State Farm® is Sending Two Talented Singers to Bollywood

State Farm® is Sending Two Talented Singers to Bollywood

One New Jersey Resident and One California Resident Are Winners of the BollyStar Competition And Get their Break in Bollywood

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Saavn and interTrend are proud to announce the winners of the State Farm BollyStar completion: Vasantha Shashi of Old Bridge, NJ and Vivek Agrawal of San Francisco, CA. The two will realize their Bollywood dreams by singing in an upcoming film under the music direction of legendary Pritam. The competition was hosted by Saavn, the world’s largest marketer and distributor of Bollywood entertainment and created in partnership with interTrend, the State Farm Asian-American advertising agency of record on the campaign. The winning videos can be found on the homepage of the contest website at Bollystar2009.com.

The finalists were selected online at Bollystar2009.com by Hindi music fans around the nation and Pritam chose the winners. He is the award-winning musician behind the soundtracks of Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters, including Singh is Kinng, which featured Snoop Dogg, Dhoom, Race, and most recently, Life Partner.

“We congratulate Vivek and Vasantha on winning the State Farm BollyStar competition,” said Mark Gibson, State Farm assistant vice president—advertising. “We are very happy to see that this program was fully embraced by the South Asian community and State Farm will continue to be a part of programs that engage people in a natural and relevant way.”

Response to the contest was overwhelming. Nearly 7,000 people registered to vote for their favorites from more than 300 contestants. Over the course of the competition the videos were viewed more than 400,000 times. This multi-platform campaign was the first of its kind, spanning U.S.-based South Asian media channels, including live events, digital media, television, and in-theater advertising. State Farm is committed to the South Asian community and will continue to be on the forefront by being involved in activities such as this one.

“As one of the leaders in Asian American advertising, interTrend embraces the evolution of cross-platform media and the role it plays amongst consumers,” said Michael Vitug, media director of interTrend Communications. “This was truly a multi-touchpoint contest connecting South Asian consumers through interactive, onsite events, social media, print, and TV.”

Paramdeep Singh, managing director of Saavn added, “We’re all thrilled to give these talented singers a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with Pritam. Music is synonymous with Bollywood filmmaking and Pritam is one of the most respected music directors in the industry.”

Shashi and Agrawal are both accomplished singers. Shashi has been singing since she was three years old in her hometown of Mysore, India. Now residing in New Jersey, Shashi is committed to preserving Indian music across borders through her organization Wavez-Music Academy. In her spare time from her engineering career and obtaining her PhD in Computer Science, Vasantha has managed to perform on radio stations and television stations in the U.S. and India and given several concerts at the landmark Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bangalore, India. Vasantha has been trained by famous musicians in India and has completed her senior level music exam with the highest honors.

“I was so thrilled and felt very happy when I found out that I won BollyStar. I have always wanted to sing in Bollywood films ever since I was a child,” said Shashi. “I am thankful to Saavn, State Farm, and Pritam for this opportunity and making my dream come true!”

"BollyStar showcased a lot of incredible talent, I'm just grateful that the community supported my entry. I wouldn't have won this competition without them,” said Agrawal.

Agrawal was born and raised in Chicago, IL and currently resides in San Francisco, CA. His music aspirations started as a child when he learned piano but his real training for singing came in college when he joined an a cappella group at Stanford University. He continued in his studies, eventually earning an MS in Engineering, and is now using his passion for music at a tech startup in San Francisco that is building tools to help musicians better promote their work online. He is also pursuing a singing career and is composing an album that will be a blend of Western and Hindi songs. His latest work can be found at http://www.vivekmusic.com.

Bollywood is the main film industry of India, which produces hundred of films annually. Bollywood movies are typically musicals that feature six to eight Indian songs and major dance sequences. The category has become the highest-grossing foreign film sector in the U.S.

About State Farm®:

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,700 agents and 68,600 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 78.7 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

About Saavn:

Saavn brings the best of Bollywood and Indian entertainment to the world. As the largest digital distributor in Bollywood, Saavn owns the digital rights to thousands of movies, music tracks, music videos, and ringtones. New music releases by Saavn include Blue, London Dreams, Dil Bole Hadippa, Wake Up! Sid, and Love Aaj Kal. Saavn programs, packages and distributes its exclusive catalog to more than 75 global media companies including Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, NetFlix, Verizon Wireless and iTunes. Saavn is a joint venture of [212]MEDIA and Hungama Mobile, and the company has offices in Mumbai, London, New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto. To find out more, visit: http://www.saavn.com.

About interTrend:

interTrend Communications, Inc. has been building relationships, building brands for nearly two decades. As the leading, 100% minority owned, full-service marketing agency targeting a wide range of Asian American segments, interTrend offers marketing solutions that not only touch millions of Asian consumers across the nation but have also greatly influenced the general market. Through traditional practices as well as the excitement of new media, interTrend helps F100 companies establish strong brand leadership positions. interTrend has established long-term partnerships with Toyota Motor Sales, JCPenney, AT&T, Western Union, The Walt Disney Company, State Farm Insurance, Southern California Gas Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric. Providing impactful solutions that are tailored for each specific client and each unique market segment, interTrend is structured to take on any challenge at any time.

Saavn

Diana Nasello, 646-660-9407

[email protected]

Source: Saavn

Copyright Business Wire 2009 Saavn and interTrend are proud to announce the winners of the State Farm BollyStar completion: Vasantha Shashi of Old Bridge, NJ and Vivek Agrawal of San Francisco, CA. The two will realize their Bollywood dreams by singing in an upcoming film under the music direction of legendary Pritam.