Dettol & PVR Cinemas Come Together to Enable ‘Safe and Hygienic’ Movie Viewing Experience

Dettol, the leading germ protection brand, today announced its partnership with PVR Cinemas, India’s largest and the most premium film exhibitor. The partnership will help create a safe, hygienic, and enjoyable movie viewing experience for its customers once the cinemas can open in accordance with government guidelines and permissions. Adhering to the ‘new normal’, the partnership program will enable & develop enhanced cleaning and sanitizing protocols for the guests across 175 properties operating in 70 cities across the country.

Research by Global monitor indicates that consumers have heightened hygiene concerns when venturing outside the comfort of their house, and trust in cleanliness standards will be critical to restarting any business operations. Therefore, it has become highly critical for industries to implement an effective system to ensure standardized hygiene practices to protect oneself and others from this pandemic.

Commenting on the partnership, Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB Health South Asia, said, “Even as the lockdown conditions get progressively eased, the Indian consumers concern on germs exposure and desire for protective measures remains very high. As India’s #1 trusted brand for germ protection, Dettol is pleased to partner with PVR for a safe return of the Indian families to a cutting-edge cinema viewing experience.  Our aim is to partner meaningfully together with PVR to provide best in class Dettol germ protection – proven Dettol products to be used in expert vetted protocols so that the consumer is reassured and confident of a safe and hygienic viewing experience.”

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Cinemas said, “We have spent the last few months brainstorming amongst ourselves and with the world leaders in our industry to come up with best and safest practices for our customers to return to the movies. Having left no stone unturned in ensuring their well-being across all levels, we are pleased to partner with Dettol to guarantee an even cleaner and safer viewing experience. We are positive that the people would enlist the same trust in us as they have in the past decades of our relationship with them.” 

PVR Cinemas will implement stringent hygiene protocols, social distancing and food safety measures, along with minimal human contact across all touchpoints.  All employees will be undergoing health screening daily and fortnightly; and will be wearing PPE gear, face masks, gloves and face shields for extra protection. Further, the entire premises undergo an EPA approved complete ULV sanitization process at regular intervals which helps in coating the surface with anti-microbial layers with electrostatic machines for up to thirty days.

Over 80 years, Dettol has been the trusted partner of health, for millions of mothers across the country, to protect their family by preventing illnesses and infections. In the ongoing battle to contain the spread of COVID-19, Dettol has been instrumental in driving behavior change and the adoption of recommended hygiene practice across India. As a hygiene leader and No. 1 germ protection brand, Dettol continues to drive the organizational purpose and fight in action- to protect, heal, and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world.

Sharekhan Just Went Bollywood! Launches MoneyFLIX, World’s First Financial Movies Platform

Sharekhan Education, a separate entity under Sharekhan, one of the largest brokerage houses in India, has unveiled its maiden edutainment platform - MoneyFLIX - to lead a digital revolution in financial education in the country.

Catering to both, the digitally native millennials and the not so millennial, the platform will offer financial modules with a generous sprinkle of entertainment that aims to keep viewers engaged and hooked. Learning through entertainment and stories is not an entirely novel concept. In fact, it has been part of our tradition for ages, in the form of epics, fables and parables, driving home key values. Teaching consumers about money through ‘edutainment’ seems like an effective way to demystify a complicated subject by using compelling and familiar concepts.

MoneyFLIX’s purpose is to educate and help both, new to market and experienced investors & traders to better understand finance and consequently enable them to better take advantage of financial market opportunities. 

To start with, the platform already has nearly 100 videos ranging from being as small as 5 minutes in duration to almost up to 30 minutes in duration and this number is set to double within the first year itself. These movies cover topics from the simplest Investing principles all the way upto complex trading strategies in a bollywood styled manner.

Embedded with key features such as subtitling in local languages, the ability to capture voice notes on the go & easy references to important points by the click of a button, this state of the art edutainment platform has many technology offerings and thus expects to improve learning and retention.

On the occasion, Rahul Ghose who heads MoneyFLIX said: “The integration of technology in the financial services industry has been radical in uplifting customer experience. However efforts towards literacy have often been complex and hence, the idea was to create content that even millennials resonate with.

This is a significant step that emboldens the ideology and commitment to empower retail investors in the market. This new digital-first endeavour would help us take investing and trading education to even the remotest parts of the country.”

MoneyFLIX ’s yearly subscription for the platform will be at a special price of Rs 1,990+G.S.T. and the monthly subscription will be at Rs 990+G.S.T. Subscribers will have access to the entire premium content of the platform as well as access to 10min video snippets on fundamentals of trending companies, called MoneyFLIX Bytes. MoneyFLIX has ensured something for everybody - anyone who walks through the site will get to enjoy and learn from a vast pool of free movies and tutorials on Trading and investing.

MoneyFLIX APP is available on Google PlayStore.

iOS – App to be released in the end of the year

About Sharekhan Education:

Started over a decade back in the year 2010, our unique approach towards professional financial education helps create a distinctive learning platform for traders as well as investors and help them learn the skills necessary to trade and invest confidently like the professionals. Over the course of the last decade we had over 100,000 people from various walks of life who have attended our workshops and have trained more than 17000 people across the country.

We set up our first education center in Mumbai and since then we have expanded to 6 locations across the country namely, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai and New Delhi with traders & investors having experienced our unique hands-on education across the country. Our courses cover a spectrum of trading styles and asset classes. One can learn Short Term Trading, Swing Trading, Position Trading & Pro active Investing, using an array of asset classes namely stocks, options, futures and currencies.

About Sharekhan  

Sharekhan has been founded in 2000 and is a full subsidiary of BNP Paribas, a leading European banking institution. Sharekhan services more than 20 lakh clients aggregating more than 45,848 Cr of assets*, operates via 142 branches all over India and more than 3050 franchisees. It provides equity & derivatives execution, DP services, Portfolio Management, Mutual Funds & Corporate Deposits. Sharekhan executes on average more than 8 lakh trades/day** and performed more than 170 CR trades since inception.

*AUM as of 30th June 2020

**Trades as average in Q1 of 2020

Nestlé India Introduces MILO HOMEGROUND Videos for Indian Kids

MILO HOMEGROUND brings forth a path-breaking extension of its worldwide legacy of over 86 years of nourishing young champions by providing nutritious energy and the inspiration to grow with sports.  MILO HOMEGROUND will roll out workout videos inspiring kids to enjoy effective and easy exercises demonstrated by leading AFI sporting heroes like Hima Das, Neeraj Chopra, KT Irfan, Md. Anas Yahiya, MR Poovama and many more. These videos will be available for free on the social media handles of MILO (@MiloIndia) and MILO NIDJAM (@MiloNidjam).

And MILO HOMEGROUND won’t leave parents behind! Sports and fitness role-models like Shikhar Dhawan, Mandira Bedi and other celebrities are stepping-up to share their own experiences of MILO® HOMEGROUND with their kids. They want to encourage their followers and the community at large to start inculcating physical exercise into the child’s routine with MILO® HOMEGROUND – and share their experiences online. For every exercise video that is posted on the MILO® Facebook and Instagram handle (@MiloIndia), the parent will be given a MILO GREEN CARD to reward their child as appreciation and encouragement for having completed the exercise.

Each MILO GREEN CARD is a fascinating collectible autographed by a famous athlete. Parents can motivate their kids to collect all 6 MILO GREEN CARDS:  some exciting surprises await those who earn the entire collection.

Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Mr. Vineet Singh, Director – Dairy, Nestlé India said, “In more than 50 countries, MILO® inspires parents on the importance of sports in helping their kids achieve everyday victories that instil values to help them succeed in life. MILO® HOMEGROUND aims to create opportunities for these everyday victories and get kids to stay active even while staying home. In collaboration with the Athletics Federation of India and the AFI athletes as part of MILO® NIDJAM, we are excited to offer fun exercise routines that children can do at home – by themselves or with parents. When a child successfully completes an exercise, they can win the MILO® Green Card, which rewards positive behaviour”

The President of Athletics Federation of India, Mr. Adille Sumariwalla said, “Sports in the life of a growing child is most fundamental. An active lifestyle leads to healthier families and this kind of lifestyle begins at home. The partnership with MILO®, a brand who stands for giving nourishing energy to kids for an active and healthy lifestyle, is going to help us to spread this message to the country at large. What started as a partnership at back of the National Inter District Junior Athletics Meet last year, has grown to a digital playground led by AFI’s top athletes and India’s loved celebrities. We are proud to associate with MILO HOMEGROUND and will encourage people to spread the message of active energy far and wide.”

Amazon Prime Video Confirms a July 31, 2020 Release for Eagerly Awaited Biopic Shakuntala Devi

Amazon Prime offers incredible value with unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive movies, TV shows, stand-up comedy, Amazon Originals, ad-free music listening through Amazon Prime Music, free fast delivery on India’s largest selection of products, early access to top deals, unlimited reading with Prime Reading and mobile gaming content with Prime Gaming, all available only for Rs. 129 a month

Amazon Prime Video has announced the global premiere of eagerly awaited Hindi title, Shakuntala Devi exclusively on the streaming service. Directed by Anu Menon (Waiting, Four More Shots Please S1) and produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions and Vikram Malhotra (Abundantia Entertainment), the biographical drama stars National Award winning actress Vidya Balan in the lead, essaying the role of the globally renowned Indian mathematics genius, who was popularly known as the ‘human computer’. Shakuntala Devi also stars Sanya Malhotra (Dangal,Badhaai Ho), who will be seen playing the role of Shakuntala Devi’s daughter with whom the genius enjoyed a complicated but extraordinary relationship, alongside Jisshu Sengupta (Mardaani 2) and Amit Sadh (Breathe, Kai Po Che) in pivotal roles. The screenplay is written by Anu Menon and Nayanika Mahtani, while the dialogues are penned by Ishita Moitra.

Prime members in India and in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide can watch the endearing story of Shakuntala Devi starting 31st July.

The announcement can be viewed here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N4DU_u1Sf8&feature=youtu.be

Shakuntala Devi will join the thousands of TV shows and movies from Hollywood and Bollywood in the Prime Video catalogue. These include global premieres of Indian titles including Gulabo Sitabo, Penguin, Ponmagal Vandhal, Indian-produced Amazon Original series such as Four More Shots Please, Paatal Lok, The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye, The Family Man, Mirzapur, Inside Edge and Made In Heaven, as well as award-winning and critically- acclaimed global Amazon Original series like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Boys, Hunters, Fleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, all on Prime Video, which is available at no extra cost for Amazon Prime members. The service includes titles available in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali.

Prime members will be able to watch Shakuntala Devi anywhere and anytime on the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, Apple TV, Airtel, Vodafone, etc. In the Prime Video app, Prime members can download episodes on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost. Prime Video is available in India  at no extra cost to a Prime membership for just ₹999 annually or ₹129 monthly, new customers can find out more at  www.amazon.in/prime and subscribe to a free 30-day trial.

ABOUT AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Prime Video is a premium streaming service that offers Prime members a collection of award-     winning Amazon Original series, thousands of movies and TV shows—all with the ease of finding what they love to watch in one place.  Find out more at PrimeVideo.com. 

* Included with Prime Video: Shakuntala Devi will join hundreds of TV shows and movies from Hollywood and Bollywood, including Indian produced Amazon Original series such as The Family Man, Mirzapur, Inside Edge and Made In Heaven, and award-winning and critically-     acclaimed global Amazon Original series including Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Boys, Hunters, Fleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, available for unlimited streaming as part of a Prime membership. Prime Video includes titles available in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali.

* Instant Access: Members can watch anywhere, anytime on the Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, Apple TV and several gaming devices. Prime membership is also available to Airtel and Vodafone customers on post-paid plans. In the Prime Video app, Prime members can download episodes on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost.

* Enhanced experiences: Make the most of every viewing with 4K Ultra HD- and High Dynamic Range (HDR)-compatible content. Go-     behind-     the-     scenes of your favourite movies and TV shows with exclusive X-Ray access, powered by IMDb. Save it for later with select mobile downloads for offline viewing.

* Included with Prime: Prime Video is available in India at no extra cost to a Prime membership for just ₹999 annually or ₹129 monthly, new customers can find out more at  www.amazon.in/prime and subscribe to a free 30-day trial.

About Abundantia

Founded in 2013, Abundantia is India’s premier content company focused on developing and producing progressive, insight-based and uniquely Indian stories for a global audience.

Operating across Film, TV and Digital platforms, Abundantia’s first title, Baby, met with spectacular success in 2015 and its next film, Airlift (2016), was a massive hit at the box-office, earning unprecedented critical and audience acclaim. Abundantia notched up another winner with Toilet-Ek Prem Katha and also boasts of titles like Chef – the remake of Jon Favreau’s Hollywood indie by the same name as part of its filmography. 

The company has an exciting slate of films for 2020 and beyond, top-lined by a film on math genius, Shakuntala Devi, starring Vidya Balan and Sanya Malhotra which will have its world premiere on Amazon Prime Video, the Hindi remake of the super hit South film Bhaagamathie - titled Durgavati, starring Bhumi Pednekar and Newton director, Amit Masurkar’s next, Sherni starring Vidya Balan.

Also in the pipeline is the official remake of Hollywood hit Begin Again, the Hindi remake of acclaimed Malayalam hit, Angamaly Diaries, as well as films by talented filmmakers like Suresh Triveni, Shashanka Ghosh, Bharatbala and Aarif Sheikh among others.

In 2017, Abundantia created a buzz in the digital space with India’s premiere Amazon Original, Breathe. The second season of the show, which marks the digital debut of movie star Abhishek Bachchan, will be released on 10 July, 2020. In March 2019, Abundantia also announced its latest series, THE END, which has Indian superstar Akshay Kumar leading the cast. There is an active pipeline of digital content under development at Abundantia, which includes a serialized drama based on the book Men Who Killed Gandhi, and a multi-season procedural crime-drama series on the bestselling Rita Ferreira books.

Ananya Panday in Awe of Project Runway Season 18, Streaming Exclusively on Discovery Plus

Bravo’s Emmy-winning competition series “Project Runway” returns for another season of high stakes and fierce fashions, this time exclusively on Discovery Plus, the exciting new D2C streaming app from Discovery India, from 1st July 2020. Bollywood star Ananya Panday, used this opportunity to binge on one of her favourite shows, Project Runway’s latest Season and she has been enjoying the experience a lot.

Excited about the latest season, Ananya Panday said she hasn’t missed a single season of Project Runway till date, “I am a big Project Runway fan! It is still one of the most exciting fashion-related shows I’ve ever seen. The moment the latest season dropped on Discovery Plus, I binge-watched it immediately. It is commendable how the contestants can create magic out of just a piece of fabric and sometimes, not even that. You know the iconic quote from the show - As you know in fashion, one day you're in. And the next day, you're out...it’s so apt. The most difficult part of the show is how these guys have to bring their best fashionable foot forward for every challenge and it is so inspiring,”

Talking about the show and her favourite judge, Ananya said, "I love the way Nina Garcia provides constructive criticism every single time to the contestants to help them grow. And while, of course, I do miss Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, I think Karlie Kloss is doing a great job. Season 18 turned out to be just as awesome as I expected it to be.”

She added, “My favourite challenge this season was the one where they had to create victory outfits for real-life 2020 Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Only with real talent and eye for detail, one would be able to come up with something so fabulous that is going to be worn by achievers and real stars of sports!”

Catch Project Runway streaming exclusively on Discovery Plus from 1st July, 2020.

Ragini, Anupama and Anushree Visit Bounce, Bodycraft, and YLG Salons as Part of Godrej Professional Suraksha Salon Program

While salons are now open in Bengaluru, citizens are seeking assurance for safety and hygiene measures at salons. This could impact footfalls for salon industry, which is already burdened with over two months of no business. To support the salon industry during these testing times and address concerns of the people, actress Ragini Dwivedi, Anupama Gowda, and Anushree visited Bengaluru’s Bounce, Bodycraft and YLG salon chains respectively. This visit was organised by Godrej Professional as part of Suraksha Salon program, aiming to support salons with safety and well-being of customers and staff along with facilitating smooth post-lockdown operations. The three actresses themselves got a haircut at Bounce, Bodycraft and YLG salons and were impressed with the safety measures adopted.

Commenting on the support for the salon industry and her visit to Bounce salon, actress Ragini Dwivedi, said, “While people do want to visit salons, they have certain inhibitions involved as salons are high on tactile communication. I wanted to understand how the salons are implementing these measures on-ground and I was thrilled with the results. Right from my entry into the salon to the end of my appointment, salon ensured hygiene protocols are not compromised. I will urge people to visit salons without any fear and support the industry when it is needed the most.”

While allowing salons to open, Karnataka’s Department of Health & Family Welfare issued standard operating procedure which salons have to strictly abide. To boost public confidence, it is important to showcase how salons have opened up with proper safety measures in place. Ragini, Anupama and Anushree experienced hygiene measures at salons first-hand through this visit organised under Godrej Professional Suraksha Salon program. Known for its hair care, colour and styling products used by salons, Godrej Professional Suraksha Salon is helping salons in Bengaluru and many other cities get back to business and providing necessary guidance, resources and updates to salon owners.

Sharing her perspective on why she chose to visit the salon, Anupama Gowda, said, “Salon chains suffered deeply with no business for more than two months. With the lockdown being lifted, there are valid safety concerns amongst people who plan to re-visit salons. Thus, I decided to personally visited salon chains and experience safety measures instituted on-ground. I was happy to see that safety is a major priority for salons and people can be rest assured of it.”

“Although the salon chains had been severely impacted owing to the lockdown, I was really happy to see hygiene for both customers and staff becoming a topmost priority for salons now. After more than two months of lockdown, it was great to have my hair taken care of by professionals. It will be a win-win experience for salons and customers when both follow safety guidelines and adhere to the new norms mandated”, added, TV star and actress Anushree.

Godrej Professional Suraksha Salon is a nation-wide program including Bengaluru, aiming to support the salon industry as it moves to the new normal. Under the program, Godrej Professional has donated 15,000 litres of sanitizers and 10,000 re-usable masks for the well-being of the stylists. In addition, it is continuing to support salons with sanitizer & disposable kits for salon safety in a non-profit manner. The brand has curated ‘Suraksha Guidelines’, a comprehensive module on safety and hygiene, co-created with an expert with more than 25 years of experience in healthcare and hospitality sanitization. To address concerns about re-starting salon operations and avail sanitisation products on priority, a Salon Suraksha helpline is also setup under the program. This program is open for the entire fraternity and will support more than 10000 salons.

Forecast of animation and gaming lowered by NASSCOM

Nasscom, the apex body of IT software and services has lowered its 2012 forecast for the animation industry by 27.7 percent and gaming industry by 16.3 percent. It now expects revenues from the animation industry to touch $830 million against the earlier estimate of $1060 million and revenues from the gaming industry to touch $830 million against $1163 million.

In its press statement, Nasscom stated that this downward revision is largely on account of slackened demand due to the global economic downturn and the domestic box office for animation movies has not picked up as estimated, end-to-end skill sets not being developed in the animation services industry and proof of concept or IP creation not up to the expectations.

Som Mittal, President of Nasscom said, "NASSCOM recognizes this industry as a significant user of technology and can further showcase India's well established credentials in the IT Industry space. However, being in a nascent stage of development, it is critical for all stakeholders to come together and create an environment that nurtures this industry for it to be able to compete at a global scale."

The economic crisis has hurt the earnings of Indian IT companies with NASSCOM forecasting four to seven percent rise in India's software services and exports for the year to March 2010, sharply slower than the past years' robust growth.

Agencies