MAM
‘Swabhumi’ Bengali newspaper re-launches
KOLKATA: Bengali daily Swabhumi, which was shut in January, is being re-launched on Saturday, 8 March by its new owner Arjun Infotech, a Gujarat-based information technology firm, according to sources in the newspaper.
Arjun Infotech would also be soon launching a Bengali news television channel, the sources said. Arjun Infotech, which also has a BPO in Kolkata, is owned by Anikt Jaiswal.
The sources said the news channel could be launched as early as on the eve of Bengali new year Nabobarsha on 14 April. The newspaper had to defer till after May 16 its plan to have magician PC Sarkar junior as its brand ambassador as Sarkar is contesting the Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate.
The newspaper has already put up hoardings across the city with a message saying ‘Ebar Media Magic.’ “In the second phase of hoardings and advertisements, the media company will use the face of Sarkar’s eldest daughter Maneka Sarkar,” said deputy chief reporter Ishan Chatterjee of Swabhumi. The newspaper will also be having artist Wasim Kapoor and footballer Mehtab Hossain as its brand ambassadors.
Swabhumi was launched in February 2011 by Kolkata-based RICE group headed by Samit Roy. Swabhumi was one of the many newspapers launched around the same time. This is Arjun Infotech’s foray into media business. The newspaper already has a team of around 100 employees including journalists, cameramen and technical persons on board.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
