Tanzeel Khan releases ‘Nachdi Tu’ that promises to make you groove on its beats

Singer-lyricist and social media content creator Tanzeel Khan released his fifth original song, ‘Nachdi tu’ on 21st December 2020 featuring social media influencer Unnati Malharkar. Nachdi Tu will make Tanzeel’s fans groove on its peppy beats. The songs composed in the past by Tanzeel devoted to love, care and trust, but for the very first time, he came up with a peppier composition to ensure that no one can sit straight when ‘Nachdi tu’ plays. The song was launched on the creator’s Youtube channel and choreographed by one of his closest friends and social media influencer Unnati Malharkar who is known for her dance video on her youtube channel and has thousands of followers on instagram.

Since the launch, Nachdi Tu has been receiving a lot of love from the audience. The song has already crossed more than 8 lakh views and 123k likes on youtube and is trending on social media channels as well. Tanzeel and Unnati are managed by NOFILTR Group, India's first influencer incubators with more than 50 content creators exclusively signed with the company.

‘Nachdi tu’ is Tanzeel’s fifth original composition. The beats of the songs will make you forget everything with its soothing melody. A popular Instagram and YouTube content creator Tanzeel’s first song, Dilli Ki Ladki, released in March 2020 has garnered nearly 7.8 million views on his YouTube channel. Speaking about the song, Tanzeel said, “I am very excited for the song and already overwhelming by the response received by the public. I tried my best to put all my efforts and determination to get the peppier song which I have never tried before. I believe that this song will be counted as one of the best dance songs in the 2020 list. Unnati also choreographed and got her best moves in the song and I really enjoyed working with her.”

Being a big Bollywood fan, he entered the world of TikTok in 2016 as an aspiring model and actor. As of today, his expressions, dialogue delivery and flamboyance in his content is rare and hard to match. The journey of the jaunty young man started as an Automobile Engineer because of his passion for cars. Soon after he started his journey as a content creator, Tanzeel discovered his love and talent for singing. Since March 2020, Tanzeel has released four songs and has a few more in the pipeline. With 312K+ subscribers on YouTube and 592K+ followers on Instagram, Tanzeel’s fanbase is steadily growing every day.

Excited about being a part of Tanzeel’s latest track, Unnati said, “Tanzeel and I are good friends and working with him was such a pleasure and fun at the same time. He is an amazing singer and I am looking forward to the success of the release. I’m very excited to see the audience reaction to ‘ Nachdi Tu’. So far, they have been our greatest support and I will continue to entertain them with such exciting projects.”

In a world where 'Content is King', NOFILTR.Group is a social media label that primarily incubates young talent by giving them creative and resourceful direction. Through the plethora of influencers and brands that they collaborate with, they intend on creating a growing community network that facilitates personal expression and intriguing content. NOFILTR.Group connects the brand to the influencer, and the influencer to the world at large by offering a wide array of services which includes, personal branding, content creation and curation, influencer marketing and brand collaborations, campaign design along with campaign execution and analysis.

You can checkout Tanzeel’s Nachdi Tu here:

Merger of Five Film Media Units: NFDC, CFSI, DFF, NFAI & Films Division

With more than 3000 films produced in a year, India is the largest film producer in the world with an industry led by the private sector. The Government, in its commitment to support the films sector, has decided to merge four of its film media units, namely Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archives of India, and Children’s Film Society, India with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) Ltd.by expanding the Memorandum of Articles of Association of NFDC, which will then carry out all the activities hitherto performed by them. The merger of Film Media Units under one corporation will lead to convergence of activities; resources and better coordination, thereby ensuring synergy and efficiency in achieving the mandate of each media unit.

Films Division, a subordinate office of M/o I&B, was established in 1948, primarily to produce documentaries and news magazines for publicity of Government programmes and cinematic record of Indian history.

Children’s Film Society, India, an autonomous organisation, was founded in 1955 under the Societies Act with the specific objective of providing children and young people value-based entertainment through the medium of films.

National Film Archives of India, a subordinate office of M/o I&B, was established as a media unit in 1964 with the primary objective of acquiring and preserving Indian cinematic heritage.

Directorate of Film Festivals, as attached office of M/o I&B was set up in 1973 to promote Indian films and cultural exchange.

NFDC is a Central Public Sector Undertaking, incorporated in the year 1975 with the primary object of planning and promoting an organized, efficient and integrated development of the Indian Film Industry.

The Union Cabinet, which approved the merger of these Media Units in its meeting, also approved the appointment of a Transaction Advisor and Legal Advisor to advise on the transfer of assets and employees and to oversee all aspects of operationalization of the merger. While undertaking this exercise of convergence, interests of the employees of all the concerned Media Units will be fully taken care and no employee will be retrenched.

The umbrella organization, NFDC, consequent upon the merger of Film Media Units will be uniquely placed with regard to promotion, production & preservation of filmic content - all under one management. The vision of the new entity will be to ensure balanced and focused development of Indian cinema in all its genres- feature films, including films /content for the OTT platforms, children’s content, animation, short films and documentaries.

The merger of Film Media Units under a single corporation will lead to synergy amongst the various activities with better and efficient utilization of existing infrastructure and manpower. This will lead to reduction in duplication of activities and direct savings to the exchequer. 

Celebrating diverse voices, the Ayodhya Film Festival goes virtual for 2020

With the virus still going strong and the government in its attempt to control has led either to a shutdown of public events, or limiting gatherings to a bare minimum, Ayodhya Film Festival has decided to go virtual this year. The scene is the same all across the globe including the top notch Film festivals like Cannes, Sundance and Toronto that have gone virtual. “Even we at Ayodhya Film Festival are no different. Bringing it straight to the drawing room or virtually anywhere for our audiences, the festival, which is normally held in Ayodhya will be going online this year,” confirmed Festival Director, Shah Alam.

An opportunity to connect with audiences, inviting people to “attend” who might not have had the chance otherwise, the organizing team said that this year they will hold a virtual screening of the films and more. To make it successful, team AYOFF have joined hands with Anuj Bhardwaj of Ambak Motion Pictures to stream movies free on YouTube and thereby making it available for all. “Just like our film festival, it will be a Free for all event. The films will be streamed online on a youtube platform during the five day event. However, audiences have to register themselves and subscribe on the channel to watch movies,” added Shah Alam.

AYOFF thus welcomed the move to go digital as it will usher in a new way of showcasing films when allowing audiences to experience films at a festival is not like as it used to be earlier.

“Challenges keep evolving as you move into different stages. Encountering new experiences on an endlessly changing horizon, the AYOFF has now become a beautiful mosaic of a collective spirit and energy, thereby celebrating the films, the artists, and the makers behind it,” said Festival Chairperson Mohan Das. Quoting Edward de Bono, he concluded: “Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. As AYOFF moves into its 14th year, it is indeed a new experience that we will be holding a virtual film festival. Maybe this will be the new norm in future - conducting it both online and offline.”

The virtual festival will kick off on December 15th and run until December 19th. It will stream feature films, short films as well as documentaries. Viewers will be able to view extraordinary films and experience them in the comforts of their home or virtually anywhere. To watch, please subscribe to www.youtube.com/AmbakMotionPictures

Industry status to film and entertainment sector: Proposal to be presented in Cabinet soon

Film and entertainment sector in Maharashtra is expanding by creating opportunity for employment and self-employment. Considering this proposal to give industry status to the film and entertainment sector would be presented at a cabinet meeting soon clarified Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh. 

A meeting on giving industry status to the film and entertainment sector was held at the Ministry today under the chairmanship of Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh. The meeting was attended by Manisha Verma, Managing Director, Saurabh Vijay, Secretary, Department of Cultural Affairs, Aanchal Goyal, Joint Managing Director, Vilas Thorat, Deputy Secretary, Cultural Affairs, relevant Relevant officers were present along with him. were also present at the occasion.

Stating that many people are getting employment due to the film / entertainment sector Minister of Cultural Affairs Shri. Deshmukh said, the scope of the film & entertainment industry is huge. In respect to this the entertainment sector will be given the status of an industrial sector, which will help small and medium enterprises to get concessions and strengthen the economy. The Department of Cultural Affairs is also taking necessary steps to declare this sector as an industrial sector. In order to give impetus and mobility to the film and entertainment industry, the Department of Cultural Affairs is working on a policy for the film and entertainment sector and giving it an industry status. This includes television, digital media, live events, animation, out of home media, cinema, radio and many more.

Movies (short films/movies screened on OTT media) and the entertainment sector have expanded significantly and need to be given industry status. Considering this the Department of Cultural Affairs is preparing a policy for films, serials, OTTs, theater, folk art, documentaries and advertisements, said Mr. Deshmukh.

Raees Girl Mahira Khan tests positive for Covid-19

Pakistani actor Mahira Khan, who won hearts with her performance opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rahul Dholakia’s ‘Raees’, has tested positive for Covid-19. Sharing the news on Instagram, Mahira wrote “I have tested positive for COVID-19. I’m isolating and have also informed all those who were in close contact with me over the last few days. It’s been rough but it will be ok soon, InshAllah. Please please wear a mask and follow all other SOPs - for your sake and others. Love, Mahira Khan.”

Get-well-soon wishes poured in not only many Pakistani celebrities who wished her a speedy recovery but from Bollywood as well. He fans and well-wishers also poured out their love and prayers for her. Films & TV World also wishes her a speedy recovery. “Get Well Soon Mahira.”

Hrithik Roshan new TVC saying “What you do, ultimately matters” in the New Normal

Ascent Meditech Ltd., an Indian multinational in consumer healthcare space, continues its association with Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan for its flagship brand Flamingo – An Aid for a New Life. In his imitable style Hrithik Roshan features in an international campaign communicating the ideology ‘what you do, ultimately matters’ so very apt in the New Normal. The story in the campaign revolves around the central offering of pain management solutions to various lifestyle problems through four (4) top of the line products viz. Heat Belt, Knee Cap, Lumbar Sacro Belt and Anklet. 

Rajiv Mistry, Founder and Managing Director, Ascent Meditech Ltd., says, “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going – this saying holds true for Indians as well as for Ascent. While Indians have put up a brave face against all odds and have adapted to the New Normal, we, at Ascent, have supported Indians with the introduction of products, which are of absolute necessity, today. In line with the sudden change in consumer behavior and mindset, brand Flamingo has crafted its new campaign under the umbrella thought of ‘what you do, ultimately matters’. The communication in the new campaign is purposeful and leaves the consumer with a decision to make amongst an existing practice versus a sustainable solution, when encountered with pain.”

As a consumer healthcare organization, Ascent Meditech Ltd. has always been early in reading the mind of consumers.  The start of pandemic unearthed the need of security and protection among Indians. Flamingo, being a trusted brand among consumers was quick to reciprocate this need and introduced FlamiMask, FlamiMask Plus and Flamitizer at value for money prices, thus entering the Personal Protection space. With this recent category extension, Ascent Meditech Ltd., is now present across five (5) categories, earlier four (4) being Orthopaedic Soft Goods, Healthcare, Mobility and Wound-care.

Flamingo’s Lifestyle range boasts of top of the line products under Heat Therapy, Cold Therapy. Heat Belt, the flagship product of the brand offers ultimate pain relief during joint pains while Cold Therapy product viz. Cool Pack offers relief post injury and reduces swelling. Flamingo’s range of lifestyle products can be used by people across all age-groups for regular day-to-day activities; be at home or at work. Included in the category of preventive care yet lifestyle is our Regular & Premium Knee Cap, Regular & Premium Anklet. Knee Cap provides support to the knee and offers mild compression. It is recommended in sports injury, old age etc. Anklet is recommended in edema, sports injury, mild to moderate sprains & strains and old age. Flamingo’s offering towards back pain, Lumbar Sacro Belt offers uniform compression and provides support to the lower back thereby offering relief from pain and improving posture respectively.

Ascent Meditech Ltd. earlier unveiled its new customer-centric single and two-coloured variants for Flamingo’s range of pain management products across categories – Black, Beige and a combination of Black & Orange for the Regular range; and Turquoise Blue for the Premium range of products giving it a trendier, sporty and contemporary look, appealing to the younger and millennial customers.

The Company launched its e-commerce platform www.flamingohealth.com making its flagship brand Flamingo products available anytime, anywhere across the country. The Company's e-commerce platform flamingohealth.com has most of its products (available in multiple SKUs) out of the total portfolio of over 350+ products. The product mix maintained for the e-commerce platform comprises of OTC as well as RX products, with majority being OTC products. Products across the  categories are available at a discount of 10% to the MRP. There is a flat 10% discount for all purchases made on www.flamingohealth.com. On purchase of Rs. 350 and above, consumers need not pay any Delivery Charges.

India Runway Week Virtual edition Season 2

The maker of the first ever virtual fashion week in the country is all set to roll with its second season, India Runway Week will be back in action from October 18 to October 21, 2020 with an amazing line-up of young & Veteran designers.

India Runway Week virtual edition of season 2 will not be streaming pre-shot fashion films like other fashion weeks but it will be streaming fashion shows by designers on various India Runway Week social media Platforms.  

Designers like Laconet Hemant, Amit GT, Ashima Leena, charu Prashar, Jaivik Nari, Anand bhushan, Virtues by Viral Ashish & Vikrant, Poonam Bhagat, Ekam, Chandrani Singh Flora, Abhinav Mishra, Varija Bajaj, Saaj by Ankita, Peeli kothi by Ambica and many more will showcase their collections. 

Viewers will also witness Avon Watch me now show which will presents Avon of today and its purpose to transform women’s lives for the better. Avon Watch me now show will be presented by Designer Poonam Dubey and the showstopper will be our own desi Rihanna, ‘Ranee Kujur’. 

Avinash Pathania, Founder, IFFD , said “We started this virtual fashion week in 2019 under India Runway Week banner, before anyone. This time we will set a benchmark to it and I promise you that at India Runway Week, Virtual Edition of Season 2, you will get to witness hundred percent virtual fashion shows”

The Best Piece of Advice from Writer of ‘Calling Sehmat’ in Famous Sikhs

The seventh chapter of Candid Talks by ‘Famous Sikhs’, aired this Sunday at 12:30 PM, starring Cdr Harinder Singh Sikka, the brain and the pen behind the story of film Raazi and production of the movie, Nanak Shah Fakir. His two novels, namely - Calling Sehmat and Vichodda, inspired from real life struggles of women have been getting amazing reviews on the internet. 

He spoke of the blessing of having met Sehmat, a code name to hide the identity of a strong lady who wanted to go away unsung. He shared how he was chosen by fate to share these stories with the masses. He revealed a myriad of never heard before facts like how real and reel world sehmat - Alia Bhatt met, how Sehmat asked her to make a movie on Guru Nanak DevJi. Standing today as one of the highest-paid authors in Bollywood, he has not kept even a single penny of the earnings.These days he is writing a sequel to the book under the name, ‘Remembering Sehmat’. 

His movie, Nanak Shah Fakir, which was entangled in some controversial debate in the beginning in spite of its successful premiere at the Cannes Film Festival; today has won three national awards and crossed 10.7 million views on youtube. He shared with the viewers how he cherished the many miracles he experienced on the sets of Nanak Shah Fakir. He also mentioned how many top-notch pious souls like AR Rahman, Akshay Kumar and legendary Padma awardees, PanditJasrajji and Bhai Nirmal Singh ji joined hands for this project. 

Towards the end of the interview, he shared his writing recipe for the many struggling young writers listening to him. He also shared a fantastic surprise for all the listeners at the end of the interview. 

The Candid show of Famous Sikhs, invites one guest every week and this week the interview captured some amazing advice from the life of Harinder S Sikka. It’s surprising, how a show that was announced no more than just 7 weeks back has today hosted - Actor Manmeet Singh, Dr.Bhupender Kaur, Lt Gen Balbir Singh Sandhu, Prof .Daljit Singh and K S Ahluwalia. 

The focus of ‘Famous Sikhs’, Candid talk show is on inculcating a sedulous spirit among masses and to share techniques and strategies for achieving results and tackling failures.The young host, Mehak Kaur did a fantastic job. The Famous Sikhs’ backed by a talented team of experts captivated the audience with a spirit of achievement and inspiration. To listen to the unfiltered interview of Cdr Harinder S Sikka go to Famous Sikhs facebook page or youtube channel. 

The Famous Sikhs Candid talk showbacked by a talented team of experts captivates the audience with a spirit of achievement and inspiration. The magic of this beautiful platform focuses on sharing the stories of Sikh achievers with the community. With Manpreet Kaur, the host of the show, Harshpreet Singh Bhasin(Hotbot Studios) as the Digital Marketing partner, Mehak Kaur as the Script Writer and Taman Deep Singh Bindra (Singhstudio)as the Sales and BD Specialist are on the mission of unveiling the unheard stories of the Sikh achievers from different professions across the world.

Badho Bahu lead, Rytasha Rathore, ruling the OTT screen with Netflix’s "Masaba Masaba"

Recognised for her performance as plus-sized protagonist in the hit TV show Badho Bahu, Rytasha Rathore makes her way to Netflix with ‘Masaba Masaba’, a playful, fictional peek into the life of Masaba Gupta. Playing Masaba’s best friend on the show, Rytasha is seen as a sexy, funny, young, strong and independent boss woman setting up her own business.

Rytasha goes beyond breaking stereotypes, be it playing a wrestler Bahu at 22 years of age in a daily soap, to addressing body image issues and societal perceptions of women. Known for speaking her mind and not shying away from sharing her thoughts on sensitive issues, Rytasha’s social media posts have engaged and inspired many young people to begin their journey towards self-love and being one’s truest authentic self.

Rytasha Rathore says, “A Netflix show has always been a personal goal so yay!! I’m playing Gia Irani, Masaba’s best friend, on the show, who’s stepping into her dad’s very big shoes as she navigates many 'firsts' while singlehandedly revamping the family business, but she’s a boss and just gets things done. Playing Gia was more up my alley because we’re similar in many ways. The writing of the role is also something that I have to mention. Oftentimes in mainstream entertainment, the heroine’s best friend is reduced to just that and not a fully formed human woman. This one differs because four women wrote this show. They have all lived this life, they understand the depth of female friendships and how women really do uplift one another. It’s so heartening to have this kind writing of female characters, that really embodies women in all their glory and doesn’t show them through the lens of patriarchy.” 

The fictionalised series, inspired by Masaba Gupta's real life, that went live on August 28, 2020 on Netflix has a chartbuster with Nikitaa’s ‘Aunty kisko bola bey’ picturised on Neena Gupta.  

                    

JSPL wins coveted GreenTech CSR India 2020 Awards

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) has been conferred with GreenTech CSR India 2020 Award for it's for outstanding achievements in promoting healthcare under its CSR programmes. The Award was received by Chairperson of JSPL Foundation Ms. Shallu Jindal during the 7th CSR India Summit & Expo held virtually. Former Chief Justice of India Mr. Dipak Mishra, Former CMD of Canara Bank Mr. RK Dubey, Former Director of ONGC Dr. A.K. Balyan, Former Director of ONGC Mr. V.P. Mahawar, Former Director of NTPC Mr. PK Mohapatra, Chairman & CEO of GreenTech Foundation Mr. K. Sharan and CSR Functionaries and leaders from various organisations. 

JSPL has been declared winner for this coveted award in the category of "Promotion of Health and Healthcare" after several rounds of assessment of its initiatives in the field of community health, spread across more than 700 villages in and around its operational areas in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand as well as in Haryana under aspiration district programme of Government of India. 

Receiving the Award, Chairperson of JSPL Foundation - which is also the executing arm of JSPL's CSR activities - said, "All our CSR initiatives are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our overall objective is to contribute to improve the quality of people living in and around the vicinity of our Plants and this would not be possible without strategic interventions in the areas of healthcare. JSPL has initiated several programmes has reached more than 2 million people across three eastern states, facilitating people's access to preventive and curative health, so that they become healthier and more productive". She thanked GreenTech Foundation and the illustrious Jury for selecting JSPL for this prestigious award. 

Healthcare programmes being taken up by JSPL ranges from Mobile Medical Unit to institution based super speciality health services with focus on improving IMR and MMR, combating malnutrition, anaemia control among adolescent girls, creating open defecation free environment, physical and mental well-being of the local communities. The Company runs telemedicine support across locations to facilitate advance health services in rural areas and also a super speciality hospital, OP Jindal Fortis Hospital, in Chhattisgarh. 

For its strategic CSR initiatives, JSPL has been awarded with several prestigious awards including Golden Peacock Award for CSR, The FICCI CSR Award for Women Empowerment, Grow Care India CSR Award in Platinum Category and several others.

Now Read & Watch the Best Stories with a Single Subscription for ET Prime & Docubay

ETPrime, the subscription-based destination for insightful content consumption from The Economic Times, today announced a unique collaboration with DocuBay, a premium global membership video-on-demand documentary films platform by IN10 Media Network.  With specializations in factual deep dives across business or genres, the synergies of both the entities will present users with a diverse content bouquet. 

ETPrime’s content is packed with deeply researched insights and analysis to help audiences stay ahead of the curve. Covering over 20 sectors, it is delivered straight to the subscribers’ inbox daily to power the reader to deal with the highly disruptive, volatile and competitive business environment. ETPrime audiences with annual and two-year subscriptions can now avail DocuBay’s OneTribe annual membership. Similarly, DocuBay OneTribe members can access ETPrime’s quarterly subscription with their membership. Audiences of both platforms will access eclectic deeply researched analysis as also the perspective of diverse opinions and narratives.

DocuBay offers a handpicked catalogue of documentaries with an emphasis on discovery, including curated ‘Bays’ like Nature, Action, Travel, Culture, Science, Sports, Crime, most recently launched Tech, Music and more. The catalogue includes films from over 100+ countries. The library consists of global award-winning features including Eye to Eye with Everest, Jaguar Going Electric, Wildlands, Inside Facebook, The Harvey Weinstein Scandal and more. One new documentary film is released to the platform daily, including a monthly ‘Docbuster’. The catalogue also includes tastefully selected documentaries from India including the multiple prize-winning titles like Himalayan Gold Rush, Bastion of the Giants, Pad Yatra, Where To, Miss? amongst others. 

Sanjeev Kumar, Vice President - The Economic Times Digital said, “The collaboration with DocuBay is designed to offer the evolved users of ETPrime with a superlative content spread as both brands feature diverse genres. This collaboration is a winner for subscribers of both platforms and designed to improve the product proposition of the brands too.” 

“The Economic Times is a premium platform offering well-researched, insightful business news, and at DocuBay we also take pride in bringing a diverse range of human stories told through unique narratives. Given the alignment in offerings, this a unique and interesting collaboration allowing us to reach likeminded audiences across platforms. This also allows us to enhance the overall customer experience with additional offerings as a part of our membership.”, Girish Dwibhashyam, Vice President –Strategy, DocuBay added. 

ET Prime is the subscription based destination from The Economic Times which covers more than 20 business verticals including Markets, Pharma, Technology, Environment, Corporate Governance, Consumer, Telecom and OTT, Auto, Aviation, Fintech, Energy, and Infrastructure. Its long form content bridges gaps in news flow by presenting fast, reliable, and actionable insights curated and articulated by industry experts.  

Headquartered in Mumbai (India), DocuBay is a global, membership VOD exclusively designed to stream premium international documentary films. Specializing as a niche video service with over 300 titles, DocuBay features content from all corners of the globe in a variety of categories. Available in 180+ countries, DocuBay is available on platforms including the App Store, Google Play, Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV, with additional platforms on the way.

Mitron raises $ 5 mil led by Nexus Venture Partners

Homegrown short-form video app Mitron has announced it raised $ 5 mil, led by Nexus Venture Partners. 3one4 Capital and Arun Tadanki’s private syndicate on LetsVenture also participated in the latest round. Mitron app is a short-form social video app that allows users to create, upload, view, and share entertaining short videos. Mitron is founded by Shivank Agarwal (alumnus of IIT Roorkee) and Anish Khandelwal (alumnus of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology). Both the founders are Computer Science engineers and earlier worked together at MakeMyTrip. 

The latest round of financing saw participation from stellar angels including Deep Kalra (Chairman, MakeMyTrip), Amrish Rau (CEO, Pine Labs), Jiten Gupta (Founder, Jupiter), Amarjit Batra (MD, Spotify India), Anand Chandrasekharan (Former Facebook, Snapdeal executive), Karan Bajwa (MD, Google Cloud, India), Radhika Ghai (Co-founder, Shopclues), Vikalp Sahni (Co-Founder and Ex-CTO at GoIbibo and Volunteer Architect at AarogyaSetu) and Shanti Mohan (Founder, LetsVenture). TK Kurien (Premji Invest), Manish Vij & Harish Bahl (Smile Group) also participated in their individual capacity. 

The company will use the new infusion of capital to accelerate its product development to increase user engagement and hire high quality talent. The company also plans to onboard a wide network of Indian content creators on the app and invest in building Mitron brand. 

Shivank Agarwal, Founder and CEO of Mitron, said, “We are thrilled to have Nexus Venture Partners join us in this journey, bringing in deep expertise of helping their portfolio companies build great products.  We are committed to building Mitron as a world-class product that is designed for Indian users, by reimagining digital entertainment and engagement. 

Launched in Apr 2020, Mitron app achieved the 10mil download milestone even before the unprecedented ban on Chinese apps. With more than 33mil downloads on Play Store and 9 billion video views per month, Mitron has emerged as the popular choice among Indians for short-form video. We are thankful to our users for their love for Mitron.” 

Commenting on their decision to invest in Mitron, Pratik Poddar, Principal at Nexus Venture Partners said "Shivank and Anish are product-first, deep-tech and very iterative entrepreneurs. We have been tracking them for 3 months and loved the way they have evolved their thinking around content creation, community management and video delivery. We love backing ‘product and tech-first’ entrepreneurs. We believe eventually the best product with long term thinking will win. Focus is to create a high engagement and high retention community. Then only you can be long term partners for creators." 

Anish Khandelwal, Founder & CTO, said "We have been rapidly improving our product experience and with this funding round, we plan to invest further in hiring top notch product & engineering talent that will help us build a world-class platform that can scale seamlessly”. 

Anurag Ramdasan, Head of Investments at 3one4 Capital, said, “Shivank and Anish have built an impressive product together that we decided to back when they had just launched on the Play Store. Since then, the growth of the product as well as the team has been inspiring. The differentiated, long term thinking demonstrated by the founding team has led us to continue believing in them. We are excited to continue our work with the company to help build the next evolution of video engagement out of India” 

Arun Tadanki said, “Mitron has been making rapid progress in establishing itself as the primary choice in the short-form video space and therefore, we are doubling down on our investment.”

Guru Randhawa & Dhvani Bhanushali come together for Bhushan Kumar’s ‘Baby Girl’ directed by Remo D’Souza!

The moment fans have been waiting for is finally here! The biggest Indian pop stars Guru Randhawa and Dhvani Bhanushali come together yet again for ‘Baby Girl’, presented by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series. After the success of ‘Ishare Tere’, the two young icons that have broken records, and taken YouTube and the music world by storm now collaborate for this peppy, romantic song that is choreographed and directed by ace Remo D’Souza.

Promising to be the party song of the season, ‘Baby Girl’ composed and written by Guru Randhawa, with music by Vee, was shot in Goa, following all precautionary measures. Apart from the music, another major highlight is the music video of ‘Baby Girl’ conceptualized by Remo with choreography to watch out for!

Says record-breaking artist Guru Randhawa, “Baby Girl is a peppy, happy track and it’s a song fans will love. The journey of making this song was very memorable. The beat, lyrics and composition just came to me in the studio and I thought Dhvani was perfect for the female vocals. It was amazing shooting for this song with Remo and I’m grateful to Bhushan Sir for making this happen.”

Says the youngest pop star Dhvani Bhanushali: “This is my first time shooting with Remo sir and it was an incredible experience. The shoot was very easy-going and the video turned out really great. It’s always amazing working with Guru and I thank Bhushan Sir for giving me this song. It is song full of fun, love and dancing.”

Director-Choreographer Remo D’Souza, “When I heard the song I knew the video had to have a lot of energy and a young, fun vibe to it so Goa was the perfect place to shoot. Guru and Dhvani are style icons so the video of ‘Baby Girl’ too reflects their personalities and is very stylized.”

Adds record producer Vee, ‘Baby Girl’ is such a catchy record from the lyrics, to the vocals, to the music. It’s one of those records when you hear it; you can’t get it out of your head.” T-Series’ Bhushan Kumar added, “With artists like Guru Randhawa and Dhvani Bhanushali there is always anticipation and they’re a lethal combination. ‘Baby Girl’ is a peppy, young, colourful romantic song and Remo D’Souza has done a fabulous job in bringing it to life.”

Now playing on T-Series’s YouTube channel, the chartbuster is composed and written by Guru Randhawa and is presented by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series.

Taj Mahal, New Delhi announces the reopening of Machan in a re-imagined new avatar

The iconic Taj Mahal, New Delhi unveiled the new avatar of the Capital’s original and much-loved dining destination Machan. The hotel also reopened to an elegant new lobby and the Emperor Lounge after a stylish makeover. Taj Mahal, New Delhi has been under extensive renovation since July 2019, reinventing itself to offer the essence of timelessness and heritage of Lutyens’ Delhi, coupled with contemporary flair and impeccable service the hotel has been renowned for. The next phase of the transformation will include the redesigned rooms and The Chambers – expected to be completed by end of the year.

Mr. Satyajeet Krishnan, Area Director – North and General Manager, Taj Mahal, New Delhi said, “The Taj Mahal, New Delhi remains an ideal location with exquisite dining choices. The re-imagined Machan makes a comeback featuring some of the signature favourites in addition to cuisine inspired by the forests of the world and India. We welcome guests to experience Delhi’s veritable institution once again”.

Machan, the international dining destination has been a defining part of the city’s culinary landscape for many decades. Machan’s décor is based on Indian wildlife, reminiscent of the days where ‘Machans’, or raised platforms, were built as look-out and observation posts. The redesigned Machan will present a gastronomical confluence of the old and the new with an eclectic menu. With a state-of-the-art air purification technology for reduction of particulate matter and mitigation of microbes, Machan offers an environment with heightened safety and hygiene protocols. The Emperor Lounge that has been the centre of many conversations and high-powered business meetings returns with elevated style and novel culinary offerings. 

One of the most distinguished addresses in the national capital, Taj Mahal, New Delhi is one of Delhi’s landmark destinations. With the refreshed Machan and Emperor Lounge, the hotel welcomes its guests once again to relive their old memories and create new ones. With inspired and warm service, the Hotel promises to delight the gourmands of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

5 regional OTT Platforms ruling the roost with exceptional content

It is obvious that the majority of the audience nowadays are dependent on OTT platforms for quality entertainment. The OTT penetration has doubled now in the TeirII and Tier III markets. Within these markets, regional content is gaining momentum and attracting more viewers towards OTT platforms. While the future of OTT is bright, the competition is getting fierce and the market has gradually become the survival of the fittest. To cater to the tremendous demand for regional content from the audience, here are 5 regional OTT platforms that are creating a wave in today’s world. 

Dollywood Play :  Dedicated OTT platform for Hindi dubbed content, it aims to bring the best of mass entertainment content (movies & series) across a wide range of genres like Action, Adventure, Thriller, Horror, Comedy, Love, Drama and 18+. Witnessing the wide success & acceptance of Hindi dubbed content for South Indian & Hollywood movies on digital & linear platforms for its audience in tier 2 & tier 3 towns, this platform deals in dubbed content in the form of full movies, Mini movies, video clips, Music videos, Promos etc.

Hoichoi :  This on-demand platform focuses on Bengali language films and entertainment content mainly, but with English subtitles for a wider audience acceptance. Currently, it features over 500 film titles, including more than 100 SVF produced films and about 400 other films. Hoichoi also contains more than 1,000 Bengali songs for audio streaming globally. The platform is also introducing children's content, and has original films, web series and short films across many genres. 

Sun Nxt : An Indian video on demand service run by Sun TV Network, it was launched with content in four major South Indian languages. Available free on Vodafone Play, Jio Cinema, and Airtel Xstream, the platform's subscriber base grew to about 15 million users and started making profit just before the pandemic which has now increased exponentially.

Viu : A Hong Kong-based over-the-top (OTT) video streaming provider from PCCW Media, it is a subsidiary of PCCW. Operated in dual-revenue model comprising subscriptions and advertising, Viu delivers content in different genres from Asia's top content providers in language such as English, Chinese, Arabic, Malaysian, Indonesian, Burmese, Hindi, Bangla, Tamil, Telugu and Thai, as well as original production series under 'Viu Original' initiative.

Olly Plus :  Launched this year in 2020, by SK Line Productions, Olly Plus is Odisha's new online Odia OTT platform where one can enjoy unlimited Odia Videos, Albums, Movies, Comedy Videos, Short Films, Audio Storys and Romantic videos on the go. Olly Plus has passionate plans to take the Cinema of Odisha to newer heights.

PepsiCo India partners with United Way Delhi to Launch #WhyWaste - A special Initiative to Create Awareness on Upcycling of Plastic

Aligned with the Government of India's 'Swachhta Hi Seva' initiative PepsiCo India in partnership with United Way Delhi has launched a unique digital initiative #WhyWaste. As part of the program, community members such as school & college students, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and general public are being encouraged to share creative ideas to reuse and upcycle plastic waste generated at home and/or communities. 

A special microsite www.whywaste.co.in has been created for submitting entries in form of 'DIY videos/pic', slogans & posters and one-minute pitch videos around plastic waste management. The initiative has so far has received over 2200+ entries from schools and college. Residents from these RWAs across Delhi-NCR are being encouraged to make eco-bricks that would then be collected and recycled. 

Speaking about the campaign, Mr. Sachin S Golwalkar, CEO, United Way Delhi said, "As we contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, it is important to find newer and creative solutions. The #WhyWaste campaign has been one such opportunity wherein communities came together to take a conscious step towards upcycling plastic generated at home." 

Announcing the launch of the program, Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India said, "Aligned with its philosophy of Winning with Purpose, PepsiCo India is always on the lookout for opportunities to create awareness around sustainably managing plastics. Our intent clearly is to make sure that plastics never become waste. Our latest program, #WhyWaste is a unique community driven initiative where change makers and sustainability champions have all come together to do their bit in creating a better environment. We are happy to collaborate with a partner like United Way to massify the sustainability message within schools, colleges, RWAs etc. It is amazing to see the response received in spite of the current operating environment." 

All submitted entries will be judged by an elite jury including the likes of Ms. Namrata Rana, Director, Strategy and Brand, Futurescape, Mr. Ripu Daman, Founder, Ploggers India, Ms. Tamanna Sharma, Founder, Earthling First and Capt. Manju Minhas, Founding Director, Sifar Ziya and Mr. Zia Haq, Associate Editor, Public Policy and Agriculture, Hindustan Times. 

As a part of the program, GEM Enviro will be collecting all the used plastic waste from participating RWAs. Winning individuals and RWAs will be rewarded with exciting prizes, recycled furniture and honored as Sustainable Warriors. Apart from the winners, every participant was also awarded with an e-certificate for their valuable contribution towards environment sustainability.

 PepsiCo entered India in 1989 and has grown to become one of the largest MNC food and beverage businesses in India. PepsiCo India has been consistently investing in the country and has built an expansive beverage and snack food business supported by 62 plants across foods and beverages. PepsiCo India's diverse portfolio includes iconic brands like Pepsi, Lay's, Kurkure, Tropicana 100%, Gatorade and Quaker. 

United Way Delhi (UWD) is an independent local not-for-profit organization affiliated to the United Way Worldwide Family – one of the World's Largest Leadership with 1800 affiliate chapters across 41 countries. United Way Delhi (UWD) since 2008, is working actively to advance the 'common good' for the local community through innovative interventions and partnerships.

ThefreshPlatform introduces “ready-to-cook meal kit” to create a revolution in Indian home cooking!

Cooking was never been so fun and easy! ThefreshPlatform; a venture of Bangalore based Wecare Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd. brings ready-to-cook meal delivery service provider whose sole mission is to make the home cooking fun, easy, hygienic and full of nutrition and originally made at home! Ordering a meal kit from the ThefreshPaltform website is convenient and swift with simple payment interface and varied options of dishes. A meal kit contains:

• High quality GROCERIES sorted, washed
• Fresh VEGGIES cleaned, cut into its required size
• Best Quality MASALAS grounded
• All items perfectly portioned and made pan ready for easy cooking
• Simple cooking guidance, in case you need help

350+ dishes, ranging from Breakfast, Mid Morning Snacks, Lunch, Evening Tea/Snacks and Dinner; Salads, Starter, Main Course, Rice, Dal, Indian Breads, Accompaniments to various beverages and Desserts; Indian (covering all regional preparations), Mughlai, Thai, Chinese, Oriental, Italian, Mexican and Continental cuisines delivered to doorsteps as per the choices and preferences of the customers. 

ThefreshPlatform meal kits are contained with all ingredients, including salt and cooking oil. Only the water needs to be added as and when required. That’s it! The entire cooking and all other kitchen work can be finished in just 15-20 minutes. Is it not super convenient?

ThefreshPlatform don't just deliver convenience as a simple service attribute but they deliver convenience across every customer touch-points. They create recipes, meal plans as per the customers’ food habits and palate preferences, bring healthier choices and better ingredients right to home.

They say, “This is not so called outside food, this is your home food, cooked by you, the way you wish to prepare for yourself and your family. We have just tried to help you to reduce your time, effort and hassle for that. And guided you to cook, whenever you needed any help.”

Announcing the launch of the one of its kind service, Mr. Ranjan Patra, founder & CEO of ThefreshPlatform said, “Urban life may give all the amenities for inhabitants but may not provide the peace of mind and ease of getting wholly home cooked food. People are either dependent on eateries or relying on their cooks for their daily meal. People are working and working for longer than they can. Busy. Crazy. Nonstop! By the end of the day, they are depriving of the basic requirement for life! Homemade FOOD! Now it's more of a vex than ever due to the Covid19 pandemic. Eateries may or may not be safe, allowing cooks or helping hands to your home may or may not be secure and of course stepping out of home for groceries is an additional task. So all you have to do is to leave your all worries to ThefreshPlatform! Just order your meal from us and we will take care of your food.” 

Further emphasising on the USP of ThefreshPlatform, Mr.Patra said, “we procure the best and fresh fruits and vegetables and other food ingredients needed for your choice of meal directly from the source, in turn benefiting our customers and farmers thereby bringing cost benefit and transparency to all. We tie up directly with farmers and suppliers thereby ensuring freshness of ingredients that distinguish ThefreshPlatform from others.”

Backed by experienced team of Food Technologists, Nutritionists, Chefs,IT and Supply Chain Management professionals, ThefreshPlatform provides fresh and non-dehydrated products that are delicious, nutritive, and ideal for daily consumption unlike dehydrated food that contains zero water, results in loss of taste and is not benefited for health. Serving only vegetarian products, the food contents are all packed in a hygienic sealed box, one just need to cut the pouches, pour it in a pan and finish cooking in a jiffy. This food is absolutely homely and light on stomach.

The newest venture of Bangalore based Wecare Foods & Beverages, ThefreshPlatform was founded by Mr. Ranjan Patra, a prolific personality in the food business, to explore the insights of cooking and to benefit everyone. The primary motive of the company is to deliver fresh, high quality ingredients, which are pre-prepared in the most healthy and hygienic way, for home cooking to save time and hassles of cooking.

This Cricket season, Cornitos launches the #MatchCornJeetega campaign

Cornitos, the Made in India Nachos brand launches the #MatchCornJeetega campaign. The campaign is "bowling over" the market with an all-new Cricketing avatar, "drawing" the consumers towards Cornitos' flavorful products with the use of the brand QR code in a refreshing style.

Cornitos “dives” into this “innings” with a “googly” full of exciting offers and prizes, expanding its reach from 3 cities initially to a PAN India level through its e-commerce platform - shop.cornitos.in, “driving” it’s way into the hearts of the consumers. All the products are delivered with COVID19 safety precautions like sanitation of packages, cashless payment, and contactless delivery. 

Speaking on the campaign and PAN India services of Cornitos website, Mr. Vikram Agarwal, Managing Director, Cornitos said, “Cricket is considered to be the biggest game in India. Taking this as an opportunity to offer perfect innings from Cornitos, we have launched #MatchCornJeetega Campaign where customers can buy products using QR Code to avail special discounts. Shop.cornitos.in offers discount codes and hampers to be won for all the nachos lovers cheering for their team. Be it home or away, Cornitos Nachos will always be in play, with its e-commerce website offering services Pan India.”

Shop.cornitos.in has a loyalty program ‘Crunchy Points’, where customers get when they purchase any product from our Cornitos website. A customer gets 20 Crunchy Points on signup. On placing an order, they get 1 Crunchy Point for every Rs. 1 spent. Cornitos products are also available in Retail, E-Retail, and Modern Trade stores and on all e-grocery platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Grofers, Big Basket, Milkbasket, Scootsy, Suprdaily, Jiomart, and others.

Greendot Health Foods was the first company to launch Nacho Crisps in Indian snacks. The production facility at Roorkee, Haridwar district, Uttarakhand, is equipped with state-of-the-art processing machinery and is manned by a team committed to quality. Cornitos is the largest brand in the Nacho Crisps category in India.  Cornitos Brand Portfolio includes Nacho Crisps, Tortilla Wraps, Taco Shells, Chunky Salsa Dips, Cheesy Dips, Roasted Premium Nuts - Cashews & Almonds, Long Peanuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Coated Green Peas and Pickles - Jalapeno Peppers & Gherkins.

Congress demands legal action against Kangana Ranaut for concealing info on drug mafia, demands stripping of Y-category security given to her

RK Trivedi Media-in-charge and spokesperson of Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) has blasted Actress Kangana Ranaut and said that her flop show, which insulted Maharashtra and expressed lack of belief and trust in the Mumbai Police, has come to an end. “Kangana claimed that she has full knowledge of Bollywood drug mafia but she did not share any information as she didn't trust Mumbai Police. This indicates how BJP tried to capitalize on the sensational allegations of Kangana but nothing concrete has come out of it. Kangana was given Y category security protection deployed from public funds but Kangana did not give any information about drug mafia and how it operates amidst Bollywood industry constituents,” said Mr. RK Trivedi.

“If Kangana could not give information to Mumbai Police, then she could have handed over her facts about drug mafia to NCB. But Kangana returned to Himachal Pradesh without giving any information to any authorities. She met the Hon. Governor in Mumbai but did not go to NCB office. Did Kangana do all this drama under political patronage and just to create sensation? Under Section 176 and 220 of the IPC, concealing a crime after knowing/ having information of the crime is an offence. Legal action should be initiated against Kangana for hiding information and making wrong statements. Also public money used to give her protection should be returned immediately,” concluded Trivedi.

Café Irani Chaii International Film Festival ends on a successful note

Yashpal Sharma with Prof. Dr. Ashouri, Mr. Alikhani, Santosh Barne, Mohan Das, Bhupen Vyas & Dr. Mansoor Showghi Yezdi

The Café Irani Chaii International Film Festival 2020 which took place at the Culture House of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Mumbai on 12th & 13th March 2020 ended on a successful note last evening. Given the recent developments around coronavirus, which has had sweeping effects in all sectors including the entertainment industry, many festivals across the globe had chosen to either call off the festival or postpone it to a later date sometime in the same year. Those included reputed festivals like IFFLA, Tribeca Film Festival, Prague Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Istanbul Film Festival, Belfast Film Festival, Beverly Hills Film Festival, Cleveland Film Festival, New York Children’s Film Festival, the KinoFilm Festival and many others. As festival organizers, even team CICIFF had the same two choices - postponement or cancellation. But team CICIFF chose to downscale the event and limit audiences in auditorium instead of cancelling the same.

“But cancel we did. It was our grand Awards event which we had to cancel and it’s a decision that we did not take lightly,” said Dr. Mansoor Showghi Yezdi, Chairman & Festival Director, CICIFF. “Considering this was our first year, we had planned for a grand Awards event at a leading star hotel. However, the well-being of our esteemed guests, festival partners, film enthusiasts and our team was paramount and hence we called the event off,” he added. The Awards event was conducted later in the evening followed by a networking get together at the same venue after the screenings for the day ended on day 2. “We know it was no substitute for the grand awards event with its unique and fantastic audience, but at least it’s some way to honour these amazing film makers for their wonderful films that made its way to our festival.”

Our esteemed guests, celebrities & eminent filmmakers...

The awards evening took off with Dr. Mansoor taking the stage to speak about the festival and why it was named as the Café Irani Chaii International Film Festival. He also went on to mention that the Chaii has two “i”s in the name of the festival that symbolizes the relationship between the two countries. “I’ve added the two “i”s - one for India and the other for Iran,” he says with a sparkle in his eye. He also enlightened the guests about his documentary by the same name that attempts to trace the history of the Irani cafés through the cities of Bombay, Pune and Hyderabad.

Though scaled down, the awards event still did see the presence of Bollywood actor Yashpal Sharma, Flora Saini, Rekha Rana and Rohan Mehra of ‘Bazaar’ fame. Honouring the esteemed presence of Yashpal Sharma at the festival, his Excellency Consul General of the I.R. of Iran Mr. Alikhani as well as the Hon’ble Prof. Dr. Ashouri Director Culture House of the I.R. of Iran, Mumbai awarded him with the CICIFF “Excellence in Cinema” award. A film actor and theatre artist, Yashpal Sharma is best known for his roles in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Lagaan, Gangaajal, Ab Tak Chhappan, Apaharan, Singh Is Kinng, Aarakshan, Rowdy Rathore as well in the Haryanvi film ‘Pagdi the Honour’ which has been conferred with two National Awards.

Mohan Das with Rohan Mehra & Yashpal Sharma. Actress Flora Saini with her team...

The incredibly versatile Yashpal Sharma says he is ecstatic on receiving the CICIFF ‘Excellence in Cinema’ Award. "I'm humbled and honoured for this recognition. I’m really ecstatic as this is not an acting award; it’s an achievement award. It’s such a morale boost and shows that you are being appreciated for what you do.” Speaking about his love of Indian and Iranian cinema, he went on to praise Iranian films he’s completely in awe of. He mentioned that one of his best loved Iranian language films happens to be Majidi’s “Children’s of Heaven” as well as Abbas Kiarostami’s “Where is the Friend’s Home?”

Later Dr. Mansoor requested Yashpal Sharma along with members of jury Bhupen Vyas and Santosh Barne to honour his Excellency Consul General Mr. Alikhani as well as the Hon’ble Prof. Dr. Ashouri for their esteemed support to the festival. The winners of the festival were later announced collectively by Chairman Jury Mohan Das and Dr. Mansoor. While the Best Feature Film went to B M Giriraj’s Kannada film “Amaraavati”, the Best Short Film went to Ishaan Raisinghania’s “Purdah”. The Best Documentary award went to Junichi Kajioka for his documentary “Sugihara Survivors” from the UK. The other winners included Seema Biswas for ‘Idam’ (Best Actress Feature), Divya Dutta for ‘Zuni’ (Best Actress Short), Rohan Mehra for ‘Hum’ (Best Emerging Actor), Rekha Rana for ‘Tara - The journey of love & passion’ (Best Emerging Actor), Saurabh Sharma for ‘Unpredictable’ (Best DoP), Nilesh Naik for ‘Woh Pal’ (Best Children Film), Ram Kamal Mukherjee for ‘Rickshawala’ (Best Emerging Director) and Ajay Mahendru for ‘Dastak’ (Best Actor Jury) amongst others. Short film ‘Unpredictable’ that took home the Best Cinematographer award is produced by actress Flora Saini who will soon be seen in the upcoming film “Darbaan”.

Speaking to a cross section of the filmmakers and audiences, Ashu Dhaliwal, producer of the short social film ‘Manav Bomb’ says she is happy that at least the festival was conducted and her film screened too. “We do understand the organiser’s predicament at such a time of international calamity. While we didn’t as much get the festival experience, the awards celebrations and red carpets as one is used to, but we did get an opportunity to be recognized for our film, which was the silver lining,” said Ashu.

Neeraj Awchat with esteemed guests & celebrities...

“Yes, even I do agree. It’s so unprecedented for not being able to stand up there with my cast and present this film. But given the situation, this was the best thing to happen than not doing at all,” said Jyoti Bajaj, co-director and writer of Zuni that took home two awards - Best actress for Divya Dutta and a Best editor award as well.

Neeraj Awchat who took home the Best Story award for his short film ‘Block’ says, “It’s heartening that the festival is committed to ensuring the health and safety of the public while also supporting friends, filmmakers and storytellers who look to such film festivals as a platform to showcase their work to audiences. What else can one ask for?”

Despite its limitation, the Café Irani Chaii International Film Festival will surely be looked forward to from the viewpoint of a movie enthusiast who wants to see some of the best cinema at such a festival. And CICIFF did provide them an array of wonderful films. “Cinema is the most powerful medium and telling specific stories that connect you with realities you had no idea or connection is a weapon these makers have. Being at a film festival reminds me of this power of film, the power that the story can make you see things. ‘Purdah’ was one short film that had the capacity to keep you riveted with a masterfully executed screenplay and earnestly shows us the beauty of good cinema. Another film that I liked was ‘Carbon Monoxide’ that showcased the brutal reality of carbon monoxide deaths,” said Arbind Mishra who travelled all the way from Bengaluru just to watch good cinema.

Another film enthusiast Chandrashekhar Bhide who was religiously present on both days right since morning watching wonderful cinema says, "It is an inspiring experience that is vastly different from other film festivals. What sets it apart is the warm and wonderful welcome accorded to even the film loving audience. This is what one needs to learn from these festival organisers. The best part was the Irani brun maska pao and chaii during breaks. No wonder, I’m going to come every year now.” Its inspiring to know that Chandrashekhar is a B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering from IIT Bombay as well holds an MBA degree from IIM Ahmedabad.

“I totally agree with this gentleman” said Jitendra Diwakar an aspiring film maker from Mumbai. “Their completely genuine intimacy permeated throughout the event and this sensibility I'm certain it comes from the top. I came just for the love of Iranian cinema and to see some of its best works here. I’m glad, I could make it.”

Jury Chairman as well as additional Chairman & Festival Director Mohan Das says, “It’s such a strange thing to conceive, get ready to deliver and not give birth. We preferred delivering what we envisaged, albeit on a smaller scale as this was a difficult situation for us all. We are grateful for our film fraternity’s understanding, loyalty, and continued support during this challenging time. Same time we thank all our sponsors and participating partners for their understanding at this difficult time.”

As the evening proceeded on, the festival organisers thanked everyone for making time to be present and chose to end the festival with a group photograph of all the film makers with the esteemed guests, jury and film makers. This was followed by a networking get together at the Culture House of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mumbai with a promise by Dr. Mansoor Showghi Yezdi to come back with more wonderful films at the next edition of the show.