11 April, 2015

Farah, Nawazuddin at Ritesh Batra’s workshop in Merwan Cafe -


As a part of his initiative to revive the Irani Cafes in Mumbai, Ritesh Batra’s production company Poetic License is doing a series of events at different Irani Cafes across the city. The first three sessions were at Koolar Cafe,Kyani cafe and Excelsior cafe.
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Says Nawazuddin Siddiqui, “In 1920′s there were many Irani cafes now there are only about 20-25 left. It is important to revive these cafes as they are Mumbai’s identity. If we don’t save them, the lovely environment of these cafes will die out. This initiative should surely help in reviving these cafes.”
Mr.Bomi Irani (Merwan cafe owner) was thrilled about the workshop, “Irani cafes are dwindling because no one wants to come here anymore. The children of cafe owners do not want to pursue this profession as they want to go abroad to get white collar jobs. This is the real situation which is sad. My niece Farah likes coming to my cafe off and on and loves our mawa cakes. I am positive that her coming forward for this new initiative will definitely make a difference to review Irani cafes”

07 April, 2015

WOMEN’s SPECIAL ISSUE - Print Edition of FILMY TOWN


2nd issue of Print Edition of Filmy Town - 

WOMEN’s SPECIAL ISSUE
- CHITRASHI RAWAT – Little Wonder in Bollywood
- BOLLYWOOD’s MOST CHARMING Women Ever
- SHAILENE WOODLEY – Hollywood’s Best young actress
and more…

25 March, 2015

India to be global entertainment superpower: FICCI-KPMG report

Speedy execution of policies; approvals for multiplexes, live events & film shoots will pave way for India to be global entertainment superpower: FICCI-KPMG report

MUMBAI, March 25, 2015.
India could well become a global entertainment superpower, provided key enablers such as flawless and timely execution of policies and  interventions at a local level like speeding up permissions for multiplexes, live events and film shoots are put in place by the government. For the Indian media and entertainment players it is imperative to have tailored content strategies for global, national and local audiences and a focus on building the relevant digital and physical touch points to enable easier and more open and interactive access, says the FICCI-KPMG  Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2015, titled ‘Shooting for the Stars’. The report was released here today at the inaugural session of FICCI FRAMES 2015.   The report notes that India’s significant consumer market base, and increasingly favourable macro-economic and regulatory environment have prompted several investors and global players to look to the Indian market for growth.   Their optimism stems from the fact that the building blocks for future growth have been put in place in 2014 – such as new spectrum for mobile, ongoing digitization in cable, consolidation in exhibition, and Phase III auctions for radio. With the advertising boost from the ICC cricket world cup, strong projections for economic growth and on the base of these building blocks, 2015 holds great promise for the industry.
2014 has been a turning point for the Media and Industry sector in India in many ways. Post general elections, with a stable government at the centre, business sentiment has been positive and bolstered by a number of growth promoting policy initiatives taken in the recent months. A benign external environment and the presence of a stable government prompted the Economic Survey to suggest that India has reached a sweet spot and could finally be launched on a double-digit medium-term growth trajectory. Top global institutes also have an upbeat view on India. Rating agency S&P called India the Asia-Pacific region’s bright spot while the International Monetary Fund revised up India’s growth forecast, expecting its growth rate to surpass China’s in 2016.
  The FICCI-KPMG report points out that in the media sector, digital media continued its rapid penetration, as indicated by the stupendous 44.5 per cent growth in digital advertising in 2014 over 2013. One of the major highlights in 2014 was the announcement of ‘Digital India – A programme to transform India into digital’ by the new Government at the Centre. India topped as the world’s fastest growing smartphone market. By the end of 2014, India had around 116 million internet enabled smartphones and the number is expected to reach 435 million by the year 2019. This growth presents a good opportunity for digital content aggregators, advertisers, app developers and online streaming companies to engage users through relevant mobile-led strategies.
- See more at: http://www.filmytown.com/india-global-entertainment-superpower-ficci-kpmg-report/