MAM
Sachin Tendulkar announces ‘Cricket Carnival’ at Smaaash, India
BENGALURU: Smaaash Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., launched the Smaaash Sachin Virat Cricket Carnival in association with its brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar at its new outlet at the DLF Mall of India, Noida. Smaaash is a world-class sports-centric immersive and interactiv entertainment center that offers unmatched range of games – covering sports like cricket, football, ten-pinbowling besides a superlative virtual-reality experience. The launch of Smaaash Noida also commemorates the launch of Mighty Small Café & Bar in NCR. Mighty Small at Smaaash is the new concept café being launched at all Smaaash properties across the country.
The ‘Smaaash Sachin Virat Cricket Carnival’is presented by legendary cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, who are associated with Smaaash – India’s leading sports and entertainment zone. The carnival with nationwide presence is designed to be a fun-filled cricket tournament that will bring together 2000 teams across the nation to compete against each other. The tournament will be played across five Smaaash centers and the finals will be held in Mumbai. The highlight of this tournament will be the grand finale where the prizes will be awarded by both the cricket luminaries, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, at a glittering event in Mumbai.
Brain child of the multi-faceted entrepreneur Shripal Morakhia, Smaaash combines the best of sports, music and dining into a highly immersive, interactive, innovative and involved entertainment experience. At the launch of the ‘Smaaash Sachin Virat Cricket Carnival’, the founder said, “Smaaash is the only brand that has the support of two cricketing legends – Sachin and Virat. The glorious presence of these stalwarts will surely make the this carnival an event to remember for cricket enthusiasts all over the country.”
Sachin Tendulkar, the brand ambassador of Smaaash addressed his fans at the launch event and said: “The exciting and unique concept of Smaaash provides the avenue to enjoy the pleasures of life. With the kind of stressful lives we lead, it’s imperative to play sports and relax our minds. This Cricket Carnival is designed to bring the excitement of real sports into your lives with incredible precision, modern equipment and real life experience. I look forward to this tournament connecting cricket lovers from across the country.”
On the other hand, Virat Kohli, Smaaash Youth Icon, added: “All that cricket lovers want is entertainment. Not a war or a fight. This Cricket Carnival is a larger-than-life sports festival that will be a perfect platform for all cricket enthusiasts to showcase their skills. The aim of this fun fiesta is to engage youth in thrilling activities and social interaction with their peers. Of course, the pulsating energy of a real-like cricket pitch will make this tournament a memorable experience for all. I am so excited to be a part of this one-of-its-kind cricket fest.”
The legendary sportstar Sachin Tendulkar has been an integral part of the Smaaash family since its inception in 2012. In his own words, “The advanced simulators at Smaaash are fascinating and are very close to the real match experience.” On the other hand, one of the world’s leading batsmen, Virat Kohli was signed as the Smaaash Youth Icon in early 2015. Thus Smaaash is the only brand that has the support of two cricketing legends, and the glorious presence of these stalwarts will surely make the Smaaash Cricket Carnival an event to remember for cricket enthusiasts all over the country.
Cricket lovers can start registering their entries for the tournament that will be conducted across Smaaash centers, in Mumbai, Gurgaon, Noida, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Each six member team will play in the Smaaash cricket lanes and face a selected bowling line up. The Smaaash Sachin Virat Cricket Carnival will have five Categories- Under 16 (School), Under-25 (College), Open, Corporate and Women’s Category. The Open Category winners from each city will be eligible to come to Mumbai and will face off as Team Sachin and Team Virat.
This tournament will be played at Smaaash’s one-of-its-kind 360-degree cricket simulator at each center where cricketing legends like Shane Warne, Wasim Akram, Kieron Pollard, Sachin Tendulkar and many others bowl to you.
The precise technology of Smaaash Cricket not only replicates the bowler’s action perfectly, but also the cricket simulator is the only one of its kind which can bowl spin and swing balls with variations of line and length. The laser tracking and the high-tech cameras track every move and even offer replays and wagon wheels of the score.
Thus cricketing teams, who’re used to playing in apartment compounds and neighbourhood parks, will now get the experience of playing at the packed Lord’s stadium.
There is a nominal registration fee and the interested teams can register on the official website of Smaaash i.ewww.smaaash.in. The registration process will begin on May 20th, 2016 at all five Smaaash centres. The winners across categories can take home the Smaaash Sachin Virat Cricket Carnival Cup along with memories of being mentored by a legend. That’s not all, the national winner and runner-up in the Open category will get Rs. 5 lakhs and Rs.3 lakhs respectively.
This is a press release.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
