Pays tribute to ‘Manjunath’ by hosting a series of panel discussion across IIMs and Colleges
In its endeavour to give its audiences the best movie-viewing experience, &pictures will premiere that will be seen in Indian homes for the first time. Titled ‘Manjunath’, it is based on the real life story about a bright graduate from IIM Lucknow – Shanmughan Manjunath who was a young marketing manager at Indian Oil Corporation in Lakhimpur Kheri, a remote district in rural Uttar Pradesh. Learning that fuel in the region is being adulterated, he traced its roots down to corruption. He set out to shut down the business of fuel adulteration and eradicate corruption but lost his life fighting the oil mafia in Uttar Pradesh. This extraordinary biopic will be presented in a world television premiere as a tribute to Manjunath on his death anniversary on 19 November at 8 pm, on &pictures and &pictures HD!
The channel also reached out to its viewers through an aggressive 360 degree marketing approach. As part of paying a tribute to ‘Manjunath,’ &pictures will initiate the ‘Light a candle’ movement on 19 November. The students of all the IIMs across the nation have been supporting the cause with candle light marches in their campus every year.
This will further be taken on the digital platform of &pictures where viewers who feel for this cause can visit the site http://www.andpictures.in/manjunath/ and light a candle in support of Manjunath.
Also, as a build up to the World Television Premiere of ‘Manjunath’, &pictures has already kick started a series of interactive discussions across cities starting with Ahmedabad at IIM – Ahmedabad and then Indore at IIM – Indore, Delhi, St. Andrews College, Mumbai and IIM – Lucknow.
This was attended by renowned social activists, students and civil servants with an aim to pay tribute to great heroes like Manjunath and discuss in a freewheeling chat if it is really worth standing up for a cause for the larger good of society at the cost of one’s life.
The distinguished panel comprised of eminent speakers like Manoj Sashidhar IPS – Joint CP, Ahmedabad; Alok Chopra, Commissioner of Customs & Central Excise; Deepam Seth – Inspector General of Police at Govt. Of Uttarakhand; Pawan Mamidi – Faculty of Business Policy, IIM -Ahmedabad; Prof. Srinivas Gunta, IIM – Indore; Dr. Marie Fernandes, Principal, St. Andrews College; Prof Ajay Garg – Professor at IIM Lucknow; S. Raghavendran,real life brother of Manjunath; SashoSatiiyshSaarathy, the lead actor who portrayed the character of Manjunath; Sandeep A. Varma – Director of the film and celebrated actors Yashpal Sharma and Rajesh Khattar who played important roles in the movie.
The final stop of the series is at IIM, Lucknow.
‘Manjunath; the movie has been shot in real locations that Manjunath Shanmughan frequented till his tragic death. The movie has been praised by audiences and critics. Some of the biggest musicians from the Indian film industry extended their complete support during filming of the movie. Through the world television premiere of Manjunath, &pictures aims to reach out not just to the people of our county but also to audiences across the globe so they can get an up close and personal look into the heart rending tale of the unsung hero.
Speaking of the occasion, Ruchir Tiwari, Deputy Business Head, Hindi Movie Channels, ZEEL stated, “&pictures has carved a niche for itself in the Hindi movie segment as a premium Hindi movie channel. We have strived to provide our viewers with the most differentiated content and the best movie-viewing experience that is available. We not only strive to provide entertainment but also create awareness on various issues through the most powerful platform today: television. The world television premiere of Manjunath is another step in that direction and I’m certain that our audiences are going to get inspired by watching the film.”
Starring stellar actors like Divya Dutta, Yashpal Verma and Sasho Satiiysh Saarathy and directed by Sandeep A. Varma, ‘Manjunath’ is a moving story about a young professional who tries to get rid of corruption but the consequences are more than he ever bargained for.
Director Sandeep Varma says, “Manjunath sets the facts right about what happened before and after the death of this unsung hero Manjunath. I think, the subject picked me as I bumped into the life of late Manjunath who is pretty much alive amongst his supporters who are still fighting for him and his cause. I was so moved by this real-life story that I planned to make the film.”
Tune-in to Manjunath on 19 November at 8 PM, only on &pictures and &pictures HD, to watch the story of a young man unfold as his determination to fight corruption and eliminate fuel adulteration lead to tragic consequences.