Ajay Vidyasagar, who had quit Star India as president, content and new media, is likely to join Sun TV as CEO. Vidyasagar was with Star for 14 years, beginning with ad sales and marketing and since then had played various roles, including commercial director at Channel [v], moving on to heading the regional channel when STAR acquired Vijay TV down South.
After this he became head of the marketing team of first Content and Communication, and later added New Media to his repertoire too. As New Media head, Vidyasagar had looked after the entire Internet business of STAR, while working closely with Fox Interactive in Los Angeles.
Friday, May 22, 2009
From small screen to big screen!
Today, TV is one of the most popular mediums of entertainment. Of late, theme-based reality shows on TV have attracted viewers' attention. Among the serial actors, anchors and comperes, we have our own favourites. But, after a stint in television, most actors look forward to making a debut in the big screen. For them, meaty roles in movies appeal as the next step of their career growth and rise to fame. The experience of having acted on TV offers these actors an definite advantage over newcomers who aspire to make a direct debut in movies. In case their movie careers do not bloom, TV actors can always return to their original area, namely TV. Here are two recent artists who have migrated from small to big screen.
Divyadarshini, popularly known as DD, is a much-loved anchor in the dance reality shows 'Jodi No. 1' and 'Boys & Girls' on Vijay TV. Her quick, on-the-spot comments and wisecracks are enjoyed by most viewers. She had acted in few movies but started to lent her voice even.. It was DD for Vega's dubbing in the thriller Saroja. Moreover, she is again dubbing for the same heroine (who appears as a typical village girl) in Nadodigal.
Next is the big screen debut of dancer-choroegrapher Satish. Though Satish has danced with his troupe in songs in Unnal Unnale and Vaaranam Aayiram, this step marks his entry as hero in Mudivilla Punnagai directed by Srikanth Ravichandran, associate of director Gautham Menon. All the very best, Satish and DD!
Divyadarshini, popularly known as DD, is a much-loved anchor in the dance reality shows 'Jodi No. 1' and 'Boys & Girls' on Vijay TV. Her quick, on-the-spot comments and wisecracks are enjoyed by most viewers. She had acted in few movies but started to lent her voice even.. It was DD for Vega's dubbing in the thriller Saroja. Moreover, she is again dubbing for the same heroine (who appears as a typical village girl) in Nadodigal.
Next is the big screen debut of dancer-choroegrapher Satish. Though Satish has danced with his troupe in songs in Unnal Unnale and Vaaranam Aayiram, this step marks his entry as hero in Mudivilla Punnagai directed by Srikanth Ravichandran, associate of director Gautham Menon. All the very best, Satish and DD!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Kolkata Knight Riders top the table here..
There is no stopping Shah Rukh Khan. Not even a dismal performance at the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the team that the Bollywood star owns, has been rated as the strongest IPL brand with a valuation of $22 million. Delhi Daredevils, owned by GMR Group, walks into the crease at the second spot with a brand valuation of $19 million, according to an evaluation by UK-based valuation company Intangible Business and MTI Consulting, an international strategy consultancy.
The "IPL Brand Value Scoreboard 2009" study, aimed at measuring the strengths of the eight IPL franchises, puts Chennai Super Kings (owned by India Cements) at the third place with $18 million, followed by Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai Indians at $17 million. Surprisingly, Rajasthan Royals, the champions of the inaugural edition and now out of IPL 2, is at the bottom of the heap with a brand value of $10 million. Says Intangible Business international director Richard Yoxon, "Winning games is not enough to build a successful sports brand. Teams need to engage the local community, attract star players who inspire a wide audience and develop a strong marketing communications programme."
The latest released study has pulled down the brand valuation of the IPL teams by almost half from a earlier report by UK-based brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance Plc. Though the KKR team was the most valuable showpiece, its brand value was put at $42.1 million by Brand Finance. This was followed by Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals (See table for comparison). Brand Finance had valued the IPL brand at $2 billion. The study was based on various revenue lines such as broadcasting, IPL sponsorship, team sponsorship, merchandising and gate receipts, the effect of performance, the catchment population of the city, the capacity of the stadium and the presence of iconic players.
So what was the methodology used by Intangible Business and MTI Consulting?
Explains MTI Consulting CEO Hilmy Cader, "Brand values are a reflection of a brand's ability to generate future income. It is a forward looking study that uses historic performance and future trends to predict future activity. 2008 publicly available sales data was gathered for each franchise. To determine the strength of the brands, each brand was scored on a series of attributes that underpin the power and reach of the each brand. These attributes are a mixture of hard measures and soft measures of brand strength sourced from publically available information and from a qualitative panel of cricket fans from each test playing nation. Using this data, each brand was then valued using the relief-from-royalty methodology."
A IndianTelevision News
The "IPL Brand Value Scoreboard 2009" study, aimed at measuring the strengths of the eight IPL franchises, puts Chennai Super Kings (owned by India Cements) at the third place with $18 million, followed by Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai Indians at $17 million. Surprisingly, Rajasthan Royals, the champions of the inaugural edition and now out of IPL 2, is at the bottom of the heap with a brand value of $10 million. Says Intangible Business international director Richard Yoxon, "Winning games is not enough to build a successful sports brand. Teams need to engage the local community, attract star players who inspire a wide audience and develop a strong marketing communications programme."
The latest released study has pulled down the brand valuation of the IPL teams by almost half from a earlier report by UK-based brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance Plc. Though the KKR team was the most valuable showpiece, its brand value was put at $42.1 million by Brand Finance. This was followed by Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals (See table for comparison). Brand Finance had valued the IPL brand at $2 billion. The study was based on various revenue lines such as broadcasting, IPL sponsorship, team sponsorship, merchandising and gate receipts, the effect of performance, the catchment population of the city, the capacity of the stadium and the presence of iconic players.
So what was the methodology used by Intangible Business and MTI Consulting?
Explains MTI Consulting CEO Hilmy Cader, "Brand values are a reflection of a brand's ability to generate future income. It is a forward looking study that uses historic performance and future trends to predict future activity. 2008 publicly available sales data was gathered for each franchise. To determine the strength of the brands, each brand was scored on a series of attributes that underpin the power and reach of the each brand. These attributes are a mixture of hard measures and soft measures of brand strength sourced from publically available information and from a qualitative panel of cricket fans from each test playing nation. Using this data, each brand was then valued using the relief-from-royalty methodology."
A IndianTelevision News
Its Shamitha-Shree wedding..
It will be Shamitha (Pandavar Bhoomi heroine) and Shree's wedding this week in Namma veetu kalyanam.. Shree, TV actor and also Son of popular composer Shankar. Cupid struck when the duo were acting in a Sivashakthi. Apart from this, Shree has aLso played prominent roles in teleserials that include Naanal, Rudhra and Mekala. The duo have met on the sets of the serial and following an enjoyable courtship, decided on tying the knot. The wedding was hurriedly arranged, and held in Hotel Accord Metropolitan, T Nagar, on April 30, 2009.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Cool Classical..
It was film classical round in the final episode of the grand fantabulous finals of Airtel Super Singer 2008.. the show had carnatic singer Sudha Raghunathan as the special guest.. having said classical who else would be a better option than her..
Ajeesh was the first contestant for the day to perform and his "paatum naane" was really good and he was very well appreciated for the same.. he was followed by Renu's "ezhu svarangalukul" was also good.. its been very rare we see Renu singing carnatic/classical song which is not her best.. Prasanna was the next contestant to perform and his "vanthal mahalakshmiye" was pretty entertaining.. he got good applause from the judge and crowd for this entertaining performance.
Ravi's "Isai thamizh nee seitha" was mindblowing and he got stand ovation from Srinivas and he really ROCKED the stage with his song. Finally it was Ranjani who got standing ovation from Sudha Raghunathan herself for her "mannavan vandaanadi" and being a difficult song she did really well.. With all saying that.. it was Ravi/Ranjani followed by Ajeesh, Prasanna and Renu in terms of performance for the day..
Ajeesh was the first contestant for the day to perform and his "paatum naane" was really good and he was very well appreciated for the same.. he was followed by Renu's "ezhu svarangalukul" was also good.. its been very rare we see Renu singing carnatic/classical song which is not her best.. Prasanna was the next contestant to perform and his "vanthal mahalakshmiye" was pretty entertaining.. he got good applause from the judge and crowd for this entertaining performance.
Ravi's "Isai thamizh nee seitha" was mindblowing and he got stand ovation from Srinivas and he really ROCKED the stage with his song. Finally it was Ranjani who got standing ovation from Sudha Raghunathan herself for her "mannavan vandaanadi" and being a difficult song she did really well.. With all saying that.. it was Ravi/Ranjani followed by Ajeesh, Prasanna and Renu in terms of performance for the day..
Your Vote Counts !!!
The elections have just gone by so what is all this about voting all over again. Well for all film buffs of Kollywood here comes Vijay Awards! This is the third consecutive year that Vijay TV is conducting this Awards function. In connection with this Vijay TV together with UniverCell is conducting a ballot where the film buffs can vote for their favorite actor, actress, favorite film, favorite director as well as their favorite song. You can also see a clip from the above mentioned categories before you cast your votes.
The best awards would go to 33 categories. Out of the 112 films that have been released last year the crème de la crème would receive the award. There is also a very strong jury behind this who would decide the winners. The jury consists of members who have excelled in their profession.
So how do you make your favorite hero/heroine a winner?
All you have to do is switch on your PC/laptop, log on to http://e.indiaglitz.com/vijayawards/ and cast your votes. Things cannot get easier than this. So folks don’t waste time. Just go to the above link and cast your votes NOW! IndiaGlitz is the official website for casting your votes and letting your favorite star bag the award!
KKK @ summer vacation ??
Kana Kaanum kaalangal is not being telecasted from day before.. the show is now replaced with Lollu sabha summer special for 30 minutes.. It is fine with the show is stopped for a while because it was very very boring for last 2 weeks with the show. I turned to the channel only to know whether its with old crew or new crew and if it is old crew i just changed the channel to see something else.. From this week its even stopped.. With the last auditions that took lace for kanavugal kaanum vayasachu I think they will pick ppl from there for next season..
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
What drives youngistan in endorsement deals ?
Recently, a screaming headline in a tabloid grabbed my attention. Out of work Sushmita Sen loses advertising deal to petite Asin. A sophisticated diva like Sushmita Sen, given the heave-ho, for a product she has been associated with for years Pantene, and replaced by pretty South Indian actress Asin, of Ghajini fame. Why, even Shah Rukh Khan, whose other name seemed to have been Pepsi Khan, dropped from Team Pepsi in their outing. Ditto for yesterday's queens like Ash Rai Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. On the cricket front too, similar tremors have been felt. Yesterday's icons Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, V. V. S. Laxman, even the sensational Sachin Tendulkar, have suffered anything between a meltdown to a slowdown.
It's the T-20 kids – M. S. Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, who are zooming centre-stage and replacing the old players in the endorsement sweepstakes. In Bollywood, new dazzlers rocking it include Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Asin, Genelia, Jiah Khan, Katrina Kaif, Imran Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padkone, even Farhan Akhtar. With half of our one billion population said to be under the age group of 25, marketers are indeed getting hot in the business of torpedoing this target base, all the way.
Is it working and what drives it ? Who better to kick-off this debate with the very person who founded and coined the ground-breaking term youngistan, which for Washington Post defines young India as also TV channels and political parties identifying the new India – Soumitra Karnik, creative head of JWT's Pepsi team. Karnik says, "Much as I am tempted to say that I suddenly dreamt it all up one stormy night – like fake directors or smart plagiarists. I didn't! Its just that, while reading up something, the words 'Young' and 'Hindustan' struck me as interesting cues for coining something new, fresh, simple along street-speak lines that would resonate with the target base. That's how it was really born." "If it captured popular imagination instantly, I guess its largely because it was red-hot topical, had the required bindaas tone to it and reflected the mood, colour and voice of today's most important segment-youth." Karnik says, who doesn't munch his words and packs in a solid punch when he says that today's marketers live in the here n' now and grab only what they believe will rock their product. Karnik continues to explains, "They are pretty much like fair-weather friends – and why not ? They have a job to do. If its not working, then its goodbye time. The new kids on the block, both in the Cricket and Bollywood arena, reflect this reality in dramatic fashion, right? The age of loyalty is over, boss. It is the age of Return on Investment (ROI)."
However, industry-watcher Ashish Kukreja chooses to rain on Karnik's parade. He reckons all this is "a bimari (a disease) and fad grabbing the new-age marketers, looking for a quick kill. It has no logic, focus or perspective. Its just a brainless follow-the-herd mentality. Where is the brand-fit ? Does a Yusuf Pathan or Praveen Kumar go with the profile of a Pepsi ?" Gullu Sen, vice-chairman and chief creative officer, Dentsu India, believes that Kukreja must have both his head and eyes examined immediately because he seems to be living in another planet. "Soumitra is spot-on. Youth is definitely in and the role-models for big buck celeb deals are selected completely on the basis of who's the flavour of the day. No question about that. It has to do with that segment the product is targeting and with the kids' universe getting more impatient, adventurous and promiscuous towards brand usage than ever, shifts in role-models take on critical dimensions," avers Sen. And L. K. Advani's visuals of pumping iron to attract the young voter, is further indication of the might of youth power, right ? At the end of the day, other aspects come into play too.
For one, there is a definite fatigue-factor when one single celeb endorses a brand forever, especially in today's impatient, novelty-driven times. Two, age does matter. Three, success is the key, which is explained by Dhoni's dynamic leadership and subsequent success strike-rate has, which got him endorsement to this staggering amount of Rs.300 crore. You can't have a poor run of scores, either in cricket or Bollywood, and expect the sponsors to keep pampering and batting for you. Nestle dropped Rani for South Indian actress, Trisha, who also, ironically, replaced Preity in the Scooty Pep Ads. The once-bubbly Zinta was also relieved of her endorsement with Perk, Lyril, BSNL and Santro. However, all is not lost for the likes of Ash, who was recently replaced by Katrina in the Nakshatra Diamond endorsement deal. The power of two, thanks to the humongous and insane curiosity, influence and impact that both Bollywood and cricket attract, ably-supported by media, is gaining huge momentum and so the John-Bips, Saif-Kareena, Ajay-Kajol, Ranbir-Deepika and Ash-Abhi combo can keep earning those big bucks, before another recession arrives.
A Televisionpoint News
It's the T-20 kids – M. S. Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, who are zooming centre-stage and replacing the old players in the endorsement sweepstakes. In Bollywood, new dazzlers rocking it include Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Asin, Genelia, Jiah Khan, Katrina Kaif, Imran Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padkone, even Farhan Akhtar. With half of our one billion population said to be under the age group of 25, marketers are indeed getting hot in the business of torpedoing this target base, all the way.
Is it working and what drives it ? Who better to kick-off this debate with the very person who founded and coined the ground-breaking term youngistan, which for Washington Post defines young India as also TV channels and political parties identifying the new India – Soumitra Karnik, creative head of JWT's Pepsi team. Karnik says, "Much as I am tempted to say that I suddenly dreamt it all up one stormy night – like fake directors or smart plagiarists. I didn't! Its just that, while reading up something, the words 'Young' and 'Hindustan' struck me as interesting cues for coining something new, fresh, simple along street-speak lines that would resonate with the target base. That's how it was really born." "If it captured popular imagination instantly, I guess its largely because it was red-hot topical, had the required bindaas tone to it and reflected the mood, colour and voice of today's most important segment-youth." Karnik says, who doesn't munch his words and packs in a solid punch when he says that today's marketers live in the here n' now and grab only what they believe will rock their product. Karnik continues to explains, "They are pretty much like fair-weather friends – and why not ? They have a job to do. If its not working, then its goodbye time. The new kids on the block, both in the Cricket and Bollywood arena, reflect this reality in dramatic fashion, right? The age of loyalty is over, boss. It is the age of Return on Investment (ROI)."
However, industry-watcher Ashish Kukreja chooses to rain on Karnik's parade. He reckons all this is "a bimari (a disease) and fad grabbing the new-age marketers, looking for a quick kill. It has no logic, focus or perspective. Its just a brainless follow-the-herd mentality. Where is the brand-fit ? Does a Yusuf Pathan or Praveen Kumar go with the profile of a Pepsi ?" Gullu Sen, vice-chairman and chief creative officer, Dentsu India, believes that Kukreja must have both his head and eyes examined immediately because he seems to be living in another planet. "Soumitra is spot-on. Youth is definitely in and the role-models for big buck celeb deals are selected completely on the basis of who's the flavour of the day. No question about that. It has to do with that segment the product is targeting and with the kids' universe getting more impatient, adventurous and promiscuous towards brand usage than ever, shifts in role-models take on critical dimensions," avers Sen. And L. K. Advani's visuals of pumping iron to attract the young voter, is further indication of the might of youth power, right ? At the end of the day, other aspects come into play too.
For one, there is a definite fatigue-factor when one single celeb endorses a brand forever, especially in today's impatient, novelty-driven times. Two, age does matter. Three, success is the key, which is explained by Dhoni's dynamic leadership and subsequent success strike-rate has, which got him endorsement to this staggering amount of Rs.300 crore. You can't have a poor run of scores, either in cricket or Bollywood, and expect the sponsors to keep pampering and batting for you. Nestle dropped Rani for South Indian actress, Trisha, who also, ironically, replaced Preity in the Scooty Pep Ads. The once-bubbly Zinta was also relieved of her endorsement with Perk, Lyril, BSNL and Santro. However, all is not lost for the likes of Ash, who was recently replaced by Katrina in the Nakshatra Diamond endorsement deal. The power of two, thanks to the humongous and insane curiosity, influence and impact that both Bollywood and cricket attract, ably-supported by media, is gaining huge momentum and so the John-Bips, Saif-Kareena, Ajay-Kajol, Ranbir-Deepika and Ash-Abhi combo can keep earning those big bucks, before another recession arrives.
A Televisionpoint News
Pasanga.. Eppudi ;)
There was a show on review/interview with Pasanga film crew last week in Vijay TV.. it was really fun to see the show itself.. they had put few scenes from the film Pasanga and that made to watch the film for sure.. I will go to the film soon.. the director Pandiaraj, producer Sasikumar and the kids who appeared in the film were also there.. the crew spoke about the problems that they faced during shooting and Sasikumar said the reason why he took up this film n funded it.. I guess the film is getting good reviews and doing good in box office even..
Interview With Akila - Leena (Rojakootam)
With different roles in three serials, Akila feels she has more scope to exhibit her acting skills. As a phobic in 'Sivashakthi' on Sun TV, and a sexually abused woman in 'Rojakootam' on Vijay TV, Akila chooses her project with utmost care. "People should relate with my characters easily and I want to do quality projects," opines Akila, whose first serial was Selvi.
"One of my friends was into acting and I wondered why I couldn't try and that’s how everything happened," says the 22-year-old artiste. "In Sivashakthi my character is entire ly different. I am so close to my parents, a caring wife but behave indifferently with my in-laws. So, I have to change my facial expressions accordingly," says Akila, who has also acted in films. "I get offers in films too. Recently, I acted in 'Thiruvannamalai' as Arjun's sister and also as Dhanush's sister in 'Polladhavan'," points out Akila, who along with her friend runs Ideas Seller, an event management company.
"I am talkative but I say something that makes sense. I observe people and adapt good qualities from them," she defines herself. "Serials like 'Malargal' and 'Bhandham' gave me a lot of scope for acting and people recognised me with those character names. I learnt different dimensions to acting through Bhandham,” she says. "I play a substantial role in 'Rojakootam'. It’s a story about five women and I am one of the women, Leena, living happily with her husband. For others in the apartment, Leena and Sanjay are an ideal couple but Leena has a hidden past. She had been sexually harassed and had been tortured and tormented in her childhood. She hides the past from her husband," briefs Akila about her character. She's also equally busy in modeling for ad films. "I'm not confined to one particular thing. Whatever projects come my way, I do that with dedication," says the confident girl.
Courtesy - Indian Express
"One of my friends was into acting and I wondered why I couldn't try and that’s how everything happened," says the 22-year-old artiste. "In Sivashakthi my character is entire ly different. I am so close to my parents, a caring wife but behave indifferently with my in-laws. So, I have to change my facial expressions accordingly," says Akila, who has also acted in films. "I get offers in films too. Recently, I acted in 'Thiruvannamalai' as Arjun's sister and also as Dhanush's sister in 'Polladhavan'," points out Akila, who along with her friend runs Ideas Seller, an event management company.
"I am talkative but I say something that makes sense. I observe people and adapt good qualities from them," she defines herself. "Serials like 'Malargal' and 'Bhandham' gave me a lot of scope for acting and people recognised me with those character names. I learnt different dimensions to acting through Bhandham,” she says. "I play a substantial role in 'Rojakootam'. It’s a story about five women and I am one of the women, Leena, living happily with her husband. For others in the apartment, Leena and Sanjay are an ideal couple but Leena has a hidden past. She had been sexually harassed and had been tortured and tormented in her childhood. She hides the past from her husband," briefs Akila about her character. She's also equally busy in modeling for ad films. "I'm not confined to one particular thing. Whatever projects come my way, I do that with dedication," says the confident girl.
Courtesy - Indian Express
Recall Round !!!
Its Recall round again in Vijay TV but now its with Amul's ungalil yaar adutha Prabhudeva show.. the show had already got 3 finalists.. Sherif, Premgopal and Nanda.. the show is supposed to have a wild card round where one more contestant will be selected for the final round.. but now there will be a recall round where 5 contestants will be selected.. These 5 who are selected will be competing in wild card round and on which there will be a contestant selected for the final round.. I donno why this show is even trying to extend the show for quite long time.. Actress Priyamani will be joining the show as special celebrity judge for the recall round..
Filmy Classical Round..
2mrw will be the final day of the Grand Fantabulous finals of Airtel Super Singer 2008 show.. and the show is all set with the top 5 contestants RAvi, Renu, Ajeesh, Ranjani and Prasanna performing very well.. with the final day 2mrw it will be Filmy classical round where the contestants will sing film classical songs and the show will have Carnatic singer Sudha Ragunathan as special guest..sterday the show had MS Viswanathan as special guest and today there was none as such in the show but with the carnatic/classical songs getting into the show it wis really a good choice to opt for Sudha Ragunathan in here.. Lets see how the contestants perform tomorrow..
Priyamani in UYAP..
This week in Amul's Ungalil yaar adutha Prabhudeva it will be actress Priyamani making an entry in the show.. she will be the special guest in the show which is all set to have a recall round.. Priyamani is always seen very glamorous/sexy in any shows/ceremonys and here even its the same.. she makes the entry in the channel with a bang..;)
Grand Final, Episode 2
Episode 2 of the finals of Airtel Super Singer 2008 was even better than yesterday's one.. the show started with Ravi singing "uyirile en uyirile" and was far better than sterday's performance.. then Ranjani followed him with "ulundhu vethakayile" from "Mudhalvan" and she is getting better and better with every performance.. Ajeesh was the star of the day with his "poi solla koodathu kadhali" and he was too goOd..
Renu followed him with "yengirundhu vandhaayada" and she was still nervous with her singing ;).. finally it was Prasanna to sing "piraye piraye" and it was very good performance from him.. I think today even it was Ajeesh who stealed the show with Ranjani, Prasanna followed by Ravi and Renu.. tomorrow's perforamnce will be really good i think.. lets see..
Renu followed him with "yengirundhu vandhaayada" and she was still nervous with her singing ;).. finally it was Prasanna to sing "piraye piraye" and it was very good performance from him.. I think today even it was Ajeesh who stealed the show with Ranjani, Prasanna followed by Ravi and Renu.. tomorrow's perforamnce will be really good i think.. lets see..
Not a child’s play to make children’s reality show
It might be very thrilling for parents to see their children tap their feet in style or sing beautifully on a television reality show. But seeing a child cry after being “eliminated” may be quite unpleasant. With reality shows having virtually displaced even popular mega serials on Tamil television channels to gain prime slots and increasing viewership, channels are trying to capitalise in this space.
According to K. Sriram, head of Vijay TV, it is no easy task to produce a children’s reality show. ‘Airtel Super Singer Junior’ and the ongoing ‘Chennai Super Kings Junior’ are among the channel’s reality shows featuring children. It is important to keep in mind their sensibilities, he says. “Children are extremely talented and it is very exciting to provide them a platform to exhibit their talents.” Asked how they dealt with the disappointment of children who do not make it to the following round, he says: “Initially they feel bad, but they are quick to recover and be okay with it. After all, competition is not something new to children. Even for a class test, children are graded. They know how to deal with it. In fact, a good number of them come back to participate in the season of the show.
Dance master Kala, director of ‘Odi Vilayadu Papa’ on Kalaignar TV, also feels children are way more professional than adults. “Even when they cry, it won’t last for more than a minute. They’ll soon get back to cheering their friends,” she says. After the incident of a teenager who was paralysed after being allegedly humiliated in a reality show, crews are beginning to take extra care, according to industry professionals. “We avoid terms like ‘elimination’ just so that we don’t hurt the child. We have erected a set of a ship and tell them playfully that they have to leave the ship now, but could come back another time,” Ms. Kala says.
On their talent, she says: “The speed at which they pick up new things and perform is unbelievable. Today, children are enormously talented. Hats off to them,” she adds. For some parents, this trend has meant pressure of another kind. “When I see children as old as mine doing so well on TV and gaining popularity, I feel why not send my child to one of these contests. But he doesn’t listen,” says R. Gowri, a parent of a seven-year-old boy. Doctors also emphasise the need for sensitivity while dealing with children, or the damage could be big. R. Sathianathan, director, Institute of Mental Health, says that competition is very important to motivate children. But the success of any competition lies in how healthy it is, he notes. “Unfortunately, in many of these shows, the goals are unrealistic, and parents, more than children, seem to take failure too seriously. This could harm the self-esteem of children. For one child to win, we can’t kill the ego of other children,” he says.
Courtesy - NewsTimes
According to K. Sriram, head of Vijay TV, it is no easy task to produce a children’s reality show. ‘Airtel Super Singer Junior’ and the ongoing ‘Chennai Super Kings Junior’ are among the channel’s reality shows featuring children. It is important to keep in mind their sensibilities, he says. “Children are extremely talented and it is very exciting to provide them a platform to exhibit their talents.” Asked how they dealt with the disappointment of children who do not make it to the following round, he says: “Initially they feel bad, but they are quick to recover and be okay with it. After all, competition is not something new to children. Even for a class test, children are graded. They know how to deal with it. In fact, a good number of them come back to participate in the season of the show.
Dance master Kala, director of ‘Odi Vilayadu Papa’ on Kalaignar TV, also feels children are way more professional than adults. “Even when they cry, it won’t last for more than a minute. They’ll soon get back to cheering their friends,” she says. After the incident of a teenager who was paralysed after being allegedly humiliated in a reality show, crews are beginning to take extra care, according to industry professionals. “We avoid terms like ‘elimination’ just so that we don’t hurt the child. We have erected a set of a ship and tell them playfully that they have to leave the ship now, but could come back another time,” Ms. Kala says.
On their talent, she says: “The speed at which they pick up new things and perform is unbelievable. Today, children are enormously talented. Hats off to them,” she adds. For some parents, this trend has meant pressure of another kind. “When I see children as old as mine doing so well on TV and gaining popularity, I feel why not send my child to one of these contests. But he doesn’t listen,” says R. Gowri, a parent of a seven-year-old boy. Doctors also emphasise the need for sensitivity while dealing with children, or the damage could be big. R. Sathianathan, director, Institute of Mental Health, says that competition is very important to motivate children. But the success of any competition lies in how healthy it is, he notes. “Unfortunately, in many of these shows, the goals are unrealistic, and parents, more than children, seem to take failure too seriously. This could harm the self-esteem of children. For one child to win, we can’t kill the ego of other children,” he says.
Courtesy - NewsTimes
Monday, May 18, 2009
Its Time to Vote
The third annual Univercell Vijay Awards has received over-whelming response form both the public and from the film fraternity. First week the Jury members – Prathap Pothan, Yugi Sethu, Madhan discussed about the various parameters in which they will be evaluating the Best categories for the films that were released in the year 2008.
On May 17, 2009 “Univercell Vijay Awards” featured Actress Sneha and Director Venkat Prabhu as special guests. They spoke on favorite categories like Director, Actor, Actress, Film and Song means to them. For all the fervent film viewers and crazy film fans, Vijay TV’s Univercell Vijay Awards provides a great chance to move closer to their favorites. The audiences were asked to describe their idea of favorite and a range of answers were thrown.
Director Venkat Prabhu shared his idea of “Favorite” where he speaks about how attracting a child would be more apt as the child grows up watching the stars films. Also Sneha agreed to the fact that favorite heroine is one who blends glamour with acting. The special guests together shared their view on Favorite Director; who gives complete entertainment keeping in mind the pulse of the viewers.
The nominees for the five Favorite categories – Hero, Heroine, Film, Director and Song were announced. we get a chance to cast vote for favorite stars -
Favorite Hero, Favorite Heroine, Favorite Film, Favorite Director and Favorite Song will be selected by the public and the voting for the Favorite categories is available on SMS and online
Voting Mechanism:
All mobile subscribers can just type “VA” and SMS to 57827. Viewers can also log onto www.indiaglitz.com/vijayawards and cast their vote for their favorite category.
Voting lines will be open from May 17, 2009, 3pm to May 24, 2009, 10pm.
Sneha, Venkat Prabhu..
Actress Sneha and director Venkat Prabhu were the special guest for the Vijay awards program sterday.. the show was started last week with introduction of the judges and now with the Rasigan express making way into all the cities of the state.. this show brings the experience of the public who voted for their best/favourite artists and also about some interviews about the award with celebrities.. Sneha and Venkat Prabhu were in the show with thier comments and answers to questions from Gopinath and their fans..
Grand Final Episode 1
First episode of the grand final of the Airtel Super Singer 2008 was very good.. almost all the 5 contestants were very good and I liked all of their's performances very much.. the show started with legend Ms Viswanathan coming into the show as special guest.. Renu started the show with "Naalai intha velai paarthu odi vaa" and was quite nervous start.. she was afraid with the final round and being the first contestant.. Prasanna was the next.. and I dont remember his song but he was quite good.. not bad at all..
Ajeesh was next and his perforamnce with "unnidam mayangugiren" was ROCKING.. and infact MSV sir asked him to sing again and his comments made Ajeesh as a Super Singer for a moment..Ranjani's "antha sivagami maganidam" was fantastic.. she was really very very good.. Finally it was Ravi's "then sindude vaanam" was also very good but was not good enough as Ranjani's or Ajeesh's performances..
M S Viswanathan will not be there for the rest of the show.. he said that all five were very good but his best was of Ranjani's, followed by Ajeesh's performance and followed by Ravi's.. so its going to be a very very tough competition.. get ready to vote for your favourite..
Ajeesh was next and his perforamnce with "unnidam mayangugiren" was ROCKING.. and infact MSV sir asked him to sing again and his comments made Ajeesh as a Super Singer for a moment..Ranjani's "antha sivagami maganidam" was fantastic.. she was really very very good.. Finally it was Ravi's "then sindude vaanam" was also very good but was not good enough as Ranjani's or Ajeesh's performances..
M S Viswanathan will not be there for the rest of the show.. he said that all five were very good but his best was of Ranjani's, followed by Ajeesh's performance and followed by Ravi's.. so its going to be a very very tough competition.. get ready to vote for your favourite..
Favourites...
Vijay Awards program that had just started in Vijay TV will have more episodes before the actual awards ceremony is being telecasted.. last week it was about the jurys of the award and what they think about selecting the winner from the nominations.. sterday teh show was about the favourite artists.. from favourite hero, heroine, song, director it was everything about favourites of the fans.. so.. watch out for your favourite artists..
Lawrence in UYAP, Sarvam team in KWA ???
With Lawrence making his appearance in the Koffee with Anu last week.. I think he might be the judge for the wild card round of Amul's Ungalil yaar adutha Prabhudeva show.. As we are seeing this Vijay TV makes use of the celebrities as much as they can.. I guess this would happen.. Even Sarvam team would be soon seen in Koffee with Anu program.. they were last seen in the Ungalil yaar adutha Prabhudeva show.. Also, Goa team of Sneha and VenkatPrabhu were seen in Vijay awards show as special guests.. its also to be noted that Venkat Prabhu had appeared for more times in Koffee with Anu until now.. ;)
Whats up with Miss Chennai & Chennai Man...
The preliminary round of Miss Chennai and Chennai Man was shown sterday in the Viba's Miss Chennai & Chennai Man 2009 contest.. the judges have shortlisted 18 men and 18 women who go to the next round of the contest.. the show is set to have final 12 men and 12 women who will be competing in the final round of the competition.. now its with 18 for both men/women... all of these participants are given training for their next rounds and further probably next week the top 12 from men and women will be chosen..
Grand Fantabulous Finals..
The grand finals of Airtel Super Singer 2008 had started today.. and the show is set to be very very entertaining for all of us.. this time it would be only the viewers vote that makes the decision for the winner of the Airtel Super Singer title for the year 2008..
Whos in Grand Finals -
Family Judges Srinivas, Unnikrishnan and Sujatha are still the judges also with voice trainer Ananth Vaidyanathan who is back after a break ;).. Yugendran and Malini anchoring the show and today's show had legend M S Viswanathan as special judge/guest in the show..
Whos in Grand Finals -
Family Judges Srinivas, Unnikrishnan and Sujatha are still the judges also with voice trainer Ananth Vaidyanathan who is back after a break ;).. Yugendran and Malini anchoring the show and today's show had legend M S Viswanathan as special judge/guest in the show..
Sunday, May 17, 2009
TRAI's policy on content rights for IPTV..
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will soon be coming out with a policy framework on content rights for IPTV. "The intellectual property rights issue regarding converting broadcasts into content for IPTV will be resolved in the near future in the best interest of all the parties concerned, assured Trai member RN Prabhakar. “The recommendations for converged networks that would provide consumers an access for different type of address vices on a single network will be announced soon and the spectrum for 3G, IPTV and other services would be settled very soon,” he added. Another issue which has been hampering the growth of IPTV in India is the encryption issue. "On the technological front, accessing IPTV facilities do not require broadband connectivity; the service can also be delivered over ADSL access on telephone wire," said Prabhakar, while speaking at the inaugural session of IPTV India 2009, 4th International Conference, organised by New Delhi-based BE Exposition.
Experts at the conference described IPTV as a “new age television experience in India” that could spread to 700 million people, a base far in excess of even mobile phone. Discussing “Strategic Challenges and Opportunities for the introduction of IPTV in India,” BE Exposition MD Shashidharan noted that IPTV in India is all set to unleash the potential of fundamentally transforming the experience of watching television by bring in two-way interactivity, storage of content and greater control over the television experience. “Service providers in India have realised the importance of shifting from voice-centric model to an IP centric model in which video and other content rich interactive services play an important role,” said Shashidharan.
UTStarcom MD India and South Asia Vijay Yadav said that IPTV would help reduce dependence on information via Internet as information on video could be reached out to the masses. While giving his key note address, Yadav said, “While IPTV will be one of the most important factors driving broadband in India, IPTV in itself will bring about a paradigm shift in the usage of television. From being just an entertainment device it will transfer into a information dissemination device and then to a productivity tool for the masses. With IPTV, the country is expected to the talked about digital divide by make available not just the entertainment content but also providing broadcast content with educative qualities”. In his address Prasar Bharati former engineer-in-chief LV Sharma said that IPTV’s challenge “is in competitiveness with other media like DTH and cable. “As a matter of fact, IPTV service providers should take up aggressive marketing and consumer education to promote the rapid spread of the service.”
Bharti Airtel VP Technical Puneet Garg said that the biggest challenge was not to monetize the interactive content that IPTV offered. “From push model, IPTV creates a pull model for consumers, which is a paradigm change.” Listing the problems in adopting IPTV, Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) president Rajesh Chharia called for more content in local languages. He felt that customers were not willing to invest in set-top-boxes especially in rural markets. With several different modes of service, convergent service was the need of the hour. The insistence that ISPs need to have a capital base of Rs 1 billion to provide IPTV service was restricting the service to only four or five players leaving out the ISPs at district and regional levels. Broadcasters were putting restrictions on the number of channels the IPTV service providers could give to consumers, due to unsolved IPR issues. IPTV service would lead to development of a “strategic eco system” covering other areas like m-commerce and e-commerce, more content development and aggregation of data. "These possibilities were under discussion with different ministries to enable IPTV to take off," said IPTV India Forum VP Prithipal Singh. Singh also expected that Commonwealth Games would be made available on mobile TV for which guidelines would be shortly available.
Courtesy - Indiantelevision
Experts at the conference described IPTV as a “new age television experience in India” that could spread to 700 million people, a base far in excess of even mobile phone. Discussing “Strategic Challenges and Opportunities for the introduction of IPTV in India,” BE Exposition MD Shashidharan noted that IPTV in India is all set to unleash the potential of fundamentally transforming the experience of watching television by bring in two-way interactivity, storage of content and greater control over the television experience. “Service providers in India have realised the importance of shifting from voice-centric model to an IP centric model in which video and other content rich interactive services play an important role,” said Shashidharan.
UTStarcom MD India and South Asia Vijay Yadav said that IPTV would help reduce dependence on information via Internet as information on video could be reached out to the masses. While giving his key note address, Yadav said, “While IPTV will be one of the most important factors driving broadband in India, IPTV in itself will bring about a paradigm shift in the usage of television. From being just an entertainment device it will transfer into a information dissemination device and then to a productivity tool for the masses. With IPTV, the country is expected to the talked about digital divide by make available not just the entertainment content but also providing broadcast content with educative qualities”. In his address Prasar Bharati former engineer-in-chief LV Sharma said that IPTV’s challenge “is in competitiveness with other media like DTH and cable. “As a matter of fact, IPTV service providers should take up aggressive marketing and consumer education to promote the rapid spread of the service.”
Bharti Airtel VP Technical Puneet Garg said that the biggest challenge was not to monetize the interactive content that IPTV offered. “From push model, IPTV creates a pull model for consumers, which is a paradigm change.” Listing the problems in adopting IPTV, Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) president Rajesh Chharia called for more content in local languages. He felt that customers were not willing to invest in set-top-boxes especially in rural markets. With several different modes of service, convergent service was the need of the hour. The insistence that ISPs need to have a capital base of Rs 1 billion to provide IPTV service was restricting the service to only four or five players leaving out the ISPs at district and regional levels. Broadcasters were putting restrictions on the number of channels the IPTV service providers could give to consumers, due to unsolved IPR issues. IPTV service would lead to development of a “strategic eco system” covering other areas like m-commerce and e-commerce, more content development and aggregation of data. "These possibilities were under discussion with different ministries to enable IPTV to take off," said IPTV India Forum VP Prithipal Singh. Singh also expected that Commonwealth Games would be made available on mobile TV for which guidelines would be shortly available.
Courtesy - Indiantelevision
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