MUMBAI: The musicians were down from 50 to just 18. The bands were down from 10 to 3. And the one dream ? conquered! As a nation waited for India?s no. 1 desi rock band to be declared, the bands did everything to strike the right chords. MTV?s brand new Gharaana ? Desi rock has announced the number one desi rock band of India ? Saadhak!

After facing challenges in every episode of ?Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On with MTV?, the final platform was a much awaited concert, where the bands performed their original tracks. Joining them were the masters of the game themselves ? Euphoria, the band that brought rock to India & the effervescent Sona Mohapatra, who enthralled audiences with their smashing hits.

The winners were not only decided by the judges but also by the fourth judge - a voting audience. The winning gratification was more than any musicians dream. A contract with T series and a music video that would be exclusively promoted on MTV along with a custom made Gibson guitar. If that was not enough there is only more awaiting the desi rockers. They would have the chance to participate in ?Kurkure Desi Beats Be Heard? ? which if they win, they get $20,000. Besides the best band there were a couple of other honors decided specially by the expert panel of judges. The award for the best desi rocker was given to Parth from Dhariya and the best guitarist in the series was Prathyush from Khilaugh. He was also awarded a Gibson guitar.

When ?Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On with MTV? began, 50 of the most talented Desi rockers were randomly organized into bands. These newly formed bands were then placed in a pimped up rocker pad that could only be every musicians dream. Challenges were thrown at them every week, followed by deadly eliminations and killer twists and turns. The competitions were based on performance & skill and the contestants were judged by an eminent panel including Kailash Kher, Ram Sampath & Nikhil Chinapa on their ?Music Quotient? [M.Q.], ?Pagalpann Quotient? [P.Q.] and ?Desipann Quotient? [D.Q.].

To watch all the rock n? roll, tune in to Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On with MTV this Saturday, 7pm only on MTV!
 

MUMBAI: To best serve its clients, Publicis Groupe today announced the launch of MS&L Group, a strategic initiative designed to strengthen the Groupe‘s PR and events offer.

In today‘s world, clients need more holistic and more effective communication with global reach and access to digital and social media capabilities. Clients value a greater consistency and integration of all forms of communications to enhance their brand‘s awareness and attractiveness. The new organization is designed to meet these expectations

MS&L Group leverages the collective scale and expertise of MS&L Worldwide, Publicis Consultants Worldwide, JKL, Winner & Associates, TMG Strategies, PBJS, Relay, Capital MS&L, Hanmer MS&L, Carr? Noir, SAS, Masius, and Publicis Events. From now on clients will benefit from a full and enhanced suite of PR capabilities and events experience able to resolve any communication issue in any part of the world. Key other assets of Publicis Groupe can be leveraged as needed and particularly PublicisLive, Publicis Meetings, Emotion, Freud, as well as Kekst and Company.

MS&L Group employs more than 2,500 people operating in 50 countries and offers best-in-class Public Relations, Corporate and Financial Communications, Reputation Management, Public Affairs, Social Media, Digital and Live Events management.

This global entity will be run by Olivier Fleurot, CEO of MS&L Group. Olivier reports to Maurice L?vy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe and is a member of the P12, the executive committee of Publicis Groupe. In that capacity, he champions the development of all PR and Events activities.

"The objective of the new MS&L Group is to offer best of breed in PR, corporate or events communications to our clients. Our goal is to take maximum advantage of the great individual assets we have and to build a premier network in this field. Olivier has already done a tremendous job at putting the organization together and enhancing collaboration. I have full confidence that MS&L Group will greatly contribute to the growth of Publicis Groupe." said Maurice L?vy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe.

"By sharing best practices and knowledge across regions, we provide clients with a seamless and consistent approach and help them to manage their most pressing business and communications needs. In a fast-changing world undergoing unprecedented transformation, our clients are looking for an organization that provides both global scale and specialized services. Our network, under one brand, one leadership team, and a common purpose, will be able to meet the challenge." declared Olivier Fleurot, CEO of MS&L Group.

Members of Olivier Fleurot‘s management team are:

- Pascal Beucler, SVP, Chief Strategy Officer, MS&L Group
- Isabelle Chouvet, CEO, Emotion
- Fabrice Fries, President of France, MS&L Group
- Trudi Harris, Communication Director, MS&L Group
- Anders Kempe, President of Europe, MS&L Group
- Sophie Martin-Chantepie, HR Director, MS&L Group
- Peter Miller, CFO, MS&L Group
- Glenn Osaki, President of Asia, MS&L Group
- John Rossant, Executive Chairman, PublicisLive
- Jim Tsokanos, President of the Americas, MS&L Group
 

MUMBAI: CNBC-TV18, No. 1 in business worldwide declared the winners of the 4th edition of ‘CFO Awards‘, the most coveted awards in the field of finance in India. ‘CFO Awards‘ honoured the best minds in finance that have steered their organisations by adopting a strict ‘financial discipline‘.

The awards ceremony that witnessed the best CFOs across the country come together to celebrate their peers‘ achievements was presided over by Mr. Salman Khurshid, Honorable Minister for Corporate Affairs.

Some of the dignitaries present on the occasion included Shikha Sharma, Axis Bank and Madhavi Puri Buch - MD, ICICI Securities.

The awards are designed to acknowledge the changing role of the CFOs ranging from cross border M&A to business diversification from business expansion by venturing in newer markets to transforming organizations. The fact that India Inc. emerged comparatively unscathed from the turmoil that engulfed the entire world economy can be attributed to the sound financial policies that India‘s CFOs adopted. ‘Financial Discipline‘ was increasingly been construed as conservative and retrograde, but Indian companies proved otherwise.

It is to highlight this contribution of these financial wizards of India, that MCX-SX presented the CNBC-TV18 ‘CFO Awards‘ 2009.

MUMBAI: For the past decade the Indian communication landscape has witnessed some dramatic changes. The wireless wave has swept across the nation at an exceptional pace and landlines have slipped into the red. Will the grand old landline witness a slow death or will it compete for relevance? Brand Equity tells the story.

One has been credited in revolutionalizing the Indian bottled water and beverage segment and the other, a visionary brand builder. Ramesh Chauhan, CMD - Bisleri and Ashok Kurien, Senior Advisor - Publicis Groupe, take the Brand Equity Compatibility Quiz and show us how they built their iconic brands.

The advertising industry has been churning out commercials like never before and hiring foreign talent seems to have become the new mantra. Does this imply that production houses have not been able to match the pace of the growing ad industry? Brand Equity finds the answer.

Brand Equity‘s guest expert this week, Piyush Pandey treads on emotion while he picks out his top two favourites from Spikes Asia 2009!

Wednesday, 18th Nov: 7.30 pm & 10.30pm
Saturday, 21st Nov: 5.30pm & 10.00pm
Sunday, 22nd Nov: 11.30am & 8.00pm

MUMBAI: A folk narrative set in the sand dunes of Rajasthan; Kesariya Balam Aavo Hamare Des is the story of human emotions put in a unique way. It‘s Rukmini‘s struggle through life and its various situations.

Rukmini, the eldest of the three siblings, is born in a poor Rajput family from Rajod. She has a younger sister Rasal and a brother Gheesu. The girls are the breadwinners of the household. Rukmini crafts Krishna idols out of clay while Rasal is an official letter writer of the village. An unfortunate incident in their childhood leaves Rukmini‘s life scarred forever.

Says Mushtaq Shiekh, Creative Director - Sahara One Television," If you look at Indian television drama they usually revolve around two lovers or a tiff between the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law or even if a plot starts off with a different concept it ends up becoming a love story, leaving audiences salivating for more. But ‘Kesariya Balam Aavo Hamare Des‘ is not your regular drama; it‘s about Rukmini and her fight with her destiny to show everyone that she has more to her than her deformity. I think everyone will be able to relate to it at some level because everyone has faced rejection and everyone has some flaws to hide."

Meanwhile, the second part of the plot is set in Bhanwar Singh‘s house, whose family is known for its true blue Rajput nature, full of attitude and life. His family is known for its legacy and its stature created by the ancestors over many, many years. Bhanwar Singh‘s nephew, Ranveer, arrives in the village. He‘s a boy who‘s spent most of his life studying in Delhi. He‘s an artist by calling, romantic at heart and gets attracted to Rukmini.

We at SaharaOne believe that Kesariya Balam Aavo Hamare Des, produced by Ajai Sinha (earlier made Ghar Ek Sapna for the channel under Ananda Telefilms) will find its calling with the women of the house who we‘re sure would relate with Rukmini‘s plight and be part of her journey through life. Jaya Binju who essays Rukmini, we feel, will soon become part of your family and life.

We hope you‘ll pledge your support and make the show a success.

MUMBAI: As the nation celebrates Sachin Tendulkar‘s 20 years this 15th Nov ?09, IBN18 brings a special initiative supported by the legend himself ?Sachin for India Auction?. This is a commemorative auction where 20 Limited Edition autographed bats by the little master Sachin with the message ?Thank You India for 20 years of love?, will be auctioned. To participate in the auction fans can log on to IBNLive.com/Sachin. The minimum auction price will start from Rs.50,001. The auction opens from Sunday, 15th Nov ?09 and closes on Sunday, 22nd Nov ?09. The proceeds of this auction will be given to the NGO ?APNALAYA?.

IBN18 Network through this unique auction will partner this initiative that endeavours to make a big difference and spread smiles to millions. Also, Sachin is a hero not just in India but fondly known to fans from across the globe has been involved in a lot of charity work, in particular with APNALAYA, an NGO that works with Mumbai‘s street children.

Speaking about the initiative Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN18 Network, said, ?We are honoured and delighted that Sachin is doing this for a charity, I just had to call him once and he spontaneously agreed which is typical of the man whose heart is bigger than even his bat. This initiative will bring some happiness in the life of little children.?

"Sachin is a youth icon and a source of inspiration for Indians. We are delighted to partner with Network 18 and Apnalaya for the charity auction of this rare Sachin memorabilia. We encourage all cricket fans to bid on the auction on www.ebay.in/sachin" said Deepa Thomas, Senior Manager -Pop Culture, eBay India

eBay is the Auction Partner who is lending their credibility to raise the desired funds for charity. eBay India Charity Fundraising programme is a special section dedicated to NGOs & Socially Responsible Corporates and enables recognized charities to create awareness, raise funds and also list products and merchandise for sale to millions of global and Indian users. In India, eBay has raised over 1.64 crores for NGOs through celebrity and high profile listings as well as direct donations. Log on to www.ebay.in/charity to know more.

Apnalaya is an NGO founded in 1972 to help children living in slums towards a better life; APNALAYA strives to achieve this through urban community development projects in Mumbai. Its role is one of empowerment: of encouraging ordinary men and women to believe in themselves and in their abilities to change their lives for the better.