MAM
McDowell’s No.1 Soda Yaari Jam Originals & Guru Randhawa welcomes the new year with a foot tapping track “Yaari”
Bengaluru: While the whole world awaits the New Year 2020, McDowell’s No.1 Soda Yaari Jam Originals brings in the Punjabi sensation – Guru Randhawa and popular music producer Vee to wish their fans A Happy New Yaar by releasing the next originals – ‘Yaari’ – that has crossed over 20 million within 24 hours of release. The past year being an extremely successful one for all the originals launched by the brand with renowned artists like Sunidhi Chauhan, Anupam Roy, Tanishk Bagchi, Darshan Raval and Jonita Gandhi. This new track gets the yaars to come together to welcome the new year with a fresh start and a new self!
The original has been written and composed by Guru Randhawa while Vee gave music to it. With this foot tapping track Guru brings alive the emotion of celebrating a new you and with that a new yaar who has overcome the failures, heartbreaks and unfulfilled dreams of the previous year. The music video directed by Gifty has been produced by McDowell’s No. 1 Soda in collaboration with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.
McDowell’s No.1 Soda, has always been an enabler of strong bonds of friendship with fascinating stories of yaari that are brought alive through music. Aiming to bring new outlook and a lot of hope this new year, the track encourages the yaars to get together and celebrate new beginnings and wish each other a “Happy New Yaar”!
Talking about the launch of the original, Guru Randhawa said, “I have been fortunate enough to have had the chance to celebrate new beginnings every year with my yaars. They are the ones who ensured that we overcome our shortcomings from the previous year and filled each other’s lives with hope and faith. Such bonds have always helped me achieve greater heights in life. It was a lovely experience to create a new year song and I hope that inspires people to be a better yaar and enjoy the yaari to the fullest.”
“Yaars in my life have played a very important role to make me who I am today. They have always supported me and encouraged me to explore for more improvement than ever before to achieve greater success. I was thrilled when McDowell’s No.1 Soda Yaari Jam presented me this opportunity to produce music dedicated to yaari. I hope this new year with the song that Guru and I have created people strengthen their bonds further”, added music producer Vee.
Amarpreet Singh Anand, VP Marketing and Portfolio Head, Diageo India, said, “Change is the only constant in this world and at McDowell’s No.1 Soda we believe that it is within us to revive ourselves to be a better yaar and nurture yaari. The success of our previous tracks with renowned artists for No.1 Yaari Jam Originals only motivates us to create more such engaging originals. Guru Randhawa is an incredible talent, very popular among the millennials and a perfect choice to voice the message through this new song.”
“Music plays an integral part in our culture and No celebration is complete without it. We are glad to work with McDowell's No.1 Soda and Hungama on this special song. We are certain that Guru Randhawa and Vee's music will connect with the audiences across the world”, said T-series President Neeraj Kalyan.
Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “Our partnership with McDowell’s No. 1 Soda has allowed us to create original content that marries music with a meaningful and relatable messaging to drive consumer engagement. We are glad to have Guru Randhawa and Vee on board for a song that speaks about the importance of friendships and new beginnings. Over the years, we have created a vast repository of unique music-driven original content that has allowed us to offer a differentiated experience to our users. We are certain that this song and music video as well, will certainly strike a chord with everyone.”
Brands
HP launches Smart Champs learning game show with JioStar for students
Sanya Malhotra hosts quiz series blending fun, learning and prizes
NEW DELHI: HP India has teamed up with JioStar to launch HP Smart Champs, a new learning-based game show designed to make education engaging for school students across the country.
Hosted by Sanya Malhotra, the 10-episode series brings together students from Grades 5 to 9, who compete in teams through quiz and puzzle-based challenges that test knowledge, logic and teamwork. The show will begin streaming on JioHotstar from April 11 and will premiere on Nick on April 18, with weekend episodes airing at 7 PM.
Powered by HP Smart Tank printers, the format integrates print-based learning into the gameplay, using worksheets, clues and visual problem-solving tools to encourage hands-on participation. The idea is to move students beyond rote memorisation and towards more applied, curiosity-led learning.
The competition promises high stakes, with winners set to receive a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, while runners-up will take home Rs 5 lakh. Additional rewards include HP AI laptops, Smart Tank printers and accessories, while the winning school will be awarded an HP Smart Tech Lab.
Speaking about the initiative, HP India managing director Ipsita Dasgupta said, “At HP, we believe nurturing India’s youth is key to the country’s progress, and technology plays a foundational role in enabling this. With HP Smart Champs, we wanted to create something beyond traditional learning, a fun-filled platform where curiosity, creativity and critical thinking take centre stage.”
On the show’s reach, JioStar head entertainment sales Mahesh Shetty said, “HP Smart Champs reflects how children today learn through exploration and experience. With Nick and JioHotstar, we are creating a multi-screen approach that is both engaging and meaningful.”
Highlighting the role of print, HP India senior director print Satish Kumar said, “The show brings print-based learning to life in an engaging format, helping students develop deeper understanding through hands-on experiences.”
The journey to the finale began with participation from over 1,000 schools across 26 cities, narrowing down to 34 finalists who will compete in a studio showdown in Mumbai.
With its blend of entertainment, education and technology, HP Smart Champs is positioning itself as more than just a quiz show. It is a nationwide push to make learning interactive, accessible and, above all, a lot more fun.
