MUMBAI: Tackling the big issues and stories that people around the world want to discuss, World Have your Say - the BBC?s award-winning global interactive news discussion show on radio - is launching a new weekly TV edition of the show which will broadcast every Friday on BBC World News television from Friday 4 February, from 15:00 GMT.

Hosted on the BBC?s international news services ? on radio (BBC World Service) and now on TV (BBC World News) - the show is a global conversation with the agenda set by everyone taking part. The show uses different technology to enable as many people as possible in different parts of the world to join the debate via online bbc.co.uk/blogs/worldhaveyoursay, Twitter (@bbc_whys), Facebook (World Have Your Say), telephone and on air.

Presented by Ros Atkins, the new television show will broadcast weekly on BBC World News, and gives audiences around the world the opportunity to take part in the big debates and offer opinions on the news agenda. The channel has already broadcast a number of successful one-off World Have your Say specials including the release of Ang San Su Kyi, the rescue of the Chilean miners, and special editions from South Africa during last year?s World Cup.

World Have Your Say was first launched in 1995 on BBC World Service radio, and during the past five years has produced shows from all around the world including a shack in Kliptown, Soweto, South Africa; an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Milles Collines hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, where many were saved from the genocide; a factory in Dharavi, Asia?s biggest slum in Mumbai, India; and a refugee camp in Calais, France, where Afghans were waiting for the chance to cross the English Channel to Britain. The programme was also the first to broadcast live from Robben Island, South Africa, where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned, on the former president?s 90th birthday.

In 2008, the programme won gold at the 2008 Sony Radio Awards in the UK, in the Listener Participation category.

Host Ros Atkins says: ?World Have your Say is a programme that brings something quite unique to BBC World News - we‘ve time to have free-flowing discussions around the issues that people around the world are really engaging with. And most importantly of all, those discussions are always open to whoever is watching. With World Have you Say now on three platforms, we‘re able to bring together three huge global audiences and this gives us a chance to host extraordinary conversations" .
 

MUMBAI: Panchkula (Haryana, India) became home to a star-studded award ceremony last week, as PTC Punjabi called curtains on The First Annual PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2011. The evening became history as the biggest of Bollywood and Punjabi stars gathered to celebrate and felicitate the cinematic excellence achieved by Punjabi Cinema in the year 2010. This is the first ever attempt by any organization to recognize and award the talent of the Punjabi Film Industry.

The award ceremony saw stunning performances by none other than Bollywood Superstar Akshay Kumar, Anushka Sharma, Neha Dhupia, Hard Kaur, Jimmy Shergill and Diljit. The award ceremony was attended by Mr. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, honourable Chief Minister, Haryana and Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, honorable Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab. Some of the veterans of Punjabi Film and Music Industry graced the Award Ceremony with their presence. These include revered names in the Industry like Om Puri , Prem Chopra, Gurdas Maan, Guddu Dhanoa , Preeti Sapru, Raza Muraad, Satish Kaul , Manmohan Singh, Amrinder Gill, Gippy Grewal , Jasbir Jassi, Puneet Issar, Rakesh Bedi, Rama Vij, Sudhanshu Pandey, Akriti Kakkar and many more.

PTC Punjabi, the No.1 Punjabi Channel of India, will telecast PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2011 on Sunday 6th February, 2011 at 10 am IST.

?Among the fastest growing language cinema in the country today, the Punjabi Cinema has achieved a predominant position in the field of Indian Cinema not only in the country but also across the globe. Punjabi cinema is back to its glory days. Top stars, top makers and viewers are back with passion. Through these awards, PTC Punjabi salutes and showcases the immense talent and initiative undertaken by the Punjabi Film Industry. We plan to conduct these awards every year and support the Punjabi Film Industry as it soars newer heights. ?, said Mr. Rabindra Narayan, President ? PTC Network.

?In early Jan 2011, the channel had invited Film Producers and Production Banners to submit Nomination Entries for each of the 19 declared categories. Only Punjabi Films released between January 2010 to December 2010 (1 Year) were considered for PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2011. The Nominations were sent to a Panel comprising of eminent personalities from the Punjabi Film industry itself, to provide suggestive inputs towards the overall aim of finalization of the list of Nominees. The finalized Nominations were publicized throughout TV, Press and online Media in India and viewer votes were invited. The Award winners were decided with an equal weightage being given to viewer votes and recommendations by the members of the Film Industry. The members of the Film Industry also recommended artists from Punjabi Film Industry to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards and Critics Awards. ?, said Ms. Rajiee M. Shinde, COO- PTC Network.

Ms. Shinde further added, ?In 2010, 19 feature films were released. In 2009, 12 feature films were released. In 2008, 14 feature films were released. This might look like a small number once you compare it to Bollywood or Regional Cinema in India. However, it is important to note that the thought behind these awards is to encourage and felicitate cinematic excellence and to help Punjabi Cinema to grow further. The channel had invited Film Producers and Production Banners to submit Nomination Entries for each of the 19 declared categories. The response to the Nomination exercise has been tremendous and encourages us to believe that even the Industry has long waited for this kind of an award exercise. Further, when we look at the viewer votes that we have received for this exercise, even the audiences seem to have lapped up the idea of awards for the Punjabi Film Industry.?

MUMBAI: Swastik Pictures which has Phulwa a daily soap inspired by Phoolan Devi?s life on air on Colours and Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo on Zee has extended its existing portfolio by starting a non-fiction division headed by Tarun Chopra, which is executing the TV production of upcoming Stardust Awards as its first major assignment. Swastik in the past had produced Saas v/s Bahu the first ever one hour reality show in a daily format on Sahara One a daily dance show which featured more than hundred celebrities.

Vikas Seth, founding Partner of Swastik Pictures says, ?Keeping in tandem to the expansion plans of our content house for the current as well next fiscal, we have appointed Tarun Chopra to front lead the non-fiction vertical of our business. Tarun comes with multi-facetted experience in the TV business as a Producer, a reputed Director & a prestigious creative resource. Our non fiction vertical aims to cater to not just domestic but also to the International business segment. It shall focus on developing and executing successful business propositions for all our valued clients. I am confident that Tarun with his expertise shall be an asset in creating customized & specific content requirements for all existing as well as evolving platforms in the trade. We are executing the TV production of upcoming Stardust Awards on 6th February?.

Siddharth Tewary, Creative Director, Swastik Pictures, adds, ?Swastik Pictures wants to offer a holistic portfolio of compelling content ? be it in reality or fiction. Tarun Chopra will lead our new initiatives in the non-fiction and reality genre, which have become a part and parcel of life today. He brings in an acute understanding of this complex programming genre, which has a great future.?

Tarun Chopra says,"I am most exited about teaming with up Swastik Pictures.Siddarth and Vikas are the best brains in the buisness,and are also the nicest guys I have met in a long time.With the Stardust Awards,we are making a breakthrough in the non fiction space and are hoping to kickstart our plans for the future,with our own created IPR‘s.
 

MUMBAI: Zee Studio showcases Dead Poet‘s Society on 5th February, Saturday at 3:45 pm.

Dead Poets Society is a 1989 film starring Robin Williams and directed by Peter Weir. Set in 1959 at a conservative and aristocratic boys prep school, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students to change their lives of conformity through his teaching of poetry and literature.

The story is set at the fictional Welton Academy in Vermont, and was filmed at St. Andrew‘s School in Middletown, Delaware. The script, written by Tom Schulman, is based on his life at Montgomery Bell Academy, an all-boys preparatory school in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tom Schulman had won Oscar for the Movie.

The movie fetched another 13 wins & 15 nominations.

Painfully shy Todd Anderson has been sent to the school where his popular older brother was valedictorian. His room-mate, Neil, although exceedingly bright and popular, is very much under the thumb of his overbearing father. The two, along with their other friends, meet Professor Keating, their new English teacher, who tells them of the Dead Poets Society, and encourages them to go against the status quo. Each, in their own way, does this, and is changed for life.

MUMBAI: Spot News, Amrita TV?s latest addition to its news reporting arsenal has been steadily climbing up the TAM ratings since its launch a month ago.

Spot News is a 2 minute news capsule that delivers crisp, current, pertinent headlines from around the globe, hot from the spot , once every half-an-hour.

These brief, concise bulletins which covers every day of the week from 6 am to 12 midnight are telecast 28 minutes and 58 minutes past the hour i.e., at 6.28 am,6.58 am etc.

Each communiqu? consists of 4 major headlines highlighting the most important happenings in the world transpiring at that point of time, from the State to the national

and international level. The headlines are reinforced by illustrative visual footage taken from the best global news agencies.

Spot news condenses news stories into snappy incisive one-liners which while being to the point , always convey the full essence of the report.

The 2 minute pellets airs news even as it is unfolding somewhere in the world, carrying it live and hot off the press to the viewers.

Amrita Television is the first channel to try out such a bold and imaginative exercise that could well change the way news may be presented and perceived.

One has to wait for the clock to strike the news hour to tune in to conventional news bulletins whereas Spot News updates with front burner news almost on a continuous basis.

Lengthy communiqu?s break into widely watched programmes like films and cricket matches, interrupting their flow while Spot News quickly gives the rundown without being obtrusive.

Half-an-hour and one hour bulletins covers each story in great depth and detail, compelling the audience to sit through the entire broadcast to catch up on the latest but Spot News makes a long story short by cutting out the extra trimmings to focus on the meat of the matter. What took an hour to be expressed is now conveyed in a minute or two.

Spot News has been able to carve its niche because it has filled the latent requirement of Keralites who have neither the time or inclination for protracted news reports, but like to be in the know.

An epigrammatic tablet that brings relevant news from the very spot it takes place, when it occurs, as it happens, Spot News helps Keralites sprint alongside the headlines without waiting all day to be briefed.
 

MUMBAI: It?s been raining awards for Mindshare, the flagship media agency of GroupM, having achieved tremendous success on the awards circuit in India and Internationally. The agency has bagged top honours at all the prestigious industry awards held in 2010. With the Brand Equity Ad Agency Reckoner concluding last night, the year 2010 has proven to be the best year for Mindshare in terms of the highly commended accolades won by the media agency.

Commenting on the wins, Gowthaman Ragothaman, Leader, South Asia, Mindshare said, "We are absolutely delighted and thrilled with scoring a perfect 10 in winning all these 10 awards across various industry parameters and evaluations - internal, external, local and global. This is the best ever year for Mindshare and we would like to keep it this way forever. It is a tough act to follow but we will give it our best shot year after year."

These wins reflect the way the agency?s business has been growing over the past few years, in India as well as globally. The expansion of the agency?s scope of services is the result of a conscious growth strategy put together by the global Mindshare management. This victorious year is a testament to the tremendous innovation, creativity and the people at Mindshare.

With four Golds, two Silvers and six Bronzes, Mindshare held on to the Agency of The Year crown at the Emvies, Advertising Club Bombay?s annual awards for effectiveness in marketing held in August.

Mindshare also bagged the Purple Head Agency of the Year in Asia Pacific as well as the Purple Head Office of the Year across the world. Purple awards are given for excellent initiatives in each discipline around the globe.

Brand Equity rated Mindshare as the Most Admired Media Agency for the year 2010. With four Golds, two Silvers and a Bronze, Mindshare was named Digital Agency of The Year at the first Campaign India Digital Media Awards, presented by bbc.com. They also bagged Digital Agency of the Year by Campaign Asia Pacific and were also honoured as the Campaign Agency of the Year for 2010.

On December 1, 2010 Mindshare bagged the Yahoo! Big Idea Chair Award for their work on the campaign ‘Indian Panga League‘ for Virgin Mobile. This award is a global initiative which celebrates digital innovation across the world.

To add to the accolades, Mindshare moved up No.1 position in the New Business League by R3 in 2010. Mindshare also emerged at the No.1 in Network Competitiveness and International Hubs by RECMA.

Some of the most prominent campaigns done by Mindshare to bag the awards include brands like Surf Excel, Idea Cellular, Domex and Quaker Oats to name a few.