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Kodak keen to bring digital cinema to E. Asia
MUMBAI: Joshua Chan is a man with a mission. The business & Asean marketing manager – entertainment imaging of Kodak Singapore is keen to bring digital cinema to east Asia.
And he does not let the fact that he is facing an uphill task bog him down. Like Moses on the mountain top after he received the 10 commandments, Joshua, the digital cinema evangelist sermonizes, “There are close to 110,000 screens globally. There’s tremendous potential to convert them to digital as only 100 of them have taken that path.”
Chan points out that 70 per cent of the digital converts are in the US, 25 per cent in Europe and just five per cent of them in Japan. “The rest of Asia does not have any. In fact, we have seen that a lot of the screens are not permanently digital, the digital projector is rented, and then converted to the normal screen after the show.”
The major hurdle, he believes is price. “The normal film projector costs $3,000, the digital projector costs $150,000,” he points out. “Who is going to bear the cost, the producer, the distributor or the exhibitor is an issue?”
Additionally, there is also the fear of piracy amongst Hollywood studios. “Questions about the safety of encoding and decoding technology are asked which are possibly slowing down the spread. The studios believed that DVD technology safe,” he reveals.
Chan will be speaking at the Asian Film Market Conference in Singapore in early December to try and educate attendees about the pros and cons of digital cinema and “to cut out the hype” in his words.
Despite all these rumblers, digital cinema will become a reality, he says. “At Kodak we have been the pioneers of filmed entertainment for over 100 years,” he adds. “We are working hand in hand with industry with various partners like JVC and IBM on a cinema operating software and others on digital mastering. We will soon be announcing a Kodak Digital Projector with the highest clarity. It’s an evolutionary process. Give digital cinema five to 10 years and you will see it reaching increasing neighbourhoods.”
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Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
