30 years of Parinda: Sony MAX2 to showcase the story behind the movie through the director’s lens

Sony MAX2 will take Bollywood fans on a trip down memory lane to mark 30 years of the super hit film – Parinda through a special showcase with Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra on November 03, 2019.

Three decades post its release, Parinda is still considered one of the most iconic movie of Indian Cinema and to celebrate this memorable journey, Sony MAX2 along with director Vidhu Vinod Chopra will enable fans to witness two stories simultaneously. One in the film and one behind it, straight from the man himself as he narrates some of his favorite moments, unheard stories and interesting trivia from his directorial masterpiece. 

The movie that first hit the screens on November 03, 1989 features Madhuri Dixit Nene, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff in the lead who were ably supported by Nana Patekar, Kader Khan and Suresh Oberoi, Late Tom Alter amongst others. Parinda is a story of two brothers Kishen (Jackie Shroff) and Karan (Anil Kapoor) who are caught on the different sides of a gang war.

The movie is also fondly remembered as one of Nana Patekar’s finest performances –one that won him a National Award for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The music for the film composed by the legendry R.D. Burman is still fresh in people’s minds with the Asha Bhosale and Suresh Wadkar duet - Tumse Milke Aisa Laga still considered as one of the most romantic Bollywood songs ever. With a gripping storyline and ahead-of-its time direction, Parinda went on to win several accolades that year including the Filmfare Award for Best Director for Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Comments:

Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Director – Parinda

“Parinda completes 30 years in 2019 but when you look back, one can’t imagine how this film was shot back then. Now-a-days making a movie has become easier thanks to technology but to think about making the movie of this scale 30 years back with such action sequences and some very well shot scenes within a miniscule budget was a challenge. The entire movie was made with a miniscule budget which was not great even 30 years back.”

Get ready for more such fun and candid stories with director Vinod Vinod Chopra in a special showcase during the telecast of Parinda on Sony MAX2 at 12 noon on November 03rd.

AsiaSpa India Awards 2019 Celebrates Responsible luxury

Bollywood stars and key opinion leaders from the spa, wellness and hospitality industries graced the red carpet for the latest edition of AsiaSpa India 2019 awards that took place at the ITC Grand Central in India’s entertainment capital, Mumbai on Wednesday, October 23. The glitzy event saw the best of the best winning big in all things spa, wellness, and fitness.

With this year’s focus revolving around the concept of responsible luxury, a sentiment shared by both AsiaSpa India and venue partner ITC Grand Central, this is the country’s first-ever (and biggest) readers’ choice wellness and spa awards that saw the crème de la crème of the industry, and the city’s high fliers got together to celebrate the winning brands, and personalities who best personify the brand.

Winners at the annual event included well-known celebrities like Kiara Advani, Rajkummar Rao, Aditi Rao Hydari and Dia Mirza among others. While Star of The Year went to Kiara Advani, actress and climate change activist Dia Mirza won Woman of Substance. Aditi Rao Hydari won AsiaSpa Star Personality of the Year, and Rajkummar Rao, riding high on his recent string of hits, won Game Changer of The Year. Nushrat Bharucha was the Beauty personality of the year.

The undoubted big winner of the night was ITC who bagged three awards in Best Indigenous Luxury Spa Chain, Best Hotel Spa India and Best Destination Spa, respectively. Bollywood’s favourite father-daughter duo Samir and Namrata Purohit won Best Health And Wellness Coach. The Oberoi Spa, The Oberoi Sukhvilas Spa Resort, New Chandigarh won Best Resort Spa (India). More than 65 winners were announced over 35 categories during the night that was seamlessly hosted by Mandira Bedi. 

About asiaSpa India Awards:

Created in 2005, AsiaSpa India awards honour the best of wellness. From spas to skincare and all things related to wellbeing, the awards are proud to commemorate the outstanding efforts of individuals and companies in driving the exceptional standard of Asian spas forward and to recognise the leaders in Asia’s dynamic wellness industry.

Actress Lopamudra gets mobbed by fans at the Taj Mahal

Lopamudra Raut recently paid visit to the Taj Mahal as she visited Agra to judge a pageant. Lopamudra’s sudden visit to the Taj Mahal created extreme excitement amongst the fans and the tourists present at the location who then ended up mobbing the actor for selfies and pictures. She had to make a move within few minutes of being there due to security reasons. Lopamudra was last seen in the web series The Verdict. 

She has been a hustler and it's time that she is getting her due. Lopamudra is an electrical engineer who has been a Miss India and international beauty pageant (Miss united continents winner), she also won many hearts during her stint at the reality tv and an actor now as she would also be making her big Bollywood debut soon. We tried to communicate with her about her your and this is what she had to say. “ the Taj Mahal is the most magnificent architecture ever existed. Every time I visit Taj Mahal it’s a whole new experience. People and the media there asked me what’s the difference between when I saw it last and now which is a span of 15 years now. I feel the damage we are doing to the environment, the pollution has affected one of the 7 wonders of the world so much that it’s turning yellow with every passing year which calls dire need for environment conservation. A little bit contribution on every individual’s end towards the environment will make a huge difference”

We love you Lopamudra and you are life goals to a whole lot of us.

Arjun Bijlani wins Godrej Professional Best Hair Award

The city hosted a rare blend of talent and beauty last Saturday at the Gold Awards, the television industry’s biggest annual event. Arjun Bijlani and Krishna Mukherjee, a famous Indian television duo were presented the Godrej Professional Best Hair Awards by Bhavna Kewalramani,Head of Marketing, Godrej Professional. Godrej Professional Best Hair Award – Male & Female was exclusively conceptualized by Godrej

Professional for Gold Awards 2019 to honour actors who are trend setters when it comes to hair style and care. Godrej professional is the first Indian hair professional range developed in partnership with the Indian hairdressing industry, tested and certified by the Salonists and Scientists alike. It’s product range consists of 21 stunning hair colour shades, shampoos, masks and styling serums. 

Arjun Bijlani who enjoys huge popularity amongst the masses, first rose to fame with Left Right Left and was last seen in Naagin, a fantasy drama series. He has not only been recognised for his exceptional acting skills but also accredited for his sense of style. Commenting on the award won, Arjun said, “Grooming for men has seen an evolution in the recent times. Today’s metrosexual men are no longer restricted to just their routine haircuts or beard trims but are also open to newer trends. From a man bun

to faux hawk, men are opting for bolder statement looks that resonate with their personality. Having said that, I am thrilled to have won the Best Hair Award by Godrej Professional at Gold Awards 2019. It’s great to know my efforts have been recognized by a home-grown brand that’s constantly working towards providing the best haircare, hair colour and styling solutions to Indians!”

The female recipient of the award, Krishna Mukherjee, widely recognised, as Aliya from Yeh Hai Mohabbatein has become a household name, ruling over the hearts of the Indian audience. She has been labelled as a fashionista of the television industry, often admired for her experimental looks. Humbled by the award, Krishna added, “My profession demands hair to be subjected to heat styling time and again in order to ace those on-screen looks. I am always on the look out for products that perform well and are customized to my hair type. This is my first award win and I am elated to have received it for Best Hair Award – Female, I dedicate this award to my mother for all the care she took of my mane growing up that have helped retain my lustre and look flawless at all times.”

Having completed 12 years in the television industry, the Gold Awards saw a star-studded evening,complete with glitz and glamour.

Shriya Pilgaonkar learns how to play the dhol for her role in Bhangra Paa Le

Shriya Pilgaonkar is known to go all out for every character she plays. The actress, who will next be seen in the dance-drama film Bhangra Paa Le with Sunny Kaushal, wanted to leave no stone unturned while prepping for the part.

Shriya is part of the film’s storyline which is set in a period era. Since the film is based on dance and music, She wanted to do complete justice to her character and make sure she is comfortable playing the dhol for the film.  She has gone the extra mile and learnt how to play the dhol as her character is a spirited young girl from the heartland of Punjab who loves music.

“It's always exciting to get opportunities where I can challenge myself and learn a new skill for a film. I wanted to be authentic with my portrayal of Nimmo, a Punjabi girl in the 1940's who loves music. We have a song in the film where I am playing the dhol and it was important for me to get absolutely comfortable playing it.  I really enjoyed the dhol practice sessions. I'm usually dancing to the music of the dhol, but this time around I learnt how to play it which was a lot of fun" says Shriya.

The actress has been part of films like FAN and gained critical acclaim for her performances in the web series  Mirzapur and Beecham House.

Bhangra Paa Le is directed by Sneha Taurani and produced under Ronnie Screwvala’s banner, RSVP. The film will release in theatres on November 1, 2019.

Marking its 27th Anniversary, Zee announces attractive Festive Bonanza Offer on its leading entertainment channels

With Zee Festive Bonanza Offer get more entertainment at a lower price. 

On completion of 27 years, ZEE the No. 1 television network of the country, announces a festive bonanza offer with great value on its leading channels. 

Consumers can opt for channels like Zee TV, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Kannada, Zee Telugu and Zee Sarthak at attractive value during the festive season. A la Carte pricing of these 6 channels reduced by 37% to Rs 12 per month#. 

This offer is in addition to the superb value offered through its attractive bouquets in different languages. 

The television industry has successfully managed to transition to the New Tariff Order (NTO) regime. Zee, as the leading television network of the country has collaborated extensively with industry players to ensure a smooth transition. To mark its 27th Anniversary, Zee has taken yet another consumer initiative, by announcing a Festive Bonanza Offer on its leading entertainment channels. As part of this festive offer, the a-la-carte price of Zee TV, Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada & Zee Sarthak have been reduced from the present Rs. 19# to Rs. 12# per month.   

The MRP regime has brought about a significant positive change in the television broadcast industry. The biggest change for consumers has been the freedom to choose their favourite TV channels and pay only for what they like to watch. In the new pricing regime, ZEE has been leading the change with customer-centric packs focused on affordability and greater value for consumers. As an industry first, ZEE launches an attractive Festive Bonanza Offer on the a la carte prices of several leading channels of the network in order to provide an opportunity to more and more consumers to enjoy the wholesome family entertainment.

During the transition phase, there have been a wide variety of questions in the minds of viewers. To address these queries, over the last few months ZEE initiated and anchored nation-wide initiatives to onboard Indian families into the new ecosystem and ease them into the new structure. These included multi-media multi-stakeholder communication initiative, ‘Channels Ka Chunaav 2019’ and the nationwide movement of ‘Lo Control Back’ to spread awareness of the viewer’s ability to choose in the new ecosystem, and further emphasize on their right to demand the channels of their choice from their operators.

Mr. Atul Das, Chief Revenue Officer – Affiliate Sales, ZEE said “Zee is the pioneer of Indian television industry. Starting with ‘Zee TV’ 27 years ago, and with addition of its strong regional language offerings over the years, Zee is today the No.1 Entertainment Network in the country. Zee further demonstrated its leadership by becoming the first major broadcaster to declare MRPs under the NTO regime, in August 2018. While there were teething issues during the initial phase of NTO transition, it has brought greater transparency across the television value chain.”

He further added “With the announcement of this amazing Festive Bonanza Offer, we have taken yet another initiative for providing greater value to our consumers. Under this offer, MRP of our leading entertainment channels are available at an attractive MRP of Rs 12# during the festive season. We believe that this will greatly enhance consumer engagement with our channels, across the country. We urge subscribers to take full benefit of the festive offer.”

Commenting on the initiative, Prathyusha Agarwal, Chief Marketing Officer, Zee Entertainment said “With the movement from low involvement bulk purchase to high involvement active unit purchase, the MRP regime is a great move for the consumer. ZEE with its strong channel brand and culturally rooted content has become an obvious first choice for viewers. We firmly believe that we have fundamentally great products and robust value offerings. As a broadcast network, our endeavor therefore is to make our channels more and more accessible to the maximum number of viewers across the country. This Festive Bonanza Offer would be an irresistible consumer delight and will go a long way in deepening consumer loyalty with the TV entertainment category.”

The festive season would also be accompanied by an exciting content line up of fiction and non-fiction shows, blockbuster movies and events across the ZEE network channels. To name a few - Movie Masti with Maniesh Paul, Dil Ye Ziddi hai & Zee Rishtey Awards on Zee TV, Zee Marathi awards & Lagnachi Wife Weddingchi Bayko on Zee Marathi, Zee Kutumbam Awards, Drama Juniors Season 5 & No.1 Kodalu on Zee Telugu, Jothe Jotheyalli, Zee Kutumba Awards & Uge Uge Mahadeshwara on Zee Kannada, WTPs like Shesh Theke Shuru, Kidnap & many more upcoming new fiction shows on Zee Bangla and Gruhalaxmi on Zee Sarthak.

ZEEL currently offers a total of 60 channels (43 SD and 17 HD) in 11 languages and reaches a total of 148 million households every day. The MRP price has been revised for the following channels, under the Festive Bonanza Offer.

Channel		Present MRP#		Promotional Scheme#
Zee TV		19		12
Zee Bangla		19		12
Zee Sarthak		19		12
Zee Marathi		19		12
Zee Telugu		19		12
Zee Kannada		19		12

Dish TV: d2h skill introduced on Amazon Alexa in India

With an aim to further enhance the TV viewing experience for its d2h customers, Dish TV India Limited, the world’s largest single-country DTH Company has launched a Skill for Amazon Alexa in India. Say, “Alexa, enable d2h” and start using the skill to explore a vast world of entertainment, discover movies, sports and music, using only your voice. 

d2h skill will allow subscribers to use voice commands through Alexa to surf a wide range of content and get  up-to-date information of their d2h account. With d2h skill, subscribers will be able to set reminders for their favorite programs, get recommendations on trending programs, access to d2h account details, register ‘call me’ request, do basic trouble shooting and lot more though Alexa enabled devices. 

Highlighting benefits of d2h skill for Alexa, Mr. Anil Dua, Executive Director & Group CEO, Dish TV India Limited, said, "Voice enabled search and information access is the cutting edge of home entertainment today. We are excited to bring the convenience of voice control with Alexa for our d2h customers. This launch reaffirms our commitment of always offering the latest and the most relevant technology to our d2h customers to make their viewing experience world class.” 

The d2h Alexa skill can be used by anyone with an Amazon Echo smart speaker or other devices such as headphones and speakers with Alexa built-in. The skill can also be accessed through the Alexa app available on iOS and Android. With more functionality and additional features in the pipeline, customers will be able to do much more through the d2h skill. 

"Using voice commands with Alexa to access entertainment and control smart home is like a magical experience. Many customers share that they enjoy the simplicity and ease of getting all kinds of entertainment, from videos, music to games, by just asking Alexa" said Dilip R.S., Country Manager for Alexa Skills and Voice Services, Amazon India. "The television is usually the centerpiece of common areas at home where families come together. We are extremely happy to see Dish TV India embrace voice technology for enriching the TV viewing experience with the d2h Alexa skill". 

Furthermore, d2h subscribers can link their account and access information such as current balance, switch-off date and monthly recharge amount, using a selection of prompts to initiate the Alexa skill for d2h. 

How it works:

●      Users can enable the d2h skill using the Alexa app

●      Users can then open the d2h skill for Alexa with a selection of prompts such as, "Alexa, launch d2h” or “Alexa, open d2h”

●      D2h skill for Alexa will provide information and assist in searching a specific program on a channel, or programs of interest playing on d2h at a particular time

●      Skill will provide recommendations on top movies, shows and sports by d2h

●      Users can also add reminder for a favorite program just by asking for it.

●      d2h subscribers can link their account with Alexa to access information such as balance, switch-off date, and monthly recharge amount

●      d2h subscribers can also raise a call-me request through Alexa or do basic troubleshooting through the d2h skill. 

Here are examples of the questions you can ask Alexa 

Discover Content 

·       “Alexa, ask d2h what is playing on Zee Café?”

·       “Alexa, ask d2h what time is “Modern Family” scheduled today?”

·       “Alexa, ask d2h what are the top (movie/sports/tv shows) of the day?”

·       “Alexa, ask d2h to remind me when FRIENDS is playing?”·       

Account Status 

·       “Alexa, ask d2h what is my account balance?”

·       “Alexa, ask d2h when do I need to recharge my account?”

·       “Alexa, ask d2h to call me” 

About Dish TV India Limited: 

Dish TV India Limited is India’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) Company with a subscriber base of more than 23.9 million. Dish TV India Limited owns multiple individual brands like Dish TV, Zing and d2h under its umbrella. The company benefits from multiple satellite platforms including SES-8, GSAT-15 and ST-2 and has a bandwidth capacity of 1332 MHz, the largest held by any DTH player in the country. Dish TV India Limited has on its platform more than 701 channels & services including 31 audio channels and 71 HD channels & services. The Company has a vast distribution network of over 3,700 distributors & around 409,000 dealers that span across 9,400 towns in the country. Dish TV India Limited is connected with its pan-India customer base through call-centres that are spread across 22 cities and are equipped to handle customer queries 24X7 in 12 different languages. For more information on the Company, please visit www.dishtv.in

Sony MAX celebrates 20 glorious years of showcasing Indian Cinema with some of Bollywood's most cherished blockbusters

Sony MAX, India’s premium No. 1 Hindi movie channel is all set to enthrall Bollywood fans with the ‘20-20 Film Festival’ offering a festive bouquet of some of India’s biggest movies. The ‘20-20 Film Festival’ is a part of Sony MAX’s 20th anniversary celebrations and will showcase some of Bollywood’s most cherished blockbuster till 25th October 2019. 

Be it comedy, action or drama, Sony MAX’s ‘20-20 Film Festival’ has a fix for every kind of filmy craving with a robust line-up to keep every fan at the edge of their seat. During the course of the festival, Sony MAX’s prime time telecast at 8pm will see the World Television premiere of ‘Game Over’ along with top films like Baahubali, Tiger Zinda Hai, Sultan, Maari, PK amongst many others. 

Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store for the fans:

20-20 film festival
4-Oct – World Television Premier – Game Over
7-Oct	8-Oct	9-Oct	10-Oct	11-Oct
Son Of Satyamurty 2	Bahubali	Amar Akbar Anthony	Gajnikant	Theri
14-Oct	15-Oct	16-Oct	17-Oct	18-Oct
The Return of Rebel	Kanchana 3	Nela ticket	Yevadu	PK
21-Oct	22-Oct	23-Oct	24-Oct	25-Oct
Yevadu 2	Maari	Son Of Satyamurty	Sooryavansham	Sultan

Please note: -Titles are subject to change.