News Broadcasting
Apsara FPGI Awards finale on 29 May
MUMBAI: The first Apsara Film Producers Guild Awards, FPGI, will announce its winners on Saturday, 29 May 2004.
Auditors Pricewaterhouse Coopers, who have audited the prestigious Oscars for the past 68 years, has taken off to a good start by receiving responses from both the film and TV industry alike.
The first round of short listing the entries is underway. The screenings of the entries will commence shortly and the nominations are slated to be announced on 6 May 2004 at a ceremony in Mumbai, confirms a press release.
The Film Producers Guild of India has set up a separate Apsara Awards Desk. The 50-year old guild with over 160 members, constituting the powerful and influencing luminaries in its sector ensures credibility and transparency of the awards.
Secretary general of the Guild Supran Sen says, “The seriousness and commitment of the Guild was expressed by the support given by the entire industry. It was a touching moment to see great film makers like Ramanand Sagar, B.R. Chopra, Subhash Ghai and even the younger generation like Karan and Rohan amongst them all.”
The personalities constituting the selection committee for the Apsara FPGI Awards includes the director of the awards, Ramesh Sippy, the president of FPGI, Amit Khanna and the chairman of the jury across each of the 4 categories — Shekhar Kapur for the film awards, Govind Nihalani, for the technical awards, Ronnie Screwvala for the television awards and Yash Chopra, who along with Amit Khanna, would head the special award category.
Film Producers Guild of India president Amit Khanna says, “It is indeed a distinguished honour for artists to be recognized by their own peers through awards that are credible, transparent, objective and completely unbiased, which has been the prime objective behind instituting the first Apsara Film Producers Guild Awards. We shall be leaving no stone unturned to ensure that through these awards we establish a standard that parallels the world’s best.”
Guild member Subhas Ghai says, “Indian entertainment is scaling new heights. It’s time to honour talent and who better than industry stalwarts to do it. The Apsara will don an extremely prominent mantle in every winner’s life as this is an award that truly recognises achievement.”
On the other hand, TV Awards Committee chairman and Guild member Ronnie Screwvala says, “Film and television together is the all encompassing future of the Indian entertainment industry. This first step in that direction is going to pave the way for enriching and motivating more quality products for the Indian viewers.”
A special rule booklet has been published by the Guild outlining the format and the eligibility criteria. All films and television programmes released between 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 are eligible for the awards, says the release.
The winners will be voted by the cast of a ballot by all the 160 members of the Guild and not by a viewers’ choice poll. Members including Aamir Khan, Shyam Benegal, Amitabh Bachchan, Ashutosh Gowarikar and Kamal Barjatiya, will be participating in the voting process.
A total of 36 categories, including 23 from cinema and 13 from television, both fiction and non-fiction, will be honoured at the grand finale.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
