iWorld
Social Media Week releases list of eminent speakers for its 2014 edition
MUMBAI: Approaching its third edition in India and second edition in Mumbai, Social Media Week (SMW) has announced key speakers, who are set to captivate the audience this September, in Mumbai. The line-up of speakers includes social media influencers, bloggers, politicians, authors and international experts, each of whom will share their views on the domain, through presentations panel discussions, debates, workshops, and more. Some of the experts expected at the event, include:
- Rishi Jaitly: Head, Twitter India
- Vikram Menon: President & Country Head, OgilvyOne Worldwide, India
- Anaggh Desai: Co- founder, 1+99 Experience Consulting
- Mohandas Pai: Chairman, Manipal Group
- Raheel Khursheed: Head of News, Politics & Govt @TwitterIndia
- Kunal Jeswani: Chief Digital Officer, Ogilvy & Mather India
- Navdeep Suri: India’s current Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt
- Sean Gardner: Forbes #1 Social Media Influencer, Author, Co-founder of the Huffington Post “Twitter Powerhouses Series”
- Jeff Bullas: A Social Media Marketing Blogger, Strategist & Speaker, voted #14 Of Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer
- Arvind Gupta: Hibernation Innovation Evangelist & The National Head of BJP’s IT Cell
- Deepali Naair: CMO, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited
- Prem Panicker: Managing Editor, Yahoo
- Vasantha Kumar: Director Marketing & Communication India & South Asia, IBM
- Viral Oza: MD,Nokia India Pvt. Ltd.
- Richard Lui: Asian-American journalist and news anchor for MSNBC and NBC News
- Sanjay Tripathy: Sr.EVP Marketing, Digital & E-commerce – HDFC Life
Based on this year’s theme for SMW, ‘Social media for Social Change’, the renowned speakers will share their insights and knowledge through various sessions, including those on managing diplomacy through social media, social media and politics, building a career in social media, and New age fight club – Social Media, Disruption & Viral.
Rohit Varma, Founder & Managing Partner, R SQUARE Consulting Services Pvt Ltd, said, “I’m very excited to see many organization & brands from different industries coming on board to curate sessions and making it the biggest crowd-sourced festival. Look forward to the five days social media festivity. I’m quite sure that there is lot more awaiting the audience.”
“Social media and digital impact are changing the way brands function today. As an organization, we are strong believers of this platform, and have leveraged it successfully for clients across categories. We are proud to be associated with SMW’s third stint in India, and look forward to engaging with marquee speakers at this platform, which connects people across borders and backgrounds; this year’s theme of the impact of social media on social change, will definitely bring to light, some interesting perspectives on how digital India thinks,” said, Nikhil Dey, President (Public Relations) at Genesis Burson-Marsteller.
The growing momentum of the initiative reflects in the number of sponsors, partners and speakers, who have come forward to support the event. Companies such as Microsoft (City Support Sponsor), Germin8, Unmetric, KPMG and Wrangler are sponsoring SMW 2014.
“As GroupM we are delighted to continue our association with SMW. After a successful opening year in Mumbai and Bangalore in 2013, SMW is lining up an exciting fare this year. As social media channels proliferate and become meeting grounds of brands and consumers, SMW provides a great platform for enhancing knowledge and sharing best practices,” CVL Srinivas, CEO GroupM South Asia
In addition, SMW has partnered with leading media and integrated communication agencies, includingSocial@Ogilvy, chlorophyll, UB, TiE Mumbai, The Express Group, The Indian Networker, Construkt festival, mXm India, PageTraffic, AVID Learning, Yellow Seed Content Solutions, Fratelli wines and Steerttalk, to organise the event in India.
iWorld
Prime Video unveils biggest India originals slate yet
Nearly 55 titles across languages signal deeper push into films, series
MUMBAI: Prime Video is turning up the volume on Indian storytelling, unveiling its largest-ever Originals slate at the ‘Prime Video Presents’ showcase, with close to 55 series and films spanning languages, genres and formats.
The new lineup, which stretches across Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, signals a clear intent: go bigger, go wider, and meet audiences wherever they are watching, whether on streaming screens or in cinemas. Alongside Originals, the platform also announced a fresh theatrical slate under Amazon MGM Studios, marking a deeper step into the big-screen business.
Among the headline acts is The Revolutionaries, a large-scale drama from Nikkhil Advani starring Bhuvan Bam and Rohit Saraf. The slate also features Matka King with Vijay Varma, Raakh starring Ali Fazal and Sonali Bendre, and Lukkhe, which marks rapper King’s acting debut. Adding a genre twist is Vansh – The Kalyug Warriors, positioned as India’s first homegrown Hindi superhero series for streaming.
Familiar favourites are also making a return, with new seasons of Farzi, Panchayat, Call Me Bae, Dupahiya, Dahaad and The Traitors in the pipeline, reinforcing the platform’s bet on established franchises.
Regional storytelling gets a notable push. Highlights include a Telugu adaptation of The Traitors hosted by Teja Sajja, the drama Guvvala Cheruvu Ghat, and Tamil titles such as Exam and returning seasons of Vadhandhi and Inspector Rishi.
The slate also opens new creative partnerships. Hrithik Roshan’s HRX Films steps into streaming with Storm and Mess, while Alia Bhatt’s Eternal Sunshine Productions backs Don’t Be Shy. Production houses including Excel Entertainment, Tiger Baby Films and The Viral Fever further deepen the creative bench.
On the theatrical front, the platform is lining up five films, including Raftaar starring Rajkummar Rao and Keerthy Suresh, VIBE directed by Kunal Kemmu, Dilkashi with music by A. R. Rahman, Nayyi Navelli featuring Yami Gautam, and Kuku Ki Kundli starring Wamiqa Gabbi.
According to Prime Video India director and head of Svod business Shilangi Mukherji, India remains central to the platform’s global growth, ranking among its top markets for new subscribers. She noted that nearly two-thirds of users watch content in more than four languages, underlining a growing appetite for diverse storytelling.
Prime Video India director and head of originals Nikhil Madhok, said the new slate reflects a continued push towards bold, culturally rooted narratives with global appeal.
In short, Prime Video is not just adding titles, it is widening the lens. From small-town dramas to superhero sagas and cinema-ready spectacles, the message is simple: more stories, more voices, and far more ways to watch them.
