Latest news with #DD
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Veteran actor Varun Badola reacts to whether Ekta Kapoor ruined the Indian Television's content; says 'she changed the face of it, whether for the good or the bad'
has been a well-known actor on Indian television for many years, and he has just begun to explore streaming options. In a recent interview, Varun discussed the condition of Indian television and 's long-standing effect on the medium. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He stated that he spoke with Ekta once about the types of shows she was making, but he concluded she wasn't the type of person who would listen. Varun shared his thoughts about Ekta during his chat on the Zindagi with Richa YouTube channel. Varun said, "More than spoiling the content on TV, Ekta Kapoor changed the face of Indian television, whether for the good or the bad. She went from strength to strength because the shows were earning money. In our industry, when corporates get involved, they don't care about the art form; they just want to earn money. Once Ekta had said in an interview that if you want to make a show your way, put in your own money and make it, and she wasn't wrong. You have to deal with so much pressure otherwise." Varun further quipped about the shows and their audience, "I don't agree when people say that the B-tier and C-tier audience likes to watch regressive content. When good shows came on DD, people were still watching them. In the lockdown, the Mahabharat and Ramayana were watched so much. The regressive shows, I think, people see them as comedic. Ekta saw an opportunity and she seized it. Hum Paanch, Koshish… Ek Aasha were her shows, and I discussed it with a lady at Star Plus who was against Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. She was educated and wondered if it would be right to show the audience content like that. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But they overruled her and started the show." Varun went on to explain whether any of his comments upset Ekta Kapoor and his different approach towards TV shows and their content, "With , she said it was similar in the Kyunki space, even sets looked alike, but she was again overruled. And see how the shows became mammoths. Balika Vadhu was a much better show, it had different sensibilities. People do get influenced by TV, so the first thing we were always told was that the show has to be aspirational. In the very beginning, I had expressed my disapproval to Ekta with regards to content, but I had figured out then itself that she is not the kind of person who would listen. " "I was just an actor then. She seized an opportunity, and as a businesswoman, she had every right to do that. I don't agree with a single show of hers, I had even told her that I would go and do something else other than her show. After Koshish, I didn't do anything with Balaji until Apharan. She knows I am an actor with a very different mindset," he added.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Indiana Fever Player Makes 'Weird' Food Admission
Indiana Fever Player Makes 'Weird' Food Admission originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Indiana Fever forward Damiris Dantas just made a food confession that has fans scratching their heads and laughing along. Advertisement In a fun Instagram post shared by the team, the Fever revealed quirky facts about Dantas. But one fact stood out: Dantas, affectionately called 'DD,' said she loves eating pasta with beans. The post also listed her favorite candy as banana candy and fans had some hilarious things to say about it. 'What is banana candy? And pasta with beans? That is definitely pretty weird. Regardless, we love ya, DD!' one fan wrote. Another joked, 'Tell me more about pasta with beans.' Someone else chimed in, 'Nooo not banana candy. 😂. Love her game though.' And the reactions didn't stop there. 'Love DD! She has to share the pasta & beans recipe,' one fan added. Advertisement 'Girl what? Pasta with beans?' asked a confused user. Another wrote, 'Ok, DD what is banana candy? I haven't heard of that. Anyways, we love you and continue being great.' Even though her food choices raised eyebrows, fans clearly adore Dantas, and with good reason, that too. The WNBA veteran has been a strong presence for the Fever this season, helping out on the court when stars like Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston face foul trouble or injuries. 'She's got a lot of miles on,' said Fever head coach Stephanie White, explaining a recent rest day for Dantas. '[We're] making sure she gets a little bit of rest… don't want that to turn into anything.' Damiris Dantas saw more playing time late in the season after recovering from injury. She made 39.4% of her Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Meanwhile, Clark commented on Dantas' Instagram post a week ago, calling her 'DD the goat,' showing respect and support for her teammate. Advertisement Weird food preferences or not, DD's unique charm and experience make her one of the most loved players in Indiana. And whether she's scoring buckets or talking about pasta and banana candy, fans are definitely paying attention. Related: Fans Love What Caitlin Clark Did After Fever's Win Against Dream This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- The Hindu
Customs officials seize ganja from passenger at Coimbatore airport
Officers of the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs have seized 5.25 kg of hydroponic weed (ganja), worth almost ₹5 crore, from Muhammad Fazil who arrived at Coimbatore International Airport on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, from Bangkok. The officers, based on intelligence inputs from DD, DG Arm Delhi, in coordination with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, intercepted the passenger, a resident of Kozhikode, who arrived at Coimbatore airport from Bangkok via Singapore by flight TR 540. The officers seized the ganja from his checked-in baggage. Further investigation is in progress under the NDPS ACT, 1986, read with the Customs Act, 1962, according to the Customs.
NDTV
22-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
PM Modi Offers Prayers At Karni Mata Temple In Rajasthan
Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday offered prayers at the Karni Mata temple in Bikaner district. During his visit to Bikaner district, Modi is also set to inaugurate the redeveloped Deshnoke railway station, and lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth more than Rs 26,000 crore. #WATCH | Bikaner, Rajasthan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits and offers prayers at the Karni Mata temple in Deshnoke. (Source: ANI/DD) — ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2025 He will also address a public gathering in Palana, according to an official statement. Besides, the prime minister will virtually inaugurate 103 redeveloped 'Amrit Stations' in 86 districts across 18 states and Union territories, which have been built at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore. Inspired by temple architecture, the revamped Deshnoke station located near the Karni Mata temple is designed to serve the heavy influx of pilgrims with enhanced passenger amenities, the statement said. Prime Minister Modi will also flag off the Bikaner-Mumbai Express train from Deshnok, marking a significant boost to passenger rail connectivity in the region. Following the station inauguration, Modi will lay the foundation stone and dedicate to the nation development projects exceeding Rs 26,000 crore. The projects span across railways, roadways, power, water supply, and renewable energy, underscoring the Centre's commitment to infrastructure and economic growth in Rajasthan and beyond, the statement said.
Business Mayor
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
The future of marketing: a conversation with Dario Debarbieri and Raj Iyer
HCLSoftware is a Business Reporter client AI has radically changed the game for marketers. How is the marketing environment changing, and what does the future hold? Dario Debarbieri: For marketers, the first lesson of the global pivot to artificial intelligence is that data is more vital than ever. AI is only as good as the data that fuels it, which makes data quality and data management critical, in marketing as elsewhere. And to manage data effectively requires platforms that are agile, flexible and resilient—platforms that can adapt without breaking, that are solid yet versatile. At a business level, these capabilities will mean the difference between success and failure. To thrive in a world of pervasive AI, your data and your platform must be ready for a future of living marketing systems. A brand in the future will evolve like a living organism—because in an AI-powered world, nothing is static. The perception of your brand will depend on the data that fuels those AI tools and frameworks—dynamically, even metabolically. That means your marketing systems must ensure consistency in the data captured by AI tools and systems in order to influence the output they generate. You must be massively consistent in the way you manage your data, for your customers as well as your brand. Hyper-personalisation—an AI superpower for the next-gen marketer—also depends directly on the data that fuels it. The customer experience lifecycle will be transformed by an infusion of data-driven context and insights—allowing AI-generated, dynamically crafted and curated messaging, stories and transactions. In every instance, data will be the lifeblood of these systems. What does all this mean for human marketers? DD: None of this makes humans obsolete. The marketer of tomorrow will pivot to providing the human insights that make campaigns more effective, the ethics and brand culture that inform them and the emotional intelligence that brings them fully to life. This new marketer will be a complete storyteller—while being, in equal measure, a marketing system designer. Read More Malibu campaign gives famous artworks an AI makeover What will that future marketer need? DD: New tools—better, faster, more focused and flexible—and a clear knowledge of how they work and how to use them. Without that, marketers simply won't survive. This creative industrial revolution will feature a fusion of technologies that will shape the profile of every marketer: a convergence of GenAI, data, quantum-powered market simulations and blockchain-enabled brand trust—enabling secure, transparent transactions à la Web3. Turning to the present, where are we with marketing technology today? What are our current capabilities? Raj Iyer: The web browser made the internet accessible to everyone back in 1993-94, but from a business perspective, email was the first killer app. Marketers saw instantly that email gave them a powerful tool to reach a very large audience. Unica capitalised on that trend and redefined marketing technology in the process, making catalogue marketing electronic while creating the martech space as it is today. Thus was born the idea of segmentation at scale, using email to send the most prodigious campaigns cost-effectively. Today, AI too is a killer tool for marketing—but at an exponentially higher level. Until now, marketing has been all about the attention economy, relentlessly seeking better ways to rack up eyeballs and clicks. In fact, the whole idea of a marketing funnel came from the math game that results. But as channels, digital technologies and social media proliferate, people are inundated with messages. The result is attention fatigue—and plummeting engagement, which worsens as AI-based content adds to the clamour for users' attention. So how can we respond to this dilemma? Read More Irish workers take wage cut as executive pay booms - Oxfam RI: As marketers, the goal is to build trust with customers and earn loyalty by delivering value—in short, a trust economy. The attention economy isn't going away, but if you can build trust and loyalty with customers, attention is a given. So, how can we get there? In our view, the bridge to trust is the intelligence economy—an infusion of intelligence and intention that cuts through noise and distraction with data-driven context and deep insights into customers' wants and needs. Whereas digital experiences are often generic and irrelevant, brands can use the power of intent to deliver memorable experiences that build trust and strengthen relationships. To achieve that, we need platforms and tools that can capture that intention, turn relevant data into useful insights and make marketing workflows manageable through intelligent orchestration. AI, data, quantum, blockchain – all these technologies belong to this intelligence economy. This is what we mean by Digital+. What capabilities is the intelligence economy built on? RI: We've touched on the what of the intelligence economy: the deep customer knowledge and data-driven insights that establish intent. Next is the how: the dance of engagement, the contextual customer journeys—guided by HCL Unica+ and the technology stack that powers it. Then comes the why: the memorable feelings and experiences that make customers choose you over competitors. Now, these elements—insight, engagement, and experience—rely, in turn, on other key capabilities, one of which pertains to technology architecture. Tech architects today face a false choice between monolithic and microservices approaches. What the intelligence economy demands, however, is a composable architecture based on packaged business capabilities (PBCs)—modular software components that perform specific business functions and can be seamlessly integrated and removed. Meanwhile, AI feeds into all three of these elements—feeding into insight, for example, with auto-segmentation in the customer data platform; engagement, by dynamically matching channels to customers; and experience, by crafting hyper-personalised journeys based on deep customer knowledge. DD: The marketing platform of the future has other core attributes—data and AI, analytics, hyper-personalisation, security and scalability are all 'must-haves' when implementing the martech of the future. The key takeaway for today's marketers, though, is simple: the platforms, tools and technologies of the intelligence economy are available now—and we're here to make that easy. The future of marketing may lie ahead, but the Digital+ future is now. Click here to learn more. Raj Iyer Raj Iyer is the Executive Vice President and Portfolio General Manager at HCLSoftware, where he leads several product lines and played a key role in scaling the business from a few hundred million in revenue to $1.5 billion. With prior leadership roles at DXC and IBM and experience at three Silicon Valley start-ups, Raj brings deep expertise in enterprise software, AI/ML and global business strategy. Dario Debarbieri Dario, who studied Law and Economics at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, has more than 20 years of global leadership experience across technology and financial services, including roles as CEO, CMO and VP at firms such as IBM and Enterprise Outsourcing. Since August 2022, he has led Marketing at HCLSoftware, bringing deep expertise in AI, cloud, data, CX and emerging technologies, with a strong record of driving performance and international brand growth.
