And the award goes to...

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will soon hold an award function for excellence in the entertainment business.

At a function in Mumbai, noted filmmaker Yash Chopra said, "The awards will be held on April 4, 2004, in Mumbai and will be judged by an eminent jury chaired by P N Bhagwati." 

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Chopra, chairman, FICCI Entertainment Committee, continued, "This award is specially designed by Kunal Dasgupta, co-chairman of the committee, and will be presented to all those people who pursue excellence in the field of entertainment."

Unlike other awards, FICCI will not feature nominations. Instead the winners will be directly announced.

The awards have been divided into ten categories, which include: Most Improved Television Channel, Best Music, Best Radio Station, Global Indian Personality Of The Year, Creative Excellence Award, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Actress.

The trophy will be a cylindrical base resembling a film can, the two curvatures representing the satellite industry and a tiny microphone symbolises the audio industry.
"It comprehensively signifies the entire gamut of the entertainment industry," said Dasgupta.

FICCI has been organising FRAMES, the annual global convention on the business of entertainment, for the last four years. FRAMES was an initiative started by FICCI in 2000 to enable the Indian entertainment industry to realise its untapped potential.

FICCI believes the film industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 20 per cent from the current size of Rs 166 billion in 2002 to Rs 419 billion by 2007. 

"To grow more, we need to find different revenue options after releasing a film. Authorised DVDs and releasing films on television after the box-office release are some ways through which revenue can be generated in future," said Chopra.

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