iWorld
Reliance Entertainment, Amblin Partners’ World War 1 Drama ‘1917’ bags seven awards at BAFTA
MUMBAI: Reliance Entertainment and Amblin Partners’ 1917 has won seven awards at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), held last evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London including Outstanding British Film and Best Film and Best Director (Sam Mendes).
The World War 1 thriller, which was nominated in 9 categories at BAFTA, also won awards for Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Best Production Design (Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales), Best Sound (Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson) and Special Visual Effects (Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron and Dominic Tuohy).
Sam Mendes, who is the first British winner of the Best Director BAFTA since Danny Boyle’s 2009 win for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ said,"There's the personal delight in seeing a story very close to me and my family be developed and enlarged but the massive thing has been audiences going in large numbers.” He added, “None of us knew if an audience would turn up, it wasn't certain at all. It's coincided with awards season and the fact this is still number one in the UK after four weeks, [the awards have] really alerted people to the fact the movie is on, it rarely happens like that."
Inspired by the stories that Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes’ grandfather told him, 1917 has had a dream run this awards season with 10 Oscar nominations, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director,’ for the forthcoming 92nd Academy Awards, which is scheduled to be held at 9th February 2020 in Los Angeles. 1917 has previously won three awards at the Critics’ Choice Awards 2020 for ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Cinematographer’ and ‘Best Editing’. The film also won accolades at the 77th Golden Globes, with an award for Best Picture in the Drama category, and the Best Director’s award for Sam Mendes.
The film also bagged an award for ‘Best Feature Film’ at Directors Guild of America Awards and honored with the ‘Best Picture’ award at the Producers Guild of America Awards. Another feather in the cap was Roger Deakins winning the ‘Top Feature Award’ from the American Society of Cinematographers for his outstanding work in the movie.
DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment present, in association with New Republic Pictures, a Neal Street production, produced in association with Mogambo, Sam Mendes film: 1917, starring George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, with Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch. ‘1917’ is directed by Sam Mendes. A Reliance Entertainment release in India, the film is still running in theatres.
iWorld
Rusk Media announces Battleground Season 2 on Amazon MX Player
Fitness reality show returns in April 2026 with bigger challenges and mentors.
MUMBAI: The arena is reopening and this time the competition promises even more sweat, strategy and spectacle. Rusk Media has confirmed the return of its fitness reality format Battleground for a second season, set to stream on Amazon MX Player from April 2026. The announcement follows the breakout success of the show’s debut season, which positioned itself as a high energy blend of sport, strategy and reality television. Season 1 brought together 16 contestants for a 28 day test of endurance and discipline, as aspiring athletes and fitness enthusiasts competed in physically demanding challenges and team based battles.
Divided into four teams, the participants trained under a panel of mentors drawn from the fitness and lifestyle space, with former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan serving as the show’s Super Mentor.
The format quickly found an audience among digital viewers and was listed among the most binged titles on Amazon MX Player. The show also picked up industry recognition, winning the “Most Popular Non Fiction Show” honour at the IWMBuzz Digital Awards 2025.
The first season also drew a slate of brand partnerships, including Honda Bigwing, Charged, American Pistachio Growers, Bigmuscles Nutrition, Ritebite Max Protein, Plix and Sparsh CCTV, highlighting the show’s appeal to brands targeting India’s rapidly growing youth and fitness audience.
For Season 2, the producers say the format will evolve with tougher physical challenges, a sharper competitive structure and deeper mentor involvement while continuing to focus on discovering the next generation of Indian fitness personalities.
Rusk Media, chief executive officer and co founder Mayank Yadav said the first season proved the appetite for competitive fitness storytelling. “Battleground was always envisioned as more than a show. Season 1 demonstrated that there is a massive audience for aspirational fitness competition at scale. With Season 2 we are going even bigger in ambition, intensity and opportunities for contestants and partners,” he said.
Rusk Ads lead Rahul Arora added that the series has also evolved into a strong platform for brand integration and advertiser engagement. “Season 1 showed that Battleground is not just compelling content but a powerful brand ecosystem. As we move into Season 2, we are looking to deepen brand collaborations and build more integrated partnerships,” he said.
With a larger format, an expanding fan base and a new season set to arrive in April 2026, Battleground is positioning itself as one of India’s emerging fitness reality franchises in the digital entertainment space.
