic. He feels guilty of his biased attitude towards people and realizes his mistake.

In the concluding part of the episode, the show conducts a social experiment at a renowned restaurant where two north eastern customers are being hassled by some of the other patrons. The crux of the experiment is to see if the unsuspecting guests at the restaurant stand up against the discriminatory attitude towards the innocent customers or be mere spectators.

To find out the reaction of the youth present, tune-into Change Aayega, Hum Laayenge this Friday, 16th May 2014 at 6.30pm

Payal Rajput portrays challenging role of a suicide bomber in Yeh Hai Aashiqui

This week, Yeh Hai Aashiqui showcases a tale of a simple girl who unwillingly turns into a dangerous suicide bomber due to some adverse circumstances. Jayshree, a beautiful and innocent girl comes down to Mumbai from a small town with some hidden and perilous motives. In order to fulfil her evil mission and to keep her real identity in wraps, she takes up a job in a renowned college’s canteen under her leader - Anna’s guidance. One night she bumps into Rohit, who she misinterprets as a stalker however, co-incidentally the following day Jayshree finds out that he is actually her co-worker in the canteen. As time passes by, love blossoms between the two but the increasing proximity with Rohit is not in Jayshree’s plan. She cannot help herself from falling in love with him and the lovers pay a heavy price for a nearly anticipated future.

Popular television actress Payal Rajput, currently seen in Gustakh Dil, will be playing the role of the female protagonist Jayshree, while Siddharth Shivpuri who will also be seen in Ajay Devgn starrer Singham 2 will be portraying the role of Rohit. While talking about the show, actress Payal said, “I usually do not take up episodic shows but the story was so different and interesting from what I have done on TV till now, that I couldn’t resist taking up the show. Besides, Yeh Hai Aashiqui is among top shows with huge youth viewership.I was really excited to play ‘Jayshree’s’ character because it was something completely different from my personality.Also it was a great experience with bindass.”

Along with Payal Rajput and Siddharth Shivpuri, popular television actor Rithvik Dhanjani will be seen hosting the show, who will take the viewers through the entire story.

Watch this beautiful love story, on ‘Yeh Hai Aashiqui’, this Sunday, 18th May 2014, at 7pm only on bindass!

BroadcastAsia2014 presents inclusive offerings for the Indian Broadcast Industry

With a spotlight on Sportscasting, Professional Audio Technology, enhancing the Multi-screen experience and more, BroadcastAsia 2014, Asia’s largest and most established digital and multimedia trade event, is set to feature some of the hottest technologies and solutions for the pro-audio, film and TV industries. Fuelled by a steep increase in consumption of data and entertainment on mobile devices, consumers now seek reliable and seamless services on the go; and the industry is responding with a proliferation of cutting-edge solutions such as social TV and second/multi screens that help them stay connected in an evolving digital world.

This trend, familiarly coined as the ‘pay TV boom’, will be showcased at BroadcastAsia2014 and will inspire broadcasters to pursue the right business models, whilst harnessing the best technologies in order to monetize content. The exhibition will attend to many Indian companies participating at the event to gather insights to the shift in the pattern of media and content consumption from the global perspective.

Growth in Indian broadcast industry

According to the FICCI – KPMG Media & Entertainment 2013 report, the Indian media and entertainment  (M&E) industry has grown by 11.8 per cent in 2013, vis-à-vis 2012, reaching Rs 918 billion. Given the impetus introduced by digitisation, continued growth of regional media, upcoming elections, continued strength in the film sector and fast increasing new media businesses, the industry is expected to stand at Rs 1039 billion by end of 2014.

The emerging markets are driving growth in the pay-TV market. That is what a recent paper released by Infonetics Research says. Markets such as India, China and Latin America are the ones adding to the pay-TV growth. In India and China, about 25 million subscribers switched from analogue to digital, with India in its last two phases of digitisation. Another 75 million will be included to the list by the end of 2014 adding to the growth of Pay TV.

The growth in the media & entertainment industry is indicative of the changing concept of audio technology. Sound quality is a priority - with users demanding better quality of audio delivered on their choice of medium. The introduction of HD technology in all spheres - audio and video has also raised the consumer demand for high-quality and reliability. There is a rapid transition from analog to digital in the audio technology segment, which has been evident in the last few years. According to the latest figures available on the internet from Broadcast & Satellite Asia Report, the total Indian market for pro audio equipment was projected to reach Rs. 180 crore in 2010-11, a growth of about 20 per cent over last fiscal year.

BroadcastAsia2014 registers strong Indian participation

Speaking at the press conference held today in Mumbai, Mr. Calvin Koh, Assistant Project Director for BroadcastAsia from organiser Singapore Exhibition Services (SES) said, “Despite rapid development in recent years, the potential for growth in the broadcast technology sector in India remains tremendous. As the country moves into its final stages of digitisation, the demand for higher quality digital content looks set to escalate. The industry has never been more ready to embrace the latest and most advanced technologies, and BroadcastAsia provides the ideal platform for Indian industry professionals to get acquainted with the world’s best.”

Also present at the press conference, Mr. Vishal Alex Chacko, Country Manager India, Blackmagic Design Asia Pte. Ltd. said, “Blackmagic Design has been very active in India and our ideology of technology, innovation and affordability goes very well with the Indian market. Our products with UltraHD & 6G SDI technology lead the industry in production, broadcasting and postproduction workflows"

Indian companies exhibiting at Broadcastasia2014 include Adi-media Pvt. Ltd, Broadcast Automation Systems, Cable Quest Satcom Pvt. Ltd, Canara Lighting Industries Pvt. Ltd, Essel Shyam Communication Ltd, Indiasign Pvt Ltd, Monarch Innovative Technologies Pvt Ltd, Prime Focus, RGB Broadcasting Equipments Pvt Ltd, Studio Systems, WASP3D and more.

BroadcastAsia2014: Covering all facets of the ‘Content’ value-chain

BroadcastAsia2014 will feature the hottest state-of-the-art technologies and solutions from acquisition to production to delivery that will enhance the multi-screen experience for users ‘on the go’. Key highlights include:

• Sportscasting - featuring latest technological leaps related to sportscasting, from acquisition to production to delivery
• ProfessionalAudioTechnology - an international showcase for professional audio equipment, services and technology
• Cinematography / Film / Production Zone - a one-stop venue for the showcase of ground-breaking motion picture production tools and software

BroadcastAsia2014 International Conference will delve deep into OTT as well as the role of social media in the future of TV, whilst the Creative Content Production Conference 2014 will focus on content creation and distribution, and the technical aspects of 4K. An insightful series of conference tracks will cover the latest disruptive technologies that enable companies to increase eyeballs, with specialised tracks on Asian audiences and strategies for success in Asia. Experts from EVS, Media Prima Digital, Mediacorp, Nielsen and Sony will present case studies and share their thought-provoking ideas at the conferences.

Event of choice for the international broadcasting, film and digital multimedia industry

BroadcastAsia2014, Asia’s definitive exhibition and knowledge platform for the international broadcasting, film and digital multimedia industry, will return to Marina Bay Sands from 17 – 20 June 2014. This year, the exhibition will see some of industry’s most renowned players in their respective fields, such as Akamai, Blackmagic Design, Canon, Dalet, Ericsson, EVS, GoPro, Gospell, Grass Valley, Harris, Pilat Media, Playbox Technology, Quantel, Ross, Sennheiser, Thomson Video Networks and more.

"Blackmagic Design is delighted to return to BroadcastAsia2014 and introduce our latest technology to Asia. Our customers in Asia will be empowered with more affordable workflow solutions from capture to live productions and post,” added Mr. Richard Lim, Blackmagic Design Asia.

Together with CommunicAsia, the event welcomed more than 51,000 trade attendees from 100 different countries/regions in its 2013 edition, including industry professionals from ABS-CBN Corporation, Astro TV, Fox International Channel, HBO Asia, MediaCorp, Media Prima Berhad, Myanmar Radio and Television, Raj Television Network Limited, Radio Television Hong Kong, Vietnam Cable Television Company and many others.