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I for India When the entire M&E came together to stand against Covid 19 with Facebook

Vironica Babbar Added 3 years ago

A waging battle against the global pandemic, Indians have been confined to their homes for more than a month now. The increasing tension and a sharp rise in the cases has struck an alarming chord in the hearts and minds of people across the nation.

Amidst the tension, Facebook in association with Bollywood & artists beyond the Indian Cinema Industry took matters in their own hands to reach out to people and bring entertainment to their homes. In a home-to-home set up, Facebook created a star-studded night for netizens on 3rd May, 2020 that saw performances from Shahrukh Khan, Hritik Roshan, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan, Varun Dhawan, Priyanka Chopra, Badshah, Lisa Mishra, B Praak, Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, Mike Jagger, Sophie Turner, Lily Singh, Jonas Brothers, Bryan Adams, Will Smith, and many such artists.

Not only did the concert have a singing performance but also involved conversations, comedy, poetry, and a tribute to late actor Irrfan Khan & Rishi Kapoor. All the stars that were a part of it gave a piece of their personal lives by performing with either family members or showcasing their talents on musical instruments for the first time.

In a 4-hour-long concert that took place on Facebook, almost 52 crore rupee was generated from across the world for the frontline workers in India. All the proceedings went to GiveIndia to fight the battle against covid-19 and help reduce the impact of the pandemic in the country.

In this grief-stricken environment where India is being an inspiration for most nations to curb the spread of this deadly virus, the entertainment industry has yet again stepped up and proved to be a progressive & disruptive one. There is no denying from the fact that an entertainer occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of people. Whether he belongs to the 60s or a recent heartthrob doing amazing work, entertainment is at the core of our country.

Along with entertainment, the digital industry across the globe has proved to be a valuable asset. Through the means of Facebook & Instagram, performing artists are performing live gigs to bring happiness and calm through a 6-inch screen of the mobile phone. In a country where almost 70% entertainment is consumed via mobile phones, we have these social media applications to thank for bringing such events to life. Not only live streaming, it has also encouraged people to talk about pressing issues in society that hide behind a smokescreen. We have much to witness & more to add to these innovative means by reaching entertainers directly. Stay tuned for more updates from the Art, Culture, Media & Entertainment Industry.

Irreplaceable Heartthrobs of Indian Cinema

Vironica Babbar Added 3 years ago

A hole in the heart of the Entertainment Industry of India. News that has shocked the entire nation and not just the entertainment industry. Fans across the globe are tongue tied on the shocking news one after the other.

While we cannot help but go back to the dialogue from Anand that was “babumoshay, yeh duniya ek rangmanch hai, aur hum is rangmunch ki kathputliyan. Kab kiski dor khinch jaaye koi nahi keh sakta” but when actually the strings have been pulled, the helplessness of the dialogue is being felt by each person who ever knew the two souls, even in the most distant association.

The country was still mourning and sinking at the fact that an outstanding & self-made actor like Irrfan Khan had passed so early in his life, when the news of lauded actor Rishi Kapoor’s demise came in. The two departed souls were no less than a blessing on the Indian Cinema, who time and again gave some of the most exuberant performances of their lives. While one came from an inherent stardom, the other rose to prominence through sheer honesty & vehemence.

Rishi Kapoor, better known as Chintu Kapoor was born to jubilee star Raj Kapoor & his wife Krishna Raj Kapoor in 1952. Rishi Kapoor made his debut with the film Bobby alongside Dimple Kapadia & received accolades of sorts from far and wide. His songs like "Hum Tum Ek kamre mai band ho… " are as fresh in our hearts in 2020 as they stroked the hearts In 1973.

The original heartthrob of bollywood, who wooed us with his dashing personality & charming smile. Here is a shout-out to Rishi Kapoor aka Chintu Ji for being an utter delight on the big screen.

How many of us knew Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan? He is the same Irrfan Khan, the man who left an impact on our minds through great performances from his acting. The 180-minutes, spent with him in those cozy theatres, being extremely engrossed in his expressions & dialogues, we could, today, go back to his revered performance of The Namesake. The novel that turned into a motion picture was no less than an ode to a heart-wrenching vail due to the loss of a loved one.

As we all woke up, ready to take on the day while fighting the pandemic, two entertainers, so close to our hearts had found a place in heaven. So much for two people who appeared on the big screen and danced to wacky songs, said flattering dialogues & brought emotions to life.

We wonder, what made us fall in love with these gentlemen to this depth? What could possibly be the reason that the nation is deeply mourning, saddened by their departure? It is indeed the fact that the rare entertainers who give life to a character, bring a part of our life to the screen as if it was there life in real, build a deep connection and impact us the most. Rishi Kapoor ji and Irrfan Khan did that time and again and now left a void.

Our tribute to these legendary actors who gave some of the most iconic films, brought characters to life and left us with dialogues that question life and its meaning.

#Breakingnews

#films

#entertainment industry

#legendsofindiancinema

#irrfankhan

#rishikapoor

#demise

Are you consuming fake news too?

Vironica Babbar Added 3 years ago

Did you recently win a $100000 lottery in your mail? How did the election results come out even before the counting started? We come across many such news pieces in a day. What are these & why do we receive them?

Well, this can simply be called Yellow journalism or Hoax news. In layman’s language it is called “Fake News”. It is a piece of news that manipulates facts & presents itself as a bias, myth, conspiracy, or allegations. It is spread with political motives & agendas in the background.

Media is one of the most dominant vehicles of Information in India as citizens do give a considerable time and attention to it. The lifestyle of masses has television and radio deeply inculcated in the daily regime of men and women, boys and girls. It holds the power to influence citizens in the most substantial ways because it is consumed by young and old, alike.

A news piece spreads like wildfire through print, broadcast and even more so, through social media. It can twist the facts to attack a certain section of the society, and their beliefs. If it aims to destroy the peace and harmony in the environment and disturb the functioning of a smooth running government, it can.

Political, religious, economical, and communal agendas can be realized through media, simply to spread unrest & hostility in the society because it meets the agenda of a group that might benefit with the unrest. Lately, owing to great many reasons, communal unrest is increasing by the day. Political parties coaxing media vehicles, attaining ownership of certain publications, news channels & local social media access have spread an immense amount of fear in the country.

When the nation was slapped with the security and safety breach of women as the Nirbhaya rape case came to light, the social media was flooded with vile rumors about the girl, her way of lifestyle & her appearance. While nothing about her could justify what she was put through yet it was spoken. In another instance, a political party spokesperson said that there was television present in Mahabharata which allowed Sanjay to depict every movement of the battlefield to Dhritrashtra. Here, a fact & a myth were twisted to spread unwanted & false information about something that holds great importance to the society.

Fake news leads a reader astray from the topic. It is successful each time one receives a WhatsApp forward that speaks of unusual cures, pranks of winning a lottery, videos edited to bring mutiny, communal indifference by wrongly interpreting religious scriptures, and so on.

As the country is amidst a major lock down, certain news channels & publications have been spreading the news of a particular community spreading the disease through non-cooperation & religious spin. However, are these news pieces really true? Each message that circulates on the internet, does it have genuity & authenticity?

News channels and social media handles of various media houses in India have been broadcasting videos that have been altered to propagate and create hate for various minorities in India. No religion, individual, caste, sect, or race deserves to be judged on the actions of certain misled members of the society. While this could be the dark side of a human design but the fact that it is allowed to not just surface but also grow and destruct, means there is a huge pitfall in surveillance, integrity and accountability. It means that the decision makers are careless, driven by negative agendas and are out of their own integrity.

Fighting a pandemic has proved to be more difficult than thought about and in times like these, the country needs genuine information & not pseudo-news. Leaders at all level are urged to control fake news, people to stop consuming information that targets anyone in particular, even if it is stimulating and engaging. Fake news does not come with a red dot or a yellow band, it looks even more real than the real news, thanks to the creativity of its creators but are the rest of the people really dumb to not learn from the first, second, fifth and even the hundredth fake news that came, damaged and never lasted to be proved right?

A Monologue competition organised by Dramaturgy Theatre Group

Vironica Babbar Added 3 years ago

“How hard is it, when everything encourages us to sleep, though we may look about us with conscious, clinging eyes, to wake and yet look about us as in a dream, with eyes that no longer know their function and whose gaze is turned inward.” – Antonin Artaud

In a nation such as India, there is always something happening in every nook & corner of every city & state. Performing arts is the corner of the Art & Culture of India and theatre is one form of performing arts that has grabbed most attention in the last century. Great plays written by remarkable authors from India as well as abroad have been successful, owing to their writing styles, set-up, storyline, and fiction.

Theatre is the art of expressing through fiction, enactment, lights, dialogues, drama, emotions, and most importantly, the storyline. One can find social issues, humor, fantasy, and similar pressing topics being openly discussed through theatre in India.

In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their mental thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media, as well as in non-dramatic media such as poetry.

While most states of India have embraced various forms of arts and a lot of groups have been active in speaking about growing issues of the society in the most sought-after form. A Delhi-NCR based Hindi theatre group that goes by the name, “Dramaturgy Theatre Group”, has been extremely active and vocal about social causes. Started by notable theatre director, Sunil Chauhan & his students, “Dramaturgy” is one of those very few theatre groups that have been blending traditional theatre forms along with modern techniques and entertaining its audience with pivotal plays.

Dramaturgy has an ongoing monologue competition that aims at bringing forward compelling writers with their flair for writing and expression through theatre. “Our aim is to explore and bring out the hidden talents from the corner and give them a platform to showcase their talents with free will. The response is overwhelming and writers from across the country have been sending their entries,” said Shikhar Mishra, one of the key members of the Dramaturgy Theatre Group.

Cash prizes worth 4000, 1500, 1000 & 500 rupees are being rewarded to the winners in order first, followed by runners-up, respectively. Mohammad Nizam & Manav Mehra, veterans in the theatre domain shall serve as judges for this competition. The last entries are to be sent by 20th April, 2020. You can visit the Instagram page of Dramaturgy Theatre group.

#contest

#competition

#monologuecompetition

#onlinecompetition

#theatregroup

#theatre

#onlinemonologuecompetition

Bringing back the golden era of entertainment from the 80s & 90s in India!

Manmeet D Added 3 years ago

The first ever serial representation of the Epics Mahabharata produced by B.R. Chopra & Ramayana produced by Ramanand Sagar were released on DD National in 1988 & 1987 respectively. The two shows hit the Indian households as a spiritual & dramatic means of entertainment & slowly found their way to being bench-marks of mythological television series.

Each of the Mahabharata & Ramayana series was limited to a number of serials that involved numerous actors, costumes, sets, props, and scenes that were picked up from the Epics. Their launch was considered to be a start of a golden era.

Owing to the 21 day lockdown in India due to the Coronavirus Outbreak, the Information and Broadcast Ministry of India decided to bring back fond memories from childhood for most in the country in the form of Mahabharata & Ramayana. What is striking is that DD National & DD Bharati have picked up pace & are receiving traffic like none other.

Do you remember how Mahabharata used to start? With time speaking to us in a rather transcendent manner? The sloka picked up from Bhagavad Gita that almost every Indian is familiar with, does sound like a sweet melody even today, as we gather around the television sets, curled up in our favorite spots.

In a report by BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council), Ramayana gained a total viewership of 51 million views on the first weekend it was aired. That is the highest viewership figure ever since 2015 for the Hindi General Entertainment Channel. Following suit, Mahabharata saw a viewership of close to 45 million viewers. Through this move, the broadcast & information ministry brought back an ensemble of excellent artists who are till date appreciated for their roles in these epics.

With Mahabharata & Ramayana returning to Indian households just like the 80s & 90s, it has hit a chord of nostalgia through the means of entertainment. In difficult times such as these, once again, the value of an entertainer has been brought out brilliantly. While those who entertain daily have become a part of our routine, these epics bring back a cast that made us go gaga over their appearance and acting in a time when entertainment was taking baby steps in the country.

This move leaves a notion that “out of sight, out of mind” may be true in existence, but, if earnest efforts are made and the M&E industry is given the slightest nudge, it can bring together a nation where 133 crore people live peacefully. It can bring together generations of artists, genres, and art forms to cheer-up the audience in times of distress. Along with all the health workers, civil servants, government, and organizations that are moving towards finding a cure for this pandemic, applaud all those who have relentlessly brought a smile to our faces through a television set, a theatre screen, an OTT platform or a social media platform.

#breakingnews

#entertainment industry

#goldeneraoftelevision

Paralysed by a Pandemic

Vironica Babbar Added 3 years ago

Amidst a fear-mongering, griefstriken, and sensitive atmosphere around the world, the year 2020 has posed one that would be recalled in the history of human civilization. 2020 stands still owing to an outbreak of a global pandemic, that has caused an overall lock-down across the globe. Coronavirus has paralysed the world economy like none other, and is apparently deadlier than the spanish flu or the cholera outbreak.

While social distancing is to be practised at all costs in India, the team of Match My [Talent] took utmost care & preventive measure to support the cause. In both New Delhi & Ahmedabad offices of our organisation, employees were given a work-from-home routine for two weeks; from 16th March to 31st March. However, as we worked from home, a rather obvious question came to our mind; What about those who had planned their year well in advance? What about those who earn from daily gigs, and weekly-meet-ups?

This is indeed a serious question for those who belong to the creative, media & entertainment industry, for their lives have come to a complete standstill. A preventive measure such a lock-down is carried out in various parts of the country, it forces one to think of those who are unable to earn without human interaction?

In a candid conversation with an event manager, he said, “most of the events that were lined up for this year have been either cancelled or pushed. The organisers have been kind enough to refund. However, some have deferred the payments. The financial burden needs to be shared & cannot be put on one entity. It may pose a threat to the event industry but it is too soon to say anything.” Most event companies & managers in India were already at sixes & sevens for the year and didn't have enough Muhurats for weddings in 2020. With coronavirus, the situation may just be as tight as it can get.

As much as the event industry has faced the wrath of this global pandemic, so have the stage artists. However, technology can be a saving grace in times of difficulties. When spoken to Rishi Shah, a stage poet, he said, “Although it has taken away the human interaction necessary for communicating our thoughts, ideas, and experiences, it has opened a cavity for improvement. It will surely impact the organizers but not those who see it as a medium of expression rather than a source of income”

The Prime Minister addressed the nation & urged for a 21 day lockdown to the entire country to stop coronavirus from spreading. In his speech, he also mentioned ways to work around the lockdown & social distancing. Taking inspiration from his speech about working in an innovative way, Radio stations across the country had their RJs work from home & record from their houses.

In our previous article, we had discussed how the daily wagers, temporary workers, contract-based workers are suffering from this lockdown. Now that it has been extended, we would like you to actively co-relate both the articles and share your feedback, ideas & opinions in the comments section or email us your thoughts at contact@matchmytalent.com. Can you think of any innovative way to support those who need to work each day to earn some money in art and entertainment sectors?

#breaking news

#pandemic

#impactofcoronavirus

#coronavirusoutbreakindia

#impactof21dayslockdown

#covid2019

Effects of Coronavirus on the Event and Entertainment Industry of India

Manmeet D Added 3 years ago

“For the greater good & to keep the entertainers in the system who shall entertain us throughout, let us be conscious of our surroundings & encourage a mass audience to take necessary precautions.” - Sonia Swaroop Choksi, Documentary Filmmaker & Co-Founder of Match My [Talent] Coronavirus, a group of viruses that ceased to exist in humans until sometime back has entered the human race through the backdoors of cattle-rearing & petting of animals. It has taken the world by the throat, and posed an endangering threat to human life. What might have started off as a scare, has now turned into a global pandemic, as declared by WHO. India for sure needs to pull up the socks for what is about to hit us in perhaps the coming months or days. Browse the internet, go through any news channel, read any newspaper, or better still, peep just outside your window to the silent streets. All you can hear, read or see are the effects of the coronavirus outbreak across the globe & India. As much as the national government, global organisations & self-help groups are trying to educate & aware people of this pandemic, there is only so much one can do. Speaking of India, a country with a population of 133 crore people has started to show effects of imbalances in terms of economy, finances, and opportunities. Millions of lives have come to a standstill and most have a gut feeling that the much anticipated 2020 is not going to have expected negative effects. We are sitting in a country that has many unorganised sectors, and they cater to more than 90% of employment in the country. Daily wagers, temporary workers, and project based workers are the backbones of this unstructured community and it is clear that they have suffered the most. The art, entertainment, media & film industry have had one of the biggest hits in times of a national lockdown. These industries work strictly on incomes that are generated by either sale of art, services, events, concerts, interactions, and public conversations. Soumitra Thakur, a young musician and sitar player from New Delhi said, “Concerts getting cancelled in a row for months together is a setback because we don’t just go and perform but prepare for a concert for months and months. It’s an opportunity loss because we have missed connecting with that audience. May happen again, may not. It’s a financial setback.If we don’t earn for a regular period of time, we are totally effected and all these uncertainties break our confidence” You may have read the effects of Novel Coronavirus on the stock market, how it may have affected the share price of an MNC or how it has forced countries to restrict trade. However, we have all missed out on the bigger picture of this pandemic. The status of those who are in the conversation. Artists across the globe. Amidst a disaster that hit them like none other, Italy saw people playing instruments in their balconies & singing to cheer each other up. Let me remind you, music & art are an ongoing process that need attention. However, have we done enough for the artists in dyer times like these? Hasn't their livelihood hit a massive crisis? Ajay Vincent, a Director of Photography in the Film Industry of India spoke of the daily wagers who earn on a pro-rata basis. He expressed his deep melancholy toward those who belong to a middle-class section of our society and how this lockdown would strongly affect their living. Owing to this major loss & stagnation, Siddharth Roy Kapur, president of the Producer’s Guild in India announced a relief-fund that would help curb the situation in a certain way by paying allowance to technicians, daily wagers, and temporary workers. A deadly virus like corona has forced people to stay indoors. Events, concerts and plays have been cancelled that were scheduled in March as well as April & May. When spoken to Vaishali Chakravarty, Theatre actor, teacher and founder of Joy of Drama, she gave us an insight into how she decided to not only Netflix & Chill but also tune into a live online group story performance session that would allow children to read & learn under 75 minutes. Pandemics take control of operations not only internationally but by per-household too. How does one deal with sickness when the mere source of income is at a standstill? Are we giving this sector enough allowance to sustain while they cannot work-from-home? It delves into a deeper conversation that stays pending. Those creative minds who can work-from-home can still wait it out for another week, however, can we really say the same for those who stand helpless in such times?