Pickle December 2014 ATF Edition

INDIAN ENTERTAINMENT BIZ GUIDE

www.picklemag.com

DECEMBER 2014

ATF 2014SINGAPORE

Rajinikanth is not just an actor, but a phenomenon. With his Lingaa getting

ready to hit the screens on his 63rd birthday on December 12 amid huge

expectations, the demigod, who was honoured for his lifetime achievement at

the IFFI 2014, remains cool and casual. A profi le by Pickle

ETERNAL SUPERSTAR

Pickle_December_2014_Cover.indd 1Pickle_December_2014_Cover.indd 1 04-12-2014 15:34:5404-12-2014 15:34:54



www.picklemag.com

DECEMBER 2014

ATF 2014SINGAPORE

Rajinikanth is not just an actor, but a phenomenon. With his Lingaa getting

ready to hit the screens on his 63rd birthday on December 12 amid huge

expectations, the demigod, who was honoured for his lifetime achievement at

the IFFI 2014, remains cool and casual. A profi le by Pickle

ETERNAL SUPERSTAR


Government of India

MARKYOUR

CALENDARSBEFORE

YOU MISS

Make the most of India’s Future Service Economy

www.gesdelhi.in

Anjula Singh Solanky | [email protected] | [email protected]

| [email protected]

New Delhi – 110 003 India +91 011 4577 1015, 4577 1053 +91 011 2462 6149

R&D

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13-16 APRIL 2015CANNES, FRANCE


OCTOBER 16-17, 2015

www.picklemag.in8 pickle entertainment biz guide LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK

India’s emergence as a major market has captured international attention. Over 50 M&E companies from India are in full strength to buy, sell, service, engage and collaborate for business expansion at ATF

ATF market fi le photo

ZEE ENTERTAINMENTSTAND: F 27Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is one of India’s leading television, media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an extensive library housing over 1.2 lac+ hours of television content. With rights to more than 3,500 movie titles from foremost studios and of iconic fi lm stars, ZEEL hous-es the world’s largest Hindi fi lm library.

EROS INTERNATIONALSTAND: J 22Eros International Media operates on a ver-tically integrated studio model managing content as well as distribution and exploi-tation across all formats globally, includ-ing cinema, digital, home entertainment

and television syndication. It has over 1900 fi lms in its library and is at ATF with brand new Bollywood fi lms.

RAJSHRI [email protected] Rajshri Entertainment Private Limited is In-dia’s leading digital entertainment studio. It is part of the 67-year-old Rajshri group. Rajshri’s objective at ATF is to showcase its vast library of Bollywood feature fi lms and short form digital programming to VOD and other digital platforms.

GREEN GOLDSTAND: G 24Hyderabad-based Green Gold is India’s leading animation studio and a leader in domestic TV content production. With more then 10,000 minutes of animated con-tent, 6 IP, Green Gold is the creator of the

INDIA @ ATF

Indian Companies to Strike at ATF



Maya Entertainment’s Motu Patlu is a major hit in Nick India

most loved and Iconic character of India - Chhota Bheem which has a following of 40 million kids in India. Led by CEO Rajiv Chi-lakalapudi, Green Gold is a classic example of successfully exploiting Chhota Bheem in the licensing and merchandising space.

COSMOS ENTERTAINMENT PTE. LTDSTAND: H 30With over 6000 minutes of original ani-mated content created in the last 2 years, (comprising of over 250 half hour episodes) ready/currently on air; and 5 animation se-ries under production, the company is the market leader in original Indian animation content production & is focusing on creat-ing animated content for the global mar-kets. Cosmos-Maya is presently working with all the leading kids’ content broad-casters including Nickelodeon, Disney & Discovery Kids in India.

NAAGAA [email protected] Entertainment Media Pvt Ltd is a fi rm based in Chennai and is one of the

leading media syndication businesses in India catering to the content requirement needs of international television chan-nels. “We are currently looking to acquire Children Programmes, animated series, animated feature fi lms drama series, fea-ture fi lms, reality shows and fi nished game shows from various exhibitors from ATF market. We always fi nd this market as one of the globally recognized content market and could see the growth year by year and always get high quality content from many exhibitors from this market,” says market veteran V. Naagarajan well-known in inter-national markets as Naagaa.

INOX LEISUREINOX Leisure Limited is the diversifi cation venture of the INOX Group into entertain-ment. INOX Leisure’s mission is to be the leader in the cinema exhibition industry, in every aspect right from the quality and choice of cinema to the varied services offered and eventually the highest market share. INOX has traversed its own path by bringing in a professional and service oriented approach to the cinema exhibition sector.

Everything you need as a film professional is here, re-introduce

yourself to cinando.comPowered by theFestival de Cannes

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Asian Television Forum has emerged as a meeting point for international buyers and content creators in this region. How has this year’s edition shaped?The registrations to-date look positive, we are tracking well ahead of last year in terms of numbers. We are confi dent to deliver a bigger and busier market this year.We will be featuring big names at the four-day conference this year including two Asian keynotes -Mr. Wang Zhonglei, President, Huayi Brothers, and Mr. Ma Dong, Chief Content Offi cer, IQIYI. We will also be presenting tailor-made con-tent for Asian producers through the ATF Animation Lab and MIPACADEMY. This year, ATF will be part of the Sin-gapore Media Festival (SMF). It brings together four complementary events – ATF, Screen Singapore, Asian Television Awards and Singapore International Film Festival under a single umbrella. The events are expected to bring in more TV and Film professionals from around the world to Singapore this December. The bigger attendance will defi nitely fa-cilitate more business possibilities and new relationships.

For the third consecutive year Reed Exhibitions Singapore has added

Screen Singapore with ATF? How has this synergy worked?The growing synergies between TV and Film, as evident by the frequent cross-over of talent and content between the silver screen and small screen, presents a compelling reason for the co-location with ScreenSingapore, and from this year onwards, with the Singapore Inter-national Film Festival.Last year, when Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) and ScreenSingapore co-located for the second year running, it out-per-formed the previous two editions with more than 4,300 fi lm and TV trade par-ticipants from 60 countries, achieving business deals worth US$220.33 million, achieving a 10% increase in attendance from 2012 with a corresponding increase of 8.2% in content sales. The growth also further bolsters the trade markets’ role as Asia’s key platform for international and regional media com-panies to come together to network and trade. With the media industry operating in an increasingly-converged environ-ment, the TV and Film events provide a seamless platform that allows more op-portunities for cross-over collaborations by bringing together players from the fi lm and TV industries.

How do you see developments on the

The explosion of Asian middle class population from 500 million in 2010 to 1.95 billion in 2020 will create big demand for mobile products and services, and quality entertainment content, says Hui Leng Yeow, project director, Asia Television Forum, while revealing plans for this year’s ATF

All Eyes on ATF



SHABNAMATF: MARKET LEADER IN ASIA

Hui Leng YeowProject Director, Reed ExhibitionsAsia Television Forum

The strong support from the various associations and government agencies validates ATF’s effectiveness as a business platform for Asia’s audiovisual industry



digital front? Is the multi screen plat-form refl ected at ATF?There is a lot of development on the digi-tal front, and more players are entering the Asian market. Digital players attending ATF this year include Twitter, Dailymotion, YoukuTu-dou, SingtelmioTV, SK Broadband, SK Planet,Xiaomi TV, Sohu, IQIYI etc. We have also programmed panels discussing digital trends in Asia.Like Netfl ix, Asia’s online platforms are also investing on original programming. Take China as example, broadcasters spend big budgets on production to pro-duce high quality content to fi ght for viewership and sponsorships. Last year, our keynote speaker Sunny Zhu, Chief Content Offi cer from YoukuTudou, an-nounced an investment of US$49.2 mil-lion on partner-generated and in-house content production. This year, IQIYI, China’s internet platform, received an in-vestment of US$300m from Xiaomi, and has announced aggressive content ac-quisition and production plans. IQIYI’s Chief Content Offi cer, Ma Dong, will be sharing more at the ATF conference on 9 December.

What is the attraction for mobile and Internet players at ATF? Mobile is emerging as a mass platform for con-tent consumption?The explosion of the Asian middle class population from 500 million in 2010 to 1.95 billion in 2020 will create big demand for mobile products and services, and quali-ty entertainment content. Content sellers are keen to reach out to mobile and inter-net players at ATF, especially those from big emerging markets such as Indonesia, which has a relatively young population who will be receptive to mobile technol-

ogy and content.

What is the most signifi cant trend that you have observed in your en-gagement with ATF exhibitors and delegates as the event kicks off ?Attendees are demanding for knowledge and new inspirations, thus we have been investing a lot of resources to better our conferences and market intelligence, and curate more business matching activities at the show this year, such as 1-on-1 with format experts.

What are the two or three innovations at ATF this year?The change in location is something that our attendees can look forward to this year. We will still be at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, but we will be moving the market and majors’ hospital-ity suites from level 1 & 3 to level 5 of the convention centre. The layout on level 5 allows us to put everything on one fl oor, and makes business networking more effi cient. This new space also offers an exclusive immaculate view of the Singa-pore skyline, and will defi nitely provide a more pleasurable business experience for all attendees.We will also be organizing an inaugural Media Leaders’ Lunch which is a high-level closed door networking lunch, by invitation only.The introduction of MIP Academy last year was welcomed by the regional pro-ducers, and it is back with more punchy content this year. New at MIPACADEMY this year is the 1-on-1 Format Sessions. It is a series of 30-minute pre-arranged closed door consultations with Alexis De Gemini or Tim Crescenti. Building on the success from last year, ATF Animation Lab returns bigger this

20pa60acdeUS

Twitter, Dailymotion, YoukuTudou, SingtelmioTV, SK Broadband, SK Planet,Xiaomi TV, Sohu, are at ATF

Some Southeast Asian buyers may not answer emails, do follow up with phone calls to reach out to them

Digital Players Delegate Tip



year. A total of 10 commissioners (7 com-missioners in 2013) will be reviewing submissions from the regional produc-ers. New this year, ATF will introduce “Up Close with Commissioners”, which will allow producers to get a glimpse into each commissioner’s programming plans for 2016 – 2017.

One of the biggest strengths of ATF is country pavilions? What value they get from ATF?ATF is well supported by industry as-sociations. This year, we are expecting 13 delegations. The strong support from the various associations and government agencies validates ATF’s effectiveness as a business platform for Asia’s audiovisu-al industry. Our partners, especially the Asian pavilions, appreciate to meet the right people at a singular platform, in a venue closer to home.

What are the conference themes this year?Every year, ATF celebrates the best of Asia’s talents by featuring successful Asian personalities as our keynotes. This year, we will be throwing our spot-light on two extremely talented profes-

sionals from China – Mr. Ma Dong from IQIYI and Mr. Wang Zhonglei from Huayi Brothers. In addition, we will be presenting a stel-lar line-up of C-level speakers who will be addressing topics including ‘Emerging Trends in Asia’s Content Market’, ‘Focus on Asia’s Growing Content Business – Market Leaders’ Panel’, ‘Asia’s Growing OTT Market’, ‘The Acquisition Panel – What do Buyers Want?’, ‘Focus on China’s Original Format’, ‘The Power of Alliance – Exporting Asia’s Format Globally’, ‘Ap-proach on Korea’s Format’ and ‘The Rise of Factual Entertainment in Asia’.

What are your tips for delegates at ATF?Delegates are strongly encouraged to prepare for the market by studying the database of attendees via our ATF Con-nect, and contact the buyers prior to the market for appointments. Many of our buyers are new to the market, so you will need to do some research on the compa-nies to decide they are the right audience for your content.Some Southeast Asian buyers may not answer emails, do follow up with phone calls to reach out to them.

2013 saw participation from 60 countries, achieving business deals worth US$220.33 million

Content sellers are keen to reach out to mobile and internet players at ATF

Biz at ATF Mobile First

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EROS @ ATF

Eros International

Media operates

on a vertically inte-

grated studio model

managing content

as well as distribu-

tion and exploitation

across all formats

globally, includ-

ing cinema, digital,

home entertain-

ment and television

syndication. It has

over 1900 fi lms in its

library and is at ATF

with brand new Bol-

lywood fi lms

EMAIL:

[email protected]

WEBSITE:

www.erospic.com /

www.erosnow.com

BOOTH NUMBER:

J 22

TEVARCommercial entertainer. Release Date

Jan 9, 2015

Boney Kapoor’s Tevar produced by Sanjay Kapoor

Entertainment, Eros International, Sunil Manchanda and

Naresh Agarwal is a commercial entertainer. Starring

Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee

in lead roles, the fi lm’s trailer is buzzing in the social

media. Sonakshi Sinha’s dance in Radha Nachegi from

Tevar is already a big hit.

from

CONTENT BUYS



LINGAAThe movie, directed by K.S.Ravikumar,

has Superstar Rajinikanth a dual role.

It is the Tamil fi lm debut for Bollywood

actor Sonakshi Sinha, while Anuskha

Shetty plays the second female lead.

Oscar winning composer A.R.Rahman

has scored the music and Rockline En-

tertainment has produced the movie.

Lingaa will be released world-wide in

Tamil, Telugu and Hindi on December

12. The global rights of Lingaa have

been bagged by Eros International. The

producer is Rockline Venkatesh.

ACTION JACKSONAction comedy Starring Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha

The Gordhan P Tanwani and Sunil Lulla production has Ajay Devgn teaming up with director Prabhudheva.

The action comedy features Sonakshi Sinha, Yami Gautam and debutante Manasvi Mamgai, Miss India

World 2010. The highlight of the fi lm is Ajay’s action sequences -- martial arts and Ninja Sword fi ghting.

Action Jackson, produced by Eros International and Baba Arts Ltd, was released on December 5.

MARY COMProduction Company: Bhansali Produc-

tions, Viacom18 Motion Pictures

International Sales: Eros International

Glamorous Indian star Priyanka Chopra completely

transforms herself to play Mary Kom, world champion

in women’s boxing. From traditional village life in remote

Manipur state to high-stakes bouts in India

and around the world, this is a remarkable story of

triumph. Principal Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Darshan

Kumaar, Sunil Thappa, Kenny Basumatary.



ZEE ENTERTAINMENT @ ATF

Zee presents a true

meeting of the East

and West, all under one

roof. Zee Bollywood

brings you the best of

Indian emotions, with

newly launched Maha-

rakshak Aryan, along

with Jodha Akbar, Bud-

dha, Qubool Hai and

Kum Kum Bhagya.

While Z Living, with

Good Food America,

Nirmala’s Spice World,

BollyBlast, Rock Your

Yoga, Yogi Cameron:

A Model Guru, Myth

Defying with Dr. Holly,

introduces you to the

fi nest original HD Eng-

lish content from the

west.

EMAIL:

[email protected]

WEBSITE:

www.zeebollyworld.com /

www.zeetelevision.com

BOOTH NUMBER:

F27

DOLI ARMAANO KIScripts available / Family – 200 episodes

of 30 mins

For every young woman, her wedding is, undoubtedly,

the most eagerly awaited day of her life. She has a

million little hopes and dreams about her marriage,

a vision of what her husband should be like, her

own thoughts on the kind of life after marriage. ‘Doli

Armaanon Ki’ is the story of one such starry-eyed,

small-town bride Urmi who embarks on the quest for

marital bliss, her eyes brimming with hope.

from

CONTENT BUYS



GOOD FOOD AMERICAEnglish / Travel – 39 Episodes

of 30 mins

This Emmy Nominated Show takes

the viewers on culinary adventure in

search of the best healthy places to

eat in America. From Vegan Cafes

to Locavore Bistros, to truck stops

& cantinas, our host Nathan Lyon &

Danny Boome, serve up the ultimate

guide while bringing to life the benefi ts

of healthy eating.

JODHA AKBARAvailable in Foreign

Languages & Seasons /

Historic Romance

350 episodes of 30 mins

Jodha Akbar is a saga of love, which

began when the vanquisher of foes,

conqueror of nations, met Jodha.

Jodha a beautiful Rajput princess, she

a was symphony of beauty, extremely

benovolent. After their initial tussle,

together they build an empire where

love defeated hatred.

KUMKUM BHAGYAAvailable in HD / Romance –

105 episodes of 30 mins

The story follows the life of a mother who runs a

marriage hall and lives with the hope of seeing her

two daughters - poles apart in bearing, outlook and

disposition, happily married someday. The plot centers

on Pragya and Bulbul, two sisters, their dreams, aspira-

tions and their inter-twined destinies as seen from the

eyes of a mother. The pivotal characters of the show are

a bunch of strong, feisty women, living together in an

all-female, matriarchal family.

THE LISA OZ SHOWEnglish / Talk Show– 39 episodes

of 60 mins

The Lisa Oz show features fascinating experts and

celebrity guest-from Deepak Chopra To Donna Karan &

Dr. Oz-For No hold bared Exploration of every conceiv-

able facet of health & wellness.

ROCK YOUR YOGAEnglish / Fitness – 65 Episodes

of 30 mins

In Rock Your Yoga, Sadie Nardini brings her cool, ac-

cessible teaching style, down-to-earth yoga tips and

centered-living tools to a yoga series like no other. The

daily morning show combines everyday yoga practice,

alignment tips, and solutions for common ailments,

nutrition tips and action steps to bring the yoga lifestyle

to everyday living.



ZEE’S FOCUS ON ASIA PACIFIC

Online & IPTV viewing will play a major role in the coming years in the Asia Pacifi c region, says Sushruta Samanta, Business Head, Asia Pacifi c, International Channels, ZEEL

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has identifi ed Asia Pacifi c as a key growth area for its business. This is due to two key reasons, fi rstly the fact that Asia Pacifi c countries are demonstrating very fast growth as compared to the other continents, and secondly and more importantly, because of the cultural similarities and values within the region, which makes the mainstream audience across different countries easily accept the Indian content and connect to it. ZEEL is looking at quantum growth in this market and in the last 12 months launched its operations in two new markets, Thailand & Indonesia with setting up of local offi ces and local teams.

What factors have contributed to the growth and success of Zee TV channels in Asia Pacifi c region?India is one of the most advanced and open media markets in the World and that gives a great competitive advantage for us to expand in other markets internationally. Indian Film

& TV Industry can be termed as one of the biggest in world in terms of volume and now with great production qualities. Simultaneously, the Indian culture and values connect very well with different communities in the Asia Pacifi c region. This is because of the strong religious, cultural and trade connect that it had in the historic past. When we conducted our Focus Group Researches across seven key countries in the Asia Pacifi c region last year, we were pleasantly surprised on how well the local population in these countries connected to the Indian content when it is localized well through sub titling and dubbing. Zee holds the largest Indian content library and this gives us a strong advantage to enter various Asian markets with localized contents. Zee TV Asia Pacifi c, our dedicated Hindi Entertainment channel for the region is one of the fi rst Indian Channel to have launched in the Asia Pacifi c Region. This has helped us get a profound market and audience understanding by country and forge a great relationship with key Distributor platforms in the region.

Sushruta SamantaBusiness Head, Asia Pacifi c, International Channels, ZEEL

ZEE ENTERTAINMENT @ ATF



What has been some of the major milestones of Zee Asia Pacifi c? What are your immediate priorities?While we have been focusing on connecting with the Indian community in the region till now, our current focus have now moved to localizing our products for the mainstream audiences in key markets. We have Zee Variasi, our Malay sub titled General Entertainment channel in Malaysia, Zee Nung our Thai Bollywood product for Thailand audience and Zee Bioskop our Indonesia Bhasha channel for the Indonesia audience. More are in the pipeline for launches in the coming months.

Zee TV’s vision is to touch 1 billion viewers by 2020 and currently it reaches to 700 million? What will be the growth pattern from the Asia Pac region in this vision?Asia Pacifi c will play the most crucial role in fulfi lling our corporate objective. Given the fact that this region is the largest market in terms of audience size and fastest growing, a large part of our incremental audience is expected from here. Markets like China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines among others will play a crucial role for our future growth.

Asia is the diversifi ed and m u l t i - c u l t u r a l market in the world? From Korea to Malaysia and Macau to Cambodia and Singapore to Sri Lanka… What are the challenges in making inroads into these markets?Well there are three levels of challenges that we face in most of the markets while entering. First is of course the regulatory challenges, the landing right rules and company holding structure grossly changes by markets and that needs a lot of studying and discussion for the formation of the local entity. Some of the markets have strict landing right policies and a proper application and dialogue is required with the regulatory authorities and Govt. offi cials for us to acquire necessary permissions. Second level of challenge is to get the right people and vendor support from these markets.

I would term this as very crucial, as the long term success of the venture depends majorly on these factors. The third part is to convince the platforms for bandwidth and at the right price. We believe that creation of good content needs strong investments and in most markets we operate as a pay channel.

Where do you see high growth in the Asia Pacifi c region?Well the Asia Pacifi c region is expected to hold 56% of the Global Multichannel Home by 2015 and the Pay TV market size, including both Pay Advertising & Subscription revenue put together, at an overall level is expected to grow at 10% in average between 2014 & 2015. However this includes already developed markets like Japan, Korea among others. If we look at the emerging countries, we see a far higher growth levels in the Pay Subscription business, eg. Indonesia is

expected to grow at 21%, Vietnam 13%, Philippines 14% and so on.

What trends do you see in online viewing among viewers? How has been digital consumption of content in this region?Online & IPTV viewing will play a major role in the coming years in the Asia Pacifi c region. While the broadband experience is lower as compared to the other Western

markets, it is improving and growing very fast.

Finally, What are your big picture goals for your channels in Asia in the next year?Well we have a very ambitious goal for the APAC region. While we have already doubled our channels from two to four in the last one year, we are looking at launching another six localized channels in the coming years across the key markets in the region. Apart from that we will be getting into local production of content for our priority markets followed by launch of locally produced channels. By 2020, the Asia Pacifi c Region will play a key & signifi cant role in driving our corporate objectives of global audience reach.

21%Phso

WhyovieviehaconconregOnviea mcomAsWhexpas the

We are looking at

launching another

six localized

channels in the

coming years across

the key markets in

the region



SHABNAMINNOVATION FROM ZEEL

Since its inception, Ditto TV has witnessed

a remarkable growth garnering over 5 lakh

paid subscribers, 5 million users and over half

a million downloads till date. Ditto TV has a

huge network spanning across 176 countries

including UK, UAE, New Zealand, Australia and

the US. It has also strengthened its position in

the APAC region with viewers from 17 countries,

including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan,

Australia, Thailand, New Zealand and Taiwan,

have access to Live ZEE content using the

Ditto TV app. One strategic development in the

recent months was the tie–up with Fortumo to

introduce a new payment option for consumers

wherein they can pay through their mobile

operator. In addition, we have also partnered

with ‘Payment Solution Providers’ like Oxigen,

itzcash, Payworld and Pay1 which offers Ditto

TV users the convenience to make payments

at these solution provider kiosks or even at the

nearest retail outlets.

Ditto TV is the fi rst operator-agnostic

service of its kind and it is present

across all Operating Systems such

as Android, iOS, Symbian, Windows,

Windows PC, Windows phone, Windows

MAC as well as on Connected TVs. Each

platform is unique in its features and

capabilities and hence the challenge

here was to develop the best cross-

formatted app, rather than for just

couple of platforms. In fact, Ditto TV

was ranked #1 on the AppleApp Store

within a week of its launch, and listed in

‘Featured Apps’ on the BlackBerry App

World & Windows Store ‘Spotlight’. Fur-

ther to that, Ditto TV was ranked as the

top trending app on Google Play Store

and the number 1 Top Grossing app on

the iOS App Store in the Entertainment

category.

“We at Ditto TV are committed to making the user

experience as seamless, convenient and memorable as

possible. We want to offer viewers the largest collec-

tion of premium content, spread across diverse genres

and also offer the convenience of paying subscriptions

through variety of payment options in order to enhance

their viewing experience. We are confi dent that our

efforts to offer a seamless video viewing experience will

allow consumers to enjoy our varied content on Ditto TV”

Ditto TV’s growth in recent months

Ditto TV on several platforms

Seamless user experience

Manoj Padmanabhan,

Business Head, Ditto TV

Ditto TV of Zee New Media, ZEEL’s digital business arm, has witnessed a remarkable growth garnering over 5 lakh paid subscribers, over 5 million registered users and half a million downloads till date.



Ditto TV Watch LIVE TV, anytime, anywhere

s

l

V”

“The changing consumer lifestyle and preferences

has led to emergence of new avenues for content

consumption. With the growing adoption of smart-

phones and tablets, Television and mobile screens

are converging to offer a new way for content

consumption while on the go. We now are seeing

content developers trying to tailor make content for

mobiles consumption which is testimonial to the

immense potential that this category holds for the

media and entertainment industry ahead”

Platforms such as Ditto TV present good value

to aggregators of content like production

houses and movie companies that own block-

busters and other critically acclaimed works

since they are able to tap a wider viewership

and cover a greater section of audience, all

through one medium. According to market

statistics, close to 42 per cent of the movie

trailers were consumed through mobile de-

vices and with a number of applications and

websites now coming up, mobile television

has become an independent medium in itself,

with a very loyal audience base

One strategic development at Ditto TV in re-

cent times is the tie up with mobile payment

provider Fortumo to introduce a new mobile

payment option to further simplify the overall

consumer experience. With this partnership,

Ditto TV users can now subscribe to their

favourite content on Ditto TV and make pay-

ments directly through their mobile operator,

and without the need of a credit card, cash on

delivery (COD), or net banking options. This

payment model is available for both post-

paid and pre- paid mobile users

In addition, content can now also be

consumed online on the newly launched

website – www.dittotv.com. The website

is specially designed with complete

ease-of-use to give viewers the best

streaming and surfi ng experience and it

includes added features. The app across

OSs has also been revamped to provide

our subscribers with an enjoyable view-

ing experience

New way for content consumption

Website & Platform revamp

New payment option

Engaging content owners

Debashish Gosh,

Chief Knowledge Offi cer, Essel Group

An insight into this entertainment revolution for delegates at Asia Television Forum, Singapore



CONTENT BUYSRAJSHRI @ ATF

from

FIRST VISIT This is my fi rst visit to ATF. I am coming with an open mind to meet new friends and learn more about the Asian content industry. I also want to showcase our vast library of Bollywood feature fi lms and short form digital programming to VOD and other digital platforms. We have billions of video views on YouTube, DailyMotion and other major digital platforms. I am sure our con-tent catalog can add signifi cant value to new distribution platforms and delight viewers across the world, an audience we are unable to tap from India.

VARIETY IS WIDE We have a lot of traditional Indian entertain-ment content like fi lms/songs in multiple languages, Bollywood news and gossip, TV celebs news and gossip, devotional aartis, chants, bhajans etc. This kind of content is consumed by an Indian audience, domestic and NRI. But we also produce kids, food, yoga and lifestyle content that is consumed by a much larger global audience. Now, we are working on international language content specifi cally for major international markets. Our Japanese language food channel Indono Daidokoro is a step in that direction.

25,000 HOURS LIBRARY We are a content powerhouse. Our total library is close to 25,000 hours across genres and languages. We have aggregated a lot of premium, long form content. We produce about 150 minutes of content in-house for digital platforms - every-day. This number is increasing very rapidly. We see ourselves producing and owning premium IPR and popu-lar content brands, backed by solid distribution on digital platforms.

NEW SEGMENTS A global audience is a click away and our content has to be relevant for that audi-ence. Hence, along with our traditional Bol-lywood content, which is lapped up by an Indian audience worldwide, we have also been able to successfully tap a large non Indian audience with our foray into kids content, food, lifestyle and e-news. We have over 3 billion views across multiple content verticals, genres and languges on the world’s leading digital platforms in-cluding YouTube, DailyMotion, Hulu, Ama-zon, iTunes, MSN, Yahoo, Rediff, VuClip etc.

Indian digital leader Rajshri Entertainment is at ATF to showcase their vast library and short form digital programming to VOD and digital platforms. A quick chat with Rajjat A Barjatya, MD & CEO, Rajshri Entertainment



Rajshri Entertainment is at ATF with a

premium library of

1,000+ Bollywood

feature fi lms. They

also have a vast

library of short form

digital programming

in multiple genres and

languages:

■ Food shows in

English, Japanese,

Arabic and Spanish.

Mandarin, Thai,

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food shows in

development

■ Kids animation

videos

■ Bollywood,

Hollywood and

Indian TV celebs

news and gossip

■ Devotional chants

and songs

EMAIL:

[email protected]

WEBSITE:

www.rajshri.com

www.youtube.com/rajshri

www.facebook.com/rajshri

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MD & CEO, Rajshri Entertainment



The Indian Media and Entertainment industry is excited to have the country’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitely also double up as Union Min-ister for Information & Broadcasting. All these year, the M&E sector representatives have been struggling to reach out to the Finance Min-istry to impress upon the growth prospects of the sector.Indian M&E industry leaders believe that there is a huge potential for a multiplier effect on employment generation with a vibrant and grow-ing media and entertainment industry. “Media should not be looked at from the narrow point of view of glamour which needs to be taxed regressively but as a growth engine that needs nurturing. It drives the creative and information economy and is India’s soft power.”India’s new I&B Minister Arun Jaitely spoke eloquently on the export potential of Indian fi lms sector at the Services Conclave 2014. That was music to everyone in Indian media sector as they have not heard this from any Finance Minister -- all these years.Later at IFFI 2014, Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs, and Information & Broadcasting said that the Indian Film in-dustry had come of age in view of the diversity it offered as regards the number of fi lms produced in different languages and themes. He also said that the Cinema as medium in India has matured, there was corporatization of the industry making it more professional and vi-brant.Olympian shooter-turned-politician Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is the new the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.

GEARING UP FOR CHANGE



Arun JaitelyUnion Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs, and Information & Broadcasting



Aerial View of the proposed DEZ Chennai



ENTERTAINMENT DEZTINATION OF

CHENNAIA media cluster in 400,000 Sq ft, envisaged keeping the growth prospects of the Indian Media and Entertainment Sector, is coming up near Chennai



PixelKraft has concep-tualised DEZ Chennai to cater to the infra-structure needs of the Entertainment & Media industry. This Integrat-ed Media Services cam-pus has significant po-tential for segments like TV broadcasting, Film/TV studios, VFX/Anima-tion/Gaming and a me-dia school/college

A new integrated digital entertain-ment zone (DEZ) is proposed to be built on the outskirts of Chennai,

cultural capital of India. The blueprint to built a media cluster in 400,000 Sq ft is envisaged keeping the growth prospects of the Indian Media and Entertain-ment Sector. The DEZ Chennai is set to be housed at the Inno GeoCity Campus in Oragadam -- the fastest developing business corridor in India. DEZ Chennai is promoted by PixelKraft and Inno Group as equal partners through their SPV Reallify Properties Private Limited. PixelKraft has a JV with UK-based Centroid Motion Capture Studio. Centroid, world renowned for Motion Capture services, will run their India operations out of DEZ Chennai.With an average CAGR of about 15% In-dian M&E industry is estimated to dou-ble and grow to INR 2,27,000 Cr by 2018 according to the latest CII-PwC Indian Entertainment & Media Outlook 2014 report. The Confederation of Indian In-dustry (CII) has set a target towards $100 billion Indian M&E Sector by the end of this decade from the current $20 billion. South Indian M&E Industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14% to INR 36,500 Cr by fiscal 2015-16 from the present size of INR 21,190 Cr (KPMG)Tamil Nadu has the largest share with around INR 7,620 Cr (36% of the mar-ket). PixelKraft has conceptualised DEZ Chennai to cater to the infrastructure needs of the Entertainment & Media in-dustry. This Integrated Media Services campus has significant potential for seg-ments like TV broadcasting, Film/TV studios, VFX/Animation/Gaming and a media school/college.“DEZ was conceptualised with a view

l Shared IT infrastructure like high speed bandwidth for Data Transfers, Internet Con-nectivity, Data Storage, Ren-der farms etc., supported by social & civic infrastructure

l Synergy benefit – effective collaboration and data sharing across the entire value chain of the media industry (local, na-tional and international players)

l There is an evident demand and supply gap for modern film studios which can be met by DEZ in the short term

l TV and broadcasting com-panies will benefit from the synergies attained such as quicker production time and shared infrastructure

l Presence of international play-ers like Centroid in the park will set a benchmark for the capabilities on offer

DEZ Benefits

ThE PrOmOTErs ArE sCOuTINg FOr

dOmEsTIC ANd muLTINATIONAL

PrOduCTION hOusEs TO BE PArT OF ThIs

vENTurE


to provide the most conducive environ-ment where creativity and technology can come together to produce visual splendour, and create almost anything that one imagines,’’ says Christie Fer-nandez, Director, Reallify Properties Private Limited. “The underlying objective is to create an eco-system, offer a cost advantage, in-crease business opportunities for every-one, and to make DEZ a hub for global media projects.”The promoters are scouting for domes-tic and multinational production houses

to be part of this venture. “They have the option to buy or lease studio space and we will build it according to their needs,’’ says Christie Fernandez. He be-lieves that shared infrastructure -- high speed bandwidth for Data Transfers, In-ternet Connectivity, Data Storage, Ren-der farms -- will be the major advantage for media companies inside the DEZ.DEZ Chennai promoters believe that there is a huge potential for the city to become an outsourcing hub to the global industry, which sub contracts works to Indian firms

dez CHeNNAI

ZONE 1

Studio Floors

Film & TV Sound Stages – 6 state-of-the-art sound stages varying from 7,000 sq ft to 24,000 sq ft with support spaces – dressing rooms, makeup rooms, discussion rooms, ward-robe areas etc.,

ZONE 4

Media School

18,000 sq ft Media School with built to suit option

ZONE 2

Broadcast Zone

A Build to Suit space for Broadcasting Companies

ZONE 5

Recreation & Theatres

40,000 sq ft recreation space with fitness center, spa, restaurants, coffee shops, boutique retail stores and theatres

ZONE 3

Technology & Post Production

2 S+4 Blocks with a BUA of 90,000 sq ft of varied sizes suitable for companies involved in new media, tech and production services

ZONE 6

Warehouses

20,000 sq. ft. ofWorkshops &Warehouses spaceto support theproduction services.

For More Details

Sankar , AVP | +91-99406 39445 | [email protected]

Christie, Director | +91-98402 81815 | [email protected]


The promoters maintained that interna-tional consulting firm KPMG which was engaged to do a feasibility study for this project, reported that “interactions with industry players yielded high interest from players across the value chain to be a part of an independent world-class infrastructure as they realize the syn-ergies to be gained from such an opera-tion”.A media park that provides cost/opera-tional benefits to players can become a successful venture if targeted at the right customer segments. Similar fa-cilities have been developed in other re-gions of the world and have attracted a large number of producers and artists. Critical success factors for these parks are – connectivity from existing hubs, support infrastructure such as residen-tial units, shops, restaurants, residen-tial complexes, among others.DEZ Chennai is being positioned as an Integrated Entertainment Services Park catering to the need of modern digital content production. DEZ Chen-nai will offer six state-of-the-art sound stages which are fully air-conditioned and sound proofed of varying sizes – from very large 25,000 square feet stages to 5,600 square feet stages. The sound stages provide easy access to discussion rooms, dressing rooms & makeup rooms. This integrated environment provides a wide range of support services from pre-production to post-production. With a unique cluster model, this integration will bring about collaboration and data sharing across the entire value chain re-sulting in a host of additional business opportunities for all companies within the DEZ.“The Inno Group is really excited about this revolutionary project that is poised to change the landscape of media pro-duction in India. The DEZ aims to be an

ecosystem for the media industry bring-ing together actors, technicians and producers who are looking for a world class facility to make the next big block-buster,’’ says Rajamannar Ramaswamy, Co-founder & Group Managing Director, Inno Group Holdings.Inno is a global investment group fo-cused on real estate and has funded six projects in India with a total GDV (Gross Development Value) of Rs. 3.84 billion (US$ 573 million) involving a to-tal development of over 15.3 million sq. ft. Inno Real Estate is focused on devel-oping real estate projects in India and is currently developing ‘Inno GeoCity’, a self-contained residential township that redefines suburban living in India.“Centroid is excited to be part of an eco-system like DEZ, which offers a very-conducive work environment, and we are betting on the opportunities that the fast growing Indian media & entertain-ment industry has to offer” says Philip Stilgoe, CEO, Producer, Centroid Motion Capture.DEZ Chennai has a location advantage of being situated in one of the fastest developing business districts of India, Chennai – Oragadam. It is situated with-in a 131 acre township - Inno GeoCity, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, but with excellent multi-modal con-nectivity. Oragadam is a hot spot for au-tomobile and electronic manufacturing, world-renowned electronic manufactur-ing and automobile giants such as Dell, Flextronics, Motorola, Samsung, TVS, Renault-Nissan, Benz, have set up their operations here. DEZ Chennai will strive to bring inter-national players into the park to set a benchmark for the capabilities on offer and position DEZ as a global hub for high-quality content production.

Courtyard View, DEZ Chennai

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IFFI 2014: ALL THAT HAPPENED



The 11-day festival screened 178 fi lms from 79 countries across different categories which include

World Cinema (61 fi lms), Master-strokes (11 fi lms), Festival Kaleidoscope (20 fi lms), Soul of Asia (7 fi lms),

Documentaries (6 fi lms), Animated Films (6 fi lms). Besides, Indian Panorama section included 26 Feature

and 15 Non-Feature Films. North-East being the focus region of the festival, IFFI 2014 showcased 7 fi lms

from North Eastern part of India. Regional cinema was also an integral part of the festival. Retrospective

sections on Gulzar and JahnuBaruah, Special Homage fi lms on Richard Attenborough, Robin Williams,

Zohra Sehgal, Suchitra Sen, and special tribute to Farooq Sheikh were other attractions this year. A spe-

cial section of fi lms that focus on dance, personality based retrospectives, and Masterclasses/workshop

also formed a part of IFFI 2014.

China was the country in focus at the 45th International Film Festival in Goa. The fi lms screened in this

section were American Dreams in China, Beijing Blues, Caught In The Web, Christmas Rose, Feng Shui,

Finding Mr. Right, The Great Hypnotist, Out Of Inferno and Silent Witness.



Marathi language fi lm ‘Ek Hazarachi Note’ won the Special Jury and Silver Peacock Award. Dulal Sarkar, the lead actor, in the Bengali fi lm ‘A Short Story’ - won the best actor (male) award

IFFI 2014: RUSSIAN FILM LEVIATHAN WINS

GOLDEN PEACOCK

The Russian Film ‘Leviathan’ has been awarded the Golden Peacock. The award was given to Director Andrey

Zvyagintsev as well as producers Alexan-der Rodnyansky and Sergey Melkumov.The best director award was given to Nadav Lapid for the Israeli fi lm ‘The Kindergar-ten Teacher’ for an impressive portrayal of a prodigy poet and enigmatic teacher.The best actor (Female) award was shared by two actors, both for their roles as teach-ers in two different fi lms. Alina Rodriguez was awarded with Best Actor (Female) for her portrayal of a teacher in a Cuban fi lm ‘Behaviour’. Sarit Larry also got the best actor (Female) award for her outstanding performance as a teacher in the fi lm ‘The Kindergarten Teacher’.The Best Actor (Male) award was also shared by two actors. Alexey Serebryakov, who won the best actor award for his role in the fi lm ‘Leviathan’ and Dular Sarkar, a dwarf actor won the best actor award for his lead role in the Bengali fi lm, Chhotober Chhobi. His acting depicts the struggle for survival of a community in a socially hos-

tile environment.The Marathi fi lm, Ek Hajarachi Note had the distinction of getting two awards. It was given the Special Jury Award and the Centenary Award for best fi lm. The direc-tor of the fi lm, Shrihari Sathe received the awards.Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting said that the focus of the fi lm festival was on China, which shows that fi lms con-nect hearts across nations and cultures. The Minister said that the government will make efforts to create fi lm market abroad for Indian fi lms. This will be done by screening of Indian Films abroad and entering into agreements which will facili-tate foreign fi lm makers to come to India and vice versa, as well as promote co-pro-ductions. Rathore appreciated the effort by the social-media team of Information and Broadcasting Ministry which created a special programme ’Talkathon’ which served as a platform for interaction be-tween the audience and fi lm experts/per-sonalities on social media at IFFI .

The winners of the Golden Peacock and Silver Peacock in a group photograph, at the closing

ceremony of the 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2014), in Panaji, Goa



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www.picklemag.in36 pickle entertainment biz guide LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOKA still from Lingaa

ETERNAL SUPERSTAR


An UNMATCHED

PhenomenonAhead of the release of his much awaited

Lingaa, Rajinikanth, who is ruling the Indian cinema for the past four decades,

was named the recipient of the ‘Centenary Award’ for the ‘Indian Film Personality

of the Year’ at the 45th International Film Festival of India in Goa.

By Saibal Chatterjee


The amazing Rajinikanth story is no less fascinating than a movie script. There are multiple strands to the narrative, and each one of them can yield enough by way of drama to sustain a full-length feature. What sets Rajinikanth apart is the fact that he is more than just another movie star idolized in a populous nation that loves its fi lmed entertainment. He is a true-blue phenomenon whose clout transcends boundaries of both land and language like few things can in contemporary Indian pop culture. One of the strands of the Rajinikanth saga pertains to the rags-to-riches tale of a Bangalore bus conductor who went on to become one of the greatest luminaries that Indian cinema has ever produced, a trans-formation that borders on the fantastical. The other thread of the story relates to the emergence of the larger-than-life myth of a towering showbiz personality who commands unquestioning loyalty from a fan base that keeps growing steadily and spawning ever-new crops of Rajini-isms on the social media and elsewhere.Rajini does not have Greek God good looks, nor does he have the height or physique to tower over everything else in a movie frame. Yet his screen presence is extraordi-nary. His fl ashy mannerisms, his fl amboy-ant swagger, and his punchy one-liners add up to a totality that is beyond analysis. It is next to impossible to put a fi nger on the exact reasons that make him such a peerless icon. Part of the diffi culty stems from the fact that Rajini himself has nev-er made calculated career moves. He has merely gone along with the fl ow and ended up in a place where very few ever have. For a man who has achieved the kind of sustained success that he has, he has his feet fi rmly planted to the ground – an at-tribute that immeasurably enhances his stature. Unlike other Indian movie stars, Rajini-kanth keeps his on-screen persona well

removed from his real-life identity as a husband, father and grandfather. He rare-ly appears at public events, but exercises great infl uence on Dravidian culture and politics. But his appeal is certainly not limited to the confi nes of Tamil Nadu and its cinema. His is a recognizable face across the coun-try and in parts of the world where Tamil cinema has made inroads in recent years.Who else but Rajinikanth could be at the receiving end of a musical tribute of the kind that Bollywood megastar Shahrukh Khan paid him in Chennai Express. The song, Lungi Dance, aimed at “all the Rajini fans”, became a chart-topper and contin-ues to be a favourite with DJs around the country.So confi dent is he of his fan following that when Rajinikanth appears in public, he does nothing at all to hide the tell-tale signs of age that a 63-year-old grandfather must necessarily live with.At an event organized to launch the music of the science fi ction epic Enthiran/Robot a couple of years ago, he got up on the podi-um and narrated how he was mistaken for just another man in the crowd by onlookers in a Rajasthan village, where the fi lm was being shot. He was hard pressed, he admit-ted in public, to convince fans who were milling around lead actress Aishwarya Rai that he was the hero of the fi lm.Nothing says more about Rajinikanth the man and the movie star than the kind of unassuming candour that he resorts to when talking about himself and his achievements. At times it is diffi cult to be-lieve that a superstar who, with the fee that he got for Sivaji (2007), became the highest paid Asian movie actor after Jackie Chan has no starry airs whatever. Is he for real?Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2000, Ra-jinikanth was named the recipient of the ‘Centenary Award’ for the ‘Indian Film Personality of the Year’ at the just-conclud-ed 45th International Film Festival of In-dia in Goa. The well deserved honour was bestowed on the megastar at the opening ceremony of the fi lm festival on November 20.Rajinikanth’s acting career began nearly 40 years ago, with K Balachander’s Na-tional Award-winning but controversial fi lm Apoorva Raagangal (1975), in which the budding star played a small role as the abusive and long lost husband of the fi lm’s heroine. Kamal Haasan was the lead actor of Apoorva Raagangal.Rajini’s next fi lm was the Kannada-lan-guage Katha Sangama (1976), an offbeat omnibus fi lm directed by Puttanna Kana-gal. It was not until his mentor Balachand-er made Anthuleni Katha in Telugu that Rajini landed a pivotal role in a fi lm. An even more prominent character came his way in Balachander’s Moondru Mudichu (1976).



In the early years of his career, Rajini played largely negative roles, especially as a womanizer or a perfi dious friend, in sev-eral Tamil and Telugu fi lms. He graduated to essaying lead roles and appearing in a large number of fi lms in the late 1970s, but his screen image as a dashing leading man began to crystallize only in the 1980s.Who could have ever imagined that an ac-tor who early in his career played, among other things, a village ruffi an who rapes a blind girl, a man who nonchalantly lets his friend drowns so that he can marry the for-mer’s girlfriend, and a pornographer who secretly fi lms his wife in the act without her knowledge would turn into a screen superhero endowed with bionic powers?Rajinikanth had 15 releases in 1977 and 20 in 1978. These fi lms were made in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. He not only starred in many remakes of Mumbai hits of the 1970s and 1980s on the way to becoming the pivot of the Tamil cinema business, he also acted in several Hindi fi lms without quite replicating his southern success.

This was a crazily frenetic period for the star. MGR had just bowed out of the movie industry to concentrate on politics. Rajini and his contemporary Kamal Haasan (he had 33 releases in 1978-79) moved into the breach. Rajinikanth, generous to a fault, has always praised Kamal Haasan for in-spiring him with his professionalism. His characteristic humility notwithstand-ing, there can be no denying that the box offi ce clout that Rajini wields is unparal-leled. While Kamal Haasan sought to ex-periment with his screen roles, taking on a wide array of characters in the 1980s and 1990s and earning the reputation of a thinking man’s movie star, Rajini focused on developing a screen persona with wide mass appeal. Both succeeded in their cho-sen endeavours.In the 1990s, Rajini became such a commer-cial force that nobody in the Tamil movie industry could do without him. In 1991, Mani Ratnam cast him in Thalapathi, who co-starred Malayalam superstar Mam-mootty.


Amitabh Bachchan and the Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Arun Jaitley presents the centenary award to Actor Rajnikanth, at the inauguration

of the 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2014), in Panaji, Goa






If you want to do a good thing, make an open announcement. Because, you can change your mind, but not the words you uttered

Donate your eyes. They can see even after you die

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WORDS OF WISDOM FA still from Lingaa



In the wake of the success of Thalapathi, fi lms such as Annamalai, Mannan, Valli (for which the actor wrote his fi rst screenplay), Muthu, Yejaman, Veera and Baasha, hit the screens in quick succession, catapulting Rajinikanth to a zone that nobody in Indian cinema his-tory had ever penetrated.His career experienced somewhat of a slump at the turn of the millennium when Baba, scripted by him, failed to deliver the goods at the box offi ce. The distributors were left in the red as a result and, in an unprecedented move, Rajini decided to make good the losses. After a brief hiatus, Rajini bounced back with Chandramukhi in 2005 and Sivaji in 2007. The fi rst time that Rajinikanth was labelled a ‘Superstar’ was in mid-1978, the year of Baira-vi. Distributor S Dhanu put up a 40-foot cutout of Rajini at Plaza theatre in Madras. The civic authorities ordered the cutout to be pulled down on the grounds it could pose a safety hazard on the road. Dhanu reinforced the cutout and so it stood right there, staring down on one of the city’s busiest thorough-fares. The man in the cutout quickly seared himself into the collective consciousness of Tamil movie fans. And that is where he continues to be to this day.As fi lm lovers await the release of Lingaa on the superstar’s 64th birthday – December 12, 2014 – the countdown to another massive blockbuster has begun. Hitting the theatres a week before the much anticipated Aamir Khan starrer, PK, Lingaa will be up on as many 5,500 screen across the country and the world. If the Rajini fi lm, co-starring Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka Shetty, puts the Aamir starrer in the shade, we will not be the least bit sur-prised. As any fan of the southern supertsar will vouch, with Rajinikanth nothing is ever impossible.

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The more you reduce your desires, the more will be your happiness

M FROM SUPERSTAR



WONG KAR-WAI

Wong Kar-wai’s fi lms are an exqui-site synthesis of style and sub-stance, each complementing the

other to near-perfection. The frames that he creates are lush, kinetic and awash in sensual colour; the moments that he cap-tures are redolent with meaning; and the sense of time and place that imbues his evocative stories is affectingly immer-sive. Wong Kar-wai is an undisputed master of deep moods and fl eeting moments that together deliver a cinematic experience unlike any. He is a storyteller for whom the telling is as crucial as the story. It isn’t without reason that the Shanghai-born, Hong Kong-based director enjoys a cult following across the world, and not the least in India. His widely acclaimed masterpiece, In the Mood for Love, completed in the year 2000, fi gures high on the list of most-loved contemporary world cinema titles in this part of the globe. Cineastes in India also have a special place in their hearts for 1997’s Happy To-gether, which fetched Wong Kar-wai the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and Chungking Express (1994). Wong Kar-wai’s latest feature fi lm, The Grandmaster, an enactment the life and times of kung-fu legend Bruce Lee’s mas-ter Ip Man, brought the curtains down on

the 45th International Film Festival of India. The festival also conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award on the celebrated 56-year-old screenwriter-director, mak-ing him the youngest director to bag the honour.The award to Wong Kar-wai was a be-fi tting culmination to IFFI’s Focus on Chinese cinema, which was represented at the 11-day event in Panjim, Goa by a bunch of well-received titles. Such prizes recognizing a cinematic ca-reer are usually reserved for fi lmmakers in their 70s and 80s. Wong Kar-wai is still in his prime – a meticulous craftsman and cinematic poet capable of springing surprises with every burst of creativity.Owing to the fragmentary nature of his storytelling, some critics feel that Wong Kar-wai tends to invest far more in tech-nique than in narrative essence. To subscribe to that view would be to completely miss the elaborate and pains-taking nature of his fi lms, which are composed of fi nely etched details and emotionally resonant moments aimed at delivering an experience rather than mere plot details.After a period of apprenticeship under actor-producer Alan Tang, Wong Kar-wai started out as a director in 1988 with As Tears Go By, a crime drama infl uenced by



MASTER OF MOODS AND

MOMENTSThe 45th International Film Festival of India conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award on the celebrated 56-year-old screenwriter-director Wong Kar-wai, making him the youngest director to bag the honour. By Saibal Chatterjee

Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets.As Tears Go By, with its stunning visuals, highly stylized and elliptical pacing and dense atmospherics, provided a full fore-taste of the unique aesthetic approach that was to become Wong Kar-wai’s sig-nature.The fi lm, which is to this day the only certifi ed box offi ce hit of his career, im-mediately marked him out as a director with a strikingly individualistic vision. The contemplative and sombre As Tears Go By eschewed the frantic violence and non-stop action of the Hong Kong thrill-ers of the time.Wong Kar-wai’s second fi lm, Days of Being Wild (1991), his fi rst collabora-tion with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, strengthened his reputation as a director with a keen eye for detail and an unwavering feel for individuals thwarted by unrequited longing. This elegantly crafted drama about young people strug-gling and failing to make lasting con-nections was marked by a profound air of melancholy accentuated by an urban backdrop that bred alienation.By no stretch of the imagination is Wong Kar-wai a prolifi c fi lmmaker. Every direc-torial venture of his is a complex process that he plunges headlong into and, as his actors have often pointed out, he lingers over the minutest of moments in a fi lm

The Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Chinese fi lmmaker Mr. Wong Kar Wai, at

the closing ceremony of the 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2014), in Panaji, Goa



as long as it takes to achieve perfection.Hollywood actor Jude Law, who featured in Wong Kar-wai’s only English-language fi lm, My Blueberry Nights (2007), told an American newspaper: “I’ve never worked with someone who’s put so much empha-sis on a single moment.” Law was de-scribing an entire night of shooting that the director had devoted to setting up dif-ferent angles for a kiss that would be only a fl eeting second in the fi nal cut. It is not surprising therefore that Wong Kar-wai has, in a career spanning a quar-ter of a century, directed less than ten full-length fi lms. Yet, in terms of impact, his cinema is second to none. He operates outside the Hong Kong mainstream, but every fi lm that he makes is an event that the world waits for with bated breath.In the company of director of photog-raphy Doyle, with whom he worked on seven fi lms in all, Wong Kar-wai has over the years conjured up some of the most luminous scenes in contemporary cin-ema, going all the way back to Chungk-ing Express, which tells two superfi cially linked stories about Hong Kong beat cops and the mysterious women that they get

entangled with, and his fi rst wuxia (Chi-nese martial arts swordplay) epic, Ashes of Time (1994).In 1995, Wong Kar-wai came up with Fall-en Angels, which was originally meant to be a part of Chungking Express and which, like the previous fi lm, told two separate stories. It had the same luxuri-ant stylistics that Doyle brought to bear upon Chungking Express, but Fallen An-gels was far more fatalistic in its rumina-tions on life and death.Wong Kar-wai’s fi rst major international triumph was Happy Together (1997), the story of two gay lovers who arrive in Buenos Aires from Hong Kong in search of a better life. But, as in all his fi lms, the protagonists struggle to achieve the emo-tional equilibrium that they seek.In the 17 years since Happy Together, Wong Kar-wai has made only four full-length fi lms – In the Mood for Love, 2046 (2004), My Blueberry Nights and The Grandmaster. While the critical response to these fi lms has varied, his aura as a di-rector blessed with unfailing grasp of the medium has not waned.

“I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of my peers in China to thank the festival and the wonderful audience here for their hospitality and support towards Chinese cinema. It is great to be here in India to celebrate cinema with all of you.”Wong Kar-wai

Saibal Chatterjee is an independent New Delhi-based

fi lm critic and writer who has worked on the staff of

several leading publications, served on the editorial board

of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s volume on Hindi cinema

and authored a biography of poet-fi lmmaker Gulzar.



The newly formed Chennai-based Ajax Media Tech has its eyes set to create gamifi cation of educational

content to make learning enjoyable, fun and stimulating.With this vision Ajax Media Tech which has recently acquired the business as-sets of Boston Mediatech has positioned itself to pioneer in the concept of Gami-fi cation and content creation.“We will focus on both products and ser-vices. Our strengths are multimedia tech-nology services and computer animation content development,” says S. Muralid-haran, CTO, Ajax Media Tech. “We are working on two of our products called Toddle Pad and K12 Simulator . Our ser-vice bouquet includes mobile apps, VFX, and 3D CGI animation.”Toddle Pad: Toddle Pad is a state-of-the-art Touch based Play and Pre-school prod-uct which covers the entire pre and play school curriculum available for Apple IOS, Windows and Android Platforms.In a playful and fun way, Toddle Pad accel-erates children’s learning and retention and at the same time triggers improved

thinking and analytical capacity. Toddle Pad is not a replacement for the teaching staff and it enhances class room learn-ing and standardizes proven method of learning. Toddle Pad brings consistency to the curriculum and aligns to the com-mon core state standards.Toddle Pad enables children to get con-versant with the latest technologies right from an early stage and enhances indi-vidual self-paced learning. With quizzes, exercises, brain teasers and other lat-est techniques of learning, Toddle Pad brings kids on par to the international standards.“We believe Toddle Pad will bring the kids world close enough by removing the Rural and Urbun children by providing the world class exposure on their hands,” says Aishwarya M, Chief Creative of Ajax Media Tech.The demand for Animation and VFX Ser-vices in India are growing rapidly. Ajax Media Tech will focus on outsourced projects from Hollywood also open for Co Production of 3D animated Feature Films and Television series.

Our strengths are multimedia technology services and computer animation content development, says S Muralidharan, CTO, Ajax Media Tech

Toddle Pad

SHABNAMTODDLE PAD

Learn While you Play



ToonPET is a real time – interactive 3D Anima-tion system that works with/without motion capture, Automatic voice synchronisation,

Facial Expression, Secondary Animations, Camera movements, Camera Switching, Mixing with a live person / footage, and rendering of all these happen-ing live which can go to HD/SD broadcast. Sounds fun…Yes it is possible.Explaining how ToonPET works, Arul Moorthy says, ‘after understanding the requirement of the clients, we develop the character or the client can supply the char-acter, which is customised to work inside ToonPET. It is a complete solution for TV Channels who have to focus on their creative side of the program such as program concept, actors etc.,, whereas ToonPET will supply the rest of the hardware, character preparation and give the HD/SD output that can go out for broadcast.’ToonPET is a platform on which many different type of programs can be developed. Some examples are:Live Tele-call Show: A customised / Popular car-toon character can talk to the audience in a call-in program. The character will replace an anchor, thus giving a new element of fun to the program. The background can be live or virtual.TV Host: A cartoon character can be interactive with a live person in the set. This can be a live set or virtual set. A cartoon character has more liberty to ask funny questions, which could be a limitation for a live TV host.A cartoon News Reader: Cartoons are only used for entertainment. With ToonPET, a 3D cartoon char-acter can be reading news, especially for the kids news.Animated Political Satire: One or more cartoon characters of celebrities can be used for a talk show with humorous dialogues.Educational TV show in which a cartoon character can be a school teacher.A Games Show that has a virtual Character as an-chor interacting with the participants.Other applications of ToonPET include live event show for a product launch in which a cartoon char-acter can be the host of the show, pre-Viz for movies and advertisements, animation production, cheer-ing Girls/Boys in a Games Program etc.With so many applications possible, ToonPET can be the backbone for the new genre of animation production.

Email: [email protected] www.toonpet.com to check out the demo of ToonPET.

Imagine a TV chan-nel, where the entire presenters, news readers, anchors all of them in 3D Car-toon format, that too interacting with each other, with guests, audience, all hap-pening live, real time. That’s what we are aiming to do, says M. Arul Moorthy, creator of ToonPET

SHABNAMTOONPET: NOVEL IDEA, NEW CONCEPT

A Revolutioary Approach for 3D Animation Production


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We are delighted to present the latest issue of Pickle on the special occasion of Asia TV

Forum (ATF) and Market in Singapore. Reed Exhibition’s ATF is undoubtedly a serious networking and market place for territories within this region. Our interview with Hui Leng Yeow, project director, Asia Television Forum, clearly spells out the agenda at ATF.From an Indian perspective, Asia is important market as there is a huge potential for collaboration within this region. Asia tops the agenda of leading Indian companies like Eros International Media, Yash Raj Films and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd who are foraying deep into this market. ZEE TV which has four local channels in Asia Pacifi c will launch another six channels in this region according to Sushruta Samanta, Business Head, International Channels, Asia Pacifi c, ZEEL (interview page no:18). Over fi fty Indian companies are present at ATF with a clear focus on buying and selling.The Indian media ecosystem is changing fast. There are few markets in the world where you could see both traditional and new media fl ourishing. There are 800 TV channels, 500,000 hours of TV content output, 250 million Internet users (set to cross 500 million in next 18 to 24 months), 900 million mobile

phone (of which 100 million top-end smart phone users), 80,000 newspapers published daily, 1,200 feature fi lms. And, Hollywood studios are making movies for domestic consumption. And, Indian start-up ecosystem is beginning to mature specially in the digital media and e-commerce space. The digital media is growing at over 50 per cent.Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the new ‘Make in India’ initiative to promote India as a global manufacturing and services hub nationally and abroad to boost the country’s economic prospect. Media & Entertainment is one of the sectors in the `Make in India’ campaign. We request every ATF delegate to engage and look at engaging with an Indian counterpart and do at least one project out of India. Be it service or creative output, only you have to imagine what you want, and you can get that done in India. Also block your date (April 23-25, 2015) to participate at the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) in New Delhi. Do write to us if you have any questions or information that you may look for on the Indian M&E market. We wish a happy New Year to all media and entertainment industry colleagues across the world. Feel free to email your thoughts and suggestions.

n vidyasagarpickle [email protected], www.picklemag.com

Pickle Volume VIII 5th edition

Published by Pickle Media Private LimitedEmail: [email protected]● Mumbai ● ChennaiNo.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh RoadRA Puram CHENNAI 600 028

Printed by Bon GraphicsNew #7, Arumugam Nagar, Dayalan Garden, Chinna Porur,Chennai – 600 116Mobile: +91 9884816263Email: [email protected]

Editorial Coordinators :

M SaiEmail: [email protected]

For advertising: [email protected]

Pickle Handbook 2014 Copyright 2014 byPickle Media Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.Pickle is an ad supported business guide tracking the fi lmed entertainment business in India. This is a curtain raiser issue for CII Big Picture Summit 2013.

Layout Design: M Agnes JulieConsulting Photo Editor: K K LaskarC

48 pickle entertainment biz guide LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK www.picklemag.com


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Pickle December 2014 ATF Edition

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