MxMIndia

Tag: Kangana Ranaut

  • To host reality show Lock Upp: Badass Jail, Atyaachari Khel

    Kangana Ranaut to host reality show for MX Player & ALTBalaji

    By Our Staff

     

    MX Player, the video streaming and video on demand platform , and ALTBalaji, subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms, have announced reality show titled Lock Upp: Badass Jail, Atyaachari Khel. As many as 16 controversial celebrities will be put together in a lock up for months and will be stripped of their amenities. Kangana Ranaut will step in as the host of the show. A bit like Bigg Boss? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.

     

    Said Karan Bedi, CEO – MX Media: “MX has always been a market disruptor – our user first approach to create product and content experiences that appeal to our huge audiences’ segments has made us India’s largest entertainment platform today. Lock Upp is yet another step in disrupting the Indian entertainment ecosystem as it is designed as a digital first non-fiction offering that will release on a scale that is unprecedented for India. We are excited to collaborate with ALTBalaji and with one of India’s finest actors – Kangana Ranaut.”

     

    Added Ekta Kapoor, the Big(g) Boss of Balaji: “I am glad to announce India’s biggest & the most fearless reality show Lock Upp hosted by the powerhouse of talent and the dynamic Kangana Ranaut. Kangana has been a very dear friend, I am glad to support and congratulate her on her first digital debut. Lock Upp is being launched on a massive scale and has all the elements that make for an entertaining reality show. The concept of the show is brilliant, and I am sure that it will captivate the viewers and set a new-standard for reality shows. I am also glad that MX Player has partnered with ALTBalaji. I wish the team the very best and I am sure they will create history with Lock Upp and that it will be a roaring success!”

     

  • Sanjeev Kotnala on the Tanishq and the controversy around it. "I find nothing wrong with the ad… In fact, I find it a decently good ad," he writes

    Intent does not count in a troll-defined world

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    For me, the  Tanisq Ekatvan (Unity or Oneness with Divine Consciousness) advertisement appeared first in a WhatsApp group. A group that is reasonably levelheaded. The post read, “https://youtu.be/t3dJtFoVWWM,  the trolls have got this ad pulled off the air. Let’s spread it as widely as possible.

     

    What do you think happened next? 

    We did not ask why the ad should be spread widely? However, eight of us saw it in the next 2 minutes and started discussing the advertisement, the story, the trolls and the brand. It is safe to presume that this must have happened across a hundred and thousands of WhatsApp groups. Keep this thought parked at the back of your head.

     

    Tanishq Ekatvan Content

    The story of a Hindu girl marrying into a Muslin family. The Muslim family adopting one of the Hindu rituals to see their daughter-in-law smiling. A thought of unity, inclusiveness and togetherness. However, the big political trolls saw it otherwise—an opportunity to keep alive the hatred and polarised emotions.

    It was trolled to such an extent that the Tanishq took it off from their official digital platforms. Maybe the nearness to the festival season influenced the hasty decision of bowing to the trolls. Being a commercial entity, it made sense. But there are other things that, according to my dear friend and a familiar person, the Consultant Vermajee thinks makes no sense. I am surprised, how most of us, the myopic in-sighters lose the sight of sinister possibilities that the Trolls can expertly visualise.

    Somewhere someone commented on the Tanishq ad. The person said, ‘the Hindu Trolls should understand that it is the Muslim family, which is adapting to the Hindu Rituals, they should be happy’. However, a large section of voice on the social platforms challenged brand Tanishq to do the same communication with the roles reversed. A Muslim Girl Marrying into a Hindu family and the family adopting a Muslim ritual for her. Well, one can anticipate how bad the backlash could be. I am sure, no smarty at the client-side considered such a possibility.

     

     

    Personally, I find nothing wrong with the ad. In fact, I find it a decently good ad.

     

    Why Integration Is Tough.

    The buzz on social platforms will make us believe that no one wants to see a better tomorrow. No one wants re-integration of regions and religions. Unfortunately, we seem to be trained now to see ulterior motives in everything positive. Maybe the current situations make us believe the impossibility of the task. In the process, we are creating our cocoons. We are alienating ourselves. We believe the hatred-filled narrative presented to us on the social and political platforms and Toxic channels.

     

    Some Voices.

    I like the same voices on twitter. @RosheeLc tweet’s, “It’s unfortunate that a creative ad of the Tanishq brand is pulled out just because it is distasteful to a particular section of the society. The basic premise to launch any ad should be to target the heterogeneous audience that endorses its belief system and sees value in it”.

    @Ambimpg says, “This is a wonderful ad. I said so in a media interview. But trolls being trolls.. @TanishqJewelry has withdrawn the ad. Maybe Diwali season is too close for comfort”.

    A voice not held in high esteem by me, Chetan Bhagat tries to take a high stand without evaluating a business decision. He tweets, “As a TATA group company, expected #Tanishq to be fairer and braver. If you have done nothing wrong, if you have shown something beautiful about our country, don’t get bullied. Be Indian.

    Be strong”. A voice @Srimatesh tells Chetan, “Absolutely. And it takes a real spine to own up a goof-up which they promptly did. Kudos #TanishqEkatvam #TanishqJewelry #TanishqAd”

     

    Absolutely. And it takes real spine to own up a goof-up which they promptly did. Kudos #TanishqEkatvam #TanishqJewelry #TanishqAd

    — श्री ಶ್ರೀ ?? (@srimatesh) October 13, 2020

     

    And I am appalled by a voice that I respected now acting silly. Kangana Ranaut tweeted, “As Hindus, we need to be absolutely conscious of what these creative terrorists are injecting into our subconscious, we must scrutinise, debate and evaluate what is the outcome of any perception that is fed to us, this is the only way to save our civilisation #tanishq“. And the tweet was running with thousands of likes!

     

    This advert is wrong on many levels, Hindu bahu is living with the family for significant amount of time but acceptance happens only when she is carrying their heir. So what is she just a set of ovaries?This advert does not only promote love-jihad but also sexism #tanishq

    — Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) October 13, 2020

     

    Social platforms will make us believe that more people are against the advertisement. It will tell us that the highly polarised voices are getting appreciated. It is definitely a sad state of affairs.

     

    Consultant Vermajee Debates

    Tanishq is a big brand and a Tata company. It must be having decent-sized agencies on its roll. The agencies must be alive to the current situation on the ground. They must know the prevailing sentiments that the minority in the majority and the majority in the minority have against each other.

    In such times, how could the agency be so blind, as to propose such a goody-goody- we-all-are-same-blood-Hindustani inclusive communication. Unless it was a strategic call. Unless the brand expected to be trolled for it. Unless the brand believed, trolling will give them more eyeballs than a typical media investment can. Unless they think, the buying decision of the people who can afford Tansihq will not be impacted by the trolls.

    With such a communication, the client-agency teams would have done scenario building and planned their defence and an honourable escape.

    If the agency failed to advise the client to take an open-eyed conscious decision and have a backlash management plan ready. In that case, they should not hold their position. What was their Consultant doing? Talking of being hyperopia with a myopic skew.

    Dinesh Gopalan a friend and IIM-A batchmate puts it in the right perspective. He says, “love jihad is real. Excessive political correctness is not good. It is good to call a spade a spade. The ad needs to be taken down.”. It is a point-of-view that Vermajee and I may not wholly agree with. We like a true Consultant would add, “if you do this as a part of an open-eyed decision, then be willingly stand up for your right and don’t take the advertisement off”.

     

    The Question Remains.

    Till when will the freedom of expression be denied to the advertising profession. When will we ensure that polarised voices do not pressurise business entities to withdraw their communication? Something so harmless; unless seen with polarised eyes and mind. Till when will the creative expression and storytelling need to be watered to be politically and socially acceptable to every Tom-$@&# and Harry.

     

    Should We Get Back To Storyboard Approval?

    I worked in the only-Doordarshan era. The period when we would submit a storyboard for approval. No one shot without approval. No one knew what could be objected to. Invariably the approved storyboard would come to the rescue if any objections were raised later-on.

    It seems we need a communication approving body with members representing regions, religions, caste and professions which would approve the script. And even that may not be a complete assurance for any objection on a later date but will be better than the state of anarchy we face today. I don’t see it as sarcasm or a retro mindset. What we are doing is retro.

     

    PostScript.

    Someone said- if only Tanishq could have added at the end- Jago Re Jago Hindu Jago re. And it really summed up the picture.

     

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is a senior business and marketing strategist and educator. He writes on MxMIndia every Wednesday. His views here are personal

     

  • When political ideology enters other fields of public discourse and begins to influence the opinions there, we certainly have a reason to worry, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Death by On-Air Investigation

    Image taken from advertising mailer sent out by Republic TV

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    I have started watching Republic TV over the last week or two, after a gap of a few years. The bizarre on-air investigation being carried out by the channel and its owner-editor, who is also its only primetime anchor, Arnab Goswami, under the title ‘Sushant Singh Rajput death probe’ has befuddled me. There have been many cases of irresponsible media coverage of celebrity news over the year, but here, the issue is larger, and the moral standing murkier.

    The “investigation” started fine about three weeks ago. Kangana Ranaut chose to give an interview to Goswami, and he’s a fine interviewer on most days. She was shooting from the hip and he played along. But since then, the channel’s coverage of the topic has progressively degenerated. It’s as if the Ranaut interview gave Goswami the idea that there’s a big story in this, and you can run the entire channel on it for at least 4-6 weeks.

    The week after the interview featured persistent attacks by Goswami on senior producers and directors of the Hindi film industry. Using the edgy material Ranaut had armed him with, Goswami went about questioning the people she mentioned, with little headway, during that week. There was also an interview with Shatrughan Sinha, where the seasoned actor-cum-politician didn’t say much despite Goswami’s persistence, rightly pointing out that he doesn’t have the details.

    It’s over the last two weeks that Goswami’s investigation has become increasingly brazen. He’s sidelined his earlier nepotism narrative and has now taken up a “murder, not suicide” theory that he’s relentlessly pushing, two hours every night for two weeks and counting. Last night, he even said that if people thought this is a media trial, he’s like to inform them that he wanted to be a lawyer but couldn’t, but he may as well appear in a black robe one day on his show. Yes, he said that!

    It’s amusing at one level but dangerously immoral at another. If I make a list of people he has “accused” in some form or the other over the last three weeks, it will probably be a number around 15. In the middle of a pandemic, mental health is a serious concern as it is, and if any of those “accused” are affected because of how they are being projected (many other channels are simply trying to ape Goswami’s investigation, making it a wider concern), who will be held responsible?

    The other danger is of influencing the opinion of the lawmakers. Can a narrative being fed to the general population day in, day out not influence the police, the government and the judiciary at all? That’s a utopian situation, but we have seen before that reality is different.

    If the general audience builds an opinion of their own, however specious it is, and finds an organic way of channeling it to others, it’s within the democratic framework and hence should be accepted, even if one disagrees with the discourse and its general intellectual level. But Goswami is using mainstream media to peddle a narrative that has no legal standing right now. He keeps saying “I am only asking questions”, but he goes on to provide answers to them too, invariably every time he asks one.

    There’s also clear political polarisation at play here. How an entertainment industry news item became fodder for politics is beyond my comprehension, but it has happened, and unmistakably so. When political ideology enters other fields of public discourse and begins to influence the opinions there, we certainly have a reason to worry.

    Over the next few weeks, Goswami and his clones would have milked this topic dry and moved on. They will then find another story. And with each such on-air inquest, they will keep making the moral compass more and more irrelevant, under one broad defense: That the nation wants to know.

     

    Shailesh Kapoor is Founder and CEO, Ormax Media. He writes on MxMIndia on most Fridays. His views here are personal

     

     

  • It’s the first-ever campaign by the brand which will take the digital-first route

    Liva launches its digital-exclusive campaign, #LiveYourFlow

    By A Correspondent

     

    Liva, the ingredient brand from the Aditya Birla Group, launched its latest campaign #LiveYourFlow which features actor Kangana Ranaut. This is the first-time that the brand has taken the route of releasing the campaign first on digital platforms including social media.

     

    “It was a strategic decision to the digital-first route,” said Srishti Sawhney, President and Global Brand Head, Grasim Industries, Pulp & Fibre Business, and added: “Liva, being a new age natural fabric brand has always taken initiatives to connect with the end consumer in innovative and creative ways. There is a huge attitudinal and behavioral shift in consumption towards digital media. Therefore we too have evolved our marketing strategy to reach out to the customer more effectively.”

     

     

  • Liva from Aditya Birla Group group, has extended its contract for yet another year

    Liva extends its association with Kangana Ranaut

    By A Correspondent

     

    Liva from Aditya Birla Group, has extended its contract for yet another year with Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut.

     

    Said Manohar Samuel, President – Business Development & Marketing, Birla Cellulose: “Kangana Ranaut embodies the true values of Liva with her effortless style, dynamic personality. Today she is by far the face that is reckoned with style, fashion and dynamism. The brand and its ambassador have a lot in common. Today Kangana has carved a unique space for herself among her fans. We are delighted to have her as the face of our brand. Kangana Ranaut has come a long way with her talent and passion towards her work. She has the ability to easily fit into any character with tremendous fluidity, just like Liva fabrics. Fashion for her is about being oneself and having a sense of spontaneity.”

     

     

  • This follows the launch of its premium lifestyle housing project, Platinum Vogue in Mumbai

    Platinum Corp. announces Kangana Ranaut as brand ambassador

    A Correspondent

     

    Platinum Corp has announced the launch of its premium lifestyle housing project, Platinum Vogue in Mumbai. Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut has been named as the brand ambassador of the project.

     

    Said Vishal Ratanghayra, Director, Platinum Corp: “We are excited to announce the launch of Platinum Vogue, a perfect blend of fashion and lifestyle realty project for our esteemed customers. This project is located at a strategic location with seamless connectivity. The project is a blend of premium luxury lifestyle and a classy environment. We are sure that Platinum Vogue, would become one of the address of the aspiring population of Mumbai”.

     

  • The film has been conceptualised by Lowe Lintas and directed by Mikon Van Gastel

    Liva’s latest campaign starring Kangana Ranaut creates stir

    By A Correspondent

     

    Aditya Birla Group has unveiled a new campaign by Lowe Lintas starring KanganaRanaut. It is about a new-age fabric called Liva that infuses incredible fluidity into garments, notes a communique.

     

    Said Rajeev Gopal, CMO, Birla Cellulose: “The vision of brand Liva is to provide Indian consumers a choice of fabric, which can allow them to dress fashionably and yet be comfortable and fluid. Also, as LIVA promises fluidity, it comes alive much better in a moving medium than in print. So it’s a natural progression for the brand’s advertising to now move from print to television.”

     

    Added Raj Gupta, CEO, Lowe Lintas: “Liva is certainly going to bring about a transformation when it comes to fashion garments. It’s fluid, soft and drapes beautifully, so much so that it moves with you. As compared to most other fabrics that box you in, Liva liberates you.”

     

    Commented Deepa Geethakrishnan, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas: “Liva is not just a natural fibre, or a fabric, or a garment or a fashion statement. Liva is all of this and more!! The challenge was to bring alive this story of LIVA, in an edgy way, so it stands out in the cluttered fashion playground. And who better than Kangana Ranaut, to flaunt the Liva Flow!”

     

    About the concept of the film, Director Mikon Van Gastel Director said: “Liva transforms a fabric and it makes it really fluid, so it becomes all about metaphors and movement and it is little bit complicated to think about and to translate that into visuals but that’s what makes it exciting.”

     

  • Unveiling of Nakshatra diamond jewellery's growth strategy featuring a omnichannel retail store network in Tier I and II cities along with robust online presence

    Kangana Ranaut new face of Nakshatra Diamonds

    By A Correspondent

     

    Diamond jewellery brand Nakshatra has unveiled a new brand campaign led by television commercials featuring its brand ambassador popular Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut. The new TVCs focus on the celestial inspiration of the brand centred around the traditional seven diamond motif which has a deep connection with our mythology. These films make it appropriate for the forthcoming wedding season and other auspicious days for no wedding is complete without the eternally brilliant and forever auspicious Nakshatra Diamond Jewellery.

     

    The brand also unveiled its robust growth strategy led by omnichannel retail expansion in Tier I and Tier II cities along with online presence of the lifestyle marketplace with specially curated collections of Nakshatra Diamond Jewellery and designer apparels.

     

    Said Saurav Bhattacharya, Group President – Gitanjali Group: “Nakshatra has always been positioned as the most precious jewellery brand for a modern Indian woman to adorn on her wedding or any other auspicious occasion. Kangana complements Nakshatra’s celestial brilliance as she herself is an icon of beauty, style and innovation.”

     

    Speaking about the brand’s expansion plans, Bhattacharya added “Nakshatra is now poised for major expansion and is entering an exciting growth phase. In the coming year, we plan to open 100 franchisee & coco stores and build touch points in leading jewellery retail stores across 30-40 Tier I and Tier II cities of India.”

     

  • Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the new ad campaign features Kangana Ranaut

    MebelKart rolls out new ad campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    MebelKart, leading online furniture marketplace launched a new ad campaign across TV and digital platforms. The TVC featuring Kangana Ranaut showcases the “Ease of Buying Furniture” through their mobile application and getting them home delivered in one click.

     

    The campaign has been conceptualized by Rajkumar Hirani Films, AskMe and MebelKart team. The idea behind this TVC is to create a space in the furniture category highlighting the ease of buying furniture by just sitting at home and ordering. The story is told from the perspective of a tech-savvy new age girl who uses technology to her advantage. She convinces her strict father and hoodwinking him that she was looking for furniture the entire day in her own impish way.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Rahul Agrawal, Co-founder and CEO, MebelKart said, “There is a huge problem of service, warranty, design availability, cost effectiveness and brand absence in furniture market which is primarily unorganized. Our aim is to remove these hassles through technology and speed its growth by focusing on mobile sales, augmented reality-based app and the services market.”

     

    “Home furniture market of India has observed a steady evolution over the past decade with a shift in customer perception to choose organized brands instead of developing furniture products from carpenters. The increase in knowledge about designs, wood materials and pricing schemes has propelled the Indian customer to choose more branded products.” said Manav Sethi, Group CMO & Head Digital Strategy, AskMe.

     

    AskMe holds a majority stake in the online furniture marketplace MebelKart. With furniture being available at AskMe.com now, one does not have to travel around to choose their furniture, instead all they need to do is browse through the wide range of furniture at AskMe.  This is precisely what the advertisement suggest, with added flavor of Kangana’s acting skill.

     

    Karan Narvekar, Creative Director said, “Our interpretation of ‘Ease of Buying Furniture’ was quiet interesting and the campaign is completely based on hassle free shopping experience starting from search to the delivery of the product. It reflects the idea of designing every home in India at the most affordable prices with best services.”

     

  • In approximately 40 months of its journey, Voylla has achieved good business milestones

    Kangana Ranaut appointed brand ambassador for Voylla

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fashion jewellery brand Voylla has announced an endorsement engagement with Kangana Ranaut.

     

    “For us, it was a strategic fit since Kangana personifies the brand. A Voylla woman is independent, progressive, and truly believes in a woman’s choice to look good and feel good. We are extremely delighted with this endorsement. We started as an eCommerce only brand but now are well and truly on our way to become a compelling omni- channel brand. We are looking at opening atleast 100 stores in the next 24 months. This association with Kangana is a part of well thought out strategy to help us reach out to a very large customer base,” said Vishwas Shringi, Founder & CEO of Voylla.

     

    In approximately 40 months of its journey, Voylla has achieved good business milestones. From being the largest selling online fashion jewellery brand to now roping in Kangana and embarking on its omni- channel journey with its first store in Rajauri Garden Delhi, is a remarkable feat. Voylla had received an encouraging seed fund from Snowleopard Momentum LLC and has recently raised a SeriesB funding from Peepul Capital.

     

    Voylla is currently sold through its monobrand site, 29 online channels and few strategic SIS counters in Future Group led Central. It provides a choice of over 35,000 SKUs at any given point of time, with around 800 SKUs being added every week.

     

  • As the brand ambassador, KanganaRanaut will be featured in some of the promotional initiatives by Myntra.com, helping build a strong connect between the brand and its fans across the country

    Myntra brings onboard Kangana ‘Queen’ Ranaut as ambassador of DressBerry

    Myntra.com has brought on-board KanganaRanaut as its brand ambassador and the face for its fast fashion in-house brand DressBerry. With Ranaut’s recent run at the box office, Myntra saw Kangana as an ideal choice for endorsing its bold and stylish range of apparel and accessories.

     

    As the brand ambassador, KanganaRanaut will be featured in some of the promotional initiatives by Myntra.com, helping build a strong connect between the brand and its fans across the country.

     

    To begin with, Ranautwill be the face of a young, confident and fashionable brand ‘DressBerry’, dedicated to young women. Myntra launched DressBerry in 2013, and within a span of 15 months, it has gained commendable popularity, making it one of the largest selling women’s western wear brands on Myntra.com.

     

    Vikas Ahuja

    Speaking on the celebrity association, Vikas Ahuja, Chief Marketing Officer, Myntra said, “Myntra is a youth fashion brand, presenting the latest trends for men and women who are bold and stylish in the way they carry themselves. Just like KanganaRanaut. I believe this partnership will strengthen Myntra’s position as India’s preferred online fashion destination and will mark a new step in DressBerry’s evolution.”

     

    Myntra.com ventured into private brands in December 2012 and has since developed a strong portfolio of eight private brands including Roadster, HRX by HrithikRoshan, Sher Singh, Anouk, Kook N Keech and Mast &Harbour among others.

     

    Myntra.com also recently collaborated with the popular Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh for its in-house brand – ‘Roadster’ and Lisa Haydon as its brand ambassador.