ShortsTV launches in India with Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films on Tata Sky

Mumbai : Pioneering Partnership brings the best short films from India and around the world for Indian viewers

 

ShortsTV, the world’s first and only 24/7 TV channel dedicated to short films, was officially launched in India on Tuesday 27th November 2018 in Mumbai.

 

The service ‘Tata Sky ShortsTV’ is available to Tata Sky subscribers through their televisions and the Tata Sky Mobile App. The service features thousands of award-winning and premium titles from around the world, including Oscar nominated short films.

 

ShortsTV has also partnered with Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films to bring their catalogue of high-quality Indian shorts to TV screens for the first time.

 

The launch event was hosted by Mr. Carter Pilcher, Chief Executive of Shorts International Ltd (the owner of ShortsTV) and an Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) Member.

 

The special guests for the evening were Mr. Jon Bloom, Oscar nominated short film producer/director and current AMPAS Governor (Short Film and Feature Animation branch), and Ms. Kristina Reed, Oscar winning producer of the Disney animated short film, ‘Feast’. Both guests travelled to India from Los Angeles specially to attend the launch events.

 

In addition, the evening was graced by personalities and celebrities from the Indian film fraternity, including Radhika Apte, Rasika Duggal, Pooja Gor and Shweta Rohira.

 

The evening started with an interesting panel discussion on the short film industry in India and around the world. The panel consisted of Mr. Jon Bloom, Ms. Kristina Reed, Actress Rasika Duggal, Arun Unni (Chief Content Officer, Tata Sky) and it was moderated by Mr. Carter Pilcher.

 

The conversation started on how the market share and popularity of short films is growing. The discussion enveloped the importance of film festivals in a country and their prominence leading to films getting recognition internationally.

 

Mr Jon Bloom noted how no Indian film festivals are currently accredited by the Oscars, which means if an Indian film wins an award at a local film festival they are not automatically considered for an Oscar – the highest award in film. Mr Carter Pilcher emphasised ShortsTV’s goal of working with Indian short film festivals to get them recognised by the Oscars so that more Indian films can have the potential to win an Oscar in the future. Ms Rasika Duggal concluded the discussion by highlighting how new platforms like ShortsTV are also helping independent filmmakers reach wider audiences.

 

 

 

·         Feast, a 2015 Oscar-winning animated short from Disney.

·         Shunyata, a 23-minute short film from Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films, made by Indian director Chintan Sarda and starring celebrated actor Jackie Shroff.

·         The 11 O’Clock, nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the Academy Awards in 2018.

·         The Phone Call, starring Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) and winner of Best Live Action Short Film at the Academy Awards in 2015.

 

Why Anuj Khurana loves being part of Tujhse Hai Raabta!

Actor Anuj Khurana, who hails from Punjab who is seen as Vivek Deshmukh in Sonali and Amir Jaffar's Tujhse Hai Raabta, says that audience is loving his character. The actor says that his character has a lot of layers and he loves playing him. “I am so happy to be playing this character. I'm playing the younger son in Tujhse Hai Raabta. He is playing an obedient guy but he has some grey shades which will come later on. He has a thing in his mind that he wants to start something by himself but the family is not supportive,” he says.
 
He adds, “The best one is that that silence works at times as my character does not speak much. So, being in the scene and not doing anything yet making his presence felt is amazing.”
 
The actor loves the title of the show too. “It is a unique title and it is one of my favourite songs as well. As everyone is connected with each other in life so this show is all about that. The sister is connected with her brother in a different way,” he says.
 
Anuj loves working with Sonali and Amir Jaffer as well. “I have only met them twice till now, but they are kind, generous, cooperative. The best part about them is that they have always had a smile on their face,” he says.

BodyPower India Tour is BACK with a BANG!

Mumbai: Asia's largest fitness hub, BodyPower India is all set to take the Nation by storm with its National Tour starting this 6th December feature offerings that include the highly anticipated FITFACTOR INDIA (Zonal | National Championships) and the prestigious championship MR BODYPOWER BODYBUILDING SHOW.

Spread across 6 states and 9 action packed cities in India – Jaipur, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, the BodyPower India National Tour will feature some of the best-known Big Profile athletes such as the legendary Bodybuilder Kevin Levrone, celebrated IFBB PRO's  Jacob Sumana and Paul Poloczec, IFBB Bikini Diva Jagienska Kaminska, WBFF PRO Tom Coleman and WBFF PRO Marguerita to name a few, giving fans unprecedented, exclusive access…incredible stuff!

Since its launch in 2014, being the fitness hub of Asia, BodyPower India has attracted thousands of fitness enthusiasts, key buyers, distributors and manufacturers from all over Asia! The tour will showcase a dose of entertainment, motivation, education and inspiration. FITFACTOR INDIA would be the prime highlight, along with Mr. BodyPower Zonal Championship 2018.

Commenting on the occasion, Nick Orton, CEO, BodyPower said, “Whilst I may have started BodyPower in India by training Bollywood superstars, it was always my intension to take our inspirational message about the importance of staying fit and healthy, to everyman. After six years working in the country, I have seen a monster change in peoples attitude to fitness – now it reaches every corner of this great country, and I think that BodyPower has acted as a catalyst to drive that change, with our expo’s and events creating fever pitch levels of excitement amongst the youth in particular. This year’s BodyPower tour is full of excitement, challenges and top quality competitions! Visitors to the events will witness world class athletes performing in front of their eyes; they will get the chance to meet and talk to a plethora of fitness superstars and I will be the guest MC, talent spotting and having some fun along the way…prepare for the most widely anticipated tour ever to grace the country, you cannot fail to be motivated and inspired.”

 

Fitfactor India is the place where aspiring Indian fitness models can strut their stuff! The highly anticipated fitness model competition that has already taken the nation by storm, with hundreds of entrants taking part in regional casting for a chance to step on stage at BodyPower India 2019 in front of thousands of fitness fans. The show is judged 50% on physique, 50% on whether the competitor has the 'Fit Factor', so personality, presentation on stage, grooming, attractiveness and choice of outfits are all key to success.

This time Bodypower India has organized Fitfactor India contest at three levels:

·         The recently concluded Fitfactor Regional Championship ( 30+ Major Cities covered across India)

·         Fitfactor Zonal Championship ( North, South, East, West) starting 8th December’ 19

·         Fitfactor National Championship ( BodyPower Mumbai Expo 2019) in January’ 19

The judges are industry experts carefully chosen for their knowledge and ability to further enhance your career. Please note, that judges decision will be final for shortlisting the candidates. The competition begin with Regional Championship and to get to the next level there will be qualifying criteria and prizes for each level. The Fitfactor India overall winner will be entitled for attractive offers and Grand prizes.

Touted as the prestigious championship in BodyPower Expo Mumbai, Mr Bodypower National – 2019 is all set to host competitions in the following categories: Senior BodyBuilding Category, Classic BodyBuilding, Senior Men Physique Category, Women Bikini Fitness Models, Junior BodyBuilding Category (Upto Age 23years) Junior Men Physique Category (upto age 23year)

Mr. BodyPower national winners will be entitled to grand gratifications and prizes.

The judges are industry experts carefully chosen for their knowledge and ability to further enhance your career. Please note, that judges decision will be final for shortlisting the candidates.

Come join us as BodyPower India celebrates and encapsulates everything positive about fitness this December.

 

 

ABOUT BODYPOWER INDIA:

BodyPower India is Asia's largest sport, fitness, wellness and nutrition exhibition, set to attract over 50,000+ visitors in 2019, 11th-13th January celebrating its 6th Anniversary in India.

BodyPower India is the fitness hub of Asia, attracting thousands of fitness enthusiasts, key buyers, distributors and manufacturers from all over Asia!

Introducing the world’s Most Secured Communication Suite, ‘’DirectBaat’’

Mumbai. November 26, 2018: In a packed house of media persons and journalists at the Press Club Mumbai, former encounter cop Sachin Waze today unveiled the most secured communication suite on earth,’’DirectBaat’’ offering features including direct messaging, file sharing, audio-voice calls as well as video calls.

 

DirectBaat ensures optimum safety, enabling you to seamlessly share your data through your smartphones. The cutting-edge communication suite is the brainchild of Mr. Sachin Waze and Mr. Sanyog Shelar and has undergone rigorous security assessments and testing on multiple benchmarks.

 

The communication suite adheres to all applicable regulations in India and offers unprecedented security for common citizens who are eying a reliable and secure mode of communication and document sharing platform.

 

Harnessing end to end encryption, DirectBaat furnishes you with the confidence to message, talk, share files with colleagues and clients via a single state of the art application.

 

It is important to understand that unless you encrypt them your communications are not private. Every activity you perform over the web passes through a layer of servers before it reaches its destination. It could be intercepted midway and read at any point. Then endless possibilities of analysis of your conversation/communication and sharing further to various unknown vendors for various purposes.  This is where encryption comes into the picture for ensuring your privacy.

 

The End to End encryption leveraged by DirectBaat also ensures that no third party can comprehend the communication between you and your conversational DirectBaat partner. Furthermore, the dynamic generation of crypto-keys makes the decryption of the messages impossible, making it the most secured communication tool on the earth.

 

’’We have launched this application to build a real privacy environment for the citizens of our country. This application will help you to keep your privacy intact. Since DirectBaat operates on very secured and practically un-snoopable software and hardware platforms even we can’t read anything other than user’s registration information,’’ said Mr. Sachin Waze, Former Encounter Specialist, on behalf of SIGMA SSG and VNT. “It's a small contribution to India's step ahead towards creating a real sense and effect of 'Privacy' as well as marching towards a great feeling of un-snoopability which will result into confident communication." He further said.

 

The application is priced for ₹ 25,000 which is the costliest app on the earth. But on the request of a student Mr. Sachin Waze has reduced the pricing from ₹ 25,000 to an Introductory offer ₹ 500. It is till 31st December, 2018 that the most secured communication suit will be available in this price.

 

To further bolster the security and privacy of the platform users, DirectBaat ensures that no data of the users under any circumstances is stored on its servers. Guaranteeing a secured and fluidic conversation, it is the only solution for the large section of privacy-concerned individuals who need a communication medium which will have virtually no vulnerabilities related to privacy.

 

DirectBaat is available for download on Google Play store. The application post installation involves a brief registration process before you step into the world

Abhijet Raajput: Small Town Guy Living His Big Dream of Video Direction

On the sparkling highways of Music Video Direction & Fashion Photography, from the humble beginnings of those narrow streets of the small town of Aligarh (UP).
It is a dream that he would like to live every lifetime, says Abhijet Raajput, formally known as Mr. Raajput in the media industry.
 
Painting the story with the passing years of his life that can inspire many from small towns of India, who dream of making it big in Media and Fashion industry, yes where you come from doesn’t matter! What matters is your never say die attitude to achieve your ambitions, says Abhijet Raajput, giving us a brief narrative of his journey from Aligarh to Pune’s world of music videos and fashion photography. He is now all geared up for his next big leap - International music videos lined up for a release to test waters on the global music video circuit.
 
He says, more than dreaming, what it takes is to keep staring into the eyes of everyday obstacles and growing above it in a way that dealing with the challenges becomes a fun lifestyle.
 
It all started in the year 2008 with inquisition about the Punjabi music videos which he used to watch sitting at his house in ‘Sasni Gate’, a small locality in  Aligarh. Seeds of the dream to be someone shooting similar videos someday were perhaps sowed right there. There was something enthralling about the amalgamation of visuals with music, singing & performance of an artist telling a story, he shares.
 
He says, after realizing what you want to do, the bigger task is to take the next step of moving to the place where you can be around experts and learn the art. For him it was Pune. It wasn’t easy to make a move as there were a lot of insecurities attached with pursuing a career coupled with the family pressure, not believing that a career in such fields can make a good living & life.
 
He says that the kick start happened when his dad, a defense army personnel, was transferred to Pune. He then knew, that was his start point, Pune being close to Mumbai, ‘The City of Dreams & The Capital of Entertainment’  
 
He said, with the interest in making videos brimming under his belly, he started connecting with people from FTII - Film & Television Institute of India. this further fascinated him about making videos, with his newly developed relations and his passion to learn film making, in 2009, he got his opportunity and started assisting FTII directors. This helped him experience the live shoot sets to learn and acquire the technical know-how of the process of film making. Working under experts helped him to a great extent, he says.
 
 Pune in those days was coming up in a big way in fashion photography as a market, so he decided to give it a shot. He carried his work of fashion folios and went to the known fashion photographers of the city for work, but was refused as they believed his skills were not up to the mark.
As they say, sometimes setbacks direct you to the path you are destined be on! the same happened to him, when he, after those rejections decided to start shooting fashion folio as a freelancer. This marked the turning point which he refers to as the ‘Rise of The Phoenix” in the frame of his life.
He says, fashion photography which he undertook to get out of the low phase of his life turned into his profession as people started noticing and appreciating his work. One year of fashion folio shoots and the city of Pune was introduced to the success of Mr. Raajput, as he is known by all in Pune.
 
He says, his claim to fame in Pune was a calendar shoot in 2014 with some top international models of that time, from agencies like Toabh, Inega etc . That calendar shoot was noticed and taken well by pune’s media corporate and it led to more such shoots followed by magazine editorials, designer collection shoots with international top models and known brands.
 

That’s when he felt that he was now set to realize his dream of shooting music videos, which led to the shoot of the song ‘Kurban’ https://youtu.be/dI8njqOsrmI  by singer ‘T Jay’
Receiving a fair response and marking the beginning of his career as a Music Video Director.  The Kurban music video led to inquiries from the Punjab music industry, which in-turn introduced him to the well acclaimed Punjabi singer ‘ Sarthi K‘. The music video of the song ‘Nakhra’ https://youtu.be/PSXeTbOr4_s  happened, garnering a great response from viewers. The ball was now set in motion, leading to more of such work coming his way. Current viewership of his you tube videos is in the millions.
 

But the dreamer in him didn’t just want to stop there! He wanted to shoot videos of international scale and quality. His first attempt to inculcate the international feel in a Punjabi video can be seen in his music video of the song ‘Explain’ https://youtu.be/_QB9tmomeJw  with singers ‘T Jay’ & Mellow D and the song  ‘Love Struck’ https://youtu.be/A3_hzgnuvJs with singer ‘T Jay’. viewership of his you tube videos is in the millions.
 

It’s then that he realized that it was time and he needed to come up with more concepts independently and start working on them.
He has shot three international videos which are now in post-production and will release soon, potentially taking him to the big leagues!  
 
We can’t wait to see his next videos, and seeing how the story further enfolds! Wishing him all the best! 

https://youtu.be/A3_hzgnuvJs  

 https://youtu.be/dI8njqOsrmI

https://youtu.be/PSXeTbOr4_s  

Source: press release

Sabbas Joseph to address BeaWorld – international festival of events in Portugal

 

Sabbas Joseph, Co- Founder & Director, Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd, will be addressing the BeaWorld Festival of Events and Creativity in Coimbra, Portugal later this week, becoming the first Indian entrepreneur to take stage at this premium global event industry convention and awards.

 

Sabbas is recognized as a thought leader in the field of unconventional media and events. He is listed as the first Indian Speaker at BeaWorld, The International Festival of events and live communication to be held in Coimbra, Portugal from November 21st to 24th. Other international dignitaries include, Salvatore Sagone, Patrick Roubroeks, Jeannine Koch, Claudia van't Hullenaar, Maayke Konemann and Charles Bahr who will be sharing their valuable insights.

 

BeaWorld is a highly coveted networking platform for the international event community to share knowledge and opinions by the leaders and pioneers in the space. The occasion will be attended by the heads of leading event agencies, corporate directors, senior representatives of event associations and trade media from over 29 countries to exchange ideas on various subjects. 

 

At the international conference, Sabbas will share his thoughts on Globalization- a Blessing or Curse on November 23rd from 11:55 am - 12:25 pm. He has always endeavoured to look beyond and enlighten forums with his experience and expertise. He has shared ideas on strategic inputs stemming from his years of being in the media before co- founding Wizcraft International. Today he has also spearheaded and managed several mega events for the company, as well as lending his strategic foresight for some of the country’s biggest brand launches and corporate events. 

 

Sabbas Joseph, Co- Founder & Director, Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd shares, “It is an honour to accept this opportunity to be the first Indian speaker at the international networking event, BeaWorld. It is a great platform for everyone to share their thoughts on globally relevant topics and it is a matter of pride for me to be representing our country at a mega event of this stature. I look forward to sharing my views on the subject and exchanging ideas with my fellow counterparts”.

 

Wizcraft International is considered one of the biggest event agencies in the country having handled some of the biggest events in the country, Michael Jackson Live in concert, IIFA, Commonwealth Games to name a few.

         T3

 

ABOUT WIZCRAFT

 

Wizcraft is one of India’s leading COMMUNICATION & ENTERTAINMENT Company, integrating strategy, creativity and technology to provide unique experiences.

 

Wizcraft started as a dream of three very different, yet extremely enterprising men - Wiz Andre Timmins, Wiz Viraf Sarkari & Wiz Sabbas Joseph and today, has become a phenomenon in the event industry. They have tirelessly worked towards making Wizcraft, India’s leading communication and Entertainment Company and continue to do the same till date. Headquartered in Mumbai, Wizcraft has offices in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Vizag in India, with international liaison offices and associates across the world.

 

Wizcraft, with a depth of expertise in experiential marketing, boasts of having in its client portfolio more than 500 leading MNCs and corporate houses including Microsoft, IBM, Zee TV, Bacardi, Audi, Standard Chartered, Wipro, Redbull, Adidas and many more. Wizcraft’s in-house brands include IIFA, IIFA Utsavam & GiMA Awards. Wizcraft has successfully conceptualized, organized and executed large scale events such as the Opening and Closing ceremonies at the 19th Commonwealth Games, 50 years of Indian Independence Day Celebrations and Opening Ceremony at the Hannover Messe (2015).

 

Wizcraft is in the business of creating experiences and our staunch belief is that an event may be forgotten, but an experience will last a lifetime. Wizcraft, a pioneer in the events, exhibitions, activations, television, PR & digital space has been instrumental in shaping the event management industry in India.

 

Global March for Avni on Nov 11 by 168 organisations across five continents, Mumbai march at Worli

Over 168 International organisations across 5 continents, more than 30,000 people who have called in support of the movement and millions of people on social media have all expressed their anguish and solidarity to the cause, and the numbers are growing rapidly. There is absolute pain and concern for the cubs, anger and frustration against the officials for their apathy.

“Animal lovers are pouring in, in big numbers in various cities in India and globally to voice their protest against the killing of Avni and the irresponsible attitude of the Maharashtra Forest Department in not securing the cubs safely. There is now growing unrest and anxiety that it may perhaps be too little and too late to get them safely into a rescue centre.

The gathering will take place in Mumbai at the Worli Seaface when hundreds are expected to congregate to demand the resignation of Mr. Sudhir Mungantiwar for his lackadaisical handling of the situation, right from the declaration of Avni as a man-eater and all his irresponsible decisions leading to the predicament of her cubs, and everything in between, including the reasons behind the selling of forest land to corporate India and therefore the need to sanitise the forest. The original petitioners to the case are Dr. Sarita Subramaniam, Dr. P. V. Subramaniam.

Celebrities crusading for Avni like Rupali Ganguli, Jaya Bhattacharya, Ananth  Mahadevan, Priyanka Timmins, Kashmira Shah, Anusha Srinivasan Iyer among others held a press conference at Pawsitive Farm Sanctuary at Andheri, Mumbai to request the people to stand up for Avni’s cubs in the powers to be, to help find the two starving tiger cubs whose mother had been made pawn to power play. It was an unusual press conference for Avni’s cubs as 56 cats, 14 dogs and 5 humans came together for the same.

Actress Rupali Ganguly, known for her power-packed television performances, spoke of how two children were named man-eaters when their killed mother had not herself eaten for days.

Director Ananth Mahadevan expressed that the tigers were mere representatives of the state that our Earth is in, and the destructive direction that we are taking. Director Anusha Srinivasan Iyer, citing reports, spoke of Avni’s injuries in the shoulder blade, indicative of the direction she was heading, and the fact that she was not in attack mode. “Her post mortem reports revealed that she hadn’t eaten in days, and the fact that the doctors have cited that the darts were placed on the body of the tigress.  Her children are starving with her and after her death. We let a mother searching for food for her children be killed legally. It is shameful. We only think and react when it happens to our own; we forget that the Earth is as much our own,” she stated.

Bharat Sharma added, “We are invading the forests and calling animals, man-eaters. How is it justified?”

Felt Rupali Ganguly, “We would like the honourable Prime Minister to come out and speak for the cubs. It is time each Indian stands up as well.”

Avered Anusha, “There were candle-light marches for Avni and she is dead. Enough has been spoken. Avni’s children represent the future of animals and our own existence of Mother Earth. Let us get into action mode.”

Ananth Mahadevan has the final word, “The Earth always belonged to the animals. We were the last to come. Let us not be the first to wipe out the animal along with our humanity.”

The global protest venues are  India: Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Chennai, Udaipur, Kolkata, Surat, Ranthambore, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Goa, Vizag, Guwahati &Manipur, International: Zagreb, Croatia, Durban, South Africa, Perth, Australia, San Jose, California, USA, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Canada, Christchurch, New Zealand & Nepal.

Hopefully this unity, though late for Avni, can help save her little cubs. And thereby the forests and their inhabitants, who make our Mother Earth.

Teena Swayyam diwali party

Teena Swayyam's Diwali bash was graced by newly weds Yuvika-Prince!
 
Teena Swayyam  who produced Badho Bahu surely knows how to throw her parties well. She organised a special Diwali bash for her first Diwali at her den in Juhu, and all we can say is that it was one classy affair.
 
The Diwali Dhamaka party was attended by Swapna Wagmare with her daughter Sanhita. Arjun Baran, Trupti Toradmal. Others who were also part of celebration included Manish Raisinghan and Dipti Kalwani.
 
This was no ordinary party and Teena welcomed the newlywed couple Prince Narula and Yuvika Chaudhary with a bridal cake. The entire family was part of the celebration. Teena loves house parties and that personal touch is visible in all her parties.
 

LA VALLÉE DES COULEURS NATURE PARK MAURITIUS Where 23 Shades of Earth Wait to Welcome You!

La Vallée des Couleurs Nature Park in Mauritius is home to a unique geological feature - a landscape with 23 colours dating back millions of years following the eruption of the Bassin Blanc volcano. Discovery of the 23 shades of Earth in the Park in the late 1990s helped establish La Vallée Des Couleurs as an important destination for Eco-Tourism in Mauritius.

The 450-acre Park teems with indigenous flora and fauna that have made the Park their home, spread across the varied landscape - from mountains to valleys, plateaus to plains. Adding to this utopian yet real imagery, majestic waterfalls cascade into shimmering pools. 

With so much beauty to absorb, for the best views, tree-top heavens open up. A flight across the Vallée along the Park's 1.5 km long zip line - the 3rd longest in the World - promises a stunning bird’s-eye view. 

The Longest Nepalese Bridge in the Indian Ocean - suspended at 350 metres - offers a thrilling and completely secure skywalk. 

For more down-to-earth activities, there are plenty of quads and buggies to choose from for an adventurous drive along wooded paths to watch Nature come to life in all its glory.

It's no surprise that La Vallée Des Couleurs is a popular location. Not just for leisure but it’s also an in-demand choice for film and music video shoots, including the Siddharth Malhotra-Shraddha Kapoor starrer Ek Villain. 

La Vallée Des Couleurs is committed to creating lifelong joyful memories. Visitors can expect to enjoy the thrill of discovery around every corner of the Park which hopes to soon count itself amongst one of the World's best resorts and theme parks.

For more on 'La Vallée des Couleurs Nature Park, Mauritius’, log on to:

Website: https://www.lvdc.mu/en/home
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/Lavalleedescouleurs