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 Anu
Ranjan
1979-’87
After completing her schooling at the Convent of Jesus & Mary,
Simla, Anu pursued higher education at Loreto House College,
Calcutta & subsequently emigrated to the USA, where she
pursued post graduate studies and a career, simultaneously.
She did an extensive stint in Marketing & Sales at the
California Mart for a prestigious Jewellery and Garment
outfit, from 1981-’87. Being a quick learner, she came to
deliver goods at this job with self-confidence & to the utmost
satisfaction of both, her employers as well as her clients.
The pressures of a highly professional US market
further enhanced her astute and analytical bend of mind and
her acumen for business. Exposure to the best in Art, Culture,
Films and Entertainment sharpened her insights and
understanding, particularly as regards TV & Media.
1987-’99
Anu moved back to India in 1987 and married Shashi Ranjan, an
alumnus from FTII, Pune. Post her marriage; she explored &
successfully ventured in several of her business interests
such as garments, textile & interior design.
Her interaction with the Films & Television world increased
because of Shashi’s involvement in this sphere. She soon
started assisting him in the Production of TV Software & this
also brought her face to face with various aspects & problems
that subsist ed in the TV industry.
2001
Anu founded The Indian Television Academy (ITA), a
ground-breaking & significant movement at the time which
brought together and galvanised the entire TV workforce in the
country, under one umbrella.
The ITA produced a TV Fraternity song to highlight the
camaraderie of the Industry – its music video was telecast on
all the major channels with most favourable frequency – making
it to be an anthem of sorts for the TV frat!
The ITA subsequently launched the first ever totally
TV-centric Indian Television Academy Awards, to recognise &
reward the excellence that was present on the canvas of Indian
Television.
2002-2003
After the tremendous successes of the Hero Honda sponsored ITA
Awards, HHITA 2001, the ITA organised the ITA Seminar, a first
ever platform for interaction amongst the disparate quarters
of the Industry, On Television.
The ITA repeated history with the stupendous success of the
HHITA Awards, 2002, where the Southern Indian television
channels were also included in its ambit.
The ITA produced a social welfare documentary, ‘Who Cares?’
dealing with the state of roads in Bombay; this was
successfully exhibited at various cinema halls.
The ITA also organised a highly productive ITA Symposium on
TRP’s.
The ITA called attention to the multifarious roles that of
women effectively play in India today by starting to annually
celebrate International Women’s Day – the first year was
celebrated in association with De Beers and Indiatimes.com
The ITA launched, with great fanfare and style,
GR8! TV MAGAZINE – The Only
Television Glossy in the World on August 26, 2003. This
publication continued the struggle towards cementing the
entire TV Industry into one cohesive whole. It held up &
upheld the first ever mirror for Television, reflecting all
its glory and glitz through GR8! TV
MAGAZINE
2004 to’05 onwards
Makes the ITA an official conduit of sorts, between Producers
and Channels – thereby fruitfully resolving some long-standing
disputes between the two.
Backed by Anu’s endless enthusiasm and support, the HHITA
Awards become the most coveted, recognised & respected symbol
of excellence on the canvas of Television in the country.
The Awards also proved to be hugely popular with the
TV-watchers, as the TRP’s of the broadcast hit record highs on
SONY and STAR PLUS.
Similarly, the now established GR8! Women Achievers’ Awards
also become a momentous annual occasion that celebrates Indian
Womanhood in all it’s glory.
The ITA rises to the occasion, as always, when the Tsunami hit
the Indian coasts… garners the support & participation of the
entire TV industry and stages a memorable concert in support
of the Tsunami victims (entitled, Tsunami Relief & You). The
concert results in raising sizeable funds which are
subsequently passed on to organisations responsible for
coordinating victims’ relief efforts.
GR8! TV MAGAZINE continues to make giant leaps forward with
the introduction of a Hindi edition - launched in September,
2005, this publication extracts a genuinely positive response
in the Hindi belt.
In addition to all of the above, Anu elevates the
organisation’s Event management division to new levels with
the conceptualising & production of important events – these
range from the launch of Bentley Motors in India to the
organising of SONY TV’s intra-channel Awards, ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’.
A grand milestone in her wide-ranging occupations has been the
initiation of a social movement titled “Beti”. This social
awareness campaign, ‘beti’ was launched to enhance awareness
about & to fight the menace of Female Foeticide which is
unchecked all over the country.
The ITA organised a Star-studded Charity Cricket Match, called
‘The GR8! Welfare Cup’, & raised funds for their ‘beti’
campaign – This event, the ITA TV-fraternity Fund was a
roaring success.
Eveready to take on issues of social concern, the ITA even
organised a Protest Morcha of high impact, in opposition to
the mismanagement existing in Mumbai which resulted in the
July floods in 2005.
Anu Ranjan continues to push & steer the ITA – it has already
carved out a unique niche for itself in the TV industry; it
now works on auto pilot towards the holistic welfare of
Television in India.
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 Shashi
Ranjan
Up to 1975
Growing up in a family unit of educationists, Shashi naturally
inherited a flair for Languages & Literature in the formative
years of his youth. He also developed a keen fondness for
Theatre & he received many an award for plays staged at
University and Inter-Varsity Youth Festivals.
Shashi graduated in Humanities from Punjab University.
Discovering his gift for eloquence, he participated in and won
a number of prestigious trophies for debates and symposia in
inter-college and inter-varsity competitions. In addition
Shashi received intensive grooming in public welfare
activities at NSA and Youth Welfare camps.
1975-’77
As an inevitable conclusion of his proclivity towards the
performing Arts, Shashi joined the illustrious Film & TV
Institute of India, Pune, where he received exposure to the
best in World Cinema. He chose to pursue Cinema as his area of
specialisation, with a particular emphasis on Acting.
Shashi gained conspicuous maturity vis-à-vis the Arts of his
pursuance. He excelled in his course at the Institute with
respect to emoting, improvisation, diction and dance.
1978-’91
Shashi consequently pursued an assiduous career in
cting in the Bombay Film Industry. He acted in Hindi Films
produced by esteemed production houses such as Ramayan Chitra
etc. He acted in regional films (Punjabi & Haryanavi), for
which he received immense appreciation & acclaim.
Thereafter, he went on to produce and directed ‘Siyasat’, a
commercial Hindi feature film, starring Kumar Gaurav, Kimi
Katkar, Gulshan Grover & others. .
1995 onwards
Learned the ropes of what has gone on to become the
biggest infotainment medium of today – Television.
Shashi resolved to produce & create software for Television –
each production was a cut above the predictable and mediocre
programming which this genre in India had become beset.
Produced and Directed
Television Shows:
• Shot-Gun Shoot…a TV talk-show, hosted by the fiery
Shatrughan Sinha that became the toast of the Nation, when it
was beamed on two of the most prestigious Satellite Channels –
Zee TV and Star Plus.
• Song Yatra…an exploratory foray into the realms of
Hindi Film songs that earned rave notices at its Telecast on
EL TV.
• Making of a Legend…an in-depth scrutiny of the Halo
around the living legends of our Films at Zee Cinema that was
heralded as a trailblazer.
• Guftagu…a Celebrity Chat-show, hosted by Javed Akhtar,
who held the audience spellbound with the felicity of his
style and the dare of his manner.
• Without Make-up…a Film-Celebrity Chat-show, hosted by
the redoubtable Mahesh Bhatt…it was a much-lauded attempt at a
rip-off to glimpse the real Persona behind our Stars’ veneer
of glitz & glamour.
• Baatein Urdu Ki…a chat-show at UTN, that was an
incursion into the realms of Urdu, reaching out to its nuances
and the depths of Culture, ingrained in its style and
substance.
• Ek Minute Diyan Khedan…a game show at Zee Alpha
(Punjabi), it was a runaway hit with the viewers because of
its unbridled Fun, Frolic and rumbustious games.
• Galaxzee of Stars…a Celebrity-show at Zee TV - UK, it takes the Zee Stars down the memory lane,
which, in turn, provides scintillating Entertainment to the
viewers.
•Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai…Produced for Zee TV, it is a Show that has been reinvented and revamped in a fresher, younger and merrier mould by him and the Creative Director Anu Ranjan. It has already featured some of Television’s hottest Stars like Rohit Roy, Mandira Bedi, Rakhi Sawant Sharad Kelkar, Satish Shah, Poonam Dhillon, Manav etc. Further lined up are a host of luminaries from Films and other such pre-eminent walks of life.
•Dhanno Bole To…a celebrity based Tvzine for Aaj Tak that was anchored with loads of fun by Manini Dey & Sumeet Raghvan.
•Arrested by Rakhi…unique celebrity and lifestyle show to be anchored by the irrepressible Rakhi Sawant… slated for Telecast on Zee-next.
Documentaries & Short-Films:
• Bandit queen – a Controversy (for Zee TV)
• Bandit Queen – The Truth Behind (for BI TV)
These two documentaries earned loads of encomiums for
exploring a number of controversial facets behind Shekhar
Kapoor’s BANDIT QUEEN and its enigmatic Protagonist - Phoolan
Devi.
• Bombaiya…a Tele-feature on the very many vagaries of
existence of this species called the Bombayite. This was
hailed as truly avant-gardist in concept & execution.
• Dillivale…It carried reflections of the life & living
of the Delhiites for the audience, who just lapped it up as a
cherished viewing experience.
• Dil Dilli Ka…this tele-feature mirrored the Art and
Culture scene of Delhi and the connoisseurs swore by the
virtuosity of its execution.
• Sanjhi-Peed…an Agony-Aunt Show that delved deep into
the Pains of being a Woman, in her various confines of Home
and the outer world... anchored by the soft-silken Sadhana
Singh, it created an instant rapport with its target audience.
• Driving Miss Palmen…a Short-film for Holland TV that
has earned unqualified plaudits, there because of the
uniqueness of its subject & the equally unique élan imparted
to it in its mounting and execution.
Films:
• Siyasat…a feature-film about the cesspool that
politics has been reduced to, in India. It starred Kumar
Gaurav, Kimi Katkar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Gulshan Grover,
Shakti Kapoor, Deepa Sahi Mehta etc. and was a toast of
critics, when released.
• Dobara…a microscopic peep into the man-woman
relationship, done with great technical finesse – it received
remarkable notices in the National press. It starred Jackie
Shroff, Raveena Tandon, Mahima Chaudhary etc.
•Dhoom Dadakka…A rip-roaring Comedy with dollops of Romance… starring Anupam Kher, Satish Shah, Satish Kaushik, Shaad Randhawa, Sammir Dattani, Shama Sikandar, Aarti Chabria, Gulshan Grover, and– it is being directed by Shashi Ranjan with music by Roop Kumar Rathod. The Film released in 2008.
Other Pursuits
• Being a true Television zealot, he founded The Indian Television Academy along with his wife Anu Ranjan This Academy is a pioneering movement of most momentous nature for garnering and galvanising the entire TV workforce in the country, under one umbrella.
•The ITA accomplishments under Shashi Ranjan
• Produced a TV Fraternity song to underscore the camaraderie of the Industry.
– its music video was telecast on all the major channels with optimum frequency.
– making it to be a TV anthem of sorts.
• Launched the first ever totally TV Centric Indian Television Academy Awards, to provide incentives for excellence on the canvas of Indian Television.
• After the tremendous successes of the ITA Awards, 2001, organised the first ever platform for interaction amongst the disparate quarters of the Industry, by way of the ITA Seminar, On Television.
• Repeated history with the stupendous success of the ITA Awards, 2002, where Southern India was also included in its ambit. It was telecast on DD- National & the Premier Satellite Channel Sony TV.
• Organised The ITA Awards 2003 with tumultuous response and participation from the entire TV Fraternity. It was telecast on the Premier Satellite Channels Aaj Tak (live) & Sony TV.
• Once again, under his guidance The ITA Awards, 2004 makes such a mark as to make it an annual festival of joy for the entire TV-fraternity. It was Telecast on Star Plus and went on to become its most eagerly awaited and watched Event.
• He has kept the ITA torch burning with The ITA Awards, 2005, which elicited phenomenal response from the Industry by way of some 2507 Entries in the fray and upwards of two Lakh votes polled in the Popular Segment of the Awards.
•The ITA Awards, 2006 Besides the razzle-dazzle, unique to it, registered the highest ever TRP’s for any event on Television.
•The ITA Awards, 2007 The ITA Awards, 200 created a history of sorts through its Nite of Honours, in which The ITA Honours were conferred upon those who have changed the face of Television in India. In this, Shri Amitabh Bachchan was accorded The ITA Laurel for Ultimate Eminence and the ITA Scrolls of Honour were bestowed upon the bigwigs of the industry like B R Chopra, Aroon Purie, Ronnie Screwvala, Sanjay Khan, Dheeraj Kumar and others of their distinguished ilk.
•The ITA Awards, 2008 he ITA Awards, 2008 was a pageant unprecedented in the TV industry. Another major highlight of the evening was the commemoration of the memory of those Police men who laid their lives during 26/11. Besides, those brave units of various News Channels who braved great danger in reporting minute to minute account of the happenings there were also recognised. All that made the evening well and truly momentous.
•The ITA Awards, 2009 It registered unheard of participation from the TV fraternity, once again. Similarly, the participation of the vast multitude of TV-watchers all across the country was also huge as was evident by upwards of 3,00,000 votes on the internet for the popular poll.
•The ITA Awards, 2010 The ITA Awards celebrated its completion of a decade of eminence and glory in the TVdom with great aplomb. The evening attracted a crowd of upwards of 10,000 and participation from the entire TV-fraternity. Its telecast at Star Plus also garnered Popularity Ratings upwards of 4, which is unique for an event on TV.
• Produced a Social welfare documentary, ‘Who Cares?’ which was displayed in various cinema halls etc.
•The ITA Seminars
• To give all the different sectors of the TV-industry one single platform to settle their grievances, he has organised momentous seminars participated by the who's who of TV-fraternity.
• On Television:
In this the biggest names from Production, Direction, Acting & Technical sector participated for the first ever time as a unified whole.
o Organised two highly successful ITA Symposium on TRP's.
o Organised a Seminar on the Production-Distribution-Exhibition nexus in Feature Films on June 06,'06. It was participated by many a luminary from the different sectors of the industry, like Messrs. Mahesh Bhat, Ketan Mehta, Mukesh Bhat, Sudhir Mishra, Vivek Vaswani, Akbar Khan etc.
o A highly distinguished seminar on 'Content Regulation', which was held under the patronage of Honourable Ambika Soni ji, wherein honchos of all the Channels and pre-eminent Producers and celebrities from Public life participated.
•GR8! TV Mag
• Has been the Publisher and pivot of GR8! Which is world's first and India's foremost TV glossy.
•GR8! Women Awards
• Under its aegis he has organised GR8! Women Awards, which is a salute to Women Achievers in the country.
•Going global
• In 2011, the 10th GR8! Women Awards went global after opening its Middle East chapter in Dubai. It received tremendous response there from the Royal family as well as the top-notch women who received their Awards!
•'beti' Movement
• Through GR8! Women Awards, he has also launched a crusade to spread the word against female foeticide which is rampant across the length and width of the country. It is playing havoc with the Gender - balance as created by Mother Nature.
In this, support has come from the biggest of celebrities from public life, corporate and the worlds of Entertainment, the most special being from the Honourable Chaudhary Hooda Singhji, Chief Minister, Haryana.
•More Mileposts of Shashi Ranjan
• Has been Director, Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust of India.
• Has been assigned the Directorship of Maharashtra Chalchitra Nigam (Film City, Mumbai)
• Has been member of the Academy Council of the Film & TV Institute of India.
• Has been President of GRAFTI - an association of FTII Graduates.
• Has had the honour of being on National Awards Jury twice.
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