Tommy Hilfiger has become one of the best selling international brands in India thanks to a little unexpected help from actor Shah Rukh Khan, says Mohan Murjani, who built the brand in the U.S. and brought it to India six years ago.

Some Indian consumers knew Tommy Hilfiger even before they knew Levis because they saw superstar SRK covered head to toe in Hilfiger in the 1998 mega hit "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai."

The romantic comedy — which was a defining moment for the Hindi film industry as it was director Karan Johar's first – created millions of new Hilfiger fans and an untapped demand which the chairman of the Murjani Group has been riding ever since he brought the brand here in 2004.

Its bright shirts and jeans got all this attention without having to promote itself in Bollywood or even pay a penny for product placement, says Mr. Murjani.

"The (movie's) stylist just loved Tommy Hilfiger. We couldn't believe it when we saw it," he told India Real Time. "Even before we launched in India it was on top of the list of brands to buy."

Many foreign brands have complained that India is a tough market to crack. Not only has the government put restrictions on foreign ownership in retail but the Indian consumer has been much less likely to pay big bucks for the international names than in other markets like China.

Some retail brands have come to India and left and even homegrown stores are struggling. Mr. Murjani gave up the franchises of Gucci and Jimmy Choo in India when he realized he had overestimated demand for luxury goods.

Still, Indian sales at Tommy Hilfiger have been unstoppable, he says. His revenues have been rising 50% per year every year, even in 2008 and 2009 when almost everyone was struggling. Tommy clothes, perfume, watches and underwear can now be found at more than 1,000 different points of sale across the country.

"The consumer base is growing extremely rapidly, not only in terms of number of people but also in terms of the individual disposable income," of the Hilfiger customer, he said. "It is really boom time."

And he expects growth to continue at this pace as he brings the brand into smaller and smaller towns, wherever he can find Shah Rukh Khan wannabes.

Mumbai, Oct. 27: Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone and Sidhartha Mallya, the owner of Kingfisher Airlines, judged models for the Kingfisher Calendar 2011 here on Tuesday.

Many aspiring models took part in the contest with the hope of appearing in the limited edition Kingfisher swimsuit calendar.

This year, too, ace lensman Atul Kasbekar would shoot the entire calendar.

Padukone said models have to be not only good looking, but also intelligent.

"I think apart from just a great body and a great face, I think it's also very important for the girls to be smart witty, intelligent, because at the end of the day, it's not, like I said, it's not just the way you look, I think it's the entire package, and I think that's what really takes one forward in life if you really want to become successful. So, I am looking for someone who is, you know, not just good looking but also very, very intelligent," said Padukone.

She added that she had also been a part of the calendar, and empathised with the aspiring calendar girls.

"When I was there in the calendar, there was no hunt for the girls. I think I was just lucky that I had already started modelling and these people (Kasbekar) noticed me and I was a part of the calendar, and I think I am really fortunate that till today I have never really been part of a contest or never been part of a Miss India, so I think somewhere I feel a lot of, I mean, I feel nervous for these girls because I know what it feels like to sort of go through judges, and to be judged for the way you look and things like that. So, it's definitely tough on them," added Padukone.

Mallya said that it was one of the biggest platforms for aspiring models.

He also complimented the models, saying they were bold and beautiful.

The calendar, introduced in 2003, was the first of its kind in India, and promises twelve months of glamour and visual appeal.

Kingfisher Airlines and the Kingfisher range of beers are both owned by the United Breweries group.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's appeal to Indian audiences appears undiminished after he delivered early ratings success to Sony Entertainment Television (SET) in the relaunch this month of the quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, known in India as Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).

Bachchan, who turned 68 the same day KBC's fourth series began running on October 11, is reprising a role from a decade ago, only this time with a different channel. He was the inaugural host of KBC in 2000, when it catapulted SET's rival Star Plus (owned by News Corporation, which also owns The Australian) to the top of the ratings among Hindi general entertainment channels – the most lucrative part of India's crowded television firmament.

This time around, KBC's opening episode scored 6.2 television viewer rating points – a far cry from the double-digit ratings of 2000, but a huge success in an Indian television universe that has expanded to 500 channels over the last 10 years.

Man Jit Singh, CEO of Multi Screen Media, which runs SET and six other Indian television channels, told The Australian this week that he was delighted with KBC-4's ratings and it had established itself as "the unquestioned king of the non-fiction shows currently playing in India."

He said that when SET was conducting market research ahead of a relaunch, the "overwhelming response was that if KBC was coming back, it should have Mr Bachchan as the host."

Bachchan, known as the "Big B" of the film world, has been a fixture of the Indian entertainment scene for four decades, making his movie debut in 1969. He held the KBC role for two long runs between 2000 and 2006 before illness sidelined him. Star Plus opted to use his younger rival Shah Rukh Khan for KBC-3 in 2007, but the show ended after only four months. KBC was put on the shelf after that, before SET bought the rights in 2008 as part of its comeback plan.

In recent years SET has languished in fourth place among the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs), behind Star Plus, newcomer Colors and another long-time rival, Subhash Chandra's Zee Entertainment.

Figures from the industry survey agency Television Audience Measurement (TAM) show that SET had just 11.7 per cent of the Hindi general entertainment audience before the relaunch of KBC, well behind Star Plus on 23.8 per cent, Colors on 21.3 per cent and Zee on 18.6 per cent.

Bachchan and KBC-4 have given SET a major boost since then in both viewers and sponsorship, giving credence to Singh's turnaround plan for MSM.

"There has been a terrific response from advertisers and the show is completely sold out," Singh said this week. "We started with eight sponsors that were signed on weeks before the show opened and our spot sales were completed the first week of the show."

Industry sources say that 10-second spots on KBC were sold for 250,000 to 300,000 rupees, or about A$5700 to A$6800 each.

With strong economic growth delivering more money into the hands of 1.2 billion Indian consumers this year, the number of TV households in India is expected to reach 132 million by 2012.

According to a recent study of the Indian media and entertainment industry by KPMG, advertising and subscription revenue for TV will grow to about A$18 billion by 2012. And while there is a growing push into more regional language offerings, Hindi GECs dominate the revenue stream, taking about 35 percent of all advertising spending.

According to Singh, MSM, which is the Indian arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, has had a "tremendous year" after a subdued performance since the mid-2000s.

"Today we have two of the top five Hindi GECs in our network (SET and SAB) and three of the top 10 channels (SET, SAB and sports/movie channel MAX) in India. Our strategy and channel positioning is clear and the ratings have validated our approach," he said.

Still, Singh has his work cut out in the GEC arena to grow and hold his market share. Altogether, there are 12 general entertainment channels doing battle for an immense Hindi-speaking audience that is worth more than A$7 billion in advertising revenue.

Star Plus has held the top spot for a decade, although it has been pressed in recent months by the aggressive, disruptive programming of Colors, launched in July 2008 as a joint venture between U.S. entertainment major Viacom and the fast-growing Network 18 media group set up by former TV anchor Raghav Bahl.

In an interview in Mumbai in April last year, Singh told The Australian that SET aimed to get back the No. 1 or No. 2 entertainment spot it had occupied in the past.

"We may have lost our way a little. But we have a strategy to get back. You'll see us be edgier, more contemporary, with a skew to younger viewers," he said then.

Eighteen months down the track, Amitabh Bachchan and KBC -4 are an integral part of that strategy. Those younger viewers, it seems, respond well to the 'Big B' of Bollywood, judging from the steam of comments left on his Twitter page.

On his blog this week, Bachchan wrote that KBC is playing for the "celebration season of Diwali" (India's festival of lights). "An entire week dedicated to fun and joyous laughter; to be in the mood for lightness of spirit and joy."

Right through the making of 'Jhootha Hi Sahi', there were murmurs and speculations around how the film had to go through various ups and downs due to costs involved in the production of the film. When launched around a couple of years back, Bollywood was at its peak, films were being launched with mammoth budget and stars were being paid through the roof. However, situation took a turnaround with recession hitting the industry.

"Fortunately for the makers, they had spent all the money before recession so nothing could be done anymore from the production perspective", says a highly placed source attached to the film, "See, the thing is that when people say that a film's cost is very high, they only talk about the actor and the director. Most of them conveniently ignore the money which goes into other aspects of production."

There were a few detractors who have claimed that the film was also stuck in the interim period due to monetary issues and other budgetary constraints.

 

"Abbas (Tyrewala), the director of the film, was always very sure that 'Jhootha Hi Sahi' had to be an October or November release. The time period between the last day's shoot of the film and the release has been around 8 months. However, the makers always knew that the film would take this much time since the climax required a lot of CG work", continues the source.

When contacted, John laughed away the insinuation, "In fact Abbas and I also used to joke around this that there would be a lot of speculations around the so-called delay in the film's release. But that's okay, people do talk. I just carried on with my work."

With countries like Sweden supporting their filmmakers monetarily, it seemed like the normally ignored Bollywood women directors would love the same subsidiary. Negative. Bollywood women directors do not feel the need for the government to help them finance their films. They went on to individually explain that there are perfectly fine by themselves. The following ladies took to a panel at the MAMI's 12th Mumbai Film Festival and explained their passion for cinema albeit the fact that they a) were not men and b) did not need the help of men to make good films. 

Acclaimed director Zoya Aktar, went on to explain that even if her films are more feminine, it's her film ultimately. "If I'm the director, it's my party. I will cry if I want to. I will be in all my hormonal glory. I'm not going to be embarrassed by it. As a man, you have chosen to be part of my set, so you handle it, boy," she added.

Newbie Anusha Rizvi was questioned as to sexism in the industry in all facets. "In workplaces, men have two ways of dealing with women, quiet flirtation or outright condescending. So you have to figure out how to deal with it. Beyond a point, there is no point talking about it," Rizvi said.

In fact, Aisha director Rajshree Ojha experienced a number of interesting events while shooting her directorial debut. "Everybody was shouting. We had fights on the sets. There were a lot of hormones. The men were very scared of the women on the sets," she explained. 

Actress and now director Nandita Das added, "They expect you not to be able to handle the pressures that comes on the set as a director. There is definitely a thing of labeling women."

Leena Yadav, whose first film Shabd was a washout at the box office went on to explain her experiences of direction, "There's an expectation that as a woman you'll probably make something different, and your women characters have to be outstanding."

And finally Sooni Taraporevala, who directed Little Zizou, confessed her reasons for taking years before finally deciding to plunge into direction. "After having written numerous scripts for others, it took me 24 years to write my own and once I had written it I did not want to give it to anyone else. I wanted to give myself a 50-year present."

NEW DELHI: Close to Rs 100 crore is at stake for Bollywood during the Diwali weekend with two big budget movies, Golmaal 3 and Action Replayy, slated for debut that will set the tone for other significant releases next month. 

For cinema theatres that tend to focus on cashing on the maximum during the opening weekend of a movie release, launch of a big film around a major holiday has become crucial for their revenue model. It also dictates fortunes for the Indian film industry that produces the most number of flicks in any single year around the world. "Movie buffs look forward to Diwali and Christmas as big movies are released during this time," said trade analyst Taran Adarsh. 

Although, the quantum of money at stake this year is just half of the production budget of the three movies released last Diwali, the industry would be hoping for a better show. While mega budget flick Blue and a mid-sized movie Main Aurr Mrs Khanna sank, another relatively big budget movie, All the Best, was the only one that managed to woo audiences last year. 

Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision produced Golmaal 3 starring Ajay Devgn , Kareena Kapoor and Arshad Warsi will lock horns with Vipul Shah produced Action Replayy starring Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, for eyeballs. Golmaal 3 is being distributed by Eros International that recently raised money through a public issue of shares and PVR Pictures, a subsidiary of multiplex operator PVR Ltd , will distribute Action Replayy in India. 

"We slotted Action Replayy for a Diwali release as it is a fun film and in sync with the festive spirit," said producer & director Vipul Shah. Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR Pictures said scheduling a film release during Diwali has to do with consumers' willingness to spend on shopping and entertainment. Both the comedy movies will have wide release with an above average 1,800-2,000 prints with marketing budget of around `7-8 crore each, the same amount used to make a small budget film. 

Rupen Amlani, director-marketing & distribution at Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision said the company has tied up with several brands for in-film placement and promotional tie-ups. These include Tupperware, Emami and Bagpiper among others. The multiplex industry executives believe if both the movies click with the audience, it could turn out to be one of the biggest weekend grossers for them this year, possibly surpassing the previous best during the Id weekend when Dabangg was released. 

Following the two Diwali weekend releases in November, there will be Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Guzarish besides movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 in 3D. December will see Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan starring Akshay Kumar.

As per recent reports, Bollywood hotties Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor are competing with each other for the No. 1 spot. However, Ash rubbishes the reports as pure rumours. Interestingly, both the divas have their next biggies 'Action Replayy' and 'Golmaal 3' releasing on the same day. 

Thus, questions about the competition for the No. 1 spot were inevitable. When posed with such a query recently, Ash laughed it off and replied, "Do you think so? I never worked like that. Never felt any competition or followed any." 

She further explained that she never planned her career with an agenda to become No. 1 in Bollywood rather believed in giving her best to the films and characters in hand. "I never planned my films; I don't think we can do that," said Aishwarya and pointed out, "I made my debut with a regional film 'Iruvar' opposite Mohanlal. I worked with Shah Rukh for the first time as a sister in 'Josh'. I chose my path. I never thought or was concerned about competition. And if you ask me about being the highest paid actress in Bollywood, I think you get what you deserve." She concluded. 

We wish Ash all the best for her film and hope she doesn't cross the thin line between confidence and overconfidence. 

While "Rakta Charitra" may have scored over "Jhootha Hi Sahi" during the opening weekend, the latest verdict from Bollywood says that the John Abraham starrer has acquired extra notches over the last few days, so much so that the total collections from "Jhootha Hi Sahi" have gone past that of "Rakta Charitra"! Media reports claim that while the RGV production did well down south, Abbas Tyrewala ruled in the north.

With three films releasing on the same Friday, a cut-throat competition was on its way. And while critics have vehemently slammed Mallika Sherawat's "Hisss" act, it has not been too bad for either Vivek Oberoi or John Abraham. But while the Ram Gopal Verma production attracted more attention because of the violence projected in the film and the political hiatus surrounding its characters, Abbas Tyrewala has surely proved himself as the tortoise who ultimately wins the race.

"Jhootha Hi Sahi" had garnered a total of Rs. 1.5 crore on the first day of screening, a paltry sum when compared to the huge budget with which the film was made, but nevertheless things have been improving over the past few days. "Rakta Charitra" on the other hand, got a collection of only a crore on the opening day. Both films

Google India has launched a new Bollywood-focused music search service in beta, according to a post on the company's India blog.

The Google Music Search (India) Labs lets users search across "thousands" of Hindi Bollywood songs by artist, date or movie.

Users may then stream songs they discover for free, thanks to licensing deals Google (NASD: GOOG) signed with SaReGaMa, In.com and Saavn.com.

Almost sixty years after Bharat Bhushan played Baiju Bawra, Aamir Khan could soon reprise the role of the legendary gypsy singer in a new Bollywood film, a media report said Monday.

'Bollywood's 'Mr Perfect' Aamir Khan has been picked for a special role, which nobody except him will be able to essay. Film-maker Krishna Shah wants Aamir to play the role of the wandering singer,' the Urdu daily Jang reported.

According to the report, the project was lying dormant for a long time as Shah was involved in his film 'Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story' but now Shah is determined to take it forward.

Krishna has already approached Aamir for the role, while A.R. Rahman has been roped in for the music.

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan received the fourth national award of his career on Friday for his excellent performance in the role of a 12-year-old kid suffering from progeria in Paa. He was accompanied by his entire family at the awards ceremony. 

Dressed in a black bandhgala, Big B collected his fourth National Award from President of India Pratibha Patil. His son Abhishek Bachchan also received the award for 'The Best Producer'.

However, the whole of Bollywood did use the Twitter platform and various media outlets to congratulate the actor on his achievement. Actress Shilpa Shetty said that an award is not enough to celebrate the great actor's achievements. 

Amitabh was earlier honored with the same for his performances in Black, Agneepath and Saat Hindustani.

If fashion models can become actors and even cricketers can give it a try, then why should tennis stars keep a distance from Bollywood fame and glory?

Well, soon to be seen on the silver screen is Leander Paes who's now planning to give acting a try. Yes, he totally swooned the women with his backhand and brilliant smashes on the court and now, he would romance Ameesha Patel on screen. The film titled Rajdhani Express that would mark Paes's entry into films is to be directed by Ashok Kohli. Paes was being offered films for the past 15 years but it's only now that he has relented.

Just like his game, Paes obviously wants to give this film his very best shot and therefore has enrolled himself in Anupam Kher's acting academy for a three month long course.

Everyone is tight lipped about this project and what is known is that Paes would be playing a common man in a faced - paced plot. Well, that kind of pressure is something he can handle.

One of the most well-known and prolific production houses in Bollywood is Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts. The banner, which has given us evergreen hits such as Karz, Ram Lakhan, Karma, Khalnayak, Taal, Pardes, and Aitraaz amongst others, recently celebrated its 32nd anniversary.

In true Mukta Arts tradition, 3 new films were announced on this joyous occasion to be directed by bigwigs such as Abbas Mustan, Priyadarshan and Ghai himself. Cast and credits are being finalised and all the films will begin shooting in early 2011. 

Abbas Mustan, who are directing a film for Mukta Arts, sent a message all the way from Russia where they are doing recee for their remake of The Italian Job. Said the director duo, "Firstly we would like to congratulate Subhash Ghai on the 32nd anniversary of Mukta Arts. We've had a very long association with Subhashji and are very happy to be associated with him once again. We will be starting the film for Mukta Arts in 2011 and it is titled Garjann and is a fast paced thriller." 

Speaking on making a film for Mukta Arts and Subhash Ghai, prolific filmmaker Priyadarshan said, "I have a few gurus whom I learned film making from and one of the prominent teachers of mine has been Subhashji and my text book of entertaining and visual cinema comes from his films. It's a great honour for me that I have been chosen as one of the directors to direct a film for him. It's a great responsibility and a big water mark for my career and I believe I can do justice to the film." 

Besides the above mentioned two films and a film to be directed by Mr. Ghai himself, Mukta Arts will also release Paschim Express With Love, a romantic entertainer in February 2011. The film is being produced by Subhash Ghai and directed and acted by all the graduates from Whistling Woods International Film Institute.

Actress Raima Sen admits she is getting choosier and wiser about her films, but says it has nothing to do with beating competition in the film industry.

"I am not in any sort of rat race in Bollywood. I don't think I have to do only big banner films and so many films in a year. I have always been choosy…but now I am getting choosier about my work," Raima told IANS in an interview.

The 30-year-old daughter of yesteryears' actress Moon Moon Sen, says she doesn't aspire to be in the league of leading ladies in the glamour industry.

"I am not competitive, I am quite lazy and laid back, and so I just do the best of what I get. I am only bothered about my work, nothing else," she said.

Raima was in the capital Saturday – the first day of the ongoing Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW), where she had come to meet her Mumbai-based designer friend Roma Narsinghania, who made her debut at the event.

Dressed in an onion-coloured outfit designed by Narsinghania, Raima looked at ease and was happy about not having to walk the ramp this time. Her face lit up the moment she was asked about her upcoming projects.

"I have this film called 'Mirch', then 'Memories in March', followed by 'Naukadubi' with my sister Riya and also 'Just Another Love Story'. I have also recently signed one Hindi and one Bengali film. But it's too early to talk about them," said the actress, seen in films like "Parineeta", "Chokher Bali" and "The Japanese Wife".

Bollywood Actress Sonam Kapoor, is one of the star-kids on the block who is making news these days. She will be seen adorning the cover of the coveted film magazine, Filmfare's July edition. She looks spectacular on the cover page in white, her favourite colour and sports a skimpy lace dress by designer Anamika Khanna with white platforms. The magazine features several photographs of the actress, each of which reveals a different facet of her personality alongwith an interview in which she talks of several controversial topics! The actress interacted with the media as she spoke about her upcoming films and answered other assorted queries. 

Sonam Kapoor is the daughter of well known actor, Anil Kapoor. A power house of talent, Sonam made her presence felt with her very first film in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saanwariya. Before making her debut, she had assisted Bhansali with his film 'Black'. It was Bhansali who suggested that she take a shot at acting. Like her debut film, her second film, Dilli 6 was also a box office disappointment but her acting skills were appreciated and it was affirmed by critics that a star had arrived. Sonam is poised for two upcoming releases, I Hate Luv Storys and Aisha opposite Imran Khan and Abhay Deol respectively. The films will hit the screens in quick succession in the monsoon months of July and August. Sonam has been unable to create any box office magic yet, but her forthcoming films look promising. So let's hope she wows her audiences with her brilliant performances in these two films! She will also be seen opposite Shahid Kapur in Mausam, which is Pankaj Kapur's directorial venture.

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