Gully Rapper Naezy Makes His Bollywood Debut With Bank Chor!

Mumbai’s hottest street rapper, Naezy aka Naved Shaikh, is making his Bollywood debut with Y-Films’ new film, Riteish Deshmukh-starrer Bank Chor. Naezy has dropped his distinctive rhymes on a first-of-its-kind epic rap battle, titled BC Rap Knockout: Mumbai vs Delhi, that is composed by Shameer Tandon and written by Varun Likhate. 

The rap-star, who is repped by One Digital Entertainment will face off with another rapper from Delhi in the rap battle. Naezy will also feature in its slick music video along with Riteish and Bank Chor lead actress, Rhea Chakraborty. 

Naezy is currently riding on a high as Ranveer Singh plays a character inspired by him and rapper DIVINE, in Zoya Akhtar’s upcoming film, Gully Boy. Known for his unique ‘gully’ style, he exploded on to the indie music scene in India in 2014 with a DIY music video of his song, ‘Aafat’, that went viral, and launched him in public consciousness as a voice and style to watch out for. 

The 23-year old is excited to introduce his Mumbaiyya rap in mainstream Bollywood with Bank Chor. He says, “Super stoked to jump on this battle rap song of Bank Chor for Y films and represent my city. They were looking for someone fresh and authentic and if it's about representing who else could do it better than a gully rapper! I'm honored to be involved in the music video as well. I'm looking forward to rock it, would be my first appearance as a Bollywood rapper. I'm full too excited! 

Says Shameer Tandon, “I have had a fantastic relationship with Y-Films so far through our Cannes award-winning project The 6-Pack Band. So doing a song for their new movie, Bank Chor, is an extension of the same spirit of doing something quirky and hatke. The rap battle has never been done in Bollywood, so it only made sense to have Mumbai's gully boy Naezy on it's.. aur usne macha di hai!” 

Ashish Patil, producer of Bank Chor and Head, Y-Films, says, “Bollywood has heard and loved Punjabi hip hop in the recent past but they have still not been introduced to Mumbai’s Gully style. Naezy’s rhymes have brought a street swag to our song, and we can’t wait to introduce him to Bollywood fans!”The track will be launched in the last week of May with a promotional music video, preceding Bank Chor’s release on June 16.

About Y-Films:

Y-Films is the dynamic, vibrant start-up at the intersection of films, creativity and youth culture that hopes to challenge the norm and detonate boundaries. Giving the youth a creative outlet and voice that will entertain and unite on film and beyond. A studio that promises to deliver kick ass content of the youth, by the youth, for the youth. And be a platform for talent – both on screen and behind the scenes – that will break and set new rules of story-telling. Wanna know more? Come on in… www.yfilms.in

Kunal Kapoor to attend Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation the Summit in Seattle, Washington

Kunal Kapoor who has recently been in the news for his body transformation, seems to have set his sights in transforming a completely different space, the social sector. The actor is the co founder of one of Asia's largest crowdfunding platforms, Ketto. The tech platform has raised money for everything from disaster relief to fighting diseases and even helping athletes raise money to compete in International events. Last year the tech start up won the Wharton India start up competition and now the platform has been recognised by none other than the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.On April 5-6, 2017, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is organising the Greater Giving Summit in Seattle, Washington and Kunal's platform has been invited for the event. A one hundred and fifty thought leaders, innovators and influencers from across the world have been invited to be part of the summit in Seattle. 

Kunal will be heading to Seattle to participate in the summit, and had this to say “We are truly honoured to be invited to this summit. When we started off a couple of years back, we never imagined we would be on the radar of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation" Kunal further adds "We are a team of young people that have come together at Ketto with a dream of making a positive impact on the world around us. This is a validation of our efforts.”

Ambili Menon - The Undisputed ‘live’-wire

Singing sensation Ambili is no stranger to the music industry. Known widely in the live spectrum; with stage performances across the country and the world, she is now focusing on building her digital footprint with 'Qyuki Digital Media,' who has emerged as the foremost platform for musical talent.

One of Ambili's biggest inspirations growing up was Britney Spears' “Baby One More Time” which gave her pop dream the catalyst she needed! Today, her heroes range from Beyoncé, Rihanna, Coldplay to several artists from the underground hip-hop scene.

On stage, Ambili fuses her unbeatable energy with a vocal prowess possessed by few! Lauded by all for her on-stage stamina with 2-hour long high-octane concerts, her strength lies in making sure every single member of the audience, be it 8 or 80 years is on the dance floor grooving to her beats. Ambili racked up over 100 live concerts in 2016 alone, a feat in itself and she continues to remain a favourite to event organisers throughout the country for her irreplaceable aura. She has toured the world, including a US tour with Shaan; has opened for industry biggies like Pritam, Arijit Singh, Sonu Nigam, Kailash Kher to name a few; and has unfailingly left a lingering impression with every stage she has stormed!

While still in college, Ambili’s first big break was winning ‘Sunsilk Gang of Girls’, a music reality show that was aired on Zoom. Television shows such as Zoom’s ‘Maximum Style’, Zee Music’s ‘Hafta Bandh’, Sahara One's 'Jhoom India' showcased her electric personality and the incredible "performer" in her to the world. 

Elaborating on her association with Qyuki, Ambili says,

"Qyuki is family. Stage has been my temple, my domain; but the time is just perfect to spread my wings digitally. I'm so excited to be bringing my music to the world and I couldn't have had a better team than these guys to be working with! People are gonna be so blown away by the work that we guys are doing together! I'm unabashedly beyond excited!" 

Sagar Gokhale, Network Head at Qyuki said,

“Working with incredible talent like Ambili is always a joy. Whether it’s a live gig or a meeting, she resonates with boundless energy and talent. We see a clear correlation between digital and live performances for millennial stars and will use our technology and content expertise to significantly enhance the brand that she has built.”.

Rahul Dev to play Subedar Kirpal Bhatti in ALT Balaji’s The Test Case

Known for his negative portrayals in several memorable films including Bollywood and South, actor Rahul Dev will be seen playing an influential character in his first digital show, ALTBalaji’s The Test Case.The talented actor will be seen playing Subedar Kirpal Bhatti in the show, directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. 

Being the quintessential master of the academy, Kirpal Bhatti is unforgiving, relentless, merciless and downright sadistic when it comes to training. He has served in army for over two decades and has an old school thought process. 

Rahul Dev says, “I truly believe the digital medium is more influential than any other currently.. coming from a uniformed background I can relate to the army .. i am glad to add this experience to my repertoire of work ,. An interesting ensemble of actors, a strong female  protagonist all helmed by a talented director & producers who genuinely want to make a difference make my decision easy ..I sincerely hope that I can bring out the essence of "Kripal Bhatti", make it believable & not unidimensional ..." 

Ekta Kapoor’s, The Test Case also featuring Nimrat Kaur and Atul Kulkarni will be streaming soon on ALTBalaji

Shemaroo Entertainment bags Gold Abby Award in the Digital Media - Social Media category at Goa Fest 2017

Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd, one of the leading content houses in the country, bags “Gold Abby Award” for #FilmiGaaneAntakshari campaign at Goa Fest 2017 in the Digital Media- Social Media Category. 

Goa Fest was initiated to celebrate the best of Indian advertising. The entity completes 12 successful years in the industry and is considered to be one of the most prestigious among the gamut.  This year 94 media agencies participated in the Abbies and the total number of entries received was 1128 which were judged by 112 jury members. 

Hiren Gada, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd shares his thought on the occasion, “We are delighted to be honoured with this recognition. Shemaroo has been at the forefront of digital content and this award for innovation in social media is a big milestone in our digital journey. I dedicate this award to our dynamic young team of passionate digital media specialists. We are truly grateful to The Advertising Club for this fantastic recognition.”

#FilmiGaaneAntakshari, an initiative by Shemaroo’s Filmigaane, was the first of its kind digital campaign that ran on Twitter for 7 continuous days, 24 hours from 26th September’16 to 3rd October’16 for a total of 168 hours. This campaign was not just unique because it ran for 168 hours continuous, but it went a step ahead by making us re-live with the beautiful retro era of songs released on or before the year 2000.  

Shemaroo Entertainment’s #FilmiGaaneAntakshari also entered 'Limca Book of Records' for playing the longest running antakshari on a digital platform and bagged IAMI award earlier this year. Its latest initiative is #KuchKisseKuchKahaniyan – first of its kind musical web series on Filmigaane Facebook page.