NEW DELHI: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: Green Destiny, the prequel to the Oscar winning film made in 2000, will be directed by the original film‘s action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping.

Starting production in March 2014, the film will have Michelle Yeoh reprising her role as Yu Shulien opposite Donnie Yen in the new role of Silent Wolf.

The Weinstein Company of the United States announced that the screenplay is by John Fusco, who previously co-wrote the US-China co-production The Forbidden Kingdom (2008). It is adapted from the same series of wuxia novels written by WANG Dulu about four generations of knights errant.

The announcement in Cannes follows months of contract negotiations between TWC and Yeoh, and a search for a director to take on the role previously occupied by Ang Lee.

The producers are hoping to shoot in Malaysia. In addition to being Yeoh‘s home turf, Malaysia would allow the film to be one of the first to use the new Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios and to access the recently established 30 per cent production rebate.

The original Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) won the Academy Award for best foreign language film. It was also an unexpected commercial success, grossing $128 million in the US and over $200 million internationally. It starred Yeoh, Chow Yun-fat and a young Zhang Ziyi.

MUMBAI: MakeMyTrip launched its latest service ?Last Minute Hotel Deals? at a press conference in Mumbai. The e-portal which is also the official travel partner of the movie, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, unveiled a quirky movie-centric television commercial (TVC) highlighting convenience of last-minute hotel booking on MakeMyTrip website.

The launch event which was conceptualized, managed and executed by Vibgyor Brand Services at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai saw the presence of actor Ranbir Kapoor; Deep Kalra, CEO & Founder, MakeMyTrip and Keyur Joshi, COO, MakeMyTrip.

Last-Minute Hotels which is a revolutionary Online Hotel product is a boon for spontaneous leisure travelers and last-minute business travelers. It?s good to know that passionate travelers can look to MakeMyTrip for best-value travel deals and Hotels that they can book at their convenience. Travel-fans and movie-buffs are also looking forward to Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani ? the most-awaited movie of the year. The movie celebrates fun, friendships and travel.

Deep Kalra, CEO and founder of the website, said, ?We are excited to come on board as the official travel partner of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The movie is a perfect fitment for us as it celebrates travel, fun and friendships. MakeMyTrip is known for making all aspects of travel easy and fun. Our new product ? Last Minute Hotel Deals ? offers the convenience of great deals for same-day check-ins to impulse-travellers like Bunny, the character played by Ranbir in the movie.?

Ranbir, at the launch, entertained the crowd with his antics. On his favourite holiday spot, he said, ?New York is my favourite holiday place, with or without a girlfriend.?

Nirpeksha Arora of Vibgyor Brand Services, the agency that managed the event said, ? Yeh Jawani hai Diwani is one of the most anticipated film of the year and its association with Make my Trip has made it even more exciting, We thank MakeMyTrip for giving us the mandate to conceptualize and manage this event, and look forward to doing many more such endorsements with them."

Mumbai: After engaging viewers for more than a month with an enthralling TV series and first-of-its-kind Bollywood poll; HISTORY TV18 brings Bollywood@100 to a culmination in a fitting manner. To draw the curtains on the milestone initiative, Karan Johar will be seen in conversation with Ranbir Kapoor, the youngest scion from the first family of Bollywood, along with prominent filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap. For more than a month this landmark series saw Karan Johar reveal ?Untold stories of Bollywood? on HISTORY TV18, as movie legends and present day stars divulge unseen and unheard facts.

The initiative also invited viewers to vote for whom they believed was the Greatest of all time. The unique Bollywood poll saw megastars from different eras from various categories compete with each other for the title of the ?The ?Greatest?. Through a month long digital & mobile voting campaign, the series stimulated viewers to nominate and vote for their personal favorites in order to arrive at the ?Greatest Ever? in Bollywood. The poll garnered a whopping one lakh votes, making it one of the biggest interactive initiatives on Bollywood. Along with the nationwide poll,and an Eminent Jury, a panel of Film Aficionados helped select ?the Greatest Ever? in each category. Each mode had an equal one third weightage with the entire process will be audited by Grant Thornton.

The list of Greatest icons provides a fascinating account of the who?s who of Bollywood through the ages. A R Rahman has won the recognition of being the greatest composer of all time, whereas the legendary Gulzar has been named the greatest lyricist in the poll. Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar are the joint winners under the category of greatest singer male category, whereas the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar won the title of greatest female singer of all time. Megastar Amitabh Bachchanwas voted as the Greatest Actor (male) of all time, while the leading lady of the epic Mother India, Nargis was voted as the Greatest Actor (female).

The biggest blockbuster of its time Sholay shared the top honor of the Greatest Film along with Oscar nominated film Lagaan.

Speaking on the occasion, Ritu Kapur, Head Programming, A+E Networks | TV18, stated, ?At HISTORY TV18, it is our constant endeavour to create initiatives that reflect a perfect m?lange of being informative and entertaining. Being our second local production, Bollywood@100 has set the bar higher on great research and production values. We are truly overwhelmed by the response and will continue to innovate on content.?

MUMBAI: To stimulate the "senses" of consumers of any age, Vegit has unveiled new brand imagery with a refreshed packaging for its Snack Mixes, with a new tagline twist called "Hamara Mix, Aapka twist". The objective behind the new packaging is induce the brand in retail segment with profound freshness, sustaining & building on the present equity of Vegit?s Snack Mixes & retaining the primary product Aloo Mash as constant at this stage.Vegit is one of the most recognized and respected brands in the ready to cook market in India - a name that delivers the very best in taste and add ease along with excitement to the cooking experience.

The refreshed packaging for Vegit is designed to enhance the value and brand awareness of Vegit ready-to-cook food solutions.

With the expected picking frequency of shelf level and consumer likings/noticing levels towards packaging, Vegit?s consumer-friendly packaging has been carefully and creatively designed to meet the display needs of retailer as well as to ease and quicken the shopping process for customers.

Using carefully developed graphics and bold colors, the designs communicate great taste and great quality. The dynamic packaging showcases the method of preparation so as to entice and educate consumers about the taste sensations along with the nutritional value. The high quality graphics showcase appetizing images of the snack which is packaged, reflecting the mouth-watering food that can be prepared with a "Twist" as the consumer is free to mix and add his/her own flavor to the dish. Vegit gives you a ready "Twist" recipe booklet along with each pack, to try out something new each time.

Building on the existing equity of the product in market, the names and recipes of individual mixes are focused upon, while creating space for consumer engagement via recipes/ promos on back of pack. The three-hole grip adds carrying convenience for consumers. The new packages introduced include Snack Mixes like Aloo Tikki, Burger Patty, Aloo Bonda, Soya Roll, Cheese balls, Harabhara Kebab, Shammi Kebab, Veg Cutlet

New Delhi: NDTV Good Times, India?s premier lifestyle channel now brings to you two popular international music television series ? The Kitchen Musical and Music Voyager. After entertaining viewers worldwide, the highly acclaimed series are all set to boost your weekday entertainment quota, beginning this May.

The Kitchen Musical is a 13-part genre defining television series that combines good food, great wines, sizzling drama and comedy. Previously aired in over 10 countries, the series now comes to India on NDTV Good Times.

Set in the musical world of a famous restaurant and anchored around the storyline of a rich young girl‘s journey of self-discovery when she starts working in the kitchen of the restaurant, straight out of Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, the series focuses on delectable food and wine, with every episode featuring a different menu.

Music Voyager, on the other hand, is a 32-part music and travel broadcast series, taking viewers on a journey to discover the most popular world music destinations across the globe. Hosted by Jacob Edgar, an ethnomusicologist and world music record producer, the series takes him to exotic locations where he explores world music and the people behind it.

Along the way, Jacob is rewarded with backstage passes to concert halls, street festivals, recording studios and rehearsal rooms around the globe. He takes the viewers through an in-depth ?cultural eye? of the local ? adventures, arts, culture, lifestyles, cuisines, people and music across India, Jamaica, Louisiana Colombia, Tennessee and Israel, inviting them to join him as he uncovers the sights, tastes and sounds of our diverse and fascinating world.

Talking about the launch of the two new international series, Smeeta Chakrabarti, Chief Executive Officer, NDTV Lifestyle said, ?NDTV Good Times has always strived to bring novel and trend setting content for its viewers. With these two international series we are now venturing into the music and musical entertainment space. While The Kitchen Musical is a musical drama, Music Voyager is Jacob?s travelogue, exploring the global music scenario. We hope our viewers will enjoy these new shows the channel has to offer.?

The Kitchen Musical premiers on 13th May and will air every Monday-Wednesday at 9 PM on NDTV Good Times.

Join Music Voyager for unexpected adventures and surprising discoveries that unveil the magic, mystery and music of far off lands, 16th May onwards, every Thursday and Friday at 9 PM.

Mumbai: The hugely popular game show "Kaun Banega Crorepati" is soon to have a Marathi sister version in "Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati". Hosted by the ever endearing and loved Marathi entertainment personality Mr. Sachin Khedekar, the show produced by Big Synergy, is to air Mondays to Thursdays at 21:00 hrs starting May 6th, on the Marathi General Entertainment Channel (GEC), ETV Marathi. The mission of the show would be to empower the Marathi Manoos with the right to change their fate through sheer knowledge and education.

To match up to the pomp and glory of the original "Kaun Banega Crorepati", ETV Marathi for "Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati", required a grand promotional exercise. The mandate for the same was given to none other than RW Promotions Pvt. Ltd. India?s biggest rural marketing and BTL activations agency.

RW Promotions Pvt. Ltd. came up with the idea of conducting a van activation. Three branded vans are to be taken across the length and breadth of Maharashtra for a period of one month, along with an emcee. The plan is to attract crowds and increase the anticipation for the show. The emcee would play a mini version of the game with the crowds gathered outside the van thereby giving the crowds a chance to experience being in the hot seat. The participants would also get free merchandise. The vans were inaugurated by Mr. Sachin Khedekar himself.

Commenting on the tie up with RW Promotions Pvt. Ltd. Anuj Poddar - Executive Vice President & Business Head - Regional Channels, Viacom18 in partnership with ETV, said "Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati" gives the Marathi manoos a chance to redefine his life basis the power of his knowledge. This initiative was undertaken to engage with our viewers and to give them a chance to not just watch the game virtually, but to play it and experience the hot seat as well. We are very happy to be having RW Promotions execute this effectively for us."

As part of the promotions, the vans open into a stage which would be exactly like the game show set, complete with the hot seat and monitor screens. The vans would be parked in prominent locations like a market place, garden or a crowded area. The emcee would be making announcements letting people know about the vans? entry into their town. Tin plate branding at locations where maximum visibility is expected would also be made use of.

Mr. Venkatesh Srinivasan, Director, RW Promotions Pvt. Ltd. further added saying, "The show is very close to my heart. Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati will give an opportunity to all Marathi people to change their fate. Mr Sachin Khedekar is a well renowned and most loved personality in Marathi cinema and he being the host of the show will definitely attract people to participate and follow the show."

ETV Marathi is hoping that the show will be a great success just like the promotional activities are likely to be.