MUMBAI: Many years ago came a movie called Deewar that not only cemented Amitabh Bachchan?s image as an angry young man but also made him the superstar of our Hindi film industry. Here are some of the trivia about Deewar which Mr Bachchan himself gave out while filming for the 5th edition of Zee Cimena?s much celebrated property Shanivaar ki Raat Amitabh ke Saath.

Post ?Saat Hindustani? , Bachchan saab had no work in hand. In dire need for money, he, Jalal Agha and Anwar Ali took up roles of junior artistes in a Merchant Ivory film starring Shashi Kapoor. Shashi Kapoor noticed Amit ji?s talent and convinced him that he is made for better roles. In fact he also ensured that his shots were chopped from the Merchant Ivory movie. Later on Shashiji went on to play Amitabh?s younger brother in Deewar.

The premiere of Deewar and memories of the day remain etched in Amitji?s mind. The fans had lined up from Marine Drive till Minerva(Mumbai). The sheer frenzy surrounding the movie completely caught Amit ji off guard as no one had ever foreseen this kind of mob hysteria.

The dialogues and screenplay of Deewar remain the best ever in Indian Cinema. Says the legend, ? The dialogues of Deewar are still such a rage. I?m still asked to recite them wherever I go?. He marvels at the fact that the people who were not even born at that time also are fond of the movie so much.

?Nirupa Roy?s scream in the climax scene after Vijay dies was very impactful?.. Remembers Amitji. He claims he has never heard such a scream from a mother in Indian cinema ever. ? I had goose bumps when she shrieked even though my character had died in the scene?.

Vijay?s character was inspired from Don Haji Mastan. Amit ji had seen Haji Mastan once in a function and had had a brief conversation with him. He had noticed his piercing look that time and incorporated the same in the characterization of Vijay. Catch Deewar this Saturday at 8 pm only on Zee Cinema.
 

MUMBAI: Ever dreamt of pirates or treasure-laden shipwrecks at mysterious locations, hidden for centuries before being discovered through high adventure?

A story mired in tragedy - a disaster on the high seas or perhaps an act of war, every shipwreck has a story to tell. This week documentary 24x7 brings to you Shipwreck, the story of three ships, which were wrecked in the shallow seas off Minicoy Island, the southernmost island in the Lakshadweep chain, a part of India which, for centuries, has stood at the centre of a crucial transoceanic trade route

The ships, SS Colombo, SS Thrunscoe and SS Duffryn Manor are of clear historic and archaeological value, ships whose deaths have been sketchily recorded in forgotten fragments in maritime journals but whose lives remain unknown. Today, these shipwrecks are a haven for hundreds of species of marine life and have completely integrated themselves with the coral itself. In fact, in some places it is fairly indistinguishable!

To be the part of this deep-sea shipwreck exploration, watch the documentary ?Shipwreck? on this Saturday, 5th June, 2010 at 3.00 P.M. and repeat on Sunday 6th June, 2010 at 1.00 P.M only on NDTV 24x7

MUMBAI: Inorbit Mall unites with Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) & Mudra Max to encourage habitual smokers to quit smoking on the occasion of ‘World No Tobacco Day‘. The on-ground campaign, ‘Cigarettes Are Jobless‘ was held in Mumbai at Inorbit Malls - Malad and Vashi on May 31st 2010.

Through the ‘Cigarettes Are Jobless‘ activity, promoters dressed symbolically as humanized cigarette packets engaged masses and promoted the "Quit Smoking" message. The objective of the campaign is to spread the message that on World No Tobacco Day due to people quitting smoking, cigarettes have become jobless. The jobless cigarettes are hunting for a new job and handed out their resume- which details their killing talents!

‘Cigarettes Are Jobless‘ campaign kick starts at Inorbit Malls

Promoters dressed as humanized cigarette packets distribute their resumes at Inorbit Malls Mumbai.

MUMBAI: TAN adds the TV Today Group, Star News, Star Ananda and Star Majha to Live.Indiatimes.com

Times Audience Network (TAN), the digital video arm of the Times Group, re-launched the new design of Live.Indiatimes.com on Friday on-stage with Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft and Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Limited.

Live has now added Aaj Tak, Star News, Headlines Today, Star Ananda and Star Majha to its existing reportoire of channels live-streamed on the web.

The new design, which incorporates related on-demand videos, a full EPG and social media integration with Facebook and Twitter, crafts an un-paralleled viewing experience. Users can now watch India‘s premium TV channels in a single window, getting access to the best of Hindi and regional language entertainment besides news in English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali & Business news.

Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Limited, said: "This is by far the best entertainment product released in the Indian web space. We have and will continue to innovate on product to make this the foremost destination for Indians and the diaspora to consume premium video content on web and mobile."

Ramakrishnan Laxman, Head - Digital, MCCS said: "Very rarely does a product blend the best of technology, content, distribution and scale. TAN provides a great turnkey solution for distributing and monetizing our live videos by combining genre leaders like Star News in front of relevant audiences like those on NavbharatTimes.com."

Like in it‘s previous avtaar, Indiatimes has teamed with Microsoft to re-tool the video player using the Silverlight 4.0. Sanjay Sinha, Enterprise Evangelism Director, Microsoft said "Silverlight is a powerful platform for creating engaging, interactive user experiences for Web, desktop, and mobile applications when online or offline. We are thrilled to be working with an innovative partner like Indiatimes to bring LIVE broadcast of TV channels to the Indian internet Audience using Silverlight.?

To watch Times Now, Star News, Aaj Tak, India TV, Headlines Today, ET Now, Zoom, Star Ananda and Star Majha, log on to Live.Indiatimes.com.
 

MUMBAI: MAAC Creative Shop (MCS), a division of Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC), India?s leading educator in high-end 3D Animation and Visual Effects premiered ?Cric-X? India?s first ?cricked inspired? 3D animation feature film at Fun Republic Cinema, Mumbai. This 80 minute long feature film is inspired by the unflagging popularity and craze people have for cricket in India and was developed by students of Maya Academy under their mentorship series in the aegis of MAAC Creative Shop.

The premiere was attended by noted Indian & international animation studios such as Pixion, Rhythm and Hues, BIG Animation, Prime Focus, Trine Entertainment, MEL and Artery Animation.

Mr. Sanjiv Waeerkar, Chief Creative Officer, MAAC explained, ?MAAC has always strived to give its students the best of practical training along with aesthetical knowledge to help them become industry ready animators. The mentorship series is an effort by MAAC to give its students the much needed industry exposure to facilitate their work in studio environments. Cric-X is also an effort to demonstrate the promising capabilities of Indian animation talent. CricX is a fitting example of the highly creative and quality work Indian animators are equipped to produce. Such students are not only treated as experienced in the industry but are also better equipped and more confident about their work.?

The movie is laced with the fun, excitement and dreams associated with cricket in India, complete with imaginative, visually appealing scenes and excellent storytelling. There are many interesting characters in the movie like Soni, the captain is a cool headed guy and the opener of the team, then there is Veer, a swash buckling batsman who believes in aggression is all it requires to win the game and a super cool Casanova kind of a character named Prince, topped with Lucky, a funny Sikh who is the team?s ace spinner.
 

MUMBAI: Ms. Ambika Sharma, COO, Jagran Solutions, India‘s leading new age marketing agency that provides solutions for Brand Activation via Consumer Connect Strategies, has been appointed as the jury member of the 11th Promotion Marketing Awards of Asia (PMAA) 2010. She is also the Zonal Director for India for the PMAA and has been a Jury member with the PMAA panel since 2008 making this the 3rd consecutive year. Ms Sharma has also been on the jury panel of the MAA Globes in the year 2008 & 2009. The winners of PMAA 2010 will be announced on 6th August 2010.

PMAA recognizes the best in the Promotion Marketing industry, throughout Asia. It is Asia‘s leading Promotion Marketing Award Program. It sees participation from over 13 countries in Asia. All Gold, Silver & Bronze PMAA Dragons will represent Asia at the MAA Globes. For 44 years, the Marketing Agencies Association Worldwide (MAA Worldwide) has been the voice and authority of the Promotion Marketing Industry, spanning across the Globe. The MAA ‘GLOBES‘ is the only global Program which recognizes the distinguished excellence of the Best in Promotion Marketing Award Program from Europe, North America, South America, South Africa, Australia and Asia.

Ms. Ambika Sharma, COO, Jagran Solutions said, "The PMAA awards are a cut above the rest, the quality of entries is excellent and result orientation of the campaigns is insightful. The manner in which diverse media platforms are being integrated to drive specific pre planned results is especially interesting. Across Asia agencies, brands and marketers are exploiting the true potential of activations."

The PMAA 2010 will be judged in 16 categories which includes Integrated Communications Campaign; Sponsorship or Tie-In Campaign; Use Of Direct Marketing and CRM in a Promotion Campaign, Innovative Idea or Concept; Digital Communications Campaign; Brand Building Campaign; Business To Business Campaign; Trade Marketing, Retail Specific or Channel Specific Campaign; Event or Experiential Marketing Campaign; Activity Generating Short or Long Term Brand Loyalty; Use of the Internet, Viral or Social Marketing In a Promotion Marketing Campaign; Dealer or Sales Force Activity; Brand Awareness And Trial Campaign; Activity Generating Brand Volume; Cause or Charity Marketing Campaign and Small Budget Campaign.

Last year, India won 23 awards at the PMAA. Jagran Solutions bagged the most awards including The Best in India for its campaign " Go A-live Challenge" for Microsoft India, The agencies that bagged awards were Jagran Solutions, Solutions Digitas, Tequila India, Encompas, Hungama, Dentsu Communications, Digital Radio (Mumbai) Broadcasting, Mudra Communications, Candid Marketing and Netscribes India.

Ms. Sharma is a thorough bred marketing professional with an experience of 13 +years, in the new age marketing & brand activation space. Her expertise includes medium identification, facilitation, planning, and implementation of the consumer experience based business solutions for brand marketing dilemmas an in-depth understanding on traditional and new media in the context of the Indian consumer subsets. With skills that include strategic planning and communication, new / alternate media, and creative communication. She specializes in integrated planning and activations for brands.