News Broadcasting
amfAR HOLDS INAUGURAL INDIA GALA
MUMBAI : Some of the most distinguished figures in Indiansociety joined Sharon Stone, Hilary Swank, AbhishekBachchan, AishwaryaRaiBachchan, amfAR Chairman Kenneth Cole,amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost, and Cyrus Poonawalla, Ph.D. last night at the inaugural amfAR India gala in support of amfAR’s innovative AIDS research programs.
The black tie event, held at The TajMahal Palace Hotel, featured a cocktail reception, dinner, and a gold-themed fashion show featuring exclusive looks by RohitBal, Abu Jani-SandeepKhosla, and TarunTahiliani with jewels by Azva, TarunTahiliani for Azva, Symetree, and Amrapali. The evening concluded with a high-energy performance by pop sensation Ke$ha, whosesongs including her hits “Animal,” “We R Who We R,” and “TikTok,” had guests dancing into the night.
amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost invited actress and producer Hilary Swank to the stage at the exclusive event. Ms. Swank gave opening remarks and introduced amfAR Chairman Kenneth Cole, who spoke about amfAR’s global HIV/AIDS eradication initiatives and the important role of research in ending the epidemic. Bollywood luminaries AbhishekBachchan and AishwaryaRaiBachchan also addressed the more than 300 guests in attendance. In a highlight of the evening, amfAR Global Fundraising Chairman Sharon Stone took the stage and made an impassioned call to action to the many business and cultural heavyweights in the room, saying “There isn’t a family who has not been touched by AIDS.”
Other notable guests included Neeta Ambani, Anuj Gupta, Rocky Malhotra, VenugopalDhoot, VikramChatwal, Lisa Haydon, Dimple Kapadia, Parmeshwar Godrej, NargisFakhri, SonalChauhan, Torquhil Campbell, Duke of Argyll, Dino Morea, and NanditaMahtani, among many others.
amfAR India was made possible by Presenting Sponsor Cyrus Poonawalla, Signature Sponsors LoveGold and Delta Air Lines, Automotive Partner BMW, and Partner Chivas.
News Broadcasting
Book Cricket gets a digital century on News18 amid T20 fever
Nostalgic classroom game revamped in English, Hindi plus Telugu on web and app.
MUMBAI: When the T20 World Cup fever hits fever pitch, News18 decides to flip the script straight back to the classroom. The digital news platform has revived the timeless schoolyard favourite Book Cricket as an interactive online game, perfectly timed to ride the cricket wave gripping fans across the globe. The reimagined Book Cricket ditches textbooks for smartphones, blending old-school nostalgia with modern gameplay. Once a sneaky recess pastime played by flicking book pages to score runs, the digital version now offers seamless fun for anyone craving a quick cricket fix between overs.
Available in English, Hindi and Telugu (with more languages planned across News18’s network), the game sits within the platform’s fast-growing gaming portfolio of over 20 titles, all built in-house. It joins event-driven hits like ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’ during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, plus festive specials such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi.
News18 Digital CEO Mitul Sangani said, “Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy. At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits.”
Select titles have expanded beyond News18.com to CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com, reflecting the network’s push to deepen user interaction across platforms. The Book Cricket game is live now at https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/.
In a tournament where every boundary counts, News18’s digital Book Cricket proves the simplest games can still deliver the biggest smiles no syllabus required, just pure cricket joy one page-flip at a time.
