English Entertainment
Eros Now to premiere original series ‘Salute Siachen’ on 15 Jan
MUMBAI: Eros Now has announced the premiere of it’s original series, Salute Siachen. The series will be aired on 15 January, Army Day.
This first celebrity expedition carried out in association with HTC, to the world’s second longest glacier and highest battlefield was to honour the Indian Army and salute their selfless contribution to the country.
The five-part series shot by the nine celebrity participants on HTC phones takes you through a whirlwind of emotions as they embark upon the toughest journey of their life. The 20-day trek saw popular faces from different walks of life come together to salute the Indian Army.
The celebrity participants underwent rigorous training and prepping for the expedition that began with an acclimatization trek to Stok Kangri base. Bollywood actors Arjun Rampal, Arunoday Singh, sports personalities – cricketer Rudra Pratap Singh and hockey player Yuvraj Walmiki, TV heartthrob Rannvijay Singha along with Namrata Gujaran, Hasan Zaidi, Shlok Sharma and Sonnalli Seygall battled out extreme weather conditions to scale the unpredictable Siachen.
Speaking on the launch of the series on Eros Now digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said, “Salute Siachen is a unique initiative and a humble tribute showcasing our appreciation of the accomplishments of the Indian army and what better occasion than the Army Day to launch this series paying tribute to the valor of our soldiers.”
Eros Now business head Zulfiqar Khan added, “Eros Now’s promise is to narrate inspiring and riveting stories to our audiences and what better way than to kick start with Salute Siachen, that will inspire and entertain millions of viewers. We are encouraged by the faith and support extended by our partner HTC.”
Commenting on the expedition, Rampal, said, “Thank our soldiers, in our own way. At the same time, it was a very personal and emotional journey, and I am grateful to the whole team for the support they gave to me to launch The Gwen Breast Cancer Foundation.”
Speaking on his experience, Singha said, “Salute Siachen has been an exhilarating experience and I am honoured to have been a part of this unique expedition and pay my tribute to the Indian Army.”
Singh commented, “As someone who plays cricket for our country, the urge to show my appreciation to the real heroes of our nation has only risen. Am glad that I could do my bit through Salute Siachen.”
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
