MxMIndia

Author: mxm_india

  • Communications consultant and cricket analyst Hemant Kenkre pays tribute to his friend, ace photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha, who passed away in the early hours of September 13.

    Through the lens, sadly: Remembering Gautam Rajadhyaksha

    By Hemant Kenkre

    The last message from my friend Gautam Rajadhyaksha, a few days ago, said: I will be heading the School of Photography at the Symbiosis International University; we are launching soon. He was planning to head to Pune for the launch on September 16 (his birthday) with his dear friend, ace makeover artist Mickey Contractor.

    As I write this, the events of the last ten hours have yet to sink in. Gautam’s gone to the great studio in the sky, without saying farewell to his many friends and (very unlike the propah man that he was) not letting the institute know. As one walked up the winding steps, dotted with posters from classic operas, all the way to his quaint, artistically done second-floor apartment on Hughes Road, memories of an association of more than 25 years flashed by.

    The many shoots that one witnessed of Gautam clicking away  making superstars of hopeful actors. The high notes of operatic arias immortalized by the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo (Kiti Chintu [Rishi Kapoor] sarkha disto na? he used to say to me) or the dulcet tones of his favourite muse, Asha Bhosle.

    Much has been written about his photographic skills  inspired by the late Wilas Bhende, whom he considered his guru. Gautam was also passionate about music  operas, Marathi natyasangeet and RD Pancham Burman. When Pancham went for a photoshoot at Gautam’s residence cum studio, the duo started to discuss the finer points of opera, leaving a bemused Ashaji wondering when the shoot would start. This was probably one of his favourite shoots. The other, undoubtedly, was when he shot a live (and rare) concert featuring sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle at the Salt Lake Stadium to commemorate Calcutta’s tercentenary. His work, while he sat hunched on the round stage for more than four hours, perfectly depicts the versatility and class of the two divas.

    It was one of his pet dreams to get Ashaji to sing operas  selected by him  in Hindi. Gautam would certainly have known which operas would suit Ashaji as he has the second largest collection of operas in India. In the early 1990s Gautam co-scripted the film Bekhudi which saw the birth of Kajol as an actress. I will never forget the many discussions we had as to who should be the music director. Pancham, alas, had just passed away.

    One feels sad that Gautam could not live to see the birth of his baby: The School of Photography in Pune. He was hell-bent on passing on the tricks of his trade to Gen Next and this school would have brought him immense pleasure and satisfaction. Gautam was not just a connoisseur of art, music and culture but was, in the words of ace lensman Shantanu Sheorey, one of the many photographers he mentored, a complete giver.

    And, as his mortal remains were being carried down those steps on the final journey, the high notes of Pavarotti rang out, bidding goodbye to one of music’s fondest devotees.

    Farewell my friend, we will all miss you.

     

    Hemant Kenkre is a senior communications consultant and cricket analyst.

     

     

  • Ranjona Banerji on how the exploitation of every last drop of drama from a news event is practically an art form

    Paraphrasing Fareed Zakaria

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    It was a joy to watch Time international editor Fareed Zakaria on CNN-IBN being interviewed by Sagarika Ghose. Zakaria talked about both the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the US as well as India’s somewhat dismal record when it comes to pre-empting or even solving terror attacks. Zakaria was also candid about the demonisation of Muslims in India and called our policing  pathetic  and indeed, non-existent. Harsh words, but no less significant or true for that. The anchor, who is often loud and combative, only asked questions and then paraphrased Zakaria’s answers, presumably for us viewers who are short on understanding. Or perhaps cannot comprehend what is going on when sundry guests are not shouting at the same time.

     

    And the award goes to Arnab Goswami!

    The exploitation of every last drop of drama from a news event is practically an art form and the award has to go to Arnab Goswami and Times Now. The fact that the Supreme Court sent back a petition by riot victim Zakia Jafri on the culpability of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in the Gujarat riots to a local court was presented as one woman’s lone battle and so on. Indian TV began the story with its distinct sense of speculation a day before the Supreme Court decision. No TV channel has so far taken the time to explain the context of this petition and has behaved  together with the BJP  as if this is the last legal word ever to be spoken on the riots. Nor has anyone called the BJP on its needless victory marches over nothing.

    As ever, I admire and applaud our potential for stupidity.

    RIP, Gautam Rajadhyaksha

    The death of glamour photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha, who imparted much beauty to our stars, was given fair play. The black money stashed abroad by Indians was in focus again as German and Swiss whistle blowers talked about their findings. It’s not all about politicians though — many rich Indians are involved.

     

    9/11

    The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was commemorated with sombre dignity by the United States and this was reflected in the TV coverage. The anchors and reporters did not behave as if they were part of a travelling jatra troupe re-enacting some tragic melodrama and the focus was on the victims and their families. The politicians did not try to hog the limelight either and nor did TV channels look to them for that.

     

    More newsgazing…

    >> Fareed Zakaria was in the newspapers as well, looking at America after the 9/11 attacks in an edit page piece for Hindustan Times. In The Times of India’s edit page, Union law minister made a reasonable plea for consensus on the Lokpal bill but sadly, the Congress has lost so much ground here is that everything is too little too late.

    >> The Telegraph, Calcutta gives the Supreme Court-Modi story a little twist by pointing out that Modi’s rise is causing maximum fear within the BJP itself and especially amongst other prime ministerial candidates.

    >> The Deccan Chronicle’s Hyderabad edition headlined its Modi story God is great, tweets Modi but then went on to discuss how the Gujarat CM was not in the clear a feat well beyond Indian television. Meanwhile, Modi has decided to go on a fast for national unity, whatever that may mean.

    >> Most newspapers also concentrated on the death at a French nuclear site, Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s observations on Indira Gandhi (prune bitter!), the critical condition of cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin’s son after a motorcycle accident, the blow up by Serena Williams at the US Open final which she then lost.

    >> Websites were full of Novak Djokovic’s US Open win over Rafael Nadal, which finished early on Tuesday morning India time. Undoubtedly, tomorrow will see more on a brewing controversy between the ICC and BCCI and an awards ceremony. Let the drama continue!

     

  • The anchor: Anita Nayyar on 8 reasons women are better bosses than men

    #1 Dedication: Women are found to be far more dedicated and hard-working in their professions, and tend to take work far more seriously. This gives them an edge since dedication is key for any professional to succeed.

     

    #2 Organised : Given their responsibilities viz professional, social and family, women are more organised and hence able to multi-task in their professional and social lives.

     

    #3 Task Management : The need to multi-task and play dual roles makes women better task managers which once again is extremely key for better deliveries and efficiencies in a professional world.

     

    #4 Passion : It is said that in similar situations and working cultures, it is the passion for what you do which differentiates you from others. Women work with a lot of passion. They are far more emotional about their work and this differentiates them. Being genetically emotional automatically makes them more caring, and they deal with situations and people with far more care and sensitivity.

     

    #5 Understanding: The ability to understand various situations works in favour of women. Having to deal with different day-to-day situations help the cause of better understanding and hence better approach to work.

     

    #6 Patience: Women are naturally more patient, and this fantastic ability helps them in all walks of life. A patient boss is preferred any day.

     

    #7 Mature: Dual roles, multi-tasking, passion, etc make women more mature. This helps them in a better understanding and approach at the workplace.

     

    #8 Different : Last but not the least, they are MADE differently!

     

     

    Anita Nayyar is CEO, India and South Asia, Havas Media

     

  • TN announces state-run cable TV channel

    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has announced in the state legislative assembly that the state-run Arasu Cable TV Corporation will start functioning from September 2.

     

    The corporation is launching a total of 90 channels, including pay channels, for a monthly fee of Rs 70, Ms Jayalalithaa said.

     

    The service had been started by the previous DMK government following the split in the DMK  first family  involving the Marans, but, Ms Jayalalithaa said, it had become dormant after DMK chief M Karunanidhi and the Marans resolved their differences.

     

    In a suo moto statement to the Assembly, Ms Jayalalithaa said, The corporation provided 50,000 cable connections when it was started in 2007 but due to selfishness of rulers, it shrank to 432 as on March 31, 2011.

     

    Efforts made to restructure the corporation included the appointment of a chairperson and a managing director. Digital heads were also restructured, and more than 34,000 Multi-System Operators) and cable operators who 1.45 crore connections have joined the network, which covers Chennai as well as other areas.

     

    While consumers will be charged Rs 70 per month, operators will have to pay Rs 20 per connection, Ms Jayalalithaa said, adding that her government’s latest initiative would ensure delivery of cable services at nominal rates.

  • India Today CEO Ashish Bagga is president of the Indian Newspaper Society

    Ashish Bagga is INS president

    By A Correspondent

    Mr Ashish Bagga, Chief Executive Officer of the India Today group, is the new president of the Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2011-12. This was announced at the 72nd annual general meeting of the apex association of newspapers took place in Bengaluru today.

    Mr Bagga succeeded Mr Kundan Vyas of Mumbai’s Janmabhoomi Group. Meanwhile Mr K N Tilak Kumar of Prajavani is the new deputy president, a position that Mr Bagga occupied in 2010-11. Mr Ravindra Kumar of Aj Samaj is Vice President.

    A little about Mr Bagga (information culled from AdAsia 2011 website)

    Mr Bagga has been associated with the Indian media business for over 25 years. Other than the India Today group, he has also worked Hindustan Times as Director (Marketing). Immediately before re-joining India Today in 2001, Mr Bagga did a short stint as President & CEO with Business Standard for the paper’s e-initiative in association with Financial Times, London. Bagga has forged strong partnerships with several leading international media brands for the India Today group. He has been awarded a publishing scholarship by the Publisher’s Association of the United Kingdom through which he also worked with The Daily Telegraph in London in London.

    Mr Bagga is a Physics Honours graduate and an MBA and was also awarded the prestigious British Chevening Scholarship in 2003. He is exceedingly active in various industry bodies.

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  • Bring out the bugles ahead of the World Magazine Congress. Save a few, the topline figures of most magazines show a healthy growth

    IRS 2011 Q2: Top 10 Magazines

    Top 10 Hindi Magazines

    Only Grehalakshmi and Grihshobha have seen a loss of readership from Q1 to Q2 in the Hindi magazine space.

    (All figues in 000s)

    Publication Periodicity 2011 Q1 2011 Q2
    Pratiyogita Darpan M 2027 2154
    Saras Salil F 1945 2039
    Cricket Samrat M 984 1213
    Meri Saheli M 1100 1174
    India Today W 1137 1144
    Grehlakshmi M 1031 1010
    Grihshobha F 1061 1008
    Champak F 843 873
    Vanitha M 707 764
    Nirogdham Q 711 763

     

    Top 10 English Magazines

    Ooops! General Knowledge Today and Competition Success Review have seen a degrowth as have Filmfare and Stardust. It appears interest in current affairs is waning.

    (All figues in 000s)

    Publication Periodicity 2011 Q1 2011 Q2
    India Today W 1650 1724
    Readers Digest M 960 998
    General Knowledge Today M 1002 977
    Competition Success Review M 684 654
    Outlook W 438 456
    The Week W 325 396
    Filmfare F 382 366
    Stardust M 352 342
    Femina F 337 339
    Business Today F 309 333

     

    Top 10 Language Magazines

    Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhum iArogya Masika, Ananda Vikatan, Mathrubhumi Thozil Vartha and Kungumam have seen some degrowth from Q1 to Q2.

    (All figues in 000s)

    Publication Language Periodicity 2011 Q1 2011 Q2
    Vanitha Mal F 2653 2671
    Malayala Manorama Mal W 1413 1393
    Kumudam Tam W 1066 1066
    Karmakshetra Ben W 894 916
    Mathrubhum iArogya Masika Mal M 929 914
    AnandaVikatan Tam W 879 847
    Balarama Mal W 812 818
    MathrubhumiThozhilVartha Mal W 816 790
    Karmasangsthaan Ben W 686 738
    Kungumam Tam W 725 722

    All figures are in Average Issue Readership. Like media buyers, MxMIndia only endorses Average Issue Readership as the currency for readership measurement. Please note that these are only topline figures which have officially been supplied to the media. Sensible buying and planning happens when more data is available.

  • The Top 10 Hindi, English and Language Dailies as determined by MRUC and Hansa Research.

    IRS 2011 Q2: Top 10 Dailiies

    Top 10 Hindi Dailies

    There is no change in the pecking order here. Dainik Jagran rules, Bhaskar is second and Hindustan is #3. Amar Ujala, Rajasthan Patrika, Punjab Kesari occupy the fourth, fifth and sixth slot respectively. Navbharat Times, Prabhat Khabar, Nai Dunia and Hari Bhoomi are #s 7-10. Rajasthan Patrika, Punjab Kesari and Nai Dunia have degrown from Q1 to Q2 as per the topline figures posted by Hansa Research.

    (All figues in 000s)

    Publication 2011 Q1 2011 Q2
    Dainik Jagran 15910 16393
    Dainik Bhaskar 14016 14174
    Hindustan 11810 11985
    Amar Ujala 8747 8891
    Rajasthan Patrika 7033 6941
    Punjab Kesari 3479 3414
    Navbharat Times 2589 2650
    Prabhat Khabar 1812 1893
    NaiDunia 1762 1714
    HariBhoomi 1418 1437

     

    Top 10 English Dailies

    Mount Road MahaVishnu ‘The Hindu’ has degrown and so have Mumbai Mirror and The Tribune, albeit insignicantly.

    (All figues in 000s)

    Publication 2011 Q1 2011 Q2
    The Times Of India 7442 7471
    Hindustan Times 3692 3737
    The Hindu 2095 2077
    The Telegraph 1203 1209
    DeccanChronicle 1035 1088
    DNA 822 824
    The Economic Times 769 785
    Mumbai Mirror 780 758
    The Tribune 569 567
    The New Indian Express 550 559

     

    Top 10 Language Dailies

    As per the topline figures put  by Hansa Research and MRUC, Matrubhumi, ABP, Gujarat Samachar and Daily Sakal have all lost out in Q2 vis-a-vis Q1.

    (All figues in 000s)

    Publication Language 2011Q1 2011Q2
    Malayala Manorama Mal 9938 9962
    Lokmat Mar 7486 7595
    Daily Thanthi Tam 7187 7290
    Mathrubhumi Mal 6800 6690
    Ananda Bazar Patrika Ben 6118 6063
    Eenadu Tel 5991 6032
    Gujarat Samachar Guj 5276 5220
    Dinakaran Tam 5123 5167
    Sakshi Tel 5042 5106
    Daily Sakal Mar 4568 4448

    All figures are in Average Issue Readership. Like media buyers, MxMIndia only endorses Average Issue Readership as the currency for readership measurement. Please note that these are only topline figures which have officially been supplied to the media. Sensible buying and planning happens when more data is available.

  • Is television more powerful for marketers than other media? Why?

    The Anchor: Abraham Alapatt on 7 reasons a marketer prefers television to other media

    #1 Reach

    IRS media figures show a 17.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the spread of cable and satellite TV across India. The figures, for the first quarter of 2011, show that the total reach of cable and satellite TV is now 416.51 million, up from 403.51 million registered in the fourth quarter of 2010, and just under 383.61 million homes a year ago. Television – including terrestrial transmission – is now available in 522.44 million Indian homes, up 5 percent on the 516.41 million figure at the end of 2010, and the 509.86 million recorded in the first quarter of 2010.

    In fact, the only sections of the survey which registered a dip in the IRS figures were radio and cinema penetration. Cinema’s reach fell by minus 5.4 percent CAGR, from 81.66 million at the end of 2010 to 79.71 million in Q1 2011. The total reach of radio fell from 163.91 million to 161.48 million in the same period: a drop of 8.3 percent negative CAGR.

    #2 Family consumption

    In markets like the US or the UK – small families, working parents and typically “more than one TV homes” is the norm. In India on the other hand, TV viewing is a social “family” gathering where Indian families (often larger/joint families) gather around the single television in the living room of the home. This means that, with approximately four people viewing per TV set in India (during prime time) the reach is not just significantly larger than the numbers suggest, but also more involved and animated as a family unit. This aids marketers across segments and target groups. This group consumption of TV as opposed to radio, print or internet (which are usually consumed alone) makes it very powerful and unique.

     

    #3 Nature of media

    The versatility of the media – combining audio and visual elements and allowing stories, humour, glamour and imagery to be combined, makes it a potent tool for marketers to project their message/brand in the most attractive manner possible.

     

    #4 Segmentation based on viewer profile

    Based on time of day, nature of programme etc, marketers are able to target the right segment better than other traditional media such as print and radio.

     

    #5 Planned consumption

    TV viewing, in extension to being a social/family event, is consumed to a specific time pattern/lifestyle and is therefore fairly dependable from a marketers’ point to view to reach prospects.

     

    #6 Consumption by habit

    An extension of the social and planned aspects is “force of habit” – viewers of a particular program/channel tend to consume it almost by habit, unless the content fails to deliver or something more attractive comes up on another channel during the same time band. Women viewers of soap operas, teens watching MTV or lifestyle channels, men watching cricket/sports/news are cases in point.

     

    #7 Ads themselves as content

    With ads getting more creative, slick and entertaining, TV ads have themselves become subjects of discussion and aid brand consumption – Vodafone’s ZooZoos, Airtel’s new jingle “Har ek friend…” etc are just some very popular recent examples. This is, for obvious reasons, a marketer’s dream come true.

     

    Abraham Alapatt is Head – Brand & Corporate Communication, Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited.

  • CyberMedia Research: India Media Tablet market emerges as 9-month sales touch 1.58 lakh units.

    Tablets soaring in Indian market

    By A Correspondent

    The India media tablets market witnessed high-decibel launches by the world’s leading vendors, aiming to ‘wow’ consumers with snazzy, new offerings.

    Although the India tablets market is still nascent, nearly 1,58,000 media tablets were sold (shipped) in the nine months ended June 30, 2011. The split between 3G and WiFi models was in the proportion 70:30. Samsung used a tactical price drop to emerge the best selling Tablet brand in India during the three quarters ended June 2011.

    Olivepad launched the first media tablet in India in July 2010. The first major international brand to launch followed in October 2010 – the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The Apple iPad, the most well recognized tablet, arrived in India only in January 2011.

    Table 1. India Tablet Market: Leading Vendors (in terms of unit shipments),
    October 2010-June 2011

     

    Vendor Launch Month and Year Market Share
    (in terms of unit shipments)
    Samsung October 2010 45.8%
    RIM June 2011 21.0%
    Apple January 2011 18.4%
    Others – 14.8%

     

    Source: CyberMedia Research, September 2011

     

    “Tablets provide touch based user experience with a convenient screen size for web surfing, content consumption and entertainment. Moreover, portability, ease of use and wireless connectivity ‘on-the-go’ make the tablet an even more attractive buy”, stated Anirban Banerjee, Associate Vice President, Research and Advisory Services, CyberMedia Research.

     

    “Currently, the India media tablets market has many more models available with a range of features and at a variety of price points, compared to six months ago. However, for the Tablet to become a common man’s device, usage tariffs for high speed data services need to be brought down even further along with useful and relevant content for the Indian consumer”, Anirban added.

     

    RIM’s Playbook, Apple’s iPad2, Motorola’s Xoom and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7 are some of the notable MNC tablet brands available in the India market in the high end range. Tablet models in the India market in 2Q 2011 ranged from Rs. 8,000 per unit going up to Rs. 47,000 per unit. Going forward, CyberMedia Research expects a majority of Tablet models to launch in the volume segment at a price band between Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 15,000.

     

    Tablets to help personalize the individual’s digital life

    Content consumption will form the backbone of Tablet adoption in India. The consumption patterns span multiple formats: Entertainment (Music, Movies, Gaming, Cricket etc.), Video (calls, video sharing sites, Live TV), social networking and IM, web browsing and educational content (wikis, online digital libraries), ‘T-banking’, and productivity enhancement tools and corporate applications (e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets and others).

     

    The use cases would range from purely individual instances of content consumption (e-books) to sharing of content in social settings (family photo albums), professional environments (presentations, videoconferencing) or public and statutory filings and transactions (requests for government services, e-filing of tax returns).

     

    “Applications like video chat and Live TV already popular with smartphone users around the world are expected to become popular with India media tablet users as well. Further, it is expected that new data focused applications will be developed for the Tablet user community. Newspapers that have their PC- and mobile-specific websites are expected to develop tablet-specific websites and ‘apps’ as the tablet user base grows and achieves critical, making it attractive for advertisers. The type of content being consumed will be determined by the use case and the individual’s preferences depending on stage of life or time of day or week”, stated Mr Naveen Mishra, Lead Analyst, Telecommunications Practice, CyberMedia Research.

     

    “As the ecosystem of collaboration and partnerships between device vendors, content providers and operators comes alive, and more local language content and localized apps become available, a variety of new use cases are expected to emerge. Innovations such as USB connectivity so that customers are able to use their existing dongles or an SD card slot to help users copy and store large volumes of personal digital content will help to strengthen adoption of media tablets in India”, Mr Mishra further added.

     

    BWA and Volume Segment Tablets: The Game Changing ‘Combo’

    Reliance-Infotel won broadband wireless access (BWA) licences for 22 out of 23 circles in the spectrum auction in 2010, while Qualcomm acquired BWA licenses in four circles including Mumbai and Delhi. Aircel, Bharti, Tikona and Augere also won BWA licences in select circles.

     

    Further proliferation of 3G networks and launch of BWA (4G / WiMax / LTE) services will lead to new types of data services being demanded and consumed by mobile subscribers. This trend is expected to contribute to a rise in shipments of media tablets in the India market in CY 2011 to touch 2,75,000 units. At that point, the total number of vendors is expected to touch 35 with 90 models on offer.

     

    “The launch of low cost tablets bundled with affordable data services on 3G and BWA networks can be expected to give a further boost to India Tablet shipments in 2012 and beyond,” Mr Mishra concluded.

     

     

  • Sansanit Kanakhali (One Tight Slap), a social Initiative by Zee 24 Taas, tackled the bumpy subject of potholes.

    Zee’s wakeup call for municipality over potholes

    By A Correspondent

    Monsoons are almost through and Mumbai’s roads are already worse than war zones. Even the lord Ganesha came & went through these roads still the conditions are same and even worse. Authorities claim that they have done enough work to fill these potholes but the reality is different. At the start of monsoon Zee 24 Taas started a social campaign Sansanit Kanakhali against the potholes on Mumbai roads. The campaign involved a Facebook application where people can upload the pictures of potholes with their name and brief description of affected area. There was also a slap counter was given where in people could post a slap to the worst picture uploaded, this was like voting the worst patch of Mumbai.  During the campaign period hundreds of pictures were uploaded by users and approximately 10,000 fans joined in the campaign. The responsible persons for worst affected roads were called in the Zee 24 Taas studio and were grilled to answer the viewers’ questions.

    The campaign was well promoted in Print (Times of India, Mid-day, DNA, Loksatta & Maharashtra Times) and on digital media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc) as well as through a particularly novel channel, ie the use of street theatre.

    Zee 24 Taas campaign application page on Facebook also had the option of uploading the photos of potholes with area and user’s name, where hundreds of pictures were uploaded from users across Mumbai.

    After a successful completion of this campaign, the BMC launched a tracking system called “Pothole Tracker” on the same lines of Zee 24 Taas campaign “Sansanit Kanakhali”. This tracking system would be linked to the website of BMC wherein people can upload the pictures of potholes. Once the photos are uploaded, SMSes will be sent to the complainants, who will be able to track their complaints till they are closed.

    This is an example of a case where a campaign done by a media channel has struck a chord with the government body.

     

  • Cornetto ‘Luv Reels Take 2’ by Kwality Wall’s Cornetto and MTV is hitting theatres on Friday, October 7 and premiering on MTV on October 14.

    Take 2 of Cornetto Luv Reels on MTV

    By A Correspondent

    Youth brand MTV and Kwality Wall’s Cornetto in collaboration with Kunal Kohli Productions will present the second season of its series of romantic short films ‘Cornetto Luv Reels – Take 2’. After the successful first season of the series a year ago, this one of a kind project that provides a platform to anybody who has the passion for acting, singing, and writing scripts is back yet again. Starting October 14, 2011, at 7 pm on MTV, it will exclusively showcase a series of three short films / love stories directed by Kunal Kohli Productions.

    Kick-starting the movie careers of several new aspiring actors, singers and music composers; ‘Cornetto Luv Reels – Take 2’ will air a 60-minute short film every week.  Kunal Kohli Productions has extended support for the direction as well as the production of these films. The lucky winners of the contest who will be making their debut on screen are Rahul Preenja as Karan Kriplani, Saahiel Sehgal as Gaurav, Sukhmani Sadana as Payal and Gaurav Kakkar as Karthik. The short films from the ‘Cornetto Luv Reels – Take 2’ series will also be exclusively screened at select PVR Cinemas in Mumbai & Delhi and INOX theatre in Mumbai for the audience.

    ‘Cornetto Luv Reels – Take 2’ brings to your television screens three exciting, delightful and heart-warming love stories to reminisce – ‘Phir’, ‘Ishq Holiday’ and ‘The Saviour’.  ‘Phir’, is a story of two strangers, Karan and Ayesha and their journey through Mauritius and the mysteries surrounding their pasts. ‘Ishq Holiday’ will take you through Payal’s dream of a perfect romantic holiday with her Mr Right only with a few twists and turns.  ‘The Saviour’, is a story about Pia who meets Karthik on her way to her cousins wedding and how circumstances unfold a spell binding saga.

    On the launch of the second season Mr Aditya Swamy, EVP and Business Head – MTV India said, “At MTV, we are continuously looking at boosting the spirit of the youth and searching for new avenues/creative ways to showcase young talent. Cornetto Luv Reels is one such platform for the raw and young talent at large in varied fields”. He further added, “After the tremendous response from the project last year, this year too we have received an overwhelming number of entries, reassuring us that we are doing something that the youth really wants.”

    Mr Sapan Sharma, General Manager Kwality Walls Cornetto Ice-creams commented, “Cornetto is a brand for the youth and is all about expressing what’s inside their heart. That’s what we call Say it with Cornetto! Cornetto Luv Reels has a mission of bringing to surface the talent hidden inside our youth. This is a unique contest in which the aspirants upload their videos, pictures, songs and scripts on www.cornetto.in to take a shot at Bollywood. This year we received over 1.36 lakh entries and that has tripled from last year. Also our Facebook fan numbers are surging and we have close to 5 lakh young consumers on our page.”

    “Cornetto Luv Reels – Take 2 is a path breaking example of how co-creation really works. One of the key tasks at HUL in developing world-class Media Innovation is to drive consumer engagement, media effectiveness and build repeatable and sustainable properties. Cornetto Luv Reels – Take 2 is one such successful example” says Mindshare’s Mr Ravi Rao, Leader-Team Unilever, South-Asia.

    Kunal Kohli, Kunal Kohli Productions also commented, “We are thrilled to be associated with MTV and Kwality Wall’s Cornetto on the project this year too. After gruelling online auditions we came up with the winners who would get an opportunity to be part of three romantic short films this year.”

    The concept of Luv Reels is developed by Mindshare, a Group M Company.