MAM
GoaFest 2017: Winners of Day 3 Creative Abby Awards announced
GOA: After three days of seminars and conclaves by industry experts, crazy parties, the last Abby awards evenings was filled with delegates screaming their throats hoarse in support of colleagues during the presentation in Goafest 2017. With a total of 421 metals given away this year across 11 categories, the event saw an increase in the number of gold and silver metals awarded this year as compared to last.
The Advertising Club (TAC) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) felicitated the works of the advertising agencies with the Creative Abby Awards 2017 on Friday.
Mobile Abby
In the Mobile Abby category, JWT India – Bangalore bagged one gold and two silver metals, emerging as the winner in the category. The agency received a gold for their ‘The Hindu’s ‘#SpiritOfBangalore’ campaign in the Thumb-stopper Award.
Apart from them, Taproot Dentsu- Gurgaon took home a gold metal for Airtel’s ‘Lifesaving Wallpapers’ campaign in the Mobile/Tablet App’d Cause related category.
Film Craft
Early Man Films came out as the winner in this category with five metals, including one gold and silver each and three bronze. It received the gold trophy for its ‘CAR’ campaign for Godrej Security Solutions.
Second winning agency is Breathless Films with four metals, including one gold for their Google Search’ ‘Google Shayari’ campaign in the Casting category.
Film Single
In this category, Taproot Dentsu received a gold and a silver metal each, taking its total for Day 3 to two metals. The agency bagged a gold for their ‘Odds by Adidas’ campaign in the Clothing, Innerwear, Footwear and Accessories category.
Rishtey Cineplex bagged the majority of metals in the category consisting of one silver and two bronze metals.
Design
Open Strategy and Design bagged four gold and silver each and three bronze metals taking its total to 11 metals. The agency received two gold for their Tohsin Chocolaterie and Patisserie brand campaign titled ‘Masterstroke’ in the Corporate Brand identity and Best Integrated Design Category.
It won two other gold trophies for their Mumbai Press Club and Imaginarium brands for ‘In The News’ and ‘Think it. Print it’ campaigns, respectively.
The second winning agency with one gold metal is Viral Pandya for their Osho’ ‘Unzip the potential’ campaign.
Ambient
Taproot Dentsu emerged as the leader in this category with one gold metal for its Lifesaving Wallpapers’ campaign for Airtel.
Integrated
In this category, JWT India bagged two metals, a gold and a silver. The agency received a gold for its NestAway’s ‘Homes That Don’t Discriminate’ campaign in the Business and Home Services. Star India won a Gold for its ‘Nayi Soch’ campaign in the Corporate category.
Out Of Home
Social Street emerged as the winner in this category with a total of 6 metals. It won two gold metals for Wildlife Conservation Trust in the Public Service, Appeals and Charity category.
Second winning agency is JWT India with one gold, two silver and three bronze metals taking its total tally to six. It won the gold for their Apollo Tyres campaign in the Automatic Vehicles and Accessories category.
Gender Sensitive
Star India won a Gold for its Hindi Entertainment channel Star Plus’ for its famous ‘Nayi Soch- Cricket’ campaign. Cellar Door Productions and JWT India bagged a Silver metal for their ‘UrbanClap: Men’s Day’ and ‘My daughter will’ campaign, respectively.
The Young Abby award this year goes to FCB Interfaces’ Ketan Sudhir Kadam and Adith Francis Fernandes for their ‘Ads that actually saved water’ for Drop Dead Foundation.
MAM
Raghu Rai passes away at 83, leaves behind iconic legacy
Padma Shri-winning photographer documented history across 5 decades.
MUMBAI: The lens may have stilled, but the stories it captured will never fade. Raghu Rai, one of India’s most celebrated photojournalists, passed away on April 26, 2026, at the age of 83. He breathed his last at a private hospital in New Delhi after battling cancer and age-related health issues.
His son, Nitin Rai, revealed that Rai had been diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago, which later spread to the stomach and, more recently, the brain. Despite multiple rounds of treatment, his health had declined in recent months.
Born in 1942 in Jhang, Punjab (now in Pakistan), Rai entered photography in his early twenties, inspired by his elder brother, photographer S. Paul. Beginning his career in the mid-1960s, he went on to build a body of work that spanned more than five decades, contributing to global publications such as Time, Life, GEO, Le Figaro, The New York Times, Vogue, GQ and Marie Claire.
His global recognition took a decisive leap in 1977 when legendary French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson nominated him to join Magnum Photos, placing him among the world’s most respected visual storytellers.
Rai’s lens chronicled both power and poignancy. He photographed towering figures such as Indira Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Bal Thackeray, Satyajit Ray and Mother Teresa, while also documenting defining moments like the Bhopal gas tragedy later captured in his book Exposure: A Corporate Crime.
Over the years, he published more than 18 books, building an archive that blended journalism with artistry. His contributions were recognised early when he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972 for his coverage of the Bangladesh War and refugee crisis. In 1992, he was named “Photographer of the Year” in the United States for his work in National Geographic, and in 2009, he was honoured with the Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
Rai is survived by his wife Gurmeet, son Nitin, and daughters Lagan, Avani and Purvai. His last rites will be held at Lodhi Cremation Ground in New Delhi at 4 pm on Sunday.
With his passing, Indian photojournalism loses not just a pioneer, but a patient observer of history, one frame at a time.
