New Delhi, "Mona, let's make Bulbul extraordinary". These were director-creator Zoya Akhtar's words to <keyword id="2226" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mona-singh" source="Orion">Mona Singh</keyword> before they began shooting for "<keyword id="5690475" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Made-in-Heaven" source="Orion">Made in Heaven</keyword> 2" and the role of the "gutsy feminist and a strong mother" became just that, says the actor. Bulbul Johari, a no-nonsense accountant tasked with managing a flailing wedding planning agency, is married to an inscrutable businessman played by <keyword id="31515" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vijay-raaz" source="Orion">Vijay Raaz</keyword>. Through the seven episodes of the second season of "Made in Heaven", Bulbul goes from being viewed as loud and brash to a woman who is deeply empathetic and fearless. "All I had to do was to internalise the script and make Bulbul extraordinary. And that's what Zoya also told me, 'Mona, let's us make Bulbul extraordinary'. I can never forget it. I am so glad that Bulbul stood out... It was truly made in heaven for me," Mona told PTI in an interview. The series, co-created by Akhtar and Reema Kagti, debuted earlier this month on Prime Video. The actor, still remembered for her portrayal of Jassi in the popular television series "<keyword id="3860" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jassi-jaisi-koi-nahi" source="Orion">Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi</keyword>", said she had an inkling Bulbul would stand out because she was written beautifully. Mona said she was offered the role during the 2021 lockdown when she was in Goa and was instantly "blown away" by what she read in the script. "I am a big fan of season one. When you see such shows, as an actor, you always wish, 'why am I not there?' I knew this character was going to stand out. She is a shrewd businesswoman, gutsy... a feminist and a strong mother. It is a dream role for any actor," Mona said. Bulbul is an onion peel of a character, whose layers keep coming off as the series progresses. What stands out the most in the series is her equation with her husband, Mr Johari. A scene showing the husband and wife, who faced abuse in her previous marriage, complimenting each other randomly seems to have also won the internet's heart with fans sharing the clip and commenting on the respect the couple have in their marriage. Mona recalled in detail how that came about. "The scene about the video call with Vijay Raaz, where he says, 'Suno, sunder to bahut Lag rahi ho', was shot in France. Zoya was shooting and she asked me, 'What is it that you want to do?' I said, 'Shall I just give him a flying kiss?' She is like, 'Haan haan kar de, kar de'. I was just being Bulbul," she said. The actor, also known for her role in "3 Idiots'' and "Laal Singh Chaddha", said the love pouring in for the Joharis is also a learning about how equality in marriage matters. "Women are often suppressed. They are often told what to do, what not to do and they are not even included in decision making and here is a man who is giving full power to Bulbul, giving her wings to fly. He is such a great character and I think every man should learn something from Mr johari," she said. As someone who has been a part of the industry for two decades, Mona said her desire to try out "new things" is undiminished and streaming platforms have opened the world for actors like her in a big way. The actor said she had a dream launch with her debut "Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi", a Sony Entertainment show that ran from 2003 to 2006 and was an instant hit. The show, the Indian version of Colombian drama "Yo soy Betty, la fea", also featured Apurva Agnihotri, Rakshanda Khan, Parmeet Sethi and Gaurav Gera. Bulbul's popularity is somewhat similar to what Mona experienced with Jassi. The actor, the daughter of an Army officer, said she can only see a "spectacular journey" when she looks back. "It has been 20 years, I started working in 2003. My parents told me, 'You will move to Mumbai when you get something concrete'. I used to travel from Pune to Mumbai to audition everyday in a local bus and wait for calls. Then Jassi happened, overnight stardom... I got that right dream launch at that time'," she said. Has the popularity of Bulbul translated into more offers? The actor said it is too soon to gauge the impact but the response from fellow colleagues and filmmakers has been encouraging. "There are so many stories to explore, so many stories to tell. It is the best time for actors and women like me because now you are not asked to just fill in the gaps, you are cast for a solid role. A woman can be grey, she can be positive, she can be anything. I'm so glad that all the shades are coming out on OTT," she said.

Truly made in heaven for me: Mona Singh on standout role as Bulbul

<ul><li>After taking a dig at CRED, magicpin is back with another spoof. </li><li>This time, it seems to be targetting Flipkart. </li></ul>magicpin, an affiliate marketing platform, went viral earlier this year for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/news/when-magicpin-got-vijay-raaz-to-troll-cred/articleshow/82099325.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">spoofing CRED's popular advertisement</a> with Jim Sarbh. Now, to communicate the benefits of shopping locally, it has launched another hilarious ad. This time, it seems to be targetting Flipkart and its 'kidults.' Taking a dig at Flipkart and online shopping platforms, magicpin's ad says that savings is 'no child's play' and highlights the merits of choosing your neighbourhood retail store over online channels for a better shopping experience and better savings. <div type="Youtube" id="vIf0WBGkWF4" title="Savings Bacchon Ka Khel Nahi | Shopping = magicpin | Step Out! | Asli Savings" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vIf0WBGkWF4/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The TVC features the inimitable <keyword id="31515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-raaz" source="Orion">Vijay Raaz</keyword> as the common man who talks straight. He brings to life the smart Indian who is sick of empty promises, tall claims, millions of paper points and online deliveries that don’t fit. He wonders about the need to go through this drama when a quick walk to the nearest shop will solve this dilemma in a jiffy. It also promotes how magicpin offers the best saving deals across spend categories at offline stores in your proximity. So, you do not lose out on savings even when you shop offline. As <keyword id="5477309" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="karanjeet-kaur" source="Orion">Karanjeet Kaur</keyword>, Head of Content at magicpin puts it, “How many times can you poke a finger in the eye of giants and get away with it? That’s the question we set out to answer with our latest TVC-led campaign. After the viral success of our ‘The Bread ad’, (which, frankly, took us by surprise), we knew we had to level up. So we adopted the route of provocation once again, but focused squarely on the joy of stepping out and shopping at local brand stores. And Vijay Raaz - with his image as an everyman with a bullshit-free approach to life - was the perfect choice to deliver the message… again.” The TV campaign has already registered a humongous response with a total of over 54,85,459 views spread across YouTube, Twitter,Instagram Post, LinkedIn and Instagram Reel and is expected to cross 6 billion views soon.

After CRED, magicpin and Vijay Raaz troll Flipkart's 'kidults'

<ul><li><keyword id="2008319" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="upgrad" source="Orion">upGrad</keyword> has launched the third leg of its ‘Fast Forward your career’ campaign, right ahead of the <keyword id="112426" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="appraisal" source="Orion">appraisal</keyword> season.</li><li>Conceptualized in partnership with The Yellow Shutter and Co-produced with Boathouse Media, the ad film is directed by the filmmaker <keyword id="13141999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shashwat-gandhi" source="Orion">Shashwat Gandhi</keyword> and is voiced by the award-winning actor <keyword id="31515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-raaz" source="Orion">Vijay Raaz</keyword>. </li><li>upGrad takes a quirky route to establish the urgency amid working professionals who tend to park upskilling for the future and never get around to pursuing it.</li></ul><keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">EdTech</keyword> platform upGrad has released a new campaign, with a humorous twist to encourage working professionals to become Lifelong Learners to drive maximum career growth, at a time when industry requirements are evolving every day. Marking the third leg, this Ad film further strengthens the brand’s ‘Fast Forward your career’ campaign and brings together a comical scenario wherein professionals are seen using a variety of techniques to climb up the corporate ladder, right before the appraisal season. Conceptualized in partnership with The Yellow Shutter and Co-produced with Boathouse Media, the ad film is directed by the filmmaker Shashwat Gandhi and is voiced by the award-winning actor Vijay Raaz. upGrad takes a quirky route to establish the urgency amid working professionals who tend to park upskilling for the future and never get around to pursuing it. Aligned with its mission of driving career outcomes, the higher-edtech leader recorded another milestone with the Q-o-Q career transitions peaking at 1233% during Q1 FY2021 and 1149% in Q2 FY2021 as compared to the same period previous year, according to recently released upGrad Career Report. The report also highlights the steady increase in the career hikes to the upGrad learners being awarded in the range of 180% - 450% after course completion. Talking about the new campaign, <keyword id="237838" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arjun-mohan" source="Orion">Arjun Mohan</keyword>, CEO - India at upGrad commented, “Our latest campaign brings out the hard-hitting reality of the corporate world where professionals often rely on their existing skill-sets to retain a competitive edge. Now more than ever, we are witnessing the redundancy of dated skills in the face of ever-evolving job requirements, which is making it tough for our workforce to move beyond the average hike bracket of 4% - 6%. As we approach the annual appraisal season, this tongue-in-cheek workplace humor will further encourage professionals to pursue new-age, outcome-driven education, and hands-on industry skills with upGrad, for charting out a progressive career path, decisively.” Gaurav Arora, Founder, The Yellow Shutter said, "upGrad as a brand believes in staying creatively bold while figuring out realistic nuances of TG's life and connecting with them. Being a creative production house ourselves, this resonated with us at The Yellow Shutter. We wanted to bring a fresh flavour of creativity while maintaining the essence of the brand campaign from 2020. Thus, we strategically continued with the donkey route however, giving it a witty spin and creating something laugh-worthy yet extremely relatable. Together, we aimed at keeping the creative edge alive while adding unique angles in the visual space to showcase an everyday story with a twist." The filmmaker Shashwat Gandhi added, “We wanted to create visuals that are unique, which nobody had seen but everyone could relate to! To mock the 'gadhas' who engage in boot-licking and sycophancy during the appraisal season, we replaced their heads with a quirky 'gadha' filter and made them 'hee-haw' in various moods. The process of making this was equally fun and hilarious as the film itself!” The newly launched Appraisal campaign is now Live across the digital platforms of upGrad.

Ahead of the appraisal season, UpGrad launches a campaign to talk about the importance of upskilling

<ul><li>This is the first time <keyword id="5030468" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="easemytrip" source="Orion">EaseMyTrip</keyword> has appointed brand ambassadors since its inception.</li><li>Vijay and Varun are coming together as part of a brand campaign.</li></ul>EaseMyTrip has announced the appointment of ace actors <keyword id="31515" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vijay-raaz" source="Orion">Vijay Raaz</keyword> and <keyword id="337442" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="varun-sharma" source="Orion">Varun Sharma</keyword> as brand ambassadors. This is the first time that EaseMyTrip has appointed any brand ambassadors. Additionally, Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma are also coming together as a duo for the first time for any brand campaign. The actors with their mass appeal and strong connect with the audience will complement the brand’s image of EaseMyTrip. The actors are admired by the fans for their genuine and down-to-earth personalities and their ability to make each and every act memorable. Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma are also known for their impeccable comic timings and both actors have created a niche in the market basis their unique performances. The association is in sync with the brand’s image where EaseMyTrip has established itself and gained market share purely basis performance to date. The company is known for its consistent performance while being 100% bootstrapped and profitable since inception. Speaking on the occasion, Nishant Pitti, CEO &amp; Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip said, “We are thrilled to associate with Varun Sharma and Vijay Raaz as the faces of our brand. Similar to EaseMyTrip, they are the epitome of great performances. They have a unique mass appeal that cuts across all audiences and geographies. EaseMyTrip has revolutionised online travel by introducing initiatives such as a hassle-free booking experience, zero convenience fee and full refund due to medical reasons. Now is the right time for us to let more people be aware of such initiatives by EaseMyTrip through our brand campaign with Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma.” Both the actors are elated and excited to be associated with EaseMyTrip as there is similar synergy between them making this partnership extremely special and one of a kind. Sharing his excitement on the partnership, Varun Sharma said, “I am absolutely honoured and delighted to be partnering with one of the fastest-growing brands in the world. They have revolutionized the way we travel and looking forward to working closely with EaseMyTrip to create an exceptional brand connect.” Speaking on the association, Vijay Raaz said, “My best wishes to EaseMyTrip as the brand is well known for its customer centricity and consistent performance. Wish to work together and create something memorable.”

EaseMyTrip signs Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma as its first-ever brand ambassadors

Online <keyword id="6354692" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="travel" source="Orion">travel</keyword> platform <keyword id="5030468" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="easemytrip" source="Orion">EaseMyTrip</keyword> has launched a new television campaign featuring <keyword id="337442" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="varun-sharma" source="Orion">Varun Sharma</keyword> and <keyword id="31515" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vijay-raaz" source="Orion">Vijay Raaz</keyword>. The campaign highlights EaseMyTrip’s free of charge, full-refund <keyword id="117238" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="medical-policy" source="Orion">medical policy</keyword> through which customers can claim a complete refund on domestic air ticket cancellations caused due to medical emergencies*. The TVC also highlights how EaseMyTrip is providing exceptional services and customer care support during such unprecedented times. The campaign is now playing across all television and digital platforms. The campaign will also be amplified through outdoor and print media presence. <div type="Youtube" id="EskMdMTZxqM" title="Get Better Support in Emergencies, Full Refund on Medical Grounds. 😷✈︎" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EskMdMTZxqM/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Varun Sharma and Vijay Raaz have created a niche in the market basis their unique performances, which syncs with the EaseMyTrip brand’s image of establishing itself and gaining market share purely basis performance to date. Through this campaign, EaseMyTrip aims to target digital-savvy customers who make online bookings. The brand has chosen Varun Sharma and Vijay Raaz as they have a strong mass appeal and connect well with both the young and old audience base. This is the first time that Varun Sharma and Vijay Raaz are coming together as a duo for a brand campaign. Speaking on the TVC launch, <keyword id="3571926" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prashant-pitti" source="Orion">Prashant Pitti</keyword>, CEO &amp; Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip said, “Looking at the current uncertainties in the travel space, we believe that it is the right time to launch a TVC that highlights our unique full-refund policy for medical emergencies, and our exceptional customer support during such trying times. We are excited to associate with Varun Sharma and Vijay Raaz who enjoy a unique mass appeal for their impeccable comic timing and incredible versatility. They have a unique connect that cuts across all audiences and geographies, and their personalities resonate and fit perfectly into the brand's narrative of providing an exceptional and hassle-free booking experience.” EaseMyTrip has always believed in leveraging relevant and meaningful avenues for brand connect and this association is in-line with the same brand philosophy. The company has aggressive plans to grow its business with a slew of customer-centric initiatives including the zero-convenience fee, full refund on medical grounds, ‘train waitlisted’ feature which offers discounted airfares to users with unconfirmed train tickets and many more.

EaseMyTrip launches a new campaign featuring Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma to promote its full-refund medical policy

<ul><li>People are still talking about <keyword id="2727" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rahul-Dravid">Rahul Dravid</keyword> and <keyword id="1763236" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="CRED">CRED</keyword>'s ad and <keyword id="3255375" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Magicpin">magicpin</keyword> has taken this opportunity to troll the much talked-about campaign.</li><li>Featuring actor <keyword id="31515" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vijay-Raaz">Vijay Raaz</keyword>, the film, a direct dig at CRED, telling people to come over the magicpin where people will get enough options of spending their <keyword id="1446162" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="reward-points">reward points</keyword>.</li></ul>Rahul Dravid was the talk of Indira Nagar, and honestly, much of the country this past week, thanks to CRED’s latest ad where the ace cricketer is seen losing his mind while stuck in a traffic jam in Bengaluru. magicpin, an affiliate marketing platform has taken this opportunity, when people are still talking about CRED's film, to spoof CRED, taking a dig at their reward points system. magicpin’s insight behind the campaign was, ‘most CRED users have lakhs of points, but don't seem to know how or where to use them’. <div type="Youtube" id="lGmwMHsii04" title="The Bread Ad | magicpin | Asli Savings" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lGmwMHsii04/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Talking about its own rewards program, the platform says that it a far wider range of options for its users to expend points. “magicpin follows a fairly simple and straightforward approach to how points are valued: 1 point is always equivalent to 1 rupee. This sounds like it should be an obvious idea, but isn't as common as it ought to be. From a consumer insight POV, there is an instinctive equivalence between the points and real money, which increases the "delight" users feel every time they earn points. magicpin's more than five million users -- who have saved across categories -- can attest to that,” reads a release from the brand. The ad has made a brilliant use of Raaz and is sure to make you LOL. “ The ad contrasts Vijay's down-to-earth, Hindi-speaking, plainspoken persona with the fancy tone and tenor of the Cred ad. With this ad, magicpin is positioning itself as the down-to-earth, "Asli Savings" option for everyone,” explains the brand.

When magicpin got Vijay Raaz to troll CRED

<ul><li>EaseMyTrip recently appointed <keyword id="31515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vijay-raaz" source="Orion">Vijay Raaz</keyword> and <keyword id="337442" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="varun-sharma" source="Orion">Varun Sharma</keyword> as its first-ever brand ambassadors to expand its reach across the country.</li><li>As the travel platform launches its campaign with new ambassadors and rolls out its marketing blitzkrieg, we speak to <keyword id="6106039" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nishant-pitti" source="Orion">Nishant Pitti</keyword>, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip about the idea behind choosing Vijay and Varun, platform’s game plan to deal with COVID and macro-economic changes that might come in our way and larger vision.</li></ul>Six days into 2022 and brands and organisations are planning to completely return to work-from-home model and prepare for the impending wave of COVID-19 and macro-economic challenges that it might bring along. The economic impact of the third wave might not be as devastating as the second wave, but it might take a toll on the hospitality industry yet again. If the government strengthens lockdown restrictions across the country in the coming days, the hospitality sector might face a recap of 2020. However, home-grown hospitality and travel brand EaseMyTrip witnessed a six-fold growth in revenue during the peak of the second wave and on the back of its ‘flexible and lean business model,’it is optimistic about maintaining its financial health in 2022 as well. With its first-ever brand ambassadors in Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma and a slew of customer-centric initiatives such as zero-convenience fee, full refund on medical grounds, discounted air tickets for train waitlisted customers, EaseMyTrip has entered this year all guns blazing! So, to discuss what lies ahead, Advertising and Media caught up with Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip. He told us about his game plan for the platform in 2022, larger vision, marketing strategy and a lot more. Q. Can you tell us how 2021 was for EaseMyTrip and the travel industry? In FY20-21, we almost doubled our profits and this was despite halving of Gross Booking Revenue in a pandemic struck year. In Q4 of FY21, we witnessed a V-shaped recovery, registering almost 89% of the gross booking revenue of the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal. Additionally, Q1FY22 was one of the worst periods for the travel industry due to the second wave, however, we grew our profits six-fold to more than Rs 15 crore in Q1FY22 as against a net profit of Rs 2.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. This makes us one of the few companies to be profitable in the industry that has been the worst impacted in the country in the quarter of April- June’21. We have been able to maintain our profitability through the pandemic as we have been flexible and maintained a lean business model, which has been the key driver in maintaining financial health. For the travel industry, the year started well as there was a strong demand. However, the second wave struck soon after, which led to a fall in travel demand. The second wave had impacted the entire tourism industry. However, the strong vaccination drive helped in lowering active cases and the industry was seeing a recovery again. The festive season further pushed travel demand as people were comfortable travelling and had adapted to the travel norms. The rise in travel bookings during this festive period was a clear sign of the underlying pent up travel demand and the growing sentiment among travellers to venture out for leisure travel. We believe that the sector has been able to weather the storm as a lull period was followed by strong growth in demand. We also witnessed a rise in travellers from smaller cities and towns which eventually led to a rise in passenger traffic and demand. Q. You have recently onboarded your first-ever brand ambassadors. Firstly, why did you think this was a good time to bring on the actors and what was the thought behind choosing Varun and Vijay? We have been witnessing strong growth, even during the pandemic, and we have been constantly innovating and providing value to the consumer. As a result, we believe that now is the right time for branding and to get more people to know about EaseMyTrip. EaseMyTrip has always believed in leveraging relevant and meaningful avenues for brand connect and this association is in-line with the same brand philosophy. We believe that Varun Sharma and Vijay Raaz are unique actors who have superb comic timing and have created a niche in the market based on their unique performances. They have a unique mass appeal that cuts across all audiences and geographies. We have consciously chosen two unique actors from two different generations as we believe that an association with both of them will help us reach our overall target audience efficiently. The association with Varun and Vijay are in sync with the brand as just like these ace actors, EaseMyTrip too has established itself and gained market share purely based on performance to date. Q. After onboarding your first-ever brand ambassadors, what are you eyeing to achieve from this partnership? The country is witnessing a growing air traffic demand, even from smaller cities now. A significant chunk of these people are digital savvy and prefer doing online bookings. Through this unique marketing campaign, we are trying to reach out to those customers and with the explosion of the internet and online booking, we believe that it is the right time to do so. Additionally, the company has aggressive plans to grow its business with a slew of customer-centric initiatives including the zero-convenience fee, full refund on medical grounds, discounted air tickets for train waitlisted customers, and many more. We believe that this initiative provides us with an opportunity to make more travellers aware of these unique initiatives and grow our customer base. Q. What is your larger marketing strategy? How will your messaging change, if at all, now that you have new brand ambassadors onboard? We aim to cater to the pent-up demand via cross-selling to the huge customer base by promoting the same aggressively across all marketing platforms. We are confident that this pent-up demand will continue to grow. We also aim to continue with our record growth across businesses and grow our market share. We emphasize high ROI marketing spending and instead of opting for very high marketing budgets, we try to source relevant platforms that can gain the maximum interest of our customers. We will continue to move in that direction in 2022 as well. While we have onboarded brand ambassadors, we do not expect our messaging to change. We have always maintained a strong messaging and unique proposition of customer centricity and consistent performance, and our brand ambassadors will continue to take that proposition ahead. Q. Which advertising medium will get your lion's share this year? With people resuming travel, we are expecting a lot more marketing efforts and initiatives in the coming year. The industry is slowly recovering, and we believe that this is the right time for us to strengthen marketing efforts and customer outreach. Seeing a recovery of the industry, in the past year, we have used big-ticket events such as IPL as well as full-page advertisements across national newspapers for marketing initiatives and will continue to explore interesting initiatives this year as well. This year, we plan to release innovative and exciting marketing efforts across digital, print and outdoor media. With the growth in passenger traffic, we will also continue to actively use in-flight branding space, as well as boarding passes as essential touchpoints for travellers. Q. What are some of the trends that you are expecting to see in the travel industry this year? In 2022, we expect a few prominent trends to surface, which are set to be at the forefront of the travel industry. 2022 is set to witness a rise in travel spending by people as they are now, more than ever, ready to take those once-in-a-lifetime trips that they always wanted to embark on. In 2022, we are also expecting more travellers to prefer locations that are adopting sustainable tourism practices as many travellers have woken up to the benefits and the need of sustainable tourism in a post-covid scenario. Technology is also being implemented in a big way in the tourism industry and travellers are showing a higher preference for places that incorporate smart technology. In 2022, the travel industry is expected to move further into a digital shift and adopt newer platforms and technologies that enable travellers to travel seamlessly. Due to the safety concerns, we are expecting a rise in demand for unique, unexplored destinations, short weekend getaways and road trips to nearby tourist destinations. Reunion travel is set to be a major trend next year as people look to reconnect with family by taking a quick getaway trip. As an aftermath of the pandemic, there will also be a rise in the number of people that are opting for short getaways that offer wellness and self-care activities. In 2022, travellers are set to showcase an increased preference for locations that have a focus on wellness activities that help them rejuvenate, take a break away from the monotony of their daily lives and lead healthier lives. Q. How did the consumer sentiment change in December and what's it usually like in January? Travel this month is majorly focused on safety. There has been a significant shift in the mindset of travellers towards health and hygiene, and the services provided by travel companies regarding this, make a significant impact on the decision making. While there are safety concerns right now, the travel sentiment of customers is still strong. There is an underlying pent-up travel demand, which is expected to lead to a growth in revenge travel. We are also ensuring safety and hygiene for our customers with the help of our airlines and hotel partners. Q. We're at that time of the year when people are normally in the mood to travel. What are some of the tourist hotspots in India this year? Have consumers shown any interest in traveling to places they wouldn’t have thought of visiting earlier? The tourist destinations that have been in demand and that we expect to be tourist hotspots this year as well include Kashmir, Goa, Jaipur, Leh and Srinagar. With safety concerns, the demand for unique, unexplored domestic destinations has also shot up in the past few months, and a lot more unheard domestic destinations will come to the fore in the coming months. Q. In India, we love saving a little extra on hotels while traveling to a different city -- a lot of people in India prefer staying at a relative's place. Has that trend changed after COVID? Yes, we believe that this trend has changed as people have witnessed the high levels of sanitisations and safety protocols undertaken by hotels since the pandemic. Since the pandemic there has been an increased emphasis on safety and sanitization within the travel industry and enhanced health screenings have become the new normal across all travel segments. As a leading travel portal, we also provide all the sanitization protocols that each hotel follows, to ensure that the travellers are aware of the practices followed. This provides them with a sense of relief during this period as safety and hygiene has become a top priority in the current period, which is not guaranteed at a relative’s place. In fact, during the pandemic, there has been an increase in 4 and 5-star hotel bookings as compared to the pre-pandemic period as people would want a better level of sanitization at this time. The average duration of the stay has also gone up from 3.2 days to 4.7 days. While hotels and apartments have performed well, we have also seen an increased demand for private villas and homestays as customers find them more secure and safe during these unprecedented times. Q. Can you tell us what would be some of your focus areas in 2022? The company plans to focus heavily on its hotel and holiday package businesses and expand in the existing markets. We are working proactively to cater to the increased demand that we foresee. We will look at enhancing the revenues and profitability going forward by leveraging our existing base of customers for cross-selling. We also plan on leveraging our vast agent network and utilizing it for the holiday bookings which shall complement the company’s hotel and holiday businesses. Apart from the Indian market, we are present across UAE, Singapore, UK, Philippines, Thailand, and the USA. We want to establish our air ticketing business in these countries as we have forayed into these new countries anticipating a huge pent-up travel demand. In the coming year, we plan to launch a localized travel search engine in each global subsidiary to strengthen our offerings within each country. We may also look to expand to more viable countries if we see a strong performance and value addition from our existing global subsidiaries. Q. What is your larger vision for the platform? We aim to continue with the record growth with increased revenue margins and market share. We have been extremely bullish in the air segment and expect to become the number one player in the air segment in the next three to four years. While air travel bookings constitute around 95% of our revenues, we are also growing our non-air travel businesses including hotels, buses, trains and holidays in double digits. We are also looking to expand our services across Tier 2 and 3 cities as we have been witnessing a rise in air ticket bookings in these cities. All in all, we are aiming to be the preferred booking partner for all travellers across the country.

Our association with Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma will help us reach our overall target audience more efficiently: Nishant Pitti of EaseMyTrip

<ul><li>The <keyword id="6354831" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-premier-league">Indian Premier League</keyword> (IPL) every year brings with it an advertising extravaganza where brands try to come up with communications that stand out in the clutter.</li><li>To shine the spotlight on some of the best work brands are coming up with throughout the season, we will come up with a weekly list of ads.</li></ul>It’s been more than a week since Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked-off its much talked about season. Launched in a different format this year with no in-stadium audience, IPL has been a somewhat different experience so far. What hasn’t been much different however, is the advertising extravaganza that has just started. Owing to the fact that year after year, IPL has given brands a platform to advertise and connect with millions of viewers, this year too, brands are going all-out to create ads that will help them engage with a wide set of audience. While there have been many who have been talking about the quality of ads that have come out of the league so far, the league has just started. Most experts expect we will soon start seeing more brands coming up with ads that create an impact. Meanwhile, to join in on the fanfare, we thought it would be a good idea to showcase a few campaigns that standout every week. Here are our top picks for the last week: 1. <keyword id="6214644" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dream11">Dream11</keyword> <div type="Youtube" id="4rEekXHvwK0" title="Dream11: Yahan sab same hai, #YeApnaGameHai" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4rEekXHvwK0/mqdefault.jpg"></div> 2. <keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy">Swiggy</keyword> <div type="Youtube" id="LBmElWEum44" title="Trusted by uncle ji and 1 crore plus Indians. Swiggy- what a score!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LBmElWEum44/mqdefault.jpg"></div> <div type="Youtube" id="dPrN8kNUcPo" title="And that's clearly swung the match! Get big discounts with Swiggy Matchday Mania. Order Now!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dPrN8kNUcPo/mqdefault.jpg"></div> 3. CRED <div type="Youtube" id="iW63vNsF8ck" title="Not everyone gets it | CRED | Anil Kapoor" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iW63vNsF8ck/mqdefault.jpg"></div> 4. Khatabook <div type="Youtube" id="AoHYVfxfPvA" title="Bina Maange Udhaar Waapas!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AoHYVfxfPvA/mqdefault.jpg"></div> <div type="Youtube" id="ZzhhL2tNP5k" title="Hisaab Daily Ab Automatically!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZzhhL2tNP5k/mqdefault.jpg"></div> <div type="Youtube" id="5MWZtx3EPMw" title="Har QR Ka Hisaab Yahaan!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5MWZtx3EPMw/mqdefault.jpg"></div> 5. Wakefit <div type="Youtube" id="ZkoCG-W95rc" title="Watch Cricket Like a King with Wakefit Furniture | Artist Babloo ft. Vijay Raaz | Wakefit" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZkoCG-W95rc/mqdefault.jpg"></div> <div type="Youtube" id="rEhCVGNdR78" title="Get Made In India Furniture Assembled At Home | Cricket 2020 | Artist Babloo Ft. Vijay Raaz |Wakefit" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rEhCVGNdR78/mqdefault.jpg"></div> 6. <keyword id="6354576" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> <div type="Youtube" id="7czHNAczHgs" title="Facebook: Jersey" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7czHNAczHgs/mqdefault.jpg"></div> 7. <keyword id="3269053" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rapido">Rapido</keyword> <div type="Youtube" id="MkKwT9EE_jg" title="Rapido I Captains Of Tomorrow" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MkKwT9EE_jg/mqdefault.jpg"></div>

Our pick of the best IPL 2020 ads: Week 1

<ul><li>Wakefit reminds consumers that carpenters should be appreciated for their art in our country. </li><li>It captures the struggles of being a retail carpenter in an online world through a character named Babloo Artist, played by Vijay Raaz. </li></ul>After Wakefit’s well-known Sleep Internship campaign established how important a good night's sleep is, its latest campaign uses wit and humor to remind the audience that carpenters are artists, too. Starring Vijay Raaz, the ad walks us through Artist Babloo’s predicament of being a retail carpenter in an online world. He talks about how consumers can be complex and trying to understand their behaviour is quite a task. He says that they want something that 'looks expensive, but is affordable in reality.' They want furniture like Taj Mahal on a limited budget but nobody cares about art, the artist behind it or the effort that goes into making it. <div type="Youtube" id="bU1twBueBRw" title="Wakefit presents Home Furniture! Ft. Vijay Raaz as Artist Babloo | Wakefit" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bU1twBueBRw/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Consumers look up furniture designs online and reach out to Babloo hoping to get an exact replica but are never willing to loosen their purse strings. Babloo was struggling to survive in a volatile market, where no one appreciated his art or paid him enough for his efforts. That’s when he stumbled upon Wakefit.co. He partnered with the brand and brought his fondness for art into every piece of furniture he assembled at consumer's doorstep. Babloo realises that the public starts appreciating his piece of art once he offers them a deal that fits in their budget and meets quality standards. Soon, Wakefit’s Babloo doesn’t even have the time to take a loo break, online orders keep him busy.

Wakefit’s campaign captures the struggles of being a retail carpenter in an online world, where no one appreciates the artist behind the piece of art

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/34741710.cms" /> A total of four movies hit the theatres last week and all failed miserably at the <keyword id="827271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Domestic-Box-Office">domestic box office</keyword>, not only because The Amazing <keyword id="88398" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Spider-Man">Spider-Man</keyword> 2 has stolen the show in India but also because they (at least three of them including <keyword id="554325" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Purani-Jeans">Purani Jeans</keyword>, <keyword id="2221582" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kahin-Hai-Mera-Pyaar">Kahin Hai Mera Pyaar</keyword> and <keyword id="721837" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="angry-young-man">Angry Young Man</keyword>) have come loaded with common clichés that no longer attract the new-gen audience. The lone exception is <keyword id="1048837" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kya-Dilli-Kya-Lahore">Kya Dilli Kya Lahore</keyword>, starring <keyword id="31515" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vijay-Raaz">Vijay Raaz</keyword> (he is also the <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Director">director</keyword>) and <keyword id="422342" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manu-Rishi">Manu Rishi</keyword> and offering an altogether different take on the trouble-torn <keyword id="2228533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indo-Pak-relationship">Indo-Pak relationship</keyword>. 
 
<keyword id="2223189" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="KDKL">KDKL</keyword> is an offbeat <keyword id="829894" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-flick">Bollywood flick</keyword> that dates back to 1948 and narrates the cross-border realities experienced by two ‘uprooted’ soldiers – <keyword id="2228536" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rehmat-Ali">Rehmat Ali</keyword> (<keyword id="6363210" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Raaz">Raaz</keyword>) and <keyword id="2228527" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Samarth-Pratap">Samarth Pratap</keyword> (Rishi). Both are forced to leave their ‘original’ homeland due to <keyword id="6373578" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="partition">Partition</keyword> and compelled to live a life of bloodshed, bullets and the occasional enemy banter taking place across the border. Narrated &amp; presented by writer/lyricist <keyword id="7470" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="GUlzar">Gulzar</keyword> and garbed in dark humour, Kya Dilli Kya Lahore unfolds how ‘political’ issues impact real life as we relive the nostalgia, the helplessness and the pathos of it all. Although a commendable movie by the <keyword id="193380" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Debutant-director">debutant director</keyword>, it fared poorly at the domestic box office and fetched an abysmal Rs 7-8 lakh on the debut day (May 2). As per industry estimates, KDKL netted around Rs 35-40 lakh after the first three days while the budget (cost and P&amp;A) has reportedly stood at Rs 5.5 crore. The movie hit about 250 screens at home but suffered terribly from poor promotion and near-zero pre-release buzz. 
 But then, <keyword id="6356809" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="producer">producer</keyword> <keyword id="476576" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Arora">Karan Arora</keyword> has told the media he is “not worried about the commercial viability” of the film and is content to know that he made “an honest film.” Film critic Shubhra Gupta sums it up well. “There’s something about the film that reminds you of the Bosnian Oscar winner <keyword id="1477726" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="No-Mans-Land">No Man’s Land</keyword>, a poignant reminder of the futility of war and the tragic waste of human lives. Kya Dilli Kya Lahore had the potential to be as powerful, maybe more, because it is our story… but single-tone. And that’s because the plot is so thin. This film could have been more.” 
 
 <img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/34741735.cms" /> 
 <keyword id="202523" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="debutante-director">Debutante director</keyword> <keyword id="2218584" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Tanushri-Chattrji-Bassu">Tanushri Chattrji Bassu</keyword>’s coming-of-age bromance Purani Jeans did a little better at the box office, netting a little over Rs 1 crore in the debut week against a budget of Rs 11 crore. It’s the age-old story of two <keyword id="343" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Friends">friends</keyword> falling for the same girl – the staid <keyword id="1594" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Siddharth">Siddharth</keyword> (<keyword id="582705" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tanuj-Virwani">Tanuj Virwani</keyword>) from a poor background, the rich and spoilt brat <keyword id="23466" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sam">Sam</keyword> (<keyword id="1249127" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aditya-Seal">Aditya Seal</keyword>) and the trophy girlfriend, <keyword id="59965" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nayantara">Nayantara</keyword> (Brazilian <keyword id="334231" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="model-turned-actress">model-turned actress</keyword> <keyword id="1701426" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Izabelle-Leite">Izabelle Leite</keyword>). What follows is a youth-focused but totally cliché script that depicts every possible human emotion without much cohesiveness and one can hardly relate to the ‘growth pangs’ we all face during those wonder years. 
 Directed by <keyword id="2228541" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mahesh-Vaijnath-Doijode">Mahesh Vaijnath Doijode</keyword>, Kahin Hai Mera Pyar is all about an artist’s quest to find his dream girl, with loads of traditional <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> trappings weighing it down. <keyword id="766838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Abhishek-Sethiya">Abhishek Sethiya</keyword> and <keyword id="1049937" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sonia-Mann">Sonia Mann</keyword> don’t sizzle on-screen and the improbable storyline of this musical romance seems far removed from the reality. Although veteran <keyword id="297" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jackie-Shroff">Jackie Shroff</keyword> shines, the rest looks totally bleak (yes, even the VFX is bad) and its bleak performance is amply reflected at the domestic box office. Even after four days, the official numbers are not available although industry insiders have already written it off. Ramesh Rout-directed Angry Young Man also suffers the same fate. Starring Ajay Sinh Rathod (Arjun) and <keyword id="2110776" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Prachi-Sinha">Prachi Sinha</keyword> (Sarah), this action movie reeks of <keyword id="26778" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="underworld">underworld</keyword>, revenge, love and benevolence – all rehashed from earlier Bollywood flicks of the same genre. The outcome is another flop and even here, the numbers are missing till date. So wait and watch for the next lot of movies to hit the theatres – those may just be able to break the Black Friday jinx plaguing the box office like never before. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

Box Office Debacle Doesn’t Let Up; Kya
Dilli Kya Lahore Is A Must-watch

<keyword id="2189512" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prime-video" source="Orion">Prime Video</keyword> on Wednesday announced that the much-awaited second season of "Made In Heaven" will premiere on August 10. Created by <keyword id="36968" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoya-akhtar" source="Orion">Zoya Akhtar</keyword> and <keyword id="125922" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reema-kagti" source="Orion">Reema Kagti</keyword>, the show revolves around Sobhita Dhulipala's Tara Khanna and actor Arjun Mathur's Karan Mehra, two best friends turned wedding planners navigating the world of big fat Indian weddings while dealing with conflicts in their personal lives. "Made In Heaven" season two will delve deeper into the lives of its characters who navigate the complexities of organizing and celebrating marriages while their own lives unfold in unexpected ways, a press release stated. "As seen in the first season, the new season will also feature a host of cameos, whilst taking forward the nuanced narrative on various social prejudices. Season Two will beautifully reveal the dichotomy of tradition, modern aspirations and belief systems set against the canvas of lavish Indian weddings," it stated. The seven-episode season two is directed by Kagti and Akhtar along with Alankrita Shrivastava, Neeraj Ghaywan and Nitya Mehra. Besides Dhulipala and Mathur, it also features Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora, Shivani Raghuvanshi, and Vijay Raaz. The newcomers include Mona Singh, Ishwak Singh and Trinetra Haldar. The first season of "Made in Heaven" came out in 2019 and received critical-acclaim for its storytelling and performances by the lead cast. In a statement, Akhtar and Kagti said the show holds a special place in their hearts and is a symbol of "true strength of collaboration with many creative energies aligning". "The second season of 'Made In Heaven', delves deeper into the extravagant world of Indian weddings and unearths more stories from the community. "'Made In Heaven' reflects the lives of upscale modern India, and is narrated through the eyes of two wedding planners, set against the backdrop of quintessential Indian weddings and recurring social prejudices. Our hope is that the latest one is received with as much love as the last," they added. Aparna Purohit, Head of Originals, Prime Video India, "Made In Heaven" has become a part of the "cultural zeitgeist". "The next instalment of the show will present a perfect mosaic of stories that blend tradition and modernity, coupled with a layered, immersive and an emotional narrative. It's a true privilege to work with such gifted, collaborative and passionate storytellers and we are confident that the new season of the show will not just entertain but provoke, inspire, and uplift our audiences," she added. "Made In Heaven" is produced by Excel Media &amp; Entertainment and Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's Tiger Baby.

Prime Video's Made In Heaven Season 2 premieres on Aug 10

The nominations for the 23rd edition of the International Indian Film Academy and Awards, popularly known as IIFA, were announced on Monday. 'Brahmastra Part One: <keyword id="33379" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="shiva" source="Orion">Shiva</keyword>', 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', 'Darlings' and are leading the pack with ten, five and five nominations, respectively. 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', 'Darlings', 'Drishyam 2', '<keyword id="8223714" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gangubai-kathiawadi" source="Orion">Gangubai Kathiawadi</keyword>' and 'Vikram Vedha' have made it to the nomination list of the Best Picture category. Top picks for the Direction category are 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', 'Brahmastra Part One: Shiva', 'Darlings', 'Gangubai Kathiawadi', 'Monica O My Darling' and 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect'. The nominees for Performance in a Leading Role (Female) are Yami Gautam Dhar for 'A Thursday', Tabu for 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', Alia Bhatt for 'Darlings', Shefali Shah again for 'Darlings' and Alia Bhatt for 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'. Kartik Aaryan ('Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2'), Abhishek Bachchan ('Dasvi'), Ajay Devgn ('Drishyam 2'), Rajkummar Rao ('Monica O My Darling'), Anupam Kher ('The Kashmir Files') and Hrithik Roshan ('Vikram Vedha') are the nominees for Performance in a Leading Role (Male). The nominees for Performance in a Supporting Role (Female) are Sheeba Chadha ('Badhaai Do'), Mouni Roy ('Brahmastra Part One: Shiva'), Nimrat Kaur ('Dasvi'), Tabu ('Drishyam 2') and <keyword id="133292" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="radhika-apte" source="Orion">Radhika Apte</keyword> ('Monica O My Darling'). For the Performance in a Supporting Role (Male) category the nominees are Abhishek Banerjee for 'Bhediya', Shah Rukh Khan for 'Brahmastra Part One: Shiva', Vijay Raaz for 'Gangubai Kathiawadi', Anil Kapoor for '<keyword id="10488529" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jugjugg-jeeyo" source="Orion">Jugjugg Jeeyo</keyword>' and Sikander Kher for 'Monica O My Darling'. Pritam ('Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' and 'Brahmastra Part One: Shiva'), Sanjay Leela Bhansali ('Gangubai Kathiawadi'), Oaff and Savera ('Gehraiyaan'), Tanishk Bagchi, Pozy ('Niranjan Dhar'), Kanishk Seth and Vishal Shelke ('Jugjugg Jeeyo') have bagged the nominations for Music Direction. Jonita Gandhi for the song 'Deva Deva' ('Brahmastra Part One: Shiva'), Shreya Ghoshal for 'Rasiya' ('Brahmastra Part One: Shiva') 'Jab Saiyaan' (Gangubai Kathiawadi), Lothika for 'Doobey' ('Gehraiyaan') and Kavita Seth for 'Rangi Sari' - traditional/folk song ('Jugjugg Jeeyo') are in the race for Playback Singer (Female) category. The nominees for Playback Singer (Male) are Arijit Singh for 'Kesariya' and 'Deva Deva' ('Brahmastra Part One: Shiva'), Mohit Chauhan for 'Gehraiyaan' (reprise), Kanishk Seth for 'Rangi Sari' - traditional/folk song ('Jugjugg Jeeyo') and Aditya Rao for 'Behney Do' ('Rocketry: The Nambi Effect') Furthermore, the nominees for Best Story (Original) are Akshat Ghildial and Suman Adhikary for 'Badhaai Do', Ayan Mukherji for 'Brahmastra Part One: Shiva', R. Balki for 'Chup', Jasmeet K. Reen and Parveez Shaikh for 'Darlings' and Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri for 'The Kashmir Files'. The nominees for Best Story (Adapted) are Aamil Keeyan Khan and Abhishek Pathak for 'Drishyam 2', S.Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges for 'Gangubai Kathiawadi', <keyword id="4186994" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="yogesh-chandekar" source="Orion">Yogesh Chandekar</keyword> for 'Monica O My Darling', R.Madhavan for 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' and Pushkar-Gayatri and BA Fida for 'Vikram Vedha'. The nominees for Lyrics are Varun Grover for the song 'Atak Gaya Hai' ('Badhaai Do'), Amitabh Bhattacharya for the song 'Kesariya' ('Brahmastra Part One: Shiva'), A.M. Turaz for the song 'Jab Saiyaan' ('Gangubai Kathiawadi'), Ankur Tewari for the song 'Gehraiyaan' ('Gehraiyaan') and Raj Shekhar for the song 'Behney Do' ('Rocketry: The Nambi Effect'). Global voting will go live on Tuesday, December 27, 2022. The 23rd edition of IIFA will be held at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on February 9, 10 and 11, 2023. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/what-india-watched-on-netflix-in-2022-korean-dramas-rrr-alia-bhatt-movies-in-the-list/slidelist/96455203.cms">Korean dramas, RRR, Alia Bhatt &amp; more - These kept India hooked to Netflix in 2022</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/first-time-on-screen-pairings-in-2023-in-bollywood/articleshow/96447413.cms">From SRK-Taapsee to Ayushmann-Ananya: First time on-screen Bollywood pairings in 2023</a>

'Brahmastra', 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', 'Darlings' lead in IIFA nominations

<ul><li>Kabir Singh was the most searched film on Google in India followed by 3 exceptional Hollywood movies — Avengers: Endgame, Joker and Captain Marvel. </li><li>Everything related to Kabir Singh was a success. The film became the highest-grossing Indian movie after minting ₹276 crore </li><li>Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame became the highest-grossing film of all time with its total box-office collection hitting $2.789 billion. </li></ul>As 2019 draws to a close, Google narrows down the top movies that users searched for the most in India. Kabir Singh was the most searched film on Google in India followed by 3 exceptional Hollywood movies — Avengers: Endgame, Joker and Captain Marvel. Here’s a list of the top 10 movies searched for on Google in 2019: Kabir Singh <div type="image" title="Kabir_Singh" msid="72475823" hostid="261"></div>

 Everything related to Kabir Singh was a success. The film became the highest-grossing Indian movie after minting ₹276 crore. Its music album was the ‘most favourite’ on Spotify music in 2019. Kabir Singh, starring Shahid Kapoor and <keyword id="1788525" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kiara-Advani">Kiara Advani</keyword>, is a remake of the famous Telugu hit film Arjun Reddy. The film revolves around a self-destructive lover who struggles with anger issues gets addicted to drugs and alcohol after his girlfriend is forced to marry someone else. Avengers: Endgame <div type="image" title="PRI_95933080" msid="72475830" hostid="261"></div>

 Avengers: Endgame was the most awaited movie from the Marvel Comic Universe — the final film in the Avengers trilogy. Most of the fans wanted to know what Doctor Strange and <keyword id="6414070" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Iron-Man">Iron Man</keyword> will do to reverse Thanos’ snap, which killed off half the human on Earth at end of Infinity War. Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame became the highest-grossing film of all time with its total box-office collection hitting $2.789 billion. It broke Avatar’s record, which it had for almost a decade, of $2.788 billion. Joker <div type="image" title="maxresdefault" msid="72475867" hostid="261"></div>

 Joker is one of the oldest villains in DC's comics — and famed for being Batman’s arch-nemesis. This film is based on his origin story which has been evolving since the 1940s. It portrays how a disturbed loner Arthur Fleck, with difficult parentage and childhood, turns into a sociopath. Joker grossed $331 million in India. Globally, Joker’s collections hit $234 million, with $140.5 million coming from 73 offshore territories. Joker grossed $93.5 million globally over its first weekend, making it the best October debut ever. Captain Marvel <div type="image" title="_105912023_marvel1_disney" msid="72475876" hostid="261"></div>

 Captain Marvel introduces the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) first standalone, female-franchise title character, Carol Danvers or Captain Marvel. The film follows Danvers' journey as she becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes. It released in India just before Avengers: Endgame and garnered $427 million. It is among the highest grossing US films in the country. Super 30 <div type="image" title="E80B6AAF-D127-4C31-B8E0-E3268124FAA6" msid="72475883" hostid="261"></div>

 Super 30 is a biopic starring Bollywood’s Hrithik Roshan who plays the role of an inspiring teacher, Anand Kumar. Based on a true-story, Kumar revolutionises the education system in the heartlands with his Super 30 programme. He coaches talented but underprivileged children who wish to crack engineering entrance exam of IIT-JEE. Hrithik Roshan’s Super 30 crossed ₹100 crore mark, 11 days after its release in India. Its overall earning were ₹147 crore. Mission Mangal <div type="image" title="ED13004A-DD88-44AA-97A5-0E227DEE2B6F" msid="72475892" hostid="261"></div>

 <keyword id="2823" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshay-Kumar">Akshay Kumar</keyword>’s Mission Mangal is based on India’s space mission to Mars. And, one of the many reasons it caught the attention of the masses was because ISRO was simultaneously planning its real-life launch of Chandrayaan 2 — India’s second mission to the moon. It was released over the weekend — owing to the holiday on August 15 for Independence Day— which boosted collections. Mission Mangal crossed ₹29 crore within 24 hours of release covering 20% of the movie’s total budget of ₹140 crore. Overall, it earned around ₹192 crore. Gully Boy <div type="image" title="201911035_1-h_2019" msid="72475899" hostid="261"></div>

 Gully Boy is loosely based on the life of street rappers, Divine and Naezy. The film was shot in Dharavi — one of the world’s largest slum. The movie stars <keyword id="143436" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ranvir-Singh">Ranvir Singh</keyword> as the lead with Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Raaz and Siddhant Chaturvedi in supporting roles. 'Gully Boy' was India's official entry to the Oscars in 2019. It earned ₹134 crore at the box office. War <div type="image" title="_d4ebc3ea-e4f2-11e9-939f-ba4a7f73df5c" msid="72475905" hostid="261"></div>

 War is an action thriller where an Indian soldier Khalid, played by Tiger Shroff, is assigned to kill his mentor Kabir, Hrithik Roshan — a spy gone rogue. The movie crossed ₹250 crore within 11 days of its release, according to film critic Taran Adarsh. It became the second-highest grosser of 2019, a title previously held by Aditya Dhar’s Uri: The Surgical Strike. Housefull 4 <div type="image" title="104308-houseful4-trailer1" msid="72475915" hostid="261"></div>

 The third Akshay Kumar movie int Google’s top 10, Housefull 4, earned ₹53 crore in the first three days of its release. The incarnation dramedy involves three brothers who are supposed to marry three sisters but things go haywire after one of the brothers ‘remembers’ their past. The film features Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Bobby Deol, <keyword id="210696" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kriti-Sanon">Kriti Sanon</keyword>, Kriti Kharbanda, Pooja Hegde and Chunkey Pandey. Housefull 4 has also earned a whopping ₹77 crore in international markets. Uri - The Surgical Strike <div type="image" title="806551-uri" msid="72475923" hostid="261"></div>

 Uri - The Surgical Strike starring Vicky Kaushal is a jolting reminder of India's surgical strikes against Pakistan in 2016. The movie was lauded for triggering the patriotic feelings in India. The film earned an estimated ₹342.06 crore. It is the first midrange movie to cross ₹200 crore.Both Kaushal and Uri’s director won the national award for the film.

You Searched For "vijay raaz" and got 14 results

Truly made in heaven for me: Mona Singh on standout role as Bulbul

PTI

After CRED, magicpin and Vijay Raaz troll Flipkart's 'kidults'

BI India Partner

Ahead of the appraisal season, UpGrad launches a campaign to talk about the importance of upskilling

BI India Partner

EaseMyTrip signs Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma as its first-ever brand ambassadors

BI India Partner

EaseMyTrip launches a new campaign featuring Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma to promote its full-refund medical policy

BI India Partner

When magicpin got Vijay Raaz to troll CRED

BI India Partner

Our association with Vijay Raaz and Varun Sharma will help us reach our overall target audience more efficiently: Nishant Pitti of EaseMyTrip

Karuna Sharma

Our pick of the best IPL 2020 ads: Week 1

BI India Partner

Wakefit’s campaign captures the struggles of being a retail carpenter in an online world, where no one appreciates the artist behind the piece of art

Karuna Sharma

Box Office Debacle Doesn’t Let Up; Kya Dilli Kya Lahore Is A Must-watch

Sanghamitra Mandal

Prime Video's Made In Heaven Season 2 premieres on Aug 10

PTI

'Brahmastra', 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2', 'Darlings' lead in IIFA nominations

IANS

From Kabir Singh to Avengers Endgame — Top movies that Indians looked for on Google

Preeti Soni

SRK, Rajnikanth, Ranveer Singh set to fire up the silver screens in 2023: Here are the most-anticipated upcoming Indian movie releases

Srishti Magan