The 'utterly butterly' Amul girl turns 50

June 12, 2012

Amul_Girl

Mumbai, June 12: In a country where cartoons are creating flutter among politicians, the iconic 'utterly butterly' girl survived half a century. The brand mascot of the Amul butter advertisements, for whom no subject is a taboo, has turned 50. The girl in her polka dotted dress, with a matching bow in her hair, has continued to charm with her tounge-in-cheek humour since 1960s.

To celebrate her 60th birthday, Amul and its creative partner DaCunha Communications have decided to launch a coffee table book on the iconic girl.

"The great thing about Eustace Fernandes' girl is the round face that can be adapted to be anybody. With Manmohan Singh, put a turban on her. It can be Indira Gandhi, give her a white streak. So it's a supremely adaptable creation," says Sylvester DaCunha, Founder-Chairman, DaCunha Communications.


In the initial years, the Amul campaigns projecting the girl were run mostly in print and radio. The first billboard campaign appeared in 1966 of the the girl kneeling in prayer, with one eye closed and another on the pack of butter with the words, "Give us this day our daily bread with Amul Butter." Her cuteness attracted the mind of the public instantly. Since then there was no looking back. For the last 50 years, she has been part of Amul's campaign on different current affairs issues.

But it's a difficult job to choose the best of her campaigns. Mr DaCunha says, "My favourite one - it used politics - Narasimha Rao, VP Singh and Mrs Gandhi, but it used a Hindi film reference. And India loves two things - politics and movies. So that was a good one."

Recent controversy surrounding cartoons on NCERT books or on newspapers has irked the liberal society, who alleges that putting a gag on such cartoons is against freedom of expression. However, political furore has not been able to dampen the spirit of the Amul girl. In the words of her creator, "There are controversies. But finally we live in a free country. And you can get away with stuff. I think if you go too much overboard, it's always tricky. So we try and keep it little bit under."

The coffee table book features articles by many who made it to the hoardings, including actor Amitabh Bachchan and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, who feels the book is a piece of history, rather than just a collector's item. Mr Bhogle says, "It's a library of sorts, isn't it? You see a hoarding, you remember it next week, and you remember the one after that. But when it comes together in a book, it becomes a history book, almost."

The book, a tribute to the Amul girl's wit, humour on the high and low points in India's recent tumultuous history will certainly evoke nostalgia. And, as Mr DaCunha says, will continue to charm everyone in coming years as well.



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News Network
April 8,2020

Mumbai, Apr 8: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has started the process of transferring funds into the accounts of daily wage workers of the film industry, the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) said on Wednesday.

The actor had recently pledged to financially support 25,000 daily wage workers who have been badly hit by the 21-day lockdown to contain the coronavirus spread in the country.

According to B N Tiwari, FWICE, President, Salman has made an initial payment of Rs 3,000 each to the daily wage workers of the film industry, starting Tuesday.

"We had given him the final list of 23,000 workers so far, who were in dire need of financial help. He is going to transfer money in installments as he doesn't want people to misuse it. He has transferred about Rs 3,000 to every worker yesterday and he will transfer money again after some time. We are thankful to him for helping our workers," Tiwari told PTI.

A source close to Salman said the superstar will continue to support the workers until the situation improves in the country.

"We have started the process from Tuesday. We will be giving sufficient money to workers monthly, we will also give money next month and if the situation is still the same, we will continue to financially help the workers till it doesn't return to normalcy," the source said.

FWICE said Yash Raj Films have also provided a financial help of Rs 5,000 to around 3,000 workers.

"Besides Salman, a lot of people from Bollywood have come forward to help the workers, including Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty, who have given Rs 51 lakh each. Boney Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor too have given money and there are few more who have offered financial assistance to the federation. We also received Rs 1.5 crore from the Producers Guild of India on Tuesday.

"The federation has received a total amount of Rs 3 crore from film industry people. We are yet to receive money from Netflix, which they had announced for daily wage earners and also from Amitabh Bachchan, who is going to provide ration to one lakh workers. He is going to provide coupons which we should receive in a day or two," Tiwari said.

He further said Bachchan's ration coupon for workers will also be given to other associations across the country, such as in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Karnataka.

Tiwari said FWICE is in the process of making another list of needy workers and then they will begin the process of transferring money.

"The Rs 3 crore that the federation has received will be distributed among our five lakh workers in Maharashtra. We will start sending money from April 14 in phases. Those who haven't received any financial aid will be helped first. We are in the process of making a list of such workers for the same," Tiwari said.

"FWICE has also begun distributing ration to workers in suburban Andheri and Jogeshwari. So far we have distributed 5,000 packets of ration and we will give more, he added.

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News Network
April 14,2020

New Delhi, Apr 14: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar on Tuesday paid tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary.

The 90-year-old singer took to Twitter to extend her greetings on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti and also expressed gratitude for being able to get the chance to meet him.

"Namaskar. Bhartiya Savidhan ke janak mahamanav Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar Ji ki Jayanti par main unko koti koti vandan karti hu. (Namaskar. On the birth anniversary of Dr. BR Ambedkar, the father of the great Indian Constitution, I offer him a ceremonial offering)" she tweeted.

"Main unko pratyaksh roop se mil saki ye mera sobhagya hai. (It is my good fortune that I got the chance to meet him)," her tweet further read.
Ambedkar, commonly known as Babasaheb, dedicated his life to working for the upliftment of Dalits, women and the underprivileged.

Born into a poor Dalit family on April 14, 1891, Ambedkar became independent India's first law minister, the principal architect of the Indian Constitution and a founding father of the Republic of India.

He also campaigned against the social discrimination faced by Dalits and inspired the Dalit Buddhist Movement in 1956. Ambedkar was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1990.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Mumbai, Jan 23: Actor Tiger Shroff is set to share the screen with his father and veteran actor Jackie Shroff for the first time in "Baaghi 3", the makers announced on Thursday.In the third installment of action-drama, directed by Ahmed Khan, Jackie will play the on-screen father of Tiger and his co-star Riteish Deshmukh's characters.

In a cameo appearance, the 62-year-old actor will essay the role of a police inspector in "Baaghi 3", producer Sajid Nadiadwala said.

"Everyone has been waiting to see Tiger team up with his 'Hero' father Jackie since we launched him. There have been plenty of speculations and no one has been able to bring them together in the last six years as the duo was categorical they would only share the screen when a film and role merited their presence.

"Ahmed and I feel the story line required Jackie to be a part of them film and I believe our visions matched to understand how it's a pivotal role in the film," Nadiadwala said in a statement.

The producer said having Jackie on board will add to the film's expectations.

"... I am confident no one will be disappointed by this double dose of Shroffs and will stand as a strong USP," Nadiadwala added.

Jackie started shooting for the film on Wednesday.

Also starring Shraddha Kapoor and Ankita Lokhande, "Baagi 3" is scheduled to be released on March 6.

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