Siddharth Roy Kapur unanimously re-elected as the President of the Producers Guild of India, at its 64th Annual General Meeting held on 28th September in Mumbai.

Siddharth Roy Kapur has been re-elected as the President of the Producers Guild of India. He has previously served as the President since January 2017. It was a unanimous decision taken at the first meeting of newly appointed Guild Council on 28th September 2018.

In addition, Sunjoy Waddhwa the eminent television producer has also been elected as the Vice President of the Producers Guild of India. At the same time Priti Shahani and Fazila Allana have been nominated to the Guild Council of Management along with Milan Luthria and Akshaye Widhani who have been included in the Guild Council as Special Invitees.

Vijay Singh, Manish Goswami and Apoorva Mehta continues to be part of the Guild Management team as Vice Presidents in addition to Ashim Samanta who will also continue as the Treasurer.

As the President, Siddharth Roy Kapur has been the leading voice of the industry over the past two years. The Guild has recently signed key strategic alliances such as the one with United Kingdom’s Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television and has engaged with key industry and Government stakeholders successfully. 

Kulmeet Makkar, the Chief Executive Officer of the Producers Guild of India stated that “Guild has emerged as the most recognised and respected forum for industry progress under the leadership of Siddharth Roy Kapur and we are moving towards becoming an all-encompassing producers’ body considering the growing importance of television and strong emergence of new media such as Netflix India who have recently joined Guild as its member”. 

Siddharth Roy Kapur is an eminent Producer of several critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. He founded his own film and digital media production house Roy Kapur Films after a long and successful stint at Disney and UTV.  He was recently named as one of Variety Magazine’s Top 500 influential people in entertainment globally, amongst only 12 Indians to feature on this list.

Actors and Environmentalists DiaMirza and Alec Baldwin host UN's Champions of the Earth Awards

~ PM Modi, Cochin Airport and Young Champion ArpitDhupar represent Indian fervour ~

At this year's United Nations’ annual flagship awards - Champions of the Earth 2018, Indians were seen as an integral part of the ecology conversation, moving a step closer to a more environment friendly living. Hosting these awards along with actor Alec Baldwin was UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador and Indian actor DiaMirza, who is known to crusade for and lend her voice to ecological protection. The gala brought together a cross section of world leaders and influencers to celebrate momentum for change in defense of our one planet. Conferred with the UN's highest environmental honour, six of the world’s most outstanding environmental changemakers were recognised with the Champions of the Earth Award and seven trailblazers between the ages of 18 and 30 took home the coveted Young Champions of the Earth Prize, for their ambitious project ideas to restore and protect the environment.

This years’ laureates are recognized for a combination of bold, innovative, and tireless efforts to tackle some of the most urgent environmental issues of our times. Hoisting the Indian flag higher globally, young champion ArpitDhupar was recognized and Prime Minister NarendraModi and Cochin Airport won the award along with Joan Carling, French President Emmanuel Macron,  China’s Zhejiang’s Green Rural Revival Programme and Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Emmanuel Macron, President of France and NarendraModi, Prime Minister of India, are recognized in the Policy Leadership category for their pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and promoting new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action, including Macron’s work on the Global Pact for the Environment and PM Modi’s unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.

“In a world of uncertainty, this is certain: We will not solve the extraordinary challenges our world faces today without extraordinary talent, new thinking and bold ideas,” said Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim. “The Champions of the Earth Award and Young Champions of the Earth Prize recognize those not afraid to chart unknown waters or be the voice of the voiceless. These people are changing our world today for a better tomorrow.”

“I have had the honour to host for the second year in a row Champions of the Earth Awards, a truly motivating and inspiring platform that brings together some of the finest human beings on the planet. People and organisations that truly care about progress and the planet. To be able to host this year’s awards with Alec Baldwin made the experience all the more special,” said DiaMirza, Actor and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador.

The awards were presented during the Champions of the Earth Gala in New York City, on the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly. This is the second consecutive year, since being appointed UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India, that Dia was seen hosting the awards.

YRF’s Hichki set to release in Hong Kong on November 8

Rani Mukerji’s much loved film Hichki will release in Hong Kong on November 8 ! 

The film has been titled 我的破嗝Miss (My Extraordinary Teacher) for its Hong Kong release.

Rani’s performance as Naina Mathur, a school teacher dealing with an involuntary nervous system disorder, Tourette Syndrome, has been widely lauded by audiences and critics alike across the world. Her brilliant performance has seen her sweep awards and accolades this year.

Hichki has also been receiving worldwide acclaim and honours. It received a standing ovation at the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) and Indian Film Festival of Melbourne(IFFM).

As Karan Oberoi gears up for Amazon Prime’s hit series ‘Inside Edge 2’ - The show gets nominated for Emmy Awards

Karan Oberoi will now be hitting the web screens with Amazon Prime’s top series, Inside Edge Season 2. In a recent Instagram post, Karan confirmed that he is flying to Georgia for the shoot of second season. The show has now gone international and is bankrolled by Excel Entertainment and Amazon Prime Video, making it an anticipatory hit.

“When you are a part of a new mainstream disruptive narrative, which gets international recognition, like the Emmy’s, you feel joyous exhilaration! Super duper happy I was a part of this and the next ! Onwards and upwards!” said Karan expressing his enthusiasm. .

Earlier an official announcement was made by Farhan Akhtar (Exec. Producer of the show) to make a new season but the confirmation on star cast was put on hold. The cast that included

Richa Chadha, Angad Bedi, Sanjay Suri, Vivek Oberoi, Tanuj Virwani And Siddhant Chaturvedi, did a splendid job but now changes (if any like Karan Oberoi) is what’s gonna make this show even more interesting.

The show has become a huge hit among audiences with its intense portrayal of the interconnected worlds of cricket and entertainment. And now that Karan Oberoi is a part of it, his fanbase totally looks forward to it.

Aditya Roy Kapur reads up on Indian history as part of his prep for Kalank

Aditya Roy Kapur who is currently shooting for Karan Johar’s Kalank , went all out to prepare for his role in the film and to get into the head space of his character.

The actor cut off from social interactions for a month and read a lot of books on Indian history including Jawaharlal Nehru’s The Discovery Of India.If that wasn’t all, Aditya also worked closely with the film’s writer-director to better understand India in the 40’s.

Reveals a source, “ After signing Kalank, Aditya who is a voracious reader , read a lot of books on Indian history. He also watched a lot of black and white films of that era to understand the popular sentiment of that time. Aditya also worked closely with the film’s designers on his look in the film”.

Adds the source, “Details of the film have been kept under wraps. Aditya is currently shooting a schedule with Alia Bhatt .Since crucial scenes are being filmed , the makers are shooting with only a few crew members who are bound by a confidentiality clause”.