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 23,2020

New Delhi, Apr 23: As the holy month of Ramzan is about to begin, several Muslim public figures on Thursday appealed to the community to offer tarawih and hold iftar inside their homes and follow the lockdown regulations imposed to tackle the coronavirus threat.

Television actor Iqbal Khan in a video message appealed to the people to not step out of their houses during Ramzan.

"This time around, whatever you do during Ramzan, you have to do it inside your houses. Do not visit mosques; offer tarawih (late evening prayers offered during Ramzan) at your homes. Your stepping outside will not only put you in a problem but may put your family members in trouble also," said Khan.

"And that will be wrong, do not go outside. If anyone says you have to go outside then they are wrong. Stay home and stay safe and help others stay safe too," he added.

Another TV actor and Tik Tok star Jannat Zubair asked people to avoid any kind of social gatherings so as to ensure the safety of everyone.

"I know we are in a difficult situation but there is no need to panic. We will overcome this and things will be fine. The holy month of Ramzan is going to start, please stay home, offer prayers at your homes and avoid family/friends gatherings for now. It is just a matter of time, things will be fine soon. Stay home and stay safe," she said.
Ramzan is likely to begin from April 24.

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News Network
May 24,2020

Los Angeles, May 24: Hollywood star Salma Hayek says her daughter Valentina Pinault is a talented 12 year old who wants to be a director and star as a lead in a film one day.

The Oscar-nominated actor shares Valentina with husband, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault.

Hayek said she has confidence in her daughter's abilities and believes she has a long way to go.

"She has so many talents. She draws, she wants to shoot movies - both as a director and as the lead - and she writes great pieces. Sometimes when I read her work, I have an urge to produce these stories.

"But she tells me that she will do it by herself when she's older. I don't know what's coming next for her but it seems that she has a lot of ways to go," the actor told HELLO! magazine.

Hayek, 53, added she is concerned about Valentina who has always lived a sheltered life.

"Valentina has always done what she wanted, I've never made her do anything and this means she hasn't yet learned how to oppose pressure, how to overcome obstacles.

"I know by experience that only the overcoming of some difficulties can lead you in the right direction," she said.

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News Network
February 12,2020

London, Feb 12: Oscar-winning British director Steve McQueen is returning to his art roots with a series of short films at London's Tate Modern art gallery, offering a sensory exploration of black identity.

McQueen, who became the first black director to win the best picture Academy Award in 2014 for "12 Years a Slave", is now based between London and Amsterdam and is focused on championing diversity in the film industry.

Visitors to his new exhibition will be greeted by "Static", a film of New York's Statue of Liberty, scrutinising the iconic symbol from every possible angle at very close range against a deafening backdrop of the helicopter from where the footage was filmed.

"What interests Steve is our view of the world, how humans are trying to represent Liberty," said Fiontan Moran, assistant curator of the exhibition.

"7th Nov, 2001" features a still shot of a body while McQueen's cousin Marcus tells of how he accidentally killed his brother, a particularly traumatic experience for the artist.

"Western Deep" is another visceral work, giving a sense through sights and sounds in an interactive installation of the experiences of miners in South Africa, following them to the bottom of the mine.

"Ashes", meanwhile, is a tribute to a young fisherman from Grenada, the island where McQueen's family originated.

The images of beauty and sweetness filmed from his boat are tragically reversed on the other side of the projection screen, which shows a grave commissioned by McQueen for the eponymous young fisherman, who was killed by drug traffickers.

African-American singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976) is honoured in "End Credits".

The film shows censored FBI documents detailing the agency's surveillance of Robeson, read by a voice-over artist, for five hours.

"He is... testing the limits of how people can be documented in an era of mass surveillance," said Moran.

In a similarly militant vein, the exhibition features the sculpture "Weight", which was first shown in the prison cell where the writer and playwright Oscar Wilde was imprisoned.

It depicts a golden mosquito net draped over a metal prison bed frame, addressing the theme of confinement and the power of the imagination to break free.

The show runs alongside an exhibition of McQueen's giant portraits of London school classes, many of which appeared on the streets of London last year.

"I remember my first school trip to Tate when I was an impressionable eight-year-old, which was really the moment I gained an understanding that anything is possible," said McQueen, adding it was "where in some ways my journey as an artist first began".

He recently told the Financial Times newspaper the difference between his art films and his feature films was that the former were poetry, the latter like a novel.

"Poetry is condensed, precise, fragmented," he said. "The novel is the yarn".

The exhibition opens on February 13 and runs until May 11.

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