MAM
Vodafone brings Magzter for digital reading
MUMBAI: Vodafone India has announced an exciting partnership with Magzter, the world’s largest digital magazine newsstand – to offer an unparalleled digital reading experience to 200 million+ customers in India.
With this association, Vodafone customers can now access over 100,000 issues of 4,000+ best-selling national and international magazines across the globe at an exclusive offer price. The service is free for a month post which the customers can continue the services starting at Rs 49/month.
The rapid growth in adoption of digital devices such as tablets and smartphones has seen a shift in the modes for accessing traditional media. India is witnessing a proliferation in digital editions of magazines. Speaking about the partnership, Vodafone India national head – VAS and content Dipankar Ghoshal said “Our customer base is growing digital savvy by the day. These users are constantly looking to consume content on the go.”
Under this agreement, Vodafone customers can get access to the most popular magazines including International, Indian and Regional titles like India Today, Filmfare, Vogue India, Outlook Business, Entrepreneur, Femina Hindi, Tinkle, Nakkheeran, Kungumam and many more.
The magazines spread across 30+ exciting categories including automotive, business, comics, education, entertainment, fashion, fitness, lifestyle, news, politics, science, technology and travel, thereby engaging everyone in the family from 6 to 60+ years of age. The readers can enjoy unlimited access to superlative content from all the major countries including India, USA, UK, Singapore, Australia, Canada and South Africa on the go. Apart from leading Indian English magazines, Magzter also offers magazines across all the regional languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and Urdu.
To avail these offers, customers need to download the free Magzter app either through MyVodafone App or Google Play Store
Magzter Inc. CEO Girish Ramdas said “We constantly look out for ways to increase our user base and also create a positive impact by propagating digital reading across the globe.”
MAM
Talking heads: TV9’s chief takes the host’s chair with style — but could do with a laugh
Barun Das has swapped the boardroom for the studio and is pulling off a polished interview show — mostly
MUMBAI: There is something quietly audacious about a media chief who decides that running a television empire is not quite enough and plants himself in front of the camera for a good chinwag with the great and the good. Barun Das, chief executive of TV9 Network, has done precisely that, and for the most part, he carries it off with considerable aplomb.
Duologue with Barun Das, now in its fourth season on JioHotstar, is exactly what it says on the tin: two people, two chairs, no frills. In the earlier seasons, Das has sat across from a rather stellar roster, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Aparna Sen, Viswanathan Anand, Kiran Rao, among many other renowned names. And in the fourth instalment he has had guests of the likes of Aamir Khan, Sourav Ganguly, Bianca Balti (Italian super model and cancer survivor), Lothar Matthäus (German football World Cup-winning captain). Throughout, he has coaxed from them nuggets that their publicists would probably rather keep under wraps. Cricket, relationships, spirituality, acting, health, behind-the-scenes machinations that plague politics, intellect, nepotism, nothing is entirely off the table.
Das’s greatest asset is his manner. Unhurried, well-dressed and disarmingly calm, he has the rare gift of making his guests feel so thoroughly at ease that they occasionally forget they are being filmed for television. The questions arrive softly, like a spinner tossing up a googly rather than a fast bowler hurling bouncers, and more often than not, they draw out a telling answer. He has no cue cards or teleprompter to help him along, which is probably a rarity for a host. Some credit must go to the research team operating quietly in the wings, who evidently do their homework so that Das does not have to fumble for his.
Where Duologue stumbles, however, is in its almost determined refusal to lighten up. Each 45-minute episode carries the solemn weight of a budget speech. A dash of wit, a moment of mischief, the odd belly laugh, none of it makes an appearance. Serious conversation has its place, but even the most earnest of interviewers, think David Frost at his best, knew when to let the air out of the room.
Das has built something worth watching. He simply needs to remind himself, and his guests, that a smile never hurt anyone.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5.
Available on JioHotstar.
