SIMC kicks off Fest-O-Comm to an exciting exchange
Lavale, Pune, 10th February, 2016: Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC), Pune flagged off its leading annual two-day event Fest-O-Comm 2016 on 10th February, Wednesday, with the theme entitled ‘Boombox’, emphasizing on the evolution of music. The first day witnessed a plethora of academic, cultural and sports events attended by eminent personalities, including veteran actor Manoj Bajpayee, Indian cricketer Devika Vaidya and team members of the Pro-Kabaddi league team Puneri Paltan, amongst others.
The inauguration ceremony commenced with the arrival of Manoj Bajpayee, along with the Principal Director of Symbiosis International University, Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar and SIMC Director Prasanna Hulikavi. The chief guest, Mr Bajpayee, declared the festival open and spoke on a range of issues dealing with the challenges and opportunities in the creative field. He also launched the latest edition of the in-house newspaper of the institute, ‘Ink’, written and published by its very own Journalism students.
Regarding his soon- to-be released venture Aligarh, which deals with the real life story of a professor facing flak for his sexual orientation, he said, “Original stories excite me. I like stories on India, on small towns. It takes a lot of guts to make and work in films like Aligarh, in a society as homophobic as ours… It’s a story of my country, my people and our struggles.”
Yeravdekar added to the discussion by emphasizing on the role of educational institutions, especially SIMC, in providing the media industry with trained professionals who bring in the requisite creativity and motivation.
Rising Indian woman cricketer Devika Vaidya and reputed Ranji player Nikit Dhumal inaugurated ‘Howzzat’, the box cricket sporting event under the festival. Speaking on her international experiences, as also the progress of women’s cricket under the ambit of the BCCI, Vaidya summed up, “Ultimately I play cricket because I love cricket. I don't play just to meet expectations set for me. I don't focus on what people say and what they expect. I enjoy the sport and that's what matters."
The event also hosted a few team members of the Pro-Kabaddi league team Puneri Paltan later during the day for an engaging interaction with the students.
Apart from these, Coca-Cola’s National Engagement Head, Sameer Pathak hosted a stimulating and fun trivia quiz on the world-renowned beverage company. After two interesting rounds, the prize amount of Rs 15,000/- was won by Vineeth Chaurasia and Sampooran Singh from Army Institute of Technology. Adarsh B, from SIMC, bagged the prize in the audience quiz category. Just-A-Minute was another exciting event that witnessed enthusiastic participation and was judged by RJ Nikky (Neeharika Katre) of Radio Mirchi. The winner, Ameya Sawadkar, walked away with Rs 6000/- after some intense competition.
As regards the cultural events, the day witnessed a street play competition, a 24-hour filmmaking competition, and ultimately a dance competition, entitled ‘Footloose’- all having invited the participation of various educational institutions.
On the whole, the first day of Fest-O-Comm witnessed enthusiastic participation from many colleges. Kabir Upmanyu, first-year Journalism student who attended day one of the fest said, “The good thing about Fest-O-Comm is that it has given equal weightage to both cultural and academic events. The quiz was a good learning experience and now I look forward to attending the musical evening tomorrow.”
About Fest-O-Comm:
Fest-O-Comm (FOC) is an annual student communication festival hosted by Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC), PG. With a spectacular mix of events, ranging from media and business-related tasks to creative cultural performances, the festival invites participation of over 100 colleges nationwide, and has witnessed a footfall of over 4000 students in the past from popular B-schools and media colleges. In the previous editions, Fest-O-Comm has been graced by the presence of media and entertainment industry stalwarts such as Madhur Bhandarkar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sudhir Mishra, Anurag Kashyap and Karan Oberoi, who have added sparkle to the event.
Website- http://festocomm.in
Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/FestOComm
Twitter- https://twitter.com/festocomm
About Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC):
SIMC, currently in its silver jubilee year, is one of the premier pure-play media schools in the country that offers a wide range of courses such as MA (MC) and MBA (CM). Through a plethora of projects, industry interactions and erudite faculty, SIMC provides its students the necessary skill sets to develop holistically.
For more information, visit:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SIMConnect
Twitter - https://twitter.com/SIMC_Pune
Contact: Anuradha Goulay– Content for Media, Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication
Phone: +91 7776881928.
Email: media@simc.edu
Website: www.simc.edu
