MAM
INMumbai announces winners of Parle-G Ganeshotsav ’03
MUMBAI: The grand finale of the 10-day-long Parle-G INMumbai Ganeshotsav 2003, was held at a function at the Birla Matoshree auditorium today (Tuesday). Maharashtra state home minister Kripa Shankar Singh was the chief guest of the eight edition of the annual award function.
A press release says that over 300 sarvajanik mandals (community centres) from across the city – from south Mumbai to Dahisar on the western suburb, from Sion to Thane on the central side and from Chembur to Vashi on the harbour line – participated in the contest which has come to be identified as part of the Ganesh festival in Mumbai city.
The associate sponsors of the event were Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd, Mumbai District Aids Control Society (MDACS) and IndusInd Bank Ltd. Navshakti was the print media partner for the event.
The release points out the Parle-G INMumbai Ganeshotsav 2003 stands out due to the visual impact of the awards telecast on INMumbai channel through this 10-day-long festival. Special capsules of the various sarvajanik mandals were shot and shown on INMumbai daily.
The awards inspire and motivate the sarvajanik mandals and the channel’s wide coverage makes it a mega television festival too.
Details of winners of the Parle-G INMumbai Ganeshostav’2003 follows:
* Sarvajanik Ganeshostav mandal, Gokul Nagri, Kandivali (E): Best mandal that won a cash prize of Rs 51,000,
* Abhuydayanagar sarvajanik Ganeshostav mandal, Kalachowky: Second best mandal that won a cash prize of Rs 25,000,
* Poorva Mogra sarvajanik Ganeshostsav mandal, Andheri (E): Third best mandal that won a cash prize of Rs 11,000,
* Subash Lane, sarvajanik Ganeshostsav mandal, Kandivali (W): Best theme that won a cash prize of Rs 11,000,
* Tulsiwadi, sarvajanik Ganeshostsav mandal, Tardeo and Shri Bal Gopal SGM, Grant Road: Best idols that won a cash prize of Rs 11,000,
* SGM Vakola, Yeshwant Nagar Vakola, Santacruz (E): Best decoration that won a cash prize of Rs 10,000,
* Sarvajanik Ganeshostsav mandal, Gowdhan Lane, Santacruz (W): Viewers choice award.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
