MxMIndia

Tag: Shabana Azmi

  • The video encouraged brothers to give their sisters the gift of hygiene and dignity concerning their menstrual health

    #SurakshaBandhan draws attention span of brothers via latest ad film

    By A Correspondent

     

    We don’t trust claims of online page views and impressions that have been claimed, but the effort deserves mention: The Niine Movement video campaign #SurakshaBandhan, which was supported by actors Shabana Azmi and Akshay Kumar.

     

    Unveiled on Raksha Bandhan, the video encouraged brothers to give their sisters the gift of hygiene and dignity concerning their menstrual health. The udnerliNiineSanitary Napkin.

     

    Said Amar Tulsiyan, Founder of the Niine Movement: “With every view and every click of the campaign, Niine is making great progress in reaching out and educating more men about the sensitivities, and encouraging them to support menstrual hygiene. Through the campaign, we wish to enlighten every man in the country, and show each of them how important menstrual hygiene is for their loved ones. We need to bridge the gap and encourage both men and women to not just talk about menstrual hygiene but also encourage women to use sanitary napkins.”

     

     

  • Conceptualised and developed in-house, the new TVC portrays the transformation of Khadi as the ‘Fabric of the Nation’

    Raymond launches new TVC with a narrative on Khadi

    By A Correspondent

     

    Raymonds has launched a new product TVC titled ‘The Story Re-spun’ for its new khadi collection.

     

    Conceptualised and developed inhouse, the new TVC is featured in Hindi and English, with Gulzar as the lyricist and Shabana Azmi lending her voice to the Hindi version.

     

    Talking about the new TVC, Madhu S Dutta, Head Marketing, Raymond Ltd. said: “‘The Story Re-Spun’is a delightful narrative, a pledge by Raymond to help rejuvenate the traditional Indian craft by collaborating with artisans and designers, to create products that are relevant and compelling for consumers of today. Through our new TVC it is in our endeavour to portray our products stylishly, from the lens of fashion and narrate Raymond Khadi in a compelling way; not only as a differentiated product offering, but also build in fashion sensibilities through thought and visual representation.”

     

     

  • BCCC members and representatives of the channels discussed women-related thematic issues that ranged from sex, nudity, obscenity, stereotyping and violence

    BCCC conducts session on Portrayal of Women on TV

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), the independent self-regulatory body for non-news general entertainment channels set up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), conducted an interactive session with the S&P/Creative/Programming teams of its member Channels to sensitise them about the ‘Portrayal of Women in Television Programmes’ recently in Mumbai.

     

    A.P. Shah

    BCCC members and representatives of the channels discussed women-related thematic issues that ranged from sex, nudity, obscenity, stereotyping and violence.

     

    BCCC Chairman Justice (Retd.) A.P. Shah said, “Scenes of violence against women can have a damaging impact on all sections, especially children. For instance, such violent depiction can put a vulnerable section like women domestic help at high risk. Such scenes should be done in a subtle manner.”

     

    Shabana Azmi

    BCCC Member Shabana Azmi said, “The business of camera is the business of images. If fragmented images of a woman’s body are shown, it is actually robbing the women of all autonomy and subjecting her to male gaze. If we objectify women, there will be a little chance that society will have great respect for them.”

     

    Talking about violence, Ms. Azmi said, “Violence may be necessary for the story. But mistreatment should not be glorified. It can be suggestive and creatively done. It can be done in a way that doesn’t reinforce violence against women. It is time to introspect how we can contribute to minimise violence against women.”

     

    Vir Sanghvi

    BCCC Member Vir Sanghvi said, “Our concern is with entertainment that promotes stereotyping of women in a situation where they are portrayed in a negative fashion and where they are consistently portrayed as victims who are to be enjoyed or to be mistreated. If mass media promotes that image, it will have horrific consequences.” Mr. Sanghvi said if content auditors look into the content as dispassionate viewers themselves, the chance of objectionable content being aired gets minimal.

     

     

    Sudhir Mishra

    The Council also invited filmmaker Sudhir Mishra to interact with the Channel representatives on stereotyping of women. Mr Mishra said, “Stereotyping leads to tragic ends. If we are corroborating the stereotypes, then we are corroborating the idea of women needing protection and, in turn, corroborating awful things.”

     

    “If you project yourselves on screen the way you are, there will be no stereotyping,” Mr Mishra said.

     

    The BCCC members reiterated their intention of not curtailing artistic freedom of the content creators but only to sensitise them.

     

    Issues like portrayal of Children and stereotyping of Minorities in television programmes were also discussed at the interaction which was well attended by all general entertainment channels.

     

    Wajahat Habibullah, Chairman of National Commission for Minorities, and also a member of BCCC said, “Targeting a particular community can cause lot of damage to the psyche of that community. We need to develop practices that are constructive and are not curtailing creativity.”

     

    The session turned out to be a fruitful one for the broadcasters as they also got an opportunity to share their sensitivities and structural limitations regarding content that goes on air.

     

    In view of the increasing number of complaints pertaining to southern Channels, BCCC will conduct a similar session in Chennai/Hyderabad in the coming months.

     

  • The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council is the independent self-regulatory body for non-news general entertainment channels

    BCCC received 8,628 complaints as of Nov ’12

    By A Correspondent

     

    There has been a rapid increase in the number of complaints being handled by the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), following the various measures implemented by the IBF’s member channels and increased awareness among the Indian television audience.

     

    The BCCC is the independent self-regulatory body for non-news general entertainment channels, set up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) in June 2011. The council came into being after consultations between the IBF and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to implement ‘Self-Regulatory Guidelines and Complaints Redressal Mechanism’ for all non-news channels, including general entertainment, children and special interest channels.

     

    The council held a conference in New Delhi recently, which was addressed by BCCC Chairperson Justice (Retd) AP Shah, IBF President Man Jit Singh, BCCC Members Shabana Azmi and Bhaskar Ghose, and IBF Vice President Rajat Sharma. Also present were BCCC Broadcast Members Ashok Nambissan (MSM Media Pvt. Ltd.) and Sujit Jain (Viacom 18).

     

    BCCC Chairman Justice Shah said, “The BCCC has taken a serious note of complaints relating to women and children and issued advisories in this regard. Broadcasters should strictly avoid showing children below the age of 12 dancing to item numbers. The treatment of children during the course of the programme is also important. Stereotyping of women should be discouraged in TV programmes.”

     

    “We have made certain suggestions and recommendations to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting with regard to Clause 10.2 of the Uplinking Guidelines. We feel a provision for graded financial penalty can be introduced in for serious violations by channels,” Justice Shah added. The BCCC submitted a report to the MI&B in this respect on January 22, 2013.

     

    IBF President Man Jit Singh said, “Self-regulation is the most appropriate way to handle content on television. The BCCC is a truly independent council that looks into complaints from all over the country. The broadcasters take all recommendations, directions and advisories of the BCCC very seriously and will continue to support the council’s efforts.”

     

    BCCC Member Shabana Azmi said, “Freedom of speech and expression, especially artistic freedom, is very important and a democratic right. This freedom, however, comes with responsibility, and this is where BCCC plays an important role. At BCCC, we hear the channels when serious complaints come before us. We are happy to say that there has been full compliance of the BCCC’s directives by the member channels.”

     

    IBF Vice President Mr Sharma said, “The BCCC is a credible and successful system of self-regulation that has been functioning for 21 months now. It has done good work and we are sure it will continue to do so.”

     

    BCCC Member Bhaskar Ghose said: “At present, debates relating to content and similar issues cater only to a defined audience. We feel its scope needs to be expanded with fruitful participation of a much wider audience in society.”

     

    Till November 30, 2012, BCCC has received 8,628 complaints and suggestions, including 1,072 specific complaints. So far, BCCC has issued seven advisories to the member channels on different topics of concern. During the personal hearings, the BCCC gives an opportunity to the concerned channel’s Standard & Practices heads/Content heads to place their point of view and arrive at appropriate action as per the established norms of self-regulation.

     

    The BCCC has also held two interactive sessions with Channel heads/ S&P heads/ Content heads to develop a better understanding about the IBF’s Self-Regulatory Guidelines and to make television content suitable for unrestricted viewing.

     

    The BCCC has decided to hold similar sensitization sessions with S&P heads of channels in other parts of the country.

     

  • A Poem Is… is a short-form animated series showcasing poems for children set to scenes and imagery from classic Disney films and Tasty Time with ZeFronk will encourage kids to cook and have lots of fun along the way

    Disney Junior launches animated series for holidays

    By A Correspondent

     

    Disney Junior, the learning-focused block for kids aged 2-7 on Disney Channel, will usher in the holiday season beginning December 19 with the launch of two brand new short-form series – A Poem Is… and Tasty Time with Chef ZeFronk. These shorts will play out multiple times daily on Disney Channel.

     

    Arnab Chaudhuri, executive director content and creative, Walt Disney Television International India, said, “The launch of these new series further demonstrates Disney Junior’s dedication to programming that highlights the importance of great, heartfelt storytelling with learning components. Both A poem is… and Tasty Time with ZeFronk are wonderful additions to the already robust offerings from Disney Junior and showcase how Disney’s content strives to entertain and inspire learning while embracing positive values.”

     

    A Poem Is… is a short-form animated series showcasing poems for children set to scenes and imagery from classic Disney films including Dumbo, Bambi and Lady and the Tramp. Narrated by award winning actress and poetry enthusiast Shabana Azmi in Hindi, and well-known actor-director Suhasini Ratnam in Tamil and Telugu, the series is designed to bring back fond memories of Disney classics for parents and cultivate new ones for kids by introducing the young children to the beauty of poems. Featured poems include works by Robert Louis Stevenson, John Howard Payne, A.A. Milne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, among others.

     

    One of the versatile personalities of the Tamil film industry, Suhasini Ratnam said, “Children these days learn poetry only to score marks in school. This series is about making poetry interesting for them and it’s only right that somebody fond of the language does it.”

     

    Award winning actress and poetry enthusiast Shabana Azmi said, “Children typically respond well to reading and writing poetry, as it fuels their imagination and creativity and allows them to express themselves. Some of the poems are going to be sentimental and sweet, the kind that will warm a mom’s heart, and some of them will be silly and funny to make kids giggle and laugh.”

     

    Disney Junior will also feature a series of five-minute long shorts, Tasty Time with ZeFronk, encouraging kids to cook with their families and have lots of fun along the way. Well-known comic actor Omi Vaidya will lend his voice to chef ZeFronk who will host the fun-filled cooking show from his doghouse with his assistant, a songbird named Sue.

     

    Chef ZeFronk’s voice Omi Vaidya said, “Being an ardent fan of the channel since childhood, it feels great to voice a Disney show. The highlight of the show is that it involves a lot of fun and learning at the same time.”

     

    In addition to the fun-filled shows on TV, Disney Junior will soon be available as a special magazine with tons of activities and stories. This is in addition to a series of DVDs featuring select Disney Junior shows already available at retail. Parents and caregivers can also access loads of games and on-line activities of Disney Junior content online through a dedicated section on www.disney.in.