NEW DELHI: The 14th edition of FICCI Frames, the annual conclave of the media and entertainment industry in Mumbai from tomorrow, comes against the backdrop of increasing digitisation in both television and cinema.

The three-day event on the theme ?A tryst with destiny ? Engaging a billion consumers? will begin with Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Uday Kumar Varma presenting a vision statement for the information, media, and entertainment industry in the country.

Uday Shankar, Chairman of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, will speak on the theme, while the keynote address will be delivered by Andy Bird, Chairman of Walt Disney International. Dr.Soon Tae Park, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sports and Tourism in South Korea which is the partner country this year, will be the Guest of Honour.

Like every year, the FICCI-KPMG Report on the outlook for the Media and Entertainment Industry will be released during the opening ceremony.

I&B Minister Manish Tewari will be the Chief Guest at the valedictory function on 14 March, which will also feature ?Karan Johar in conversation with Kajol? and panel discussion featuring Uday Shankar and Kamal Haasan, among others.

FICCI Frames 2013 aims to deliberate on the growth of the industry and find ways to maximise both its creative and economic potential. The range of topics to be covered includes digitisation, censorship, marketing, exhibition and distribution.

?Engaging A Billion Consumers in the Media and Entertainment Industry? session on day 1 will see how stakeholders from the world of media and entertainment and policy makers share their perspective and vision on meeting the challenge in the face of emergence of new technologies and media platforms which have given consumers a wide range of choice.
 
?The Second Phase of TV Digitisation? session will discuss the dynamics of digital content and the future roadmap. ?Perception and Portrayal of Women in TV and Film?, ?Re-inventing Regional Content in the Digital Era,? and ?Single Window Clearance: Making India easier for filmmakers,? are among the other important sessions.

Being the 100th year of Indian cinema, FICCI Frames is also launching a film tourism initiative called ?Shoot at Site?, which will attempt to give participants insider?s tips on location-scouting, production facilities and services, and navigating through state-specific production benefits across India.

This year, being the 4oth anniversary of diplomatic ties between India and South Korea, FICCI Frames will focus on culture, tourism, entertainment and business between the two nations. Various sessions will tackle challenges in co-production between India and Korea, as well as potential avenues of cooperation between the two countries. Korea has transformed itself into one of the world?s most outstanding visual technologies centres with CGI and 3D. A 40 member Korean delegation is participating in the event.

MUMBAI: Ficci Frames, taking place from 12-14 March, will have a session on the economic viability and the crisis within sports broadcasting.

This session will deliberate on the deep seated hurdles plaguing the business of sports broadcasting which has evolved and yet lacking the direction to plunge ahead. With a regime beset with escalating costs, restricted prices, and little IP protection, offering compelling content to Indian viewers remains a challenge. What are those enabling policies that will take sports broadcasting to its next level?

The panelists to discuss this are Kolkata Knight Riders CEO, MD Venky Mysore, Multi Screen Media COO N P Singh, World Sport Group head South Asia Venu Nair and Star India President-Corporate Sports Nitin Kukreja.

Another session on the first day looks at the ?Second Phase of Digitisation?. This session will focus on the crucial phase of cable television digitisation, its economics and revenue models, investments, preparedness and future roadmap. The session keynote will be delivered by Trai chairman Dr Rahul Khullar.

The panelists are Den chairman and MD Sameer Manchanda, Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal, TNN CEO Sunil Lulla, Multi Screen Media CEO Man Jit Singh, Reliance Broadcast CEO Tarun Katial and India Cast Group CEO Anuj Gandhi.

Another session revolves around the theme of Frames which is ?Engaging A Billion Consumers in media and entertainment?. This session will deal with the best and most effective ways to engage and profitably utilise the billion and varied consumer base we have in this country who consume myriad entertainment content in multiple delivery platforms. Stakeholders running media and entertainment businesses and regulators who play an enabling role in the business environment will share their vision.

The panelists are Information and Broadcasting secretary Uday Kumar Varma, Star India CEO Uday Shankar, Bennett & Coleman CEO publishing Ravi Dhariwal, Disney UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, Viacom 18 Media group CEO Sudhanshu Vats and Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific senior VP, GM, India Rahul Johri.

For kids genre there will be a session called ?Trends in Children?s Entertainment: What are our children Watching?? Children, Ficci notes, are now exposed to a wide range of entertainment media for their entertainment, knowledge, and communication. With the variety that exists in the space of kids media, they have the opportunity to choose. So, it is now imperative to really understand the trends in Children?s content consumption pattern in TV, online and print medium.

The panelists will present their findings in the children?s space based on research and their rich professional experience. The panel will also bring out how ratings and research influences advertisement spends and programming and content strategy at large.

The panelists for the session are Tam senior VP Pradeep Hejmadi, Mindshare director-inventions Devendra Deshpande, IMRB International Group business director, media and panel group Ashish Karnad, Turner International India director content, South Asia Krishna Desai, Kellogg marketing director India, South Asia Harpreet S Tibb and Viacom18 Media executive VP, business head - Kids Cluster Nina Jaipuria.

On the film side, there will be a session on ?Gatecrashers who made the party: The Out of Towners in Bollywood?. The session looks at film personalities who have cracked the Bollywood success code and infiltrated it from outside of any clique or coterie, without background in the film fraternity. The panelists are film director Sujoy Ghosh, film director Kabir Khan, actor Siddharth Malhotra and actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

With Korea being the country of honour at this year?s Frames, there will be a session on ?New Business Challenges for Korea-India Co-Production?. This session will discuss the fundamental components to consider for fostering successful animation co-production between Korea and India, including collaboration environment of production, investment, distribution, national identity and culture. The panelists are Ocon CEO Kim, Ilho, Korean producer and writer Jonathan Hyong-Joon Kim, Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS) MD Vijay Shankar and Technicolor India country head Biren Ghose.

MUMBAI: In order to expand its reach and brand beyond television, Star India has released its Life OK?s mythological saga ?Devon Ke Dev... Mahadev? on DVD.

The company has tied up with Ultra for this purpose.

Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, ?A nation and its people derive their collective identity and pride from stories passed on to it from earlier generations. It is our job not only to keep those stories alive but to tell them well in order to inspire a future generation. Like OK had its task cut out from the very first day and it has lived up to that challenge remarkably well by weaving gripping and inspirational stories with new approaches in production and technology.?

While 300 episodes was a big achievement for show, it is just the beginning of the story for the mythological saga and for Life OK. ?30 years ago you had Ramayana and Mahabharata which were fantastic. They fostered creativity. However later on, mythological shows were done the same way. They became old fashioned in look. That is why they did not have much success. When we started on ? Devon Ke Dev Mahadev?, we knew that the way in which the story was told would have to change. We wanted to take the show beyond the Amar Chita Katha level. We have created new parameter of creativity. At the same time we did not compromise on the quality of entertainment,? Shankar said.

Life OK, which completed one year in December 2012, is among the top five channels, Shankar added. "The aim is to make it a top three player."

Life OK GM Ajit Thakur said that the success of Life OK went beyond ratings. ?While we have done well in terms of ratings, we have also dwelt on issues including crime, domestic violence, terror and religion. We have done things both on the air and on the ground. We want to be the home of big. new stories. While our show has finished 300 episodes, we still have lots of stories to tell within that show. We made an earnest attempt to make it as contemporary as possible by highliting Lord Shiva‘s views on pertinent issues such as pollution and gender equality. This distinction has been pivotal to the resounding success of the show. At the same time while mythology is a platform that will be showcased on Life OK, it is not the only thing?.

Life OK is doing a social awareness campaign to clean up the Ganga. ?We did 15 days of activity last month. In this manner Life OK has gone beyond just being a TV brand,? Thakur said.

Ultra Group CMD Sushilkumar Agrawal said that his company aims to bring content that blends entertainment with cultural and educational values. "This philosophy drew us to join hands with Life OK and launch ‘Devon Ke Dev Mahadev‘ on DVD. This show is not just an epic but an amalgamation of Indian culture, tradition and values that will continue to be passed on to forthcoming generations."

NEW DELHI: Star India CEO Uday Shankar has been appointed the new Chairman of FICCI?s Media & Entertainment Committee.

This position was earlier held by legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra, who passed away this year in October. Shankar will be supported by Ramesh Sippy and Karan Johar as the Co-Chair of the Committee.

Shankar has been the Chairman of the FICCI Broadcast Forum, and led the Forum on some seminal work towards broadcast digitisation along with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Multi Screen Media CEO Man Jit Singh will now be the new Chairman of the Broadcast Forum.

The FICCI Entertainment Committee has been working closely with the government on behalf of industry stakeholders for the past decade and has been responsible for achieving major milestones for the industry such as the accordance of ?industry? status to the Indian film sector; income tax rebate to the extent of 50 per cent on book profits to the multiplexes; tax holiday for five years by some state governments to give concessions or exemptions from payment of entertainment tax; spearheading the second phase of privatisation of FM Radio broadcast policy; submitting a definitive TRP report to review and recommend robust system of measurement of TRP; working with the Ministry to define roadmap and solve policy issues relating to animation, gaming , VFX and comic industry (AVGC); towards complete digitisation; forming a Sector Skills Council with NSDC to focus on skill development in the media sector, among others.

In a statement, FICCI said it looks towards Shankar?s vision, rich and varied experience and deft leadership to take the formidable Indian media and entertainment industry to newer heights.

On taking over as the Chairmanship, Shankar said that he would work with all industry stakeholders closely to formulate an agenda for sustained growth of the burgeoning entertainment sector and keep up regular and meaningful dialogue with policy makers.