VARUN DHAWAN ON BOARD FOR THE HEADLINING ACT AT INDIA’S ULTIMATE COLLEGE FEST

CHANNEL V GETS READY WITH THE FIFTH EDITION OF MICROSOFT VFEST 2015’: INDIA’S BIGGEST YOUTH FESTIVAL

Registrations Open on vfest.in To Take Up The Challenge and ‘Beat The Best’

19^th  December 2014, Mumbai: India’s ultimate college festival is back! Channel V brings the 5^th edition of the largest Indian youth festival - Microsoft VFest 2015. Over the last few years the fest has earned immense popularity among youngsters, thus becoming an unmatched pan-India college festival. To represent the energetic vibe and effervescent spirit of the fest, Bollywood actor and heartthrob Varun Dhawan has been signed on for his strong youth connect. The young actor is confirmed as the headlining act for the festival this year, and will also be seen making an appearance on the official launch promo. TheMicrosoft VFest 2015 finale is scheduled to take place on the 13th & 14th February, 2015 in the country’s party capital - Goa. On air, the finale will play out on 7^th and 8^th March, 2015 only on Channel V. The title sponsor for the festival is Microsoft.

Initiated by India’s leading youth entertainment channel Channel V, VFest is a first of its kind pan India college festival. Undertaken to create a national level platform for students from all fields and turfs to congregate, the festival records the largest footfall as compared to any other college level fest in the country. To ensure maximum participation and benefit the best of talent-  VFest has no registration barriers in terms of fees for participants. As an all India talent pool, the youth festival provides students with life changing opportunities to grow their passion into promising careers. Students get a chance to showcase their talent across diverse fields of art, literature, music, sports, dance, theatre and more. Gratification includes internships, scholarships, prizes in cash & kind and dream-come-true career opportunities.

With the onset of its 5^th year, the extravaganza has been rebranded as VFest from its earlier title –Indiafest. This time round, youth from all over the country are invited to bring out the hero in them, as they compete against the best of the best. All aspiring participants can register on the official website of VFest- www.vfest.in for the event of their choice from December 2014 – January 2015. All registered entries from the website will be skewed and shortlisted by Channel V. The shortlisted participants will be invited to the VFest zonals, which will be carried out in 6 cities - Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad & Bengaluru. The Zonals will be held at the following venues- Pune Zonals at Singhdhad University on 19^th December, 2014, Delhi Zonals at Ansal University on 23rd January 2015, Kolkata Zonals at Calcutta Institute of Engineering on 23^rd January and Mumbai Zonals in the third week of January. All Zonal winners will qualify to compete at the VFest grand finale to be held in Goa. Bollywood actors, Sonakshi Sinha, Irrfan Khan and Arjun Kapoor are among confirmed names who are all set to perform at the zonals.

The finale, a two day extravaganza will be held in Baga grounds in North Goa. All India zonal winners will come together to compete for the much coveted VFest trophy. With over 30 events ranging from sports, art, literature to music, dance, theatre, fashion & more, the finale will be packed with competitions, workshops, seminars, student activities & engagements and performances by renowned artists.

Speaking on the event, Mr. Ajit Thakur, EVP and Business Head – Channel V said “VFest has brought us immense pride every year. Our country is thriving with young talent; however the avenues to showcase them are few and far between. Hence the fest was conceived with the aim of providing this energetic and ambitious section of society with an established platform. Year after year, it gives us great pleasure to provide a larger than life and much deserved opportunity to young individuals.VFest is in its fifth year now and the response has been overwhelming every year”

Commenting on the association with India’s biggest youth festival, Raghuvesh Sarup, Director - Marketing, Nokia India Sales Pvt. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobiles Oy), said, “India’s youth is energetic and brimming with talent; that talent needs to be recognized and given a platform to be showcased. Youngsters today have numerous ideas and even more ways to express them. Microsoft Mobiles has always tried to play the role of an enabler by empowering the youth to showcase their talent at the right platforms. VFest is a great platform with a successful history and a scale that connects the whole country. This association will help us be a part of another initiative that recognizes and promotes talent.“

Establishing itself as one of the most popular, attended and credible platforms, VFest has attracted not only college going youth but also sponsors who look to target the specific audience. In 2014, the event recorded over 60,000 foot fall for the grand finale and over 34,231 registered participants. Each year, the festival gets bigger and better, beating itself in terms of scale, grandeur, participation and footfall.

I don’t wish to restrict myself to be the quintessential Bollywood heroine: Rakhi Sawant

Basking on the glory of her successful stint in various films Rakhi Sawant gears up for her much liked portrayal of negative shades in soon-to-be-releasing film “Mumbai Can Dance Saalaa”

Rakhi Sawant has cemented her position in the industry is seen reveling her negative shades in “Mumbai Can Dance Saalaa”, a movie that shall mark the revival of dance bars and depict the story of Crorepati dance bar.

Broadening her horizon and exhibiting her acting skills in her next “Mumbai Can Dance Saalaa”, Rakhi proclaims, “As an actor I don’t wish to restrict myself to be the quintessential Bollywood heroine and get type casted. The character I am playing in the film is very strong and meaningful which has negative shades. I have never attempted that genre before, it’s the 1^st time I am challenging my credentials and playing a role which is very rarely attempted by the heroines. However I feel fortunate that such a role has come my way so without giving it any second thought I gave it a nod. Now I am just waiting for the response from the audience and the industry”.

Sajid Nadiadwala leading in the Forbes list of producers

Sajid Nadiadwala ranks second in the recently released a list of Top Bollywood producers of 2014 by Forbes Magazine.

The producer has had an exceptional year with back to back hits; 2 States, Highway, Heropanti and Kick.

Sajid also made his directorial debut with KICK and the film earned over Rs 200 crore at the box office, setting a new record.

All his films this year did extremely well and Sajid has been producing his films under the banner of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.

Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment entered its 60th year of operations this year and they have been constantly innovating with regards to the content that they have been investing in as well as the casting of their films.

Sajid has already worked with the likes of Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Tiger Shroff and more and more actors want to work with the super successful producer.

The production house has a very interesting line up next year.