Kickstarting in September this year, popular actor, anchor & youth icon Sohie Hillbrand covered leading film stars & Bollywood personalities like Arjun Rampal, Suneil Shetty, Gulshan Grover, Deepak Tijori, Ananth Mahadevan, TP Aggarwal & Rahul Aggarwal.

“The highlight of this prime time show in Holland would be Sophie Hilbrand acting in a Bollywood film alongside Suneil Shetty, Gulshan Grover & others in Ananth Mahadevan,s Red Alert,” said Rahul Mittra, CEO Brandsmith who would also feature in these special series.”You do not have foreign reality shows being shot live on big Bollywood sets every day,” added an upbeat Mittra, who has been accredited with some of the biggest film promotions in the recent past.

The hectic one week schedule started with Red Alert Producers TP Aggarwal & Rahul Aggarwal meeting Sophie at their swanky office and then taking her audition for an important role in Red Alert, a film on naxalites. This was followed by Sophie calling upon Director Ananth Mahadevan to dicuss her role as a TV reporter for an important scene with leading actors like Gulshan Grover, Suneil Shetty, Markhand Deshpande & others.

Sophie Hilbrand also met up with actor Gulshan Grover at his Versova apartment over breakfast to reherse her lines. The BNN crew also covered Deepak Tijori,s Fox, starring Arjun Rampal & Sunny Deol where Sophie witnessed a song sequence filmed on Arjun Rampal & singing sensation Mica, before finally landing on the sets of red Alert to play an important part in the film with Suneil Shetty, Gulshan Grover and others.

“We were excited at the proposition when Rahul Mittra first discussed this concept with us,” said the young & dashing Producer of red Alert, Rahul Aggarwal whose leading production house Star Entertainment Pvt Ltd has been credited with big films & TV shows, the recent one being Biggest Loser on Sahara One. “We are sure that Red Alert would be this year’s most awaited film in Holland & Europe after this special promotion with BNN TV & Brandsmith,” said Aggarwal.

Brandsmith is handlingtop Dutch TV channel BNN,s filmingin India for the second consecutive year, the last programme being a rage in Holland, sending thousandsof tourists to India. The entire story-board was drafted by Rahul Mittra CEO Brandsmith who was elated after months of meticulous planning finally came to a successful end, with Sophie Hilbrand returning to her country, this time as a Bollywood actress.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

The user has an option to download and own the 35 minutes video of Shilpa’s Yoga for $ 4.49 only. Keeping in mind the Indian audience and the current internet and broadband scenario BIGFlix has worked on the technology platform and has made Shilpa’s Yoga content in small duration video formats. The website will have the Asanas in 1 minute duration formats for audience for free.

Commenting on the occasion, Kamal Gianchandani, Chief Operating Officer, BigFlix.com said, ‘This is in keeping with our strategy to diversify into different genres of entertainment thereby providing our patrons with more & more options to choose from. The objective is to provide easy access to our patrons to good quality content. We are confident that our association with Shemaroo would benefit our viewers both in India and internationally.’

Today Yoga is not just an Indian phenomenon, but an art of living which has a global appeal Moreover, with Shilpa Shetty, a talented international celebrity and Yoga, the most preferred form of spiritual as well as physical well being, we are confident Shilpa’s Yoga will garner an increase in the user base of our website.” added Mr. Kamal Gianchandani, COO, BIGFlix.com..

‘After the success of ‘Shilpa’s Yoga’ on home video and on mobile, we are really glad to see this lifestyle content online at bigflix.com. Going live on the net will make Shilpa’s Yoga content accessible to audiences across the globe anytime, anywhere. The home video and digital sales of this exclusive product will definitely compliment each other’, said Jai Maroo , Director, Shemaroo Entertainment.

Shilpa Shetty, the renowned actress was also present at the launch. Speaking on the occasion she said “My videos have got tremendous response from my fans across the world. Launching this content on broadband on BIGFlix today will give easy access to these asanas for people who are keen to practice yoga for a healthy life.”

The yoga performance has been shot in the tranquil Kerala backwaters, which provide the perfect scenic ambience. BIGFlix has divided the video into various asanas, which will enable users to concentrate on the finer points of each yogic posture. Thus leading to a better understanding of this ancient practice and adopting the same with ease.

Shilpa’s Yoga DVDs are also available at all BIGFlix DVD rental stores in 10 cities namely Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Indore and Bangalore and all leading retail stores.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

About BIGFlix

BIGFlix, the home entertainment division of Reliance ADA group, is India’s largest online and offline movie rental service, offering access to close to more than 1000 titles on its video-on-demand division, www.broadband.bigflix.com and has a commitment of another 1000 titles soon. BIGFlix offers the biggest range of premium quality Indian entertainment spanning across 13 languages in India. The portal offers the biggest, widest library of films; music and Indian entertainment content ranging that will be available through its broadband services at attractive prices by providing premium quality entertainment at par with international standard benchmarks. The website has tie-ups with other premium channels viz, Star TV, Zoom, Special TV series, NDTV, NDTV Imagine, Raj TV and Care World TV to showcase their programs for free viewing.

With the aim to reach out to Indians of all age groups the world over, as the one entertainment hub to provide cutting-edge, world class digital content from the world of movies, TV serials and music, www.bigflix.com will provide a legitimate access to biggest range of Indian entertainment spanning across languages and genres available for download to own, streaming at affordable price points and subscription offer as well. BIGFlix broadband has garnered over 3 million visitors per month where 90% of the audiences are NRIs and delivers over 50 million page views per month.

BIGFlix has innovative, convenient and cost-effective entertainment making Indian cinema, television and music accessible to more than 25 million strong overseas Non Resident Indian (NRI), South Asian population and Indian cinema lovers the world over. The company offers the download to rent and subscription services in its portfolio of operations as well.

About Shemaroo Entertainment

Shemaroo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is an integrated Film Production, Post Production, Distribution and Animation player. With an excellent library of films, it has penetrated into the Satellite TV scene. In Sony Entertainment Television, Shemaroo is a joint venture partner with Sony Pictures Entertainment, USA.

Shemaroo has state-of-the-art studio facilities and over the decades has successfully leveraged new technologies. Broadband, Internet, IPTV, Mobile and other emerging technologies are just a natural extension of our existing work portfolio.

Shemaroo, in its Home Video business has set upon creating an alternative wave in Home Viewing with the launch of VCDs & DVDs specially catering to the discerning customer tastes for Literature, Music, Sports, Spiritual, Self Motivation, Children’s, Fitness, Hobbies, Travel and Sex Education to name a few. Shemaroo has acquired over a 100 titles across all genres ‘as part of their Alternative Content.

Shemaroo Films has churned out movies like ‘Omkara’, ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’, ‘Mere Baap Pehle Aap’ and Animated films like ‘Ghatothkach – Master of Magic’ and ‘Bal Ganesh’.

On the International front, Shemaroo has taken classic Bollywood Films around the globe to Hindi Film fans all over the world. The demand for Shemaroo products has been phenomenal in the US, U.K., Singapore, Fiji, UAE, Australian markets and newly developed markets like East European & North African as well. For further information, please visit www.shemaroo.com

"We are delighted that Tokyo Sonata has won the top honours at this prestigious festival. It is good to see Indian audiences beginning to appreciate films in the World Cinema category. We at Palador aim to showcase many memorable cinematic creations from across cultures and countries for Indian audiences in the years to come,” commented Gautam Shiknis, Founder and Managing Director of Palador.

Film enthusiasts appreciated the range of films shown at the festival. ‘Tokyo Sonata’ is a sensitive and touching examination of a dysfunctional Japanese family that slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company. Another Palador film, ‘My Blueberry Nights’, a story of a young woman taking a soul-searching journey across America to resolve her questions about love while encountering a series of offbeat characters along the way, left the audiences mesmerised at the festival. The film is a creation by maestro Wong Kar Wai starring Jude Law, Norah Jones and Natalie Portman.

Palador has acquired ‘Tokyo Sonata’ from Fortissimo Films and plans to release the film in India in October this year.

“Close to 50 titles from Palador’s 1000 strong library of films are already available on DVD from a tie up with Moser Baer while 26 of our films are playing at Zee Studio. This marks the largest ever influx of quality cinema in the country and the appreciation of good films in festivals, only serve to increase the quality of cinema that is watched across the country and this will eventually lead to great cinema being made,” said Mohan Polamar, Founder and JMD of Palador Pictures.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

About Palador:

Palador began four years back as a movement to kick-start the tradition of great cinema in the Indian subcontinent. Today Palador has the largest collection of Foreign Language Cinema under one roof in Asia. Palador owns the most award-winning films from the greatest directors the world has ever seen – from masters of yesteryears to today’s: Kurosawa, Kieslowski, Godard, Trauffaut, Kiarostami, Lynch etc. – to cinema in all genre: action, comedy, drama, documentary, short films etc. – to cinema from all movements: Italian Neo-Realism, French Impressionism, New-Wave Iranian etc. But Palador is not just about the content. It’s about programming them, to suit different needs of: TV Channels, Film Festivals, Corporates, Colleges, Clubs, Theatres etc. and of different media: DVD, TV, Internet, Theatre, Mobile etc. Besides this, Palador was the first to focus on the short works of aspiring film makers, helping to popularize the concept and adoption of short film in the Indian media landscape. Palador is also the only in the world to program short films of aspiring film makers in the DVD movies of great directors. In short it is helping build a platform for freedom of expression for creators of good and great content in this nation. People call Palador the place of the programming experts, we simply call ourselves – Paladorians. Also visit Palador media centre at: www.mypalador.com

The 40-minute documentary traces the course of Bhagat Singh's life and provides rare insights in the context of India's freedom struggle. It weaves through the biographical turning points to construct Bhagat Singh's dream of a free, egalitarian, socialist and multicultural India.

Parts of the documentary contain narration by Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Gupta and Sarah Hashmi. Apart from this a galaxy of well known social activists, intellectuals and historians, including Swami Agnivesh, Kuldeep Nayyar, Prof. Bipan Chandra, Prof. V.P. Dutt, Prof. K.N. Panikkar, Jagmohan Singh, Prof. Shantha Sinha, Prof. Chaman Lal, Prof. Urvashi Butalia, Dr S. Irfan Habib, Kamla Bhasin and Arpana Kaur, have also narrated parts of the script.

The documentary is based on meticulous research and creatively uses rare documents as visuals shot at various available repositories. Visuals have also been shot at Lahore, Banga (birth place of Bhagat Singh), Kolkata, Kanpur, Amritsar and Delhi.

Manu Kohli in her melodious voice has sung 'Bhagat Singh's' Ghodi in the documentary. The Ghodi in Punjabi language was composed by students of DAV College, Lahore just after Bhagat Singh's execution and even now is part of folk tradition on both sides of the border.

The documentary is produced as a part of the year-long celebrations organised by the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in connection with the 100th birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, 60 years of India's independence and 150 years of the great upheaval of 1857.

Many eminent personalities like Dr. Karan Singh, Zohra Sehgal, Mridula Mukherjee, Rahul Bose, Gauhar Raza, Shabnam Hashmi, Swami Agnivesh were present on this occasion.

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The event was hosted by Mr. Atul Maroo of M/s Shemaroo Entertainment in association with M/s JMD Limited and Hospitality Partner Hotel Crown Plaza. Shilpa Shetty says "It's a management system for life and it is the most holistic approch to life that I have ever come across. It strengthens, tones and cures. It works on body, mind and soul. Yoga has had a spectacular impact on my life ". Atul Maroo, Joint Managing Director, Shemaroo Entertainment states, "A title like yoga sounds ancient; yet the way 'Shilpa's Yoga' is filmed is mind blowing moreover Shilpa has added an aesthetic touch to it with her genuine belief in yoga. We at Shemaroo are really proud to be associated with this lifestyle product". This DVD is an introduction to 'dynamic free-flow' yoga practice by Shilpa Shetty. It is inclusive of various chapters - to begin with is an introduction by the renowned actress Shilpa herself.

The introduction is followed with 'Asanas [Postures]' like 'Back Asanas', 'Stomach Asanas', 'Standing Asanas', 'Sitting Asanas', 'Neck and Shoulder Asanas' and Pranayam [Breathing]. This running time of over 60 minutes approx. The VCD's are launched in Hindi & English priced at Rs 99/- & Rs 149/- respectively. The DVD is priced at Rs. 299/- and it also has a bonus Audio CD of Shilpa's Lounge Music along with bonus features that includes 'Music Video' 'behind the scenes' , 'stills', 'bloopers', '15 minutes quick fix' and but off course a tete-tete with Shilpa Shetty. Shilpa's Yoga can also be accessed from your mobile phone. Videos of each individual Asana & Images of the Asana are available across all operators. Some operators are also carrying a step by step of the Asana. Shilpa's Yoga Mobile downloads are also available on http://wap.shemaroo.com. 'Shilpa's Yoga' will serve as a perfect gift for your well wishers and all your loved ones & also help you stay fit too. For further information and Video Review contact: Madhuri Gada - Alternative Content Tel (Dir): 4031 9726, Email:madhuri@shemaroo.com Sunita Nair - PR & Corporate Communications, Tel (Dir): 4031 9757, Email: sunita@shemaroo.com

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Digital Vision, the premier supplier of picture enhancement systems for film and television post-production, announced today that it has appointed leading Indian technology reseller, Real Image Media Technologies, to sell, support and distribute its full range of products. This exclusive arrangement will expand Digital Vision’s market in this important region and build upon its current relationships with key Indian post production facilities EFX, Filmlab and Shemaroo.

With a network of offices and training centres in India, Real Image was instrumental in the introduction of digital non-linear editing with Avid and digital cinema sound, through DTS, in India, and has a reputation for partnering with the most innovative products and companies.

Raja Enok, Chief Marketing Officer - Real Image comments; “Having distributed Avid in India for well over a decade, and pioneering digital cinema in the country, Real Image is focused on providing its wide customer base a seamless workflow all the way from production, post-production to mastering, distribution, delivery, play back and archival in the digital domain. We believe Digital Vision has great products that are powerful for DI and restoration that enhance and facilitate this workflow. Digital Vision products will fill a certain niche and satisfy a pressing need of the Indian film industry.”

Simon Cuff, President and COO, Digital Vision adds; “Real Image has been pivotal in bringing leading technologies to the Indian market and has succeeded due to its experienced team and knowledge of film and broadcast workflows. We are therefore delighted that they have chosen to work with Digital Vision to offer their customers 4k and High Definition mastering and grading that produces the best possible pictures with unrivaled performance.”

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

About Digital Vision

Digital Vision provides innovative image restoration, enhancement, color correction and data conforming systems that major movie studios, television networks and post-production facilities use to master and deliver feature films, TV programs and commercials. The company’s Nucoda product line provides a strong suite of products for tapeless and non linear grading for HD broadcast and 2k/4k digital intermediate productions. The company’s award-winning products are a standard of the media and entertainment industry and are deployed at top facilities and broadcasters around the world.

Digital Vision AB was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with three wholly owned subsidiaries, Digital Vision (US) in Los Angeles, California; Digital Vision UK in London, England; and Digital Vision in Hong Kong, China. The company maintains its global presence through a network of qualified distributors. Digital Vision is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. For further information, go to www.digitalvision.se.

All trademarks used herein, whether recognized or not, are the properties of their respective companies.

About Real Image Media Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Real Image Media Technologies is a company with a focus on digital entertainment technology in the film, video and audio industries. The company was instrumental in the introduction of computer-based digital non-linear editing and digital cinema sound with its alliance with Avid Technology Inc. and DTS, Inc. respectively. It has successfully implemented large scale Avid solutions for several key broadcasters in India and is the unchallenged market leader in the broadcast arena.

Real Image’s expertise in the technology arena, coupled with its strong marketing skills and international presence has helped it explore several unique opportunities in markets worldwide though its recent initiatives, Qube Cinema and QMedia.

A finance agreement took place last week between Producer & Director Sanjay Khandelwal of Vijayshri Productions and Mr. Kishor D.vyas CEO of the Phenomenal Crafts. The film will be presented by Shri Suresh Sharma.

Mr. KIshore Vyas, CEO of Phenomenal Craft has said that we decided to present Vijayshri Productions Hindi film ROOH in initial stage. Mr. Sanjay Khandelwal and Adarsh Kumar of Vijayshri Productions said that our company’s experience of 35 years in films will make this association a great success. Mr Sanjay Khandelwal also state that the film will hit the screens world wide in second week of August 2008.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

In the recently concluded FICCI Frames, PWC has projected that the Indian Entertainment industry would be a Rs. 1 trillion industry by 2011 with a CAGR of 18%. If this growth is to be achieved or exceeded, skill sets with appropriate management capabilities would be needed, more so because of increased participation of corporate entities in media. Manipal Education, having identified a niche market is introducing this programme and has tied up with Whistling Woods International to provide the technical support and also conduct the industry internship and training.

The 2 year MBA Program in Media & Entertainment will have specialization in Film, Broadcasting, New and Interactive Media and Event Management. The first year of the Program would be conducted at the Manipal University campus in Bangalore, covering all General Management Subjects and Media Case Studies. And the second year of the Program will consists of ‘Hands On’ training at the Whistling Woods premises located at Film City, Mumbai. The MBA in Media & Entertainment will be granted by Manipal University on completion of the course.

Shri Subhash Ghai speaking on the occasion said, “We have admired the growth of Manipal Education and its contribution to education. We are happy that they are moving into higher technical areas that would support the kind of explosive growth in entertainment that the IT sector has shown in the last few decades. Whistling Woods International, which has partnered with major technology players globally, and enjoys goodwill in the industry, is pleased to offer value to the students through its industry programme while adding value to education offered by Manipal Education. We are looking forward to a meaningful association”.

Speaking on the occasion Anand Sudarshan, MD & CEO of Manipal Education said, ““The new generations of youngsters are looking for education in areas of high growth and opportunity, and Media offers both the scope for creative and managerial growth. We are confident that students would seek this opportunity to further their prospects. We are pleased with the industry tie-up offered through Whistling Woods International which is based in the heart of the Mumbai Film Industry

The course begins in July 2008 and admissions are open. Details are available on www.whistlingwoods.net and www.manipal.edu.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

About Whistling Woods International

Promoted by Subhash Ghai, Mukta Arts Ltd & Filmcity Mumbai, Whistling Woods International is Asia’s largest Film, Television, Animation and Media Arts institute. WWI provides world-class education in all technical and creative aspects of filmmaking and television through 2-year, full-time residential programs in 8 specialisations namely Acting, Animation, Business of Film & Television, Cinematography, Direction, Editing, Screenwriting & Sound.

The full-time faculty of Whistling Woods International is a body of academics and industry professionals(like Subhash Ghai, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajen Kothari, Anjum Rajabali, etc), with regular guest lectures by leading film-makers, actors & technicians (like Rakeysh Mehra, Vishal Bharadwaj, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Ashok Amritraj, Shyam Benegal, Madhuri Dixit, Govind Nihalani, Farah Khan, Makrand Deshpande, Suhasini Mulay, Neeta Lulla, Rajkumar Hirani, Nagesh Kukunoor, etc).

The curriculum is a unique hybrid of curriculums of several world-class film schools worldwide and Indian sensibilities of film-making. As part of the 2-year program, each student undergoes a 6-month ‘Foundation program’ in which each student learns and does ALL activities related to film-making. This enables the students to have a strong base or foundation in film-making in addition to mastery in their chosen specialisation.

Whistling Woods is also highly committed to ensuring that its students move out of the school into highly creative and rewarding areas of employment both in India and overseas. Placement partnerships have been initiated with several leading media organisations like Adlabs, Arab Media Group (UAE), Anirights Infomedia, Channel V, Mukta Arts Ltd, Percept Picture Company, Pixion, Prime Focus, Sony Entertainment Television, William Morris Agency (USA), Zee TV and several more.

WWIL has initiated affiliations with several international film schools. Some schools that we have finalised tie-ups with are Griffith College Australia, Seneca College Canada, The Norwegian Film Institute & Deakin College Australia. WWI is also in advanced talks with several top-tier film-schools from the USA, UK & Canada, with finalised agreements with these schools expected shortly.

All-in-all, WWI strongly marches towards becoming THE place for media education in Asia, if not the world.

About Manipal Education

Manipal Education is one of the largest education services providers from India. The group includes two universities, Manipal University & Sikkim Manipal University, and over 30 other institutions in India, besides colleges and university campuses in Antigua, Dubai, Malaysia and Nepal. Manipal Education currently has over 125,000 students from over 53 countries, of which about 25,000 students study at institutions and overseas campuses in India and abroad, while over 100,000 students undertake distance education, delivered using a blended approach including both satellite-based lectures and local coaching at 550 learning centres in India and overseas. Manipal Education also offers online testing and assessment for academic as well as corporate clients, and has recently launched professional education for service sectors like financial services, IT, media and retail.

Manipal Education recently partnered with ICICI a leading financial services group in establishing the ICICI Manipal Academy of Banking & Insurance. The academy is expected to expand the pool of industry ready resources and provide inclusive employment opportunity to capable, young graduates.

Manipal Education has several strategic investments in emerging companies, including - MeritTrac, India’s Largest Skills Assessment & Testing Company – a pioneer in this space in India, TutorVista, a leading online tutoring company and U21 Global, the world's premier online graduate school.

Manipal Education recently signed Anil Kumble, a leading international cricketer and the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team, as its Brand Ambassador. His academic and extra curricular achievements are mirrored in the values and vision of Manipal Education.

For Editorial details, please contact : pooja.rajpal@manipalu.com

After extensive planning between the technical teams of UTV and Real Image, a customized solution was worked out for the channel, and within a record installation time of two months, UTVi was launched at midnight on 26 April 2008. The channel boasts multiple Avid Interplay systems, Avid Media Composer Adrenaline systems, Avid Newscuters, iNews Journalist stations and an Avid DS Nitris system all running off the Avid Unity ISIS solutions. These solutions will offer enhanced productivity and efficiency for UTV through centralized management of media and database resources, universal desktop access to media, future-proof scalability for increased media growth and reduced infrastructure costs, by consolidating its Avid Unity ISIS and Interplay in a single centralized location.

“UTVi will be India’s most powerful, interactive news and information network. Choosing the right media technology partner was a strategic decision for us. We will connect real time news through multiple platforms like television, web and mobile. We are pleased that in Avid we have a technology partner to support our aspirations to offer a differentiated product in today’s highly competitive media market.” said Mr. Jagjit Siyan, Head Operations & Traffic, UTV News Ltd.

Speaking on the association, Raja Enok, Chief Marketing Officer of Real Image said, “It was very motivating to work with the highly skilled UTV team to develop a solution for the specific needs of UTVi. Their adeptness with the Avid product range enabled us to deliver the best mix of products for the channel.”

Mr. Siyan’s comprehensive knowledge of the domain, and experience garnered in working on several prestigious Broadcast projects has helped him achieve an engineering marvel with UTVi. It involved enormous amounts of schematic visualizing, planning and detailing combined with multitasking ability of managing round the clock installations at multiple locations and synchronizing complex systems within a few months!

In a remarkably short span of 4 months, all the Equipment was ordered, landed, installed and commissioned for Broadcasting. This included Equipment for 3 state of the art studios (2 in Mumbai, 1 in Delhi) the NRCS and all the various peripheral equipment required to start up a 24X7 TV Station (including Generators/UPS for Power Backups!) This also includes all Graphics, Wire Services and various financial data integration.

UTV currently broadcasts four satellite television channels: Bindass, Bindass movies, UTV movies and World Movies. UTV is building its network for UTVi around the unique Avid Unity ISIS system.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Real Image Media Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Real Image Media Technologies is a company with a focus on digital entertainment technology in the film, video and audio industries. The company was instrumental in the introduction of computer-based digital non-linear editing and digital cinema sound with its alliance with Avid Technology Inc. and DTS, Inc. respectively. It has successfully implemented large scale Avid solutions for several key broadcasters in India and is the unchallenged market leader in the broadcast arena.

Real Image’s expertise in the technology arena, coupled with its strong marketing skills and international presence has helped it explore several unique opportunities in markets worldwide though its recent initiatives, Qube Cinema and QMedia.

“We are excited and proud to be working with Soundarya Rajnikant who is extremely talented, has good insight into film making and knows the pulse of the southern market said Blaise Fernandes, Country Head for Warner Bros. Pictures India. “Given Soundarya and Ocher Studios creative skills combined with our marketing and distribution network this is a perfect synergy between the two companies to come together”.

“It is indeed a privilege for us to be associating with Warner Bros who are a world leader in the Entertainment Industry. Ocher Studios has always strived towards achieving high standards in quality content creation, and with Warner’s expertise in the marketing and distribution space this association will definitely create an impact in the film industry” says Soundarya Rajinikanth , MD Ocher Studios.

“We are thrilled with this opportunity to expand our Local Production business across all four southern languages by getting into a strategic alliance with Soundarya Rajnikant of Ocher Studios” says Richard J Fox, Executive Vice President, Warner Bros International “As is our practice we will work closely with our partners to impart our experiences and expertise in a collaborative way”.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

About Warner Bros:

Warner Bros., a fully integrated, broad-based entertainment company, is the global leader in the creation, production, distribution, licensing and marketing of all forms of entertainment and their related businesses. Warner Bros., a Time Warner Company, stands at the forefront of every aspect of the entertainment industry, from feature films to television, home video/DVD, animation, comic books, interactive entertainment and games, product and brand licensing, international cinemas and broadcasting.

Warner Bros. Pictures has been at the forefront of the motion picture industry since its inception and continues as a worldwide box office leader today. With some 30 offices around the world, Warner Bros. Pictures is also the leader in the distribution and marketing of feature films to the worldwide theatrical marketplace, releasing films to more than 175 territories. Warner Bros. Pictures is home to such recent world-renowned hit films as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 300 & I Am Legend.

About Ocher Studios:

Ocher Studios Pvt Ltd., came into existence in 2005 offering its services ranging from Visual Effects, Digital Film Lab, Non-Linear editing, CGI, and

Pre-Production. Ocher Studios, headquartered in Chennai, India with a present team of 80 people has executed around 150 visual effects, advertisement and animation projects.

Ocher Studio’s debut 3D feature film “Sultan the Warrior” being Directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth, is India’s most eagerly awaited movie starring Superstar Mr.Rajinikanth in an animated avatar which will be simultaneously released in 12 different world languages. The start point of this project has already been initiated with the release of two trailers and the 2nd theatrical promo with 1500 prints. The character modeling, texturing, visual effects, lighting, animation and rendering are all being done in-house. Ocher has ambitious plans to do many more animation movies, and also is in the process of expanding into Gaming and Programming.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES INTERNATIONAL is a global leader in the marketing and distribution of feature films, operating offices in more than 30 countries and releasing films in over 120 international territories, either directly to theaters or in conjunction with partner companies and co-ventures. 2006 marked the sixth consecutive year the Studio earned more than $1 billion overseas; WBPI has hit this benchmark eight times overall.

WBPI meets worldwide tastes and demands with a diverse mix of filmed entertainment produced primarily by Warner Bros. Pictures but also generated or co-financed by such entities as Warner Independent Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, Alcon Entertainment and New Line Cinema, among others.

Mr ManmohanShetty, founder & former CMD of Adlabs Films Ltd, is an angel investor & Chairman of iRock. Mr. Shetty said “I am very excited by the project slate of iRock and believe the company will soon create it’s own niche in the Indian film industry. The Indian film industry is in constant flux and an innovative content development approach is required to cater to the ever demanding Indian audiences”.

Founder & CEO, Sidhartha Jain added “I am very excited to have Mr. Shetty as amentor & investor in this company. It is a dream opportunity and provides us with a fantastic platform. We will be producing ‘visually exciting’ content and want to be known for specific kind of content. iRock will invest in development of ‘high-concept’ film content in live-action & animation for the Indian audiences. The focus will be on technology dependent content which will be rich in animation and visual effects. Care will be taken to ensure a wide 360 degree exploitation plan forall our intellectual properties. Currently we have an exciting slate of 8 projects, of which 2 are animation and 6 are live-action with VFX/animation”.

The 1st animated film is a sequel to & based on bollywood’s cult comedy “Andaz ApnaApna”. The new script is currently being developed & a renowned bollywood comedy director will soon be attached.

In the live-action-vfx slate, “Zudora” will go in production this year. The film is based on the popular book by the same name and is a fantasy-magical-adventureset in the mysterious world of “Zudora”. This too is a franchise property whichwill be exploited across mediums.

Apart from“Zudora”, there are a couple of VFX dependent films currently in development.One of them is a fantasy-magical-war film, of epic proportions set in a parallel world.

Comedy is another genre that iRock will focus on in live-action. They will be primarily in the mid-budget range and will introduce a couple of new directors.

Specific project announcements to be made shortly.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Frameboxx which started its operations in December 2007 has already established 28 centres in various parts of the country with major focus on preparing studio-ready animators through highly innovative curriculum. "Our focus is not to churn out animators, but truly creative artistes who understand the fine nuances of complete CG animations and visual effects," says Naveen Gupta, the founder Executive Director of Frameboxx.

The campus placement is a regular feature at Frameboxx with studios approaching it for picking up the best CG artistes, informed Naveen Gupta.

We have learnt more than mere software feels Mohammad Asheem Khan who has been selected from Chandigarh for rotoscopy work by Paprikaas, while Neha another city girl considers her selection in the same studio the result of the regular interaction with the various guest faculty comprising of film producers, professional photographers, lighting specialists, and theatre artists.

One of the major investment that Frameboxx has recently made is to set up world class studio facility worth Rs.1 crore at Mumbai in its exclusive incubation centre for which 50 top-class students from across the Frameboxx centres in India will be picked up for hands-on training on live projects, said Naveen Gupta.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Frameboxx Animation and Visual Effects Institute started its operations on 8th December 2007 with 11 centres in India. Frameboxx enjoys the backing of the leading animation studios and film production houses and would be offering various programmes including short term of 3-months duration and 2-years diploma programmes. Today it has already reached the mark of 23 centres and is carrying on with its crusade to reach out to maximum cities in the country. Recently Mr Manmohan Shetty, Adlabs founder, has invested Rs.32 crore in the venture which is headed by Mr Rajesh Turakhia and Mr Naveen Gupta.

“For the past four years, I've seen the enormous talent that the South Asian film community has to offer,” said Shilen Amin, SAIFF President. “This HBO-funded short film competition will help emerging South Asian filmmakers seeking a ‘break’ into the film industry. What better way to be recognized than by their peers, the New York City creative community and HBO.”

One winner, to be chosen from among five finalists, will receive a cash award of $2,500 from HBO. The completed short will also be considered for exhibition on the programming services of HBO!

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About SAIFF: The South Asian International Film Festival is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting established and emerging artists from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. With a focus on dynamic, visionary independent cinema, SAIFF aims to bring communities together to support these artists and unite in celebration of a common spirit. For more information, visit: www.saiff.org.

About HBO: Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television-programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., providing two 24-hour pay television services -- HBO and Cinemax -- to over 40 million U.S. subscribers. The services offer the most popular subscription video on demand products, HBO On Demand and Cinemax On Demand, as well as HBO on Broadband, HD feeds, and multiplex channels. Internationally, HBO's branded television networks, along with the subscription video on demand products HBO On Demand and HBO Mobile, bring HBO services to over 50 countries. HBO programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide. For more information, visit: www.HBO.com.

HBO®,The Sopranos®, and Sex and the City®are service marks of Home Box Office, Inc.

“SAIFF is definitely becoming an international destination for South Asian filmmakers,” said Manjri Srivastava, SAIFF Festival Director. “We have nurtured our audience over the past few years by bringing quality South Asian storytelling and filmmaking to the forefront. It is going to be an exciting week and we look forward to the next wave of emerging talent that will be discovered and recognized at the festival this year.”

In the last four years, the South Asian International Film Festival has surpassed all expectations with its track record of quality films and growing attendance. It has continued its mission to provide a spotlight on South Asian stories told from different points of views and regions and give them an opportunity to be heard and appreciated. SAIFF has provided audiences with opportunities to discover the most innovative work from today’s emerging South Asian independent filmmakers and will continue the tradition this year.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

1. BOMBAY HOUSEFULL ( a political humors satire with a love tale)

2. SHRINGAAR (a costume drama of ancient India)

3. EK CHHOTI SI LIFE (a love journey of an NRI)

4. DESH-BHAKT “The Patriot” (a flaming love for the nation in contemporary India)

5. MY MISS-TAKE (an obsession of a teenager for his class teacher – a juvenile crime thriller)

for the first movie the talented music director Vaishnav Devaa has been signed. The film will go on the floor very soon.

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X|Media|Lab is the internationally acclaimed think-tank and creative workshop for digital media professionals. X|Media|Lab brings together the world’s leading digital media practitioners, power-brokers, and innovators in a unique creative environment that helps local companies and project teams improve their own digital media ideas, get their products to market, and achieve commercial success.

International Mentors joining the trio of India’s Animation Powerbrokers include: Raman Hui, the Hong Kong director of Shrek the Third; Michael B. Johnson, the head of Moving Pictures at Pixar Studios; Duncan Brinsmead, the Principal Scientist for Maya software; Sue Erokan, Supervisor of Character Animation at Dreamworks; Masakazu Kubo, the Executive Producer of the Pokemon Film and TV Series; Nickson Fong, the Founder of Egg Story, Singapore’s animation success story; Dan Scott, the Head of Global Production, Nokia Games; Heather Kenyon, Formerly Director of Development, Original Animation, Cartoon Network,andTim Brooke-Hunt, the Head of Childrens Televison at Australia’s ABC.

China participants include a ‘who’s who’ of the China animation industry.

The “Wealth of Animation” Lab consists of one Keynote Conference day open to all animation industry professionals, followed by the closed-door two-day Lab where the international mentors will work one-on-one with the selected companies on their own animation creative ideas, business plans, and international contacts and partnerships.

Suzhou is one of China’s animation centers of excellence, and animation companies from across India are being invited to attend X|Media|Lab Suzhou to make contact with some of the best people from all over the world and forge exciting new partnerships with the booming animation industries of China.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

About X|Media|Lab (pronounced “cross media lab”)

X|Media|Lab is the internationally acclaimed think-tank and creative workshop for digital media professionals across the emerging digital media disciplines in computer games, animation, digital cinema, interactive content and entertainment, and mobile applications. X|Media|Lab brings together the world’s leading digital media practitioners, power-brokers, and innovators in a unique creative environment that helps companies and project teams improve their own digital media ideas, get their products to market, and achieve commercial success.

In 2008 X|Media|Lab will be held in Suzhou, Wellington, Seoul, Melbourne, Singapore,Shanghai, Mumbai and the Middle East.

X|Media|Lab was created in 2003 and has been held at the Sydney Opera House, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and Singapore's iconic National Library Board;as part of the Sydney Film Festival, the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Asia Media Festival,Broadcast Asia, and FICCI-Frames.

X|Media|Lab is proud to acknowledge our International Partnership with Nokia. Both X|Media|Lab and Nokia are “Connecting People”.

Director Sanjay Khandelwal canned 70% of shooting of Vijayshri Productions’

The World Of FASHION at different locations of Ramoji Fim City, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Next schedule will start from 17th April 2008. After this schedule entire shooting work will be completed and will be readied for June release. Producer – Sanjay Khandelwal & Adarsh Kumar; Story, screenplay & direction – Sanjay Khandelwal; Music – Vaishnav Devaa; Lyrics – Mumtaz Nikhat, Preeti Arora, Ram Govind; Choreographer – Bosco David; Cast – Amrita Prakash, Armaan Taahil, Ejaz Khan, Geitanjali, Kashish, Meghna, Preeti Soni, Raj Arora, Reema Ramchandani with Ashok Khullar, Mushtaq Khan, Kamal Mallick, Shahbaaz Khan, Sharwan Saxena (Nana) and Adarsh Kumar. It is co-produced by Shashi Sharma (fashion designer Kumar of Italy). Seema & Swati Khullar (USA) is the presenter of the film.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

The 12-minute film directed byParthibanShanmugamis based on the life of a war-torn soldier's daughter searching for her missing father.

At the end of the screening of 129 films from 38 countries, the jury, headed by Swapan Malik, Director of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata, The US film “A Pizza Story” by director-producer Parthiban Shanmugam bagged the Jury Award.

Czech Ambassador Hynek Kmonicek presented the winners with golden statuettes in the presence of renowned director Krishna Shah at a glittering function at Jawahar Kala Kendra here in the evening. A large number of film technicians, film makers and film lovers joined the function, which formed part of a cultural extravaganza on the occasion of the ongoing “Rajasthan Diwas” festivities.

A Pizza Story tells the story of a child’s understanding but the heart of a warrior, 8-year-old Eliana Jennen embarks alone on a courageous quest to find her father, Capt. Lance Jennen, stationed in Iraq.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Qube E-Cinema systems are already installed and functioning in over 500 screens across India and have been adopted by several key companies including E-City, Pyramid Saimira, Cinemeta Entertainment, Shree Venkatesh Films as well as numerous independent theatres in the country.

The security improvements are in two key areas:

The first improvement is in Qube’s E-Cinema security through incorporation of Thomson’s NexGuard Forensic Watermarking (FWM). This advanced system incorporates the serial number of the Qube E-Cinema system into the image in a totally invisible manner. Presently, secret but visible marks are being incorporated into the film prints by producers, as well as Real Image and other digital cinema players in the country, these marks have the major disadvantage of being visible and therefore easy for a pirate to identify and cover up in various ways. For example, if the serial number of the digital cinema system is shown as a visible number on the screen, this number could be blanked out by the pirate whenever it occurs. Alternatively, the picture could be framed in such a manner as to avoid showing this mark if it is in any of the edges of the image.

Now, Thomson’s FWM technology places totally invisible marks on the image which can be identified using Thomson’s detection system from any pirated copy that is found as a Video CD, DVD or Internet download. Being invisible, a pirate will not be able to cover up these marks and since Thomson’s technology is very robust, these marks will survive compression of the image into a Video CD, DVD or many forms of Internet download.

The second enhancement is in the concept of the Trusted Device List which allows only specific authorized devices to be used for projection. The output of all Qube E-Cinema servers is already encrypted using the HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) standard, and this serves as a basic form of protection. However, it is still possible to use a HDCP compatible monitor rather than a HDCP projector to screen the feature film and copy it in high quality by using a video camera. By utilizing the concept of the Trusted Device List, the Qube server will now only output picture to a specific projector unit that is authorized. Thus, all other HDCP monitors and any future illegal HDCP decoders will not function with the upgraded Qube system.

The source of any pirated copy can thus be conclusively identified and the offenders brought to book – saving the industry crores of losses every year. Being invisible also means that the movie viewer will not be distracted in any manner from enjoying the film.

Real Image believes strongly in intellectual property (IP), being a manufacturer of equipment that is based on our own unique IP. The Company began work on the Trusted Device List and Thomson FWM technology implementation early in 2007.

Says Co-founder and Director - RIMT, Senthil Kumar, “We believe that the rollout of these powerful new anti-piracy security features will ensure that we are able to prevent any illegal exploitation of content and can correctly identify any defaulters. This will be a big advantage for our huge industry that is facing tremendous losses due to illegal copies in the market. We look forward to the day, in the not too distant future, when films are released purely digitally and piracy is no more a threat.”

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

About Real Image Media Technologies

Real Image Media Technologies (RIMT), is India’s leading developer and provider of Digital Media Technology in the film, video and audio domains has pioneered several technological revolutions in the Industry over the last 20 years. Established in 1986, the company has been instrumental in bringing several key technology revolutions to the country. The first was computer-based digital non-linear editing in 1992 with Avid Technology that truly transformed our industry and changed the way Indian films and television programs are edited. The second revolution brought to India in 1995 was 6-track digital cinema sound with DTS. This technology helped revive the Indian film industry that was not doing very well at that time. With its Qube Cinema digital cinema system, Real Image entered the world stage and has systems installed in numerous countries around the world including the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, UK, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Malaysia and Korea. The company is unique in having taken Indian technology worldwide and competing successfully with some of the biggest names in the film industry. Qube cinema servers are the only servers from India that can play Hollywood content and among the handful worldwide that are DCI Compliant.

For further information contact:
Aarathi Edward Amrita Sadhu
Senior Executive – Corporate Communications Madison Public Relations, Mumbai
Real Image Media Technologies, Chennai +91 22 66548319
+91 99529 90169 +91 98196 22591
aarathi@realimage.com amrita@fort.madisonindia.com

Currently George is visiting several countries to promote gay ban legislation, He will be meeting The Pope at the Vatican and getting his blessings for his International tour. He will be visiting India, Pakistan, China and Iran. In India he will be meeting Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Indian Prime Minister and Law minister and Supreme Court Judges. He will give his formal support for Indian Penal code 377 and request them not to repeal the law.

Final leg of his tour ends in the Iran where homosexuals are gets capital punishment.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

"In today,s world of quick dissemination of information, its vital to be accessible to your fraternity & fans and well-wishers," said the Sauve Pravesh Rana who was a leading emcee in Delhi before he won the highly coveted title. "I am sure people would appreciate my simple, yet informative website which has been specially designed tomake it search engine friendly. It would also make it easier for agencies, film production houses & media outfits to reach out to me quickly," said Rana.

Pravesh is based in Mumbai for the last one year and has beengetting amazing response from the Indian fashion & film industry, whilst he prepares for the highly coveted Mr International contest to be held in China later this year.

www.praveshrana.com has been conceptualised and developed by leading brand promotions & events company-Brandsmith in association with its sister concern Eilix Network.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

With the lifting of ban for exchange of films between the two countries, the Pakistan Government has allowed it with a condition that films will be strictly ‘exchanged’. This is, for each Hindi title released in Pakistan, an Urdu film will have to be exhibited in India.

In 1968, the release of Indian films in Pakistani cinemas were banned and Pakistan lost one of its competitors. The net result was a loss of large business circuit and isolation of Pakistani cinema industry for years to come.

Khuda Kay Liye, Produced and Directed by Shoaib Mansoor, a film about Muslims in a post-9/11 world is slated to open in India on April 4, 2008, making it the first ever Pakistani film to be released in Indian theaters by Percept Picture Company and music by Sony BMG marking a new chapter in improving cultural and bilateral releations between the two countries.

Pakistan and India might have their long-held differences, but Pakistani moviegoers prefer the productions of India’s ‘’Bollywood’’ moviemakers to those of their own filmmakers. As a result, Pakistani producers say their industry is in critical condition, and unless the government steps in, it could disappear altogether.

The opening of dialogue and political doors to establish new ties and improve bilateral relations will promote cross border co-production possibilities that can hugely benefit Pakistani film industry by eyeing India as new potential market to launch its films.

Khuda Kay Liye, with India’s Naseeruddin Shah also in a prominent role, is the latest export from Pakistan to Bollywood adding on to the ever increasing list of entertainment goods imported from Pakistan such as singers musicians, actors and now films.

As compared to India’s film production of over 1000 movies in a year, Pakistan’s film industry produced just 40 movies in 2006, a fifth of what it turned out during its heyday in the 1970’s. Back then, there were more than 1,000 movie theaters throughout the country. Today, there are only around 200, and not one in the capital, Islamabad.

The main reason is that Pakistanis prefer films from their neighbour and rival, India, which higher production values than the Pakistani product.

In the 1930’s when Pakistan and India were still united under British Rule, there were two competing centers of the film industry. Lahore, in what is known as Lollywood in Pakistan, and Bombay, now known as Mumbai, the home of India’s fabulously successful ‘’Bollywood’’ filmmakers.

These days, of course, there is little question who won the competition. Bollywood is not just big, it is the world’s biggest, producing more films per year than any of its competitors including the United States. Its movies are slick and lavishly produced. It is hard for the Pakistanis to compete.

The thawing relations look set to go both ways and both countries are working hard on a sweeping peace process.

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Contact Director of the film: Mr Shoaib Mansoor in Pakistan at 00923018469495
Contact Distributor of the film: Percept Picture Company’s Mr Ashok Ahuja at 09819883030 (Mumbai)
For further information please contact Rahi Communications CEO Neeraj Gupta at : 9811143425

This time Parthiban taking a very daring bold look at the US invasion on Iraq through the 8 year old child. The film evolves with the father and daughter love and separation..When eight year - old Eliana's father is sent to Iraq, she learns that it's not only soldiers who go to war. When a family member is sent into foreign conflict, the entire family is put in harm's way. Along with her preganant mother, Eliana strudgles with her fear for her father's live as well as her fear of her family's disintegration. And against the backdrop of mounting casualities in Iraq, she searches for a way to preserveher family and bring her father home. Magical realism mixes with child 's magical thinking to force a crisis. When her father departed, he promised Eliana that the whole family would be reunited at the favorite restaurant. With a child's limited understanding but a warrior's heart, she sets out alone to find the restaurant. In the course of adventure, she faces the ltimate test for her courage and her love.

Staring: Robert Hatch,Madison Laprade, Janis Dunkal, Written by Parthiban Shanmugam, Bob Watson Jr,Editing: Ron Milestone, Original Score: Jeremy Doss, Sound Design: Daniel Montgomary, Director of Photography: Allan Facimore, Story, Produced & Directed by Parthiban Shanmugam

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

The film was produced by Vennila Films. http://www.vennilafilms.com

We wish to advise that these individuals are in no way connected with Warner Bros. Entertainment and that these activities are wholly fraudulent. Warner Bros. Entertainment is taking steps to investigate and deal with this fraudulent activity.

For your information, some of the fraudulent correspondence has been using this email address - infowarnerbros@yahoo.co.uk. This address is not connected in any way with Warner Bros.

We advise that you do not give any personal information to these individuals. If youbelieve that you have been subject to this fraud, we advise that you contact your local law enforcement authorities immediately. Please also feel free to forward any fraudulent correspondence you may receive to the following email address: Corporate.CommsEMEA@warnerbros.com. Warner Bros. will then pass on that correspondence to the appropriate law enforcement authorities for their action.

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WARNER BROS. PICTURES INTERNATIONAL is a global leader in the marketing and distribution of feature films, operating offices in more than 30 countries and releasing films in over 120 international territories, either directly to theaters or in conjunction with partner companies and co-ventures. 2006 marked the sixth consecutive year the Studio earned more than $1 billion overseas; WBPI has hit this benchmark eight times overall.

WBPI meets worldwide tastes and demands with a diverse mix of filmed entertainment produced primarily by Warner Bros. Pictures but also generated or co-financed by such entities as Warner Independent Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment, Village Roadshow Pictures, Alcon Entertainment and New Line Cinema, among others.

The film is a remake version of showman Subhash Ghai’s blockbuster hit, Karz, of 1980, in which most of the characters from the original version have even been retained in the new version also.

This Himesh Reshammiya starrer ‘Karzzzz’ has debutante Shweta Kumar opposite him in the lead role, who is the daughter of renowned producer and director Inder Kumar while other star cast includes Raj Babbar, Danny Denzongpa, Gulshan Grover, Bakhtiyar Irani, Urmila Matondkar and Rohini Hattangadi..

Besides acting and singing, Himesh Reshammiya is also responsible for scoring the quality music in the film.

The film, being produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar of T-Series, is based on the theme of reincarnation, in which Himesh Reshammiya will enact the role of Monty, a rock star, which was earlier played by Rishi Kapoor while well-known TV star Bakhtiyar Irani will be playing the role of Dr Dayal, a role earlier played by veteran actor Jalal Agha in the original version.

T-Series has bought the remake rights from Mukta Arts for the original film Karz, the original star cast of which was comprised of Rishi Kapoor, Jalal Agha, Raj Kiran, Tina Munim and Simi Garewal.

The story of the 1980 all time hit has been transposed from Ooty to certain foreign locations and in a totally modern idiom with the production budget of the remake version ranging between 250- 300 million rupees.

The remaining parts of the much talked about Karzzzz will be shot in Kenya and Mumbai. The team has an extensive shooting schedule till the end of March.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

MyToday Dailies, the world’s largest media-on-mobile has collaborated with ZipAZap.com, India’s largest online TV Guide service to sort, rate, and SMS the best movies to watch on TV (all channels) every evening at no cost to the user.

All users need to do is to sms START ENGMOV or START HINDIMOV to 098453 98453 and everyday they will get the update on the 3 best movies that are playing on the various channels. “We ran a pilot test within our existing base of around 3 million subscribers and are very happy with the response. All early signs gave us a thumbs-up from TV viewers across cable and DTH”, asserted Abhijit Saxena, CEO, MyToday Dailies. “Seeing the response, we are inclined to introduce more such value added services in the field of entertainment in the near future, through our new alliance with ZipAZap TV Program Guide”, he added.

Welcoming this initiative and reacting to its potential, Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said, “It’s a great idea, both for the entertainment industry and a great service to the consumers! Services like MyToday Alerts will drive viewership of movies on television and help the Industry”.

Research has shown that a multitude of viewers tend to forget when to watch what channel for their favorite movies and often end up missing telecasts. With ENGMOV/HINMOV SMS Alerts in their in-box, remembering will become easier and subscribers can also convert these sms alerts into reminders on their phones to watch their movie of choice.

Channels will find this a useful tool to attract the right audience and advertisers will benefit from increased viewership of their ads.

Film Producer Boney Kapoor says:

“The Satellite broadcast rights have become a vital portion of the revenue model for all producers, and services (like MyToday SMS) which help remind audiences of movies played on satellite channels only extends the greens. The greener, the better! I may even include usage of this service when I sell the rights of my movies to Channels”.

“While we have started with Movies, soon, this service will, on a daily basis, issue advisories on the best fare on TV across different programs including Sitcoms, Serials Reality and other programming. Soon these services will become ancillaries of the system with sms alert to viewers before the movie starts to garner viewership”, said Atul Phadnis, CEO and Chief Evangelist, MediaE2E. MediaE2E has conceived and launched ZipAZap TV Guide.

Selection of the best movies is based on the film’s popularity – both in the box-office as well as the traffic on ZipAZap.com. Recommendations will be matched with user feedback to ensure that the right choices are being given to the viewers.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

About MyToday

The brainchild of new-age technocrat, Rajesh Jain and his company Netcore Solutions, MyToday Dailies is the world’s largest Medium On Mobile (MOM) and a highly effective medium to communicate directly and instantly to literate audiences who are empowered with spending power. An interactive medium of communication, MyToday Dailies offers options like click-to-call, click-to-buy, click-to-SMS and click-to-URL making it a highly participative media vehicle, compared to conventional media which is suitable only for solicitation.

Started less than a year back, MyToday has garnered a subscriber base of about 3 million voluntary users, who subscribe to over 25 different channels of information. On an average, MyToday sends out over 8 million sms messages a day. The subscriber base is rapidly growing at around 15,000 new subscribers every day and is estimated to reach 10 million subscribers by year end. A simple and convenient Mass Medium to reach most geographical and demographic markets in India, MyToday operates different channels of information including News Alerts, Breaking News, Cricket Updates, Daily Jokes, Beauty Care, Star Sign Forecasts etc.

The interesting thing about the film, produced and directed by Shoaib Mansoor, is how it connects the happenings in three continents. Unlike the usual Indian and Pakistani films based on romantic sagas, dances and songs, this film is based on some very serious issues, raising a lot of controversial questions engaging the Muslim minds these days. It helps the Muslim youth find a direction … the right direction, for which all are looking towards.

The film’s themes include the role of muslim in Islam and the balance of Muslim values with moderate Western enlightenment.

Khuda Ke Liye (In The Name of God) has Pakistani actors Shaan and Iman Ali in the male and female leads, while India’s Naseeruddin Shah appears in a prominent role of a Muslim cleric.

This low-budget film, covering a vast canvas, stresses on the fact that it is more important to be a true Muslim at heart, than to just proclaim your faith by growing a beard, or by keeping your women in a veil (purdah) or wearing a kurta pyjama.

The story of film revolves around two young Muslim musician brothers. One is settled in the US and the other is being led by fundamentalists.

Audiences and art critics across Pakistan have loved this film, but the conservative religious clergy have criticized it severely. However, the movie has been well received by overseas Pakistanis.

Last year, the film was also screened at the Goa Film Festival and was hugely appreciated. Percept Picture Company is distributing the film in the Indian circles and the music is being released on Sony BMG.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Himmesh Reshammiya is playing the character reborn as a rock star. Shweta Kumar is the daughter of renowned director Inder Kumar

In the lavishly produced budget of Rs 250-Rs 300 million remake version, Himmesh Reshammiya will portray the role Rishi Kapoor and will also score a hattrick by acting, singing and composing the music for the eagerly awaited Karzzzz from the house of music giants and film producers Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar of T-Series.

The other star cast of this film, based on reincarnation as the theme like the original version, includes versatile actors Raj Babbar, Danny Denzongpa, Gulshan Grover, Urmila Matondkar and Rohini Hatangadi.

The team of the most talked about remake of the year Karzzzz has been recently shot at exhotic locations like the Emperors Palace, the Lagoon Beach etc., in Johannesburg and is now all set to go to Cape Town . Other parts of this magnum-opus will be shot at Kenya and Mumbai. The team has an extensive shooting schedule till the end of March.

T-Series has bought the remake rights from Mukta Arts for the original film ‘Karz’ directed by the great showman Subhash Ghai himself. The original film had a star cast of Rishi Kapoor, Tina Munim and above all Simi Garewal amongst others and was a blockbuster of the 80’s.

The story of this 1980 romantic thriller has been transposed from Ooty to certain foreign locations and is being made in a totally modern idiom.

Prior to the crew and team heading for Johannesburg, there was a puja at the premises of T-Series office to introduce the entire cast, where evergreen Rishi Kapoor himself and original creator Subhash Ghai were also present to share fond memories of the first version. Mr Bhushan Kumar, Mr Krishan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar, Tanya Kumar and Tulsi Kumar from T-Series also graced the occasion.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Catherine Ann Jones, an award winning playwright and screenwriter visited Marwah studios recently. Some of her award winning film include," The Christmas Wife" nominated for the best picture and best writing, "Unlikely Angel" , "Angel Passing" which went on to win fifteen awards in festivals all over the world. During her visit, the writer guided students of AAFT & ASMS on scriptwriting, narrated some of her works and taught them the art of writing. Taking everyone in her stride the writer even spoke to the faculty of AAFT & ASMS.

Sandeep Marwah thanked her for sharing her experience with young film makers and presented her with the life membership of International Film and Television Club of AAFT.Sandeep Marwah said,"Catherine has done a unique work in writing and her scripts are out of this world.We want her back in India to be part of our institution.Catherine was amased to note that Asian Academy Of Film And Television invites large nubmer of faculty from abroad and also make largest number of film productions with students.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Asian Academy Of Film And Television is the premier film and Televisionschool in India.It has been ranked as the first ten best film schools of the world.So far 5500 media students have been churned out of this institution hailing from 68 countries of the world.AAFT has designed 30 different media courses to suit to all those who want to get into media and entertainment world.AAFT is the first ISO cetified film school in the world.This is the only film institute which is backed and supported by Indian Film Industry,operating from a professional grade film studios and based in 100 acres 0f film city of Noida.AAFT is affiliated to International Film And Television Research Centre and International Film And Television Club and number Indian and foreign Universities.So far the institution has been bestowed upon more than 100 National and International Awads.