MUMBAI: It‘s that time of the year again! EMVIES 2008 - India‘s most prestigious and coveted Media Award is just round the corner!Celebrating the greatest breakthrough innovations in Indian media, EMVIES 2008 is here once again, to recognize and award the most outstanding media initiatives developed over the year gone by. Organized by The Advertising Club Bombay EMVIES, now in its 8th successful year, is inviting entries across 6 categories, the last date for registration being June 27, 2008. With EMVIES 2008, NDTV Media comes on-board as the Presenting Partner and Sahara One, Just Punjabi TV, Mi Marathi and Microsoft Advertising as Associate Partners.

The EMVIES - India‘s only case-study based Media Awards, is known for its comprehensive format and rigorous two stage judging process. Judged by a Panel of doyens from across the Industry, EMVIES 2008 tests the mettle of both planners and implementers alike. EMVIES 2008 comprises 6 prestigious Award categories with Gold and Silver Awards to be conferred in each category. These categories include Best Media Strategy, Best Media Innovation, Best Media Research, Best Integrated Campaign, Media Agency of the Year and the Grand EMVIE. Two Special Award Categories include The TAM Award for the Best TV Research and The People‘s Choice Award for Best Case Study Presentation.

Commenting on the EMVIES 2008, Ms. Apurva Purohit, Chairperson, EMVIES Committee, said, "With each passing year, agencies are redefining known thresholds of creativity and innovation to deliver clutter-breaking solutions for the ever-evolving, dynamic business environment. While this makes it challenging for us to create newer parameters of evaluation, it also makes it imperative to access the quality of delivery to the client with impact to business and returns. To truly reflect this critical factor, we have introduced this year onwards, an even stringent meritocracy driven Judging Process which will focus on specific elements of campaigns in terms of delivery, scale and business efficacy."

Since inception in 2001, the EMVIES has grown in stature to become the Media Event that the entire industry waits for year-on-year. Known as the definitive platform to reward efficacy and innovation in the media domain, EMVIES has seen a consistent rise in participation with the number of entries steadily growing. From 78 entries in the first year, the numbers steadily notched up to 125 plus followed by 200 plus and 350 plus mark in 2006, only to clock the highest numbers - 384 entries last year. Lodestar Universal shone at the EMVIES 2007 last year. Besides being declared Agency of the Year, the media agency also walked away with six Silvers, three Golds, the TAM Award and the People‘s Choice Award for the best media innovation in TV and digital.

Details on Entry Requirements and Registration Forms for EMVIES 2008 are available at The Advertising Club Bombay, 504, Radhe Vallabh Society, French Bridge Corner, Opera House, Mumbai. The last date for submitting entries is Friday, June 27, 2008. The first round of judging will be conducted on Monday, July 7 followed by Case Study presentations on July 21/22, 2008. The EMVIES 2008 will be presented at a glittering Ceremony at the Grand Hyatt, Santacruz, Mumbai on Monday, July 28, 2008.

MUMBAI: Meri paanch crore ki dulhaniya kaun le jayegaa? wonders Shah Rukh Khan as he comes across some very intelligent and witty contestants on Kya aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? on Friday, June 20.

Handsome Sheetanshu Dube from Bhopal, an aspiring pilot, proves that he is tez by answering some of the initial questions very confidently and at top speed. On asked whether he is single, he says that he would like to declare on national television that he is very much so and is looking for the ideal girl. This young contestant brought his guitar along and also played a song for Shah Rukh. He wanted to win big bucks at Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tze Hain ? to fund his mother?s thyroid treatment abroad which he could not afford at present.

Also meet Prajyoti Samal from Bhuvaneshwar who remarks that she is quite literally from many places in India! Born in Bhuvaneshwar, Pragjyoti has studied under many South Indian teachers, works in a software firm in Kolkata and has auditioned for Paanchvi Pass from Bhopal. Her diverse background has helped her learn many languages which she uses in her everyday conversations and now her family and friends are quite used to it.

Pragjyoti is full of energy and enthusiasm. Her mother says that whatever Pragjyoti puts her mind to, she always succeeds at. She is convinced that her daughter can win Rupees 5 crore and so is Shah Rukh Khan as she bedazzles him with her quick answers without any assistance from the classmates.

So who will become the first Crorepati on Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass se Tez Hain? Will Sheetanshu win this amount and take his mother abroad for thyroid treatment or will Pragjyoti take the booty home and become the first crorepatni on a television show?

To know this, watch Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? on Friday, 8 pm only on Star Plus.

MUMBAI: BIG 92.7 FM, India‘s No. 1 FM Station, marked the first anniversary of their Rajkot Station today.  BIG FM which boasts of setting up the largest radio network in the shortest possible time already has presence in 44 cities across India. It began with its launch in September 2006 and in a short span of time, has ensured presence across the length and breadth of the country. The Rajkot Station was the second to be launched in the Gujarat cluster and has in the last one year grown to be an addiction amongst the people of Rajkot who are ardent lovers of RJ‘s and the shows on BIG 92.7 FM.

The celebrations involved a wholesome mix of entertainment and CSR initiatives. The station marked its first anniversary with ‘Ek School Ho Sapno Ka‘ initiative wherein it helped in the adoption of 10 government school children by the most prestigious school in Rajkot - Pathak School. The students were selected on the basis of their performance in an exam conducted by the Station on class VII syllabus. Under this initiative, the 10 best performing students will now study at Pathak School from Class VIII till Class XII, free of cost. In fact, the school will also provide them with books, bags, uniforms and other essentials. BIG FM shall also ensure that the students receive appropriate training in English language as well as computers. In keeping with its strap line of Suno Sunao, Life Banao, BIG FM, Rajkot has also found sponsors for the higher studies of the 3 best performing students, out of the lot. Under this arrangement, Kotecha Impex (a client of BIG FM) shall select the top 3 students based on their Class XII results, and sponsor their further studies as well as provide them appropriate placement based on their qualifications.

Another CSR activity involved tying up with the Wild Life Trust Unit in promoting their work for saving Asiatic Lions from falling into the borewells by creating barricades around the wells. The station has started on air promotions, inviting people to donate for the cause.

On the occassion, Hitesh Budhbhatti, Cluster Head - Gujarat, BIG 92.7 FM said "Since its launch, Rajkot Station has created a new meaning to the word ‘entertainment‘ in the City and has been instrumental in bridging the social gap and creating awareness among the people of the City. The Station has not only provided a whole-some mix of entertainment to the local populace, but also acted as a forum to address various social concerns / issues faced by them. The Station, which lives its brand-line, Suno Sunao, Life Banao in everything that it does has undertaken activities that have really impacted listener lives positively. Hence, whether it was setting up of BIG Festival Kitchen under which about 50,000 people benefited by getting Diwali sweets and snacks at minimal costs or coming to the rescue of flood victims in and around Rajkot during last monsoons by distributing food packets to over 10,000 families, the station has always been at the forefront."

"On a smaller scale, the station also celebrated what it called ‘Boni Day‘ on Laabh Paacham where BIG RJs shopped for 11 utility items like utensils, clothes, grocery, soap, footwear, vegetables and fruits and gifted them to 11 poor families.", he further added .

The station has also ingeniously entertained the populace of Rajkot by organizing Cricket Tournaments, Singing Competitions, Kite flying competitions, Community Specific Events like Lohana Saptaah, Powerful Patels, NRI Week etc. BIG FM, Rajkot has also enthusiastically celebrated Diwali, Holi, Janmashtami, Navratri and New Year along with its listeners.

MUMBAI: Whistling Woods International (WWI), Asia‘s largest Film, Television, Animation and Media Arts institute, an initiative of the well-known and acclaimed film maker, Subhash Ghai, today announced that it will now offer a "1 year part time course on Screen Writing for Films".
The first part time non-residential course offered by the Institute is targeted towards and advertising, animation and film professionals looking at building competencies in film screen writing. The minimum eligibility for the candidate is that he be 21 years and above on or before December 31, 2008.

The one-year programme, that will begin on July 21, 2008, will concentrate on compact in-depth training in feature film screenwriting lead by in-house faculty, with additional inputs from eminent guest lecturers. The students will be required to attend five three-hour sessions - i.e. a total of 15 hours - every week in both the semesters

"The designing of the curriculum was the trickiest part, as we had to include a lot of topics that needed to be covered. By having renowned professional screenwriters from every genre of film, television & theatre providing guest lectures, we hope to share the best of the industry experiences with the students" said Anjum Rajabali, Head of Department, Screenwriting, Whistling Woods International.

Renowned film personalities like Jaideep Sahni, Sriram Raghavan, Abbas Tyrewala, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sooni Taraporevala, Kundan Shah, Gulzar, Shridhar Raghavan, Bhavani Iyer, Paromita Vora & Prasoon Joshi have confirmed as guest faculty.

Admissions are now open for the course, which starts on July 21, 2008. For more information about the course visit: http://www.whistlingwoods.net/moviescripts.asp

MUMBAI: Its true when you eat a Mango, life stands still, nothing else matters but that moment.Marking the end of the mango season, FILMY will celebrate mango day on 20 June. If you are wondering what the fruity fuss is all about then just sit back and watch FILMY.

FILMY will treat its viewers with three very refreshing movies namely Dil Mange More, Afsana Pyaar Ka & Pyaar Ke Side Effects on June 20. One question will be asked in each break, all day long. 50 lucky winners will get an Aam ke pati delivered to the doorstep of their homes. All you have to do is answer these very simple questions shown during the breaks, via SMS and wait for your box of mangoes.