Zee Chitra Gaurav has become one of the biggest and the most reputed awards in the Marathi film industry. This year Zee Marathi set the bar higher for Zee Chitra Gaurav 2016 with its theme of Vaishwik Marathi that celebrated the success of Marathi cinema at the global level.

The awards were telecast on Sunday, 20th March 2016 with great fun and frolic. The biggest film celebrities in the Marathi film industry like Sachin Pilgaonkar, Shankar Mahadevan, Mahesh Manjrekar and Nana Patekar were present at the event and Sonali Kulkarni, Priya Bapat, Medha Patkar and many others graced the red carpet.

The duo of Nilesh Sable and Bhau Kadam- well known faces from one of the funniest shows on television Chala Hawa Yeu Dya were anchors for the second year in a row and they left the audience in splits throughout the evening starting with a spoof of PK. This was followed by power-packed performances by the singing duo of Ajay-Atul launching the songs of the still un-released film Sairat, dance performance by Amruta Khanvilkar and Shankar Mahadevan performed on-stage for the first time with his son.

The telecast was preceded by massive pre-promotion drive across all platforms and the communication reflected the elements of Marathi cinema breaking ground at the global stage. An extensive ATL campaign promoting the show’s tune in on the home channel, new networks, major publications of Maharshtra & prominent outdoor sites across Maharashtra was implemented. On digital mediums a Zee Gaurav Mahotsav was hosted for a period of 1 month with interesting and lesser known facts about the Marathi Film & Television Industry hosted across FB, Instagram & Twitter. A live tweeting activity #GauravBelongsTo was also made to trend during the week leading up to the telecast wherein people were asked to share on our digital platforms who would win the Chitra Gaurav Puraskar for the best actor, best actress and the best film this year. Celebrities were also asked to share their favorites as well by using #GauravBelongsTo.

The Honorary Chief Minister of Maharashtra- Mr. Devendra Fadnavis graced the event with his presence this year which was the biggest highlight of Zee Chitra Gaurav 2016 and presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Shrimati Leela Gandhi.

The event was very well-appreciated by the entire industry and it truly marked the arrival of Marathi cinema at the global level.

Zee Chitra Gaurav by Zee Marathi is in its 17th year and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the Marathi film industry.