The Times of India (BCCL), a prominent publishing house in India, has announced the eagerly awaited return of the prestigious Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) with its first-ever OTT edition. This distinguished version of TOIFA seeks to recognize and celebrate outstanding achievements in acting, content creation, and technical excellence within Hindi films and series released on Indian online streaming platforms between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.
The press conference, held in Mumbai’s bustling center, featured Mr. Sivakumar Sundaram, Chief Executive Officer (Publishing) & Executive Director of Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd. (BCCL), esteemed advisory council member and renowned producer Siddharth Roy Kapur (Founder, Roy Kapur Films), and Mr. Shibashish Sarkar (President of the Producers Guild of India). These individuals expressed their excitement and support for the revamped TOIFA, highlighting its crucial role in commemorating the vibrant evolution of Indian entertainment.
Sharing his excitement, Mr. Sivakumar Sundaram (CEO – Publishing) & Executive Director of Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd. (BCCL) shared, “The Times of India Film Awards (“TOIFA”) has emerged as the definitive awards platform for the Indian film industry. This year, recognizing the increasing significance of streaming platforms, we are delighted to launch the TOIFA – Hindi OTT edition. Through a rigorous voting process in partnership with the Producers Guild of India, we will celebrate outstanding talent from across 28 different award categories on OTT.”
With an unwavering commitment to setting new standards and ensuring unparalleled credibility and industry recognition, the TOIFA Academy has been meticulously constituted in collaboration with the Producers Guild of India. This strategic alliance seeks to fortify the award’s prestige and reinforce its standing as the paragon of excellence in the Indian entertainment industry.
Shibasish Sarkar, President, Producers Guild of India also shared, “We are delighted to partner with the TOIFA OTT Awards and are confident that they will provide credible and prestigious recognition for outstanding work in the streaming space. Especially so, as the jury/academy comprising Producers Guild of India members will be voting on the various award categories.”
The vision behind the revamped TOIFA Awards is to create credible accolades that cover the entire span of the Indian entertainment industry. It aims to provide a platform that brings out the best work in the field of entertainment, ensuring that outstanding contributions across all facets are recognized and celebrated.
The TOIFA Awards is being mentored by an Advisory Council comprising of industry stalwarts like Rajkumar Hirani, Shoojit Sircar, Sameer Nair, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Nikkhil Advani, Aanand L. Rai, Guneet Monga Kapoor, Raveena Tandon and Madhureeta Mukherjee.
Founder of Roy Kapur Films and Advisory Council Member at TOIFA, Siddharth Roy Kapur, shared his enthusiasm and said, “I am pleased to join the Advisory Council of the TOIFA OTT Awards. I have been most impressed by the commitment of the organizers to create a credible and respected platform that will recognize excellence in streaming. This aligns perfectly with our shared goal of celebrating exceptional talent across all creative and technical disciplines in the industry.”
Ultimately, content is all about audiences, and the TOIFA OTT Awards are committed to inclusivity. To ensure consumers have a voice, the TOIFA OTT edition has introduced People’s Choice Voting Awards in four popular categories, Male Actor – Web Film, Female Actor – Web Film, Male Actor – Web Series and Female Actor – Web Series!
Audiences can vote for their favorites by logging onto the TOIFA website. The TOIFA – OTT edition will inaugurate several avant-garde categories to mirror the transformative shifts in content consumption:
Other Key Award Categories are as follows: Technical, Web Series, Web Films!
The event commenced with the magnificent unveiling of the TOIFA OTT trophy, a resplendent symbol of distinction and excellence in Indian entertainment. This ceremonious moment was followed by an in-depth exposition of the award categories and segments by the advisory council.
The grand TOIFA Awards ceremony is slated in the last week of July 2024, in Mumbai.
