MUMBAI: Zee Aflam, the Bollywood channel packaged in Arabic for the Arab Female community, recently won the Gold Award for Marketing in ?Media / Content / Internet Provider? category. This achievement in the category was further enhanced by the fact that the judging panel had elected worthy winners from the 68 campaigns shortlisted from the 200 plus original entries.

Elie Kanaan, Business Head ? Zee Aflam said, ?We take immense pride in winning this Gold award for marketing excellence in the Media / Content / Content Provider category especially as the other strong nominees in the category were The Economist and Al Noor Islamic Bank.?

Mr. Kanaan added further, ?We are humbled at this recognition and will give our marketing team further impetus to achieve greater allocades. We will continue to deliver entertaining content every time you switch on your TV set?

The GEMAS Effie Mena Awards 2009 made their debut at a glittering gala presentation ceremony in Dubai on 5th November marking a major milestone in the history of the region?s marketing sector. Effie Award celebrates marketing effectiveness world over. The GEMAS Effie MENA awards invited marketers operating across the Middle East and North Africa region. It awarded across its various categories Bronze, Silver & Gold Awards.

The red carpet event attracted more then 500 marketing professionals from across the region who gathered to celebrate and applaud the most effective communications campaigns launched during the past 18 months.
 

MUMBAI: ?A Journey Like Never Before?, this week welcomes Milind Deora, sitting MP from South Mumbai and one of the youngest parliamentarians of India.

On the show Milind, speaks about his victory in the general elections. He also recounts his experiences from the past year including his marriage to Pooja Shetty daughter of famous Bollywood film maker Manmohan Shetty.

Speaking on the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, he recalls how difficult the period was and also his efforts to channelize all the emotions, post the attack into something constructive.

Follow the exciting journey of Milind Deora only on Fly Kingfisher presents ?A Journey Like Never Before? this Saturday, 7th November at 8.30 pm with a repeat telecast on following Sunday at 12:00 noon and 5.00 pm only on NDTV Profit

MUMBAI: Singer, Composer, Music Producer Shankar Mahadevan as well as former Miss Sri Lanka and now Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez will be seen in the seventh episode of ?Idea Rocks India ? 4? on leading GEC, Colors on Sunday, November 8th , 2009 at 8:00 pm.

This week?s episode is truly magical with the presence of iconic singer Shankar Mahadevan who will belt out a few popular musical numbers that will enthrall the contestants and touch an emotional chord with the audience.

The beautiful Jacqueline Fernandez will also be present on the sets of the show to promote her upcoming film ?Aladin?, and will cast her spell on the participants with her smile and encouraging words. 

To the surprise of all the bands Amitabh Bachchan will appear to extend his warm wishes to the IDEA Rocks India contestants much to their delight.

The 4th edition of the hugely popular Annual Musical extravaganza ? ?Idea Rocks India? ?presented by IDEA Cellular, is in a completely new avatar this year. Shaan and Vasundhara Das are the judges in the show, who will be accompanied by celebrity guests in the seventh episode of the show. The judges will assess the performance of the bands competing for the title of ?Baap of All Bands?.
To see more of these stars, and to find out how each band performed on the show, watch ?Idea Rocks India 4? on Colors on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 8:00 pm.

Watch this space for more information on upcoming celebrity guests and to know what?s going on, on the sets of ?Idea Rocks India 4?.

MUMBAI: ‘Let‘s Just Play‘ is Nickelodeon‘s pioneering worldwide movement aimed at imbibing ‘active play‘ in the lifestyle of kids of today. A movement that truly believes that kids need to strike a balance between their life indoors and their life outdoors! Avinash (Jagya) and Avika Gor (Anandi) of the popular television series ‘Balika Vadhu‘ truly believe that play is important and are geared up to support this revolutionary movement to their fullest. The celebrated Colors stars today kick started the pioneering initiative Nick & Nestl? MILKYBAR ‘Let‘s Just Play‘ 2009 alongwith the legendary Nicktoon - SpongeBob SquarePants at the Balika Vadhu sets. This year Nick & Nestl? MILKYBAR aim to spread the message of ‘active play‘ much deeper and wider across the country by making this initiative larger than life!

Commenting on this initiative, Avinash (Jagya) and Avika Gor (Anandi) say, "We love playing! Play is fun, cool and freedom from boredom. It gives us a break from our studies and shoots. We are always caught running around on the sets of our TV show." Says Avinash, "I am a huge fan of cricket. I love to play cricket with my friends in the colony." Avika continues, "I love dancing and I make sure that I attend my dance classes regularly!"

Commenting on this initiative, Nina Elavia Jaipuria, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Nick India says, "Both, Jagya & Anandi have captured the hearts of millions of kids and parents alike and we‘re excited to have them on-board Nick‘s Let‘s Just Play‘ movement, urging all kids to go out and play on November 7th. This year, as we hold the ‘Play-a-thon‘ grand finale across 5 cities, simultaneously on November 7th from 4.00 - 9.00 p.m., we‘re confident of a great response."

‘Let‘s Just Play‘ this year is an extensive 6 week initiative that will culminate into a nation wide first of its kind Play-a-thon. Nick will use the power of its platform and convey the message of active play to kids in a manner that makes ‘Active Play‘ a cool and fashionable thing to do. Massive 10 hour Play-a-thons will be organized in Ambience Malls Outdoor Area-Delhi, Inorbit Mall Outdoor Area-Mumbai, City Centre Mall Outdoor Area-Kolkata, RSI Grounds-Bangalore and Prasad IMAX Grounds-Hyderabad on 7th November 2009 which will culminate in a grand finale in the evening from 4pm - 9pm.

Putting all its muscle behind ‘Let‘s Just Play‘ 2009, Nick & Nestl? MILKYBAR will create a mega on-air and on-ground frenzy! Not only will Nick go blank on this day encouraging millions of kids to get out and play, but will take the initiative beyond TV through the most innovative play events. Kick starting from the morning of 7th November, the first half of the 10 hour play-a-thon will comprise of an inter-school sports event consisting twisted and high energy games. Movement therapy and funky dance workshops take over in the afternoon. The Grand Finale of the Play-a-thon kicks off 4pm onwards where thousands of kids will converge to play telegames and have fun with the legendary Nicktoons - Ninja Hattori, Dora The Explorer, Maruko Chan, SpongeBob SquarePants and Perman. The unique games such as Giant Slippers, 3 Team Football and Under the Ropes to name a few will have the energy levels soaring and will completely appeal to the Gen Y kids of today.

So mark your calendars and begin the countdown, as Nick & Nestl? MILKYBAR bring ‘Let‘s Just Play‘ 2009 so that kids can lead less stressful, happier and more fulfilling lives. See you at the playground!
 

MUMBAI: Planet M Retail Ltd, today announced the launch of ?The Connoisseur?s Club?, which offers its customers access to a plethora of Indian and International ?Evergreen Must Have? films that have inspired people for years to come. To grace this occasion was Padma Bhushan recipient Sri. Shyam Benegal, a leading filmmaker-scriptwriter and the pioneer of Parallel Cinema in India.

A ?Connoisseur? is a judge, one well versed in anything, a person who has expert knowledge and keen discrimination in some fields, especially in the fine arts or in matters of taste. With this in mind Planet M presents the Connoisseur?s Club - a club that offers its customers a creatively satisfying experience with a collection of cult movies where the real art of movie making is exemplified. Be it Action-Thrillers, Drama, Comedy, Romance, New Age Cinema or a popular television series Planet M has it all.

Says Mr. Subir Ghosh, CEO Planet M Retail Ltd., ?Some creations in life are timeless in their appeal and can be enjoyed and experienced over & over again. In keeping with this phenomenon, Planet M is happy to bring you its ?Connoisseur?s Collection? which consists of evergreen movies with timeless appeal, a perfect opportunity for every individual who wants to build on a great collection of music and movies, all available under one roof. The long term objective of the ?Connoisseur?s Club? will be to build a database of its members and their film preferences?.

Commenting on the launch Mr. Shyam Benegal said, ?When you watch a great film, you flow with the development of the plot and characters, your mood gets oblivious of the surroundings, you are in total sync with the film, you have lost the count of time. Planet M fulfills this sense of completion in every collector, by introducing him to the finest repertoire of National & International movies introducing him to the ?Evergreen Must Haves? that every avid film buff aspires to possess?.

Planet M?s Connoisseur?s Club offers its members a whole lot of privileges. Here, every member will be entitled to exciting opportunities, complementary membership to Music and Film Clubs and free passes to musical events & film screenings. In addition to the above, any customer purchasing a ?Connoisseur? title will receive specially designed, customized newsletters, based on the latest happenings in the world of Entertainment.

MUMBAI: CNBC AWAAZ, India‘s No. 1 Business channel presents ?UTTAR UDAY?. This special series will feature North India?s progress over the years and its contribution to the Indian economy.

CNBC AWAAZ has voiced the regional development over the years bringing out the transformation which has gone unnoticed so far. The state of Punjab was in fact one of the premier states to have ushered in the Green Revolution along with Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh.

Though, the other Northern states might not have progressed with the same rate but they have had a unique potential in addressing our much needed industrial needs viz. Agro Based Industries, Mining and Mineral Based Industries to name a few. Connected with a robust rail and road network, and consisting of one of the largest electorate; the Northern states are virtually sitting on a gold mine.

CNBC AWAAZ ?Uttar Uday? will highlight this transformation of the Northern India from a predominantly agrarian economy to an increasingly industrial economy. While chronicling the contributions made by the region to Indian economy so far the series will also draw attention to the scope for further development of Northern India. 

The series will also reach out to various sections of the society to see the region from their point of view. Daily segments focusing on various regions of Northern India and the weekend half hour shows will bring to light the perceptions and expectations that the common man and the industry bear for the Northern India. These will also bring out the political views and efforts taken in bringing Northern India to its status quo.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sanjay Pugalia, Editor-in-Chief, CNBC AWAAZ said, ?The role of North India in the Indian economy has been undermined to a large extent. Uttar Uday is a unique concept that will give viewers an in-depth view of North India, its contribution in the Indian growth story and the way ahead?

Mr. Neel Chowdhury, VP, Marketing, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC AWAAZ said, ?CNBC AWAAZ has always been a pioneer in providing the most innovative program formats and through this series we wish to showcase the uniqueness of North India. While the prospect for this region is immense, Uttar Uday proposes to chalk out the way ahead.?

CNBC AWAAZ ?UTTAR UDAY? is on air every

Saturday ? 11.30 am and 8.00 pm

Sunday ? 1.30 pm and 8.30 pm