Media Invite to cover musical homage to Shamshad Begum on Tuesday, 6th August, 2013 in Gurgaon

                Two Societies namely PECOBA and SAKHA are jointly organizing  a program of musical tribute to late playback singer Shamshad Begum who died on 23^rd April, 2013 at the age of 94. It is being held at Epicentre, Apparel House, Sector 44, Gurgaon on Tuesday, the 6^th Aug, 2013 from 7.30 pm sharp to 9.30 pm sharp
                    Born in Lahore in 1919, Shamshad was the oldest surviving playback singer of film industry. She was highest paid singer of her time and even Lata Mangeshkar has sung in chorus in  songs in which Shamshad Begum was the lead singer. To give an example, in the song “aji khushian manayen kyoon na ham, ham kisi se…” from film “Khidki (1948) which was set to music by C. Ramchander, the lead singer is Shamshad while Lata is singing in chorus. (Record of this song was issued by Columbia Company in their Record No. GE 8088). Shamshad was the recipient of Padma Bhushan Award in 2009.
                              In our program, one of the topmost singer of Northern India Simrat Chhabra and other top singers will be singing Shamshad’s solo and duet songs. The journey of her singing life from 1937 in Lahore to Bombay will be illustrated through slides and through recorded interviews of our compere Mamta Vani with persons of film industry like Kamini Kaushal, Tabassum, playback singer Meena Kapoor, Shamshad’s daughter Usha Ratra, wife of music director Husan Lal Mrs Nirmala, radio Ceylon announcer Gopal Sharma and others.
                            Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh (PEC) is one of the oldest colleges of India and was originally born in Lahore in 1921 .PECOBA is an Alumni Association of this College and was founded by 46 years ago in 1967. PECOBA has 10,000 members all round the world. Its alumni include Kalpana Chawla and Jaspal Bhatti.
          SAKHA is a premier cultural society of Delhi, founded 26 years ago in 1987. It is known for its pioneering contribution towards reviving and popularizing the golden period of Indian Film Music by organizing music competitions in memories of legendary singers like KL Saigal, Mukesh, Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar etc. A large number of singers first discovered by SAKHA through these music competitions are today playback singers in Mumbai, including Sonu Nigam who won Rafi competition in 1988.
.         This is the first program of musical homage to Shamshad Begum at the national level. In view of the national importance of this event, I request you to depute your person and camera team to cover the Function. General schedule of timing is given below:
 7.30 pm sharp to 8.20 pm……Songs of Shamshad Begum by Simrat Chhabra & other singers
8.21 pm to 8.40 pm…..Floral tribute to Shamshad Begum by dignitaries, release of website www.simratchhabra.com and distribution of SAKHA AWARDS. Awardees include Dr DR Saini, Principal Delhi Public School, Dr Rawail Singh, Secretary, Punjabi Academy, composers Mohinder Sarin & Chhote Lal. Consent from suspended IAS Officer Durga Shakti Nagpal is still awaited.
8.41 pm to 9.30 pm sharp….Songs of Shamshad continued. Program ends at 9.30 pm sharp

Bollywood'​s biggest iftaar bash on 6th

The ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA team is leaving no stone un-turned in its promotion and in capturing the strong Muslim flavour of the film.

A grand iftaar party has been organised at a suburban Mumbai hotel on the 6th of August, for which invitiations are going out to the biggest industry and non-industry names.

Says a source, “Many top-level politicians and government officials are expected at the bash."

“The iftaar daawat will be a huge celebration. Besides Ekta and Tusshar (Kapoor), Akshay (Kumar), Sonakshi (Sinha), Imran (Khan), Milan (Luthria, director), Shatruji (Shatrughan Sinha) and Jeetuji (Jeetendra) are extending personal invitations for the bash,” says Tanuj Garg, CEO, Balaji Motion Pictures.

As many as 400-500 guests are expected to attend the do, for which security has been beefed up.

A short qawwali performance by the Sabri Brothers has been planned and the décor will have an Arabic theme.

The food menu will comprise traditional Eid delicacies. “Dates will be served to break the roza. For dinner, there will be many Mughlai specialties served such as Handi Biryani and Kebabs,” adds the insider.

Coincidentally, Emraan Hashmi, who played the role of Shoaib in the original ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA, will also be present. A photo opp between the old and new Shoaibs will surely be among the highlights of the keenly awaited party! 

‘Bani - Ishq Da Kalma’ celebrates 100 episodes

 

Producer& creative director Raaj Shetty along with Writer/producer Damini Kanwal Shetty threw a party to celebrate completion of 100 episodes of their serial ‘Bani - Ishq Da Kalma’ on 2^nd August 2013. Along with Raaj Shetty, Damini Kanwal Shetty and director Nandita Mehra the actors present for the celebrations were Puneet Issar, Rita Bhaduri, Raaj Shetty, Shefali Sharma, Adhvik Mahajan, Neha Bagga, Gaurav Chaudhary, Ekta Singh, Navni Parihar and others.

It was a full out Punjabi get together where Punjabi dhol player welcomed each and every guest to the beats of their drums. A huge bani cake was cut by cast and crew and in the end all the crew members of ‘Bani-Ishq Da Kalma’ treated their actors and producers with a beautiful skit. “This is the most precious gift we have received. Inspite of hectic schedule, they took time out to rehearse. All are such good performers,” said Damini Kanwal Shetty. Adds Raj Shetty, “it’s definitely a proud moment for us. Show has received many pats on the back but this is all result of good team work.”

Kajal, Rana & Taapsee to walk for Jewelry designer Moni Agarwal from the city of Nizams at IIJW 2013

Royalty arrives to the city of dreams as the young talent from Hyderabad, Moni Agarwal is all set to showcase her exclusive designs at theIIJW 2013 on Monday, August 5th, 2013 at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. Kajal Agarwal, Rana Daggubatti and Taapsee Pannu will bedazzle the runway adorning her creations. Moni has rediscovered ‘Satlada’, a timeless piece of jewelry that she has further enhanced by using varied precious stones, making it every woman’s dream. Come witness the voyage that Satlada has made over centuries, and Moni’s jewelry designs will make it a memorable evening. 

About Moni Agarwal:

Moni Agarwal is a renowned jewelry designer based in Hyderabad, India. In her young career Moni has created a strong brand of 'classic with an avant-garde streak' jewels. Rana Daggubatti, Shriya Saran,Taapsee Pannu, and Diana Hayden among many other famous celebrities have walked the ramp for Moni. The designer’s biggest contribution to the world of fashion jewelry is revamping the classic ‘Satlada’ into a contemporary master piece. Moni Agarwal is also the name behind the esteemed Vogue School of Fashion in Hyderabad, India. 

About Kreative Access Media (www.kreativeaccessmedia.com):

Founded in 2004, Kreative Access Media is one of the largest and leading Indian Entertainment content providers, focused on Bollywood, Indian Fashion and Lifestyle content, to major firms across the US, Canada, UK and India. Kreative Access Media has successfully grown the business acrossmultiple media platforms like Television, Web, Publication and Mobile. Withtime, Kreative Access Media is expanding horizons and in addition to offering Digital Media Content Generation and Marketing expertise, it has also set up an Ad Agency, Production House, Event Management and PR, and a full-fledged Celebrity and Talent Management team.

The pre-Eid club track from ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA.....

Saving the best for the last, Balaji is set to launch the final chartbuster from the forthcoming Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara. 

Called Bismillah, the youth anthem which will feature in the film, has been picturised on Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan & Sonakshi Sinha, rendered by Anupam Amod (Pritam’s assistant) and written by Rajat Aroraa.
The club track will be unveiled next week, as part of the countdown to Eid.  
Recently shot on an elaborate 3 cr set erected at Film City and at a leading Mumbai nightclub which had to be recreated to give it the 80s’ ambience, Bismillah promises to set the dance floor ablaze. 
Says Ekta Kapoor, “We rejected more than twenty songs till Bismillah happened. We knew we had a winner on hand. It is THE track to celebrate the festive season that is at our doorstep.”
Says music honcho, Bhushan Kumar, “The response to the music of Once Upon…. has been absolutely overwhelming and Bismillah will take the craze to a new level.”