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ITC teams up with Hungama and Shankar Mahadevan for digital talent hunt
MUMBAI: ITC’s leading personal care brand Vivel Face Wash along with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment and renowned Indian musician Shankar Mahadevan have launched digital talent hunt – Vivel Face Wash presents ‘MOBisur”.
The mobile & internet based talent hunt promises to give every Indian an opportunity to storm the world with their singing talent.
In harmony with its brand philosophy “Choo Lo Aasmaan”, Vivel Face Wash has partnered with Hungama to provide a platform to aspiring singers and give them an opportunity to hone their skills under the guidance of Shankar Mahadevan. The digital talent hunt enables participation from anywhere in the country; all that a participant requires is a mobile phone or an Internet connection.
It empowers the participants to break the queue and forego travelling to the nearest city for an audition. The winners of the contest will get an opportunity to record an album with Shankar Mahadevan which will be released by T Series and Hungama. The winners will also receive Rs 500,000 cash prize.
Nilanjan Mukherjee, Head of Marketing, Personal Care Products Business, ITC, said, “Vivel Face Wash is delighted to present Mobisur, an exciting and innovative platform to discover hidden musical talent. The brand Vivel caters to the intrinsic beauty needs of the modern Indian woman thereby giving her the confidence to fulfil her aspirations.”
Bhushan Kumar, MD, T-Series, said, “It gives us immense pleasure to be able to bring new talent in to the industry. As a music label, we are always looking for fresh talent and with a truly digital talent hunt; we have access to talent across the country. We are looking forward to releasing an album composed by Shankar Mahadevan for the winner of the hunt.”
Speaking on the occasion of the launch, Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO, Hungama Digital Media Entertainmen said,
The reach of Internet and Mobile technology has grown tremendously in the past few years. The aim of “MOBisur” is to create a talent-scouting engine in spaces that haven’t been explored in the past, via an entry ticket that is their everyday communication device.”
5000 talented female participants selected from entrees submitted on the Vivel Facebook page will make it to the second round. Participants have to dial 546465, record their voice on a unique IVR and begin their musical journey. Alternatively they can also log onto the website MOBisur website and upload their video.
The contestants who clear the first stage of the auditions will be given specific tasks by Shankar Mahadevan. Based on their performance in the tasks and the votes secured for each task, they will be chosen for the next round.
There are three tasks in all and after clearing all three tasks the contestants make it to the final round, which is the On-Stage Performance. 10 Finalists chosen on the basis of Shankar’s scores as well as votes will be flown down to Mumbai to perform in front of Shankar Mahadevan and two other prominent personalities, where the final two winners will be announced.
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Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
