NEW DELHI: Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Tuesday said it is entering compact SUV segment in the country with the launch of ‘Urban Cruiser’ model during the upcoming festive season.
The sub-four metre model, based on Maruti Suzuki India’s Vitara Brezza, will compete in a segment which has been witnessing robust sales growth despite a challenging business environment.
Besides Vitara Brezza, the model would compete with the likes of Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon and upcoming products from Kia Motors and Nissan.
The Urban Cruiser would endear itself to the discerning customers who are seeking more from a compact SUV, TKM said in a statement.
The company will launch the compact SUV in its India line-up during the festive season to cater to the growing demand for compact SUVs in India, it added.
“With a customer-first approach, TKM has always endeavoured to fulfil the aspirations of its customers with timely introduction of new products and the Toyota Urban Cruiser is another such effort to satisfy the evolving customer needs,” TKM Senior Vice President (Sales and Services) Naveen Soni said.
The company hopes that the Urban Cruiser gives it an opportunity to welcome a new set of customers who not only aspire to own a Toyota SUV early in life, but would also like to experience Toyota’s global standards of sales and after-sales services, he added.
In March 2018, Toyota Motor Corp and Suzuki Motor Corp had concluded a basic agreement for supplying hybrid and other vehicles to each other in the Indian market.
As part of the arrangement, TKM already sources Baleno from Maruti Suzuki India and sells it as Glanza after making certain changes in design and features. (AGENCIES)
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INTERVIEW-ANAND TIWARI
Never wanted to act, took it as a route to direction: Anand Tiwari
MUMBAI, Aug 4:
Anand Tiwari may have made a name and space for himself as an actor but it was always the director’s chair that he had set his eyes on.
The multi-hyphenate artiste has starred in some of the most critically-acclaimed and commercially successful films of recent times, such as Vikramaditya Motwane’s “Udaan” (2010), Raj and DK’s 2012 zombie comedy “Go Goa Gone” and “Chhapaak”.
But it was always the world behind the camera that fascinated him the most.
“I never wanted to act, I always wanted to tell stories. Acting just kind of happened because growing up, I did plays. But soon I started directing in college. I always wanted to prep to be a director.
“It’s just that the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) didn’t take me as a direction student because I failed the exam which I thought I would ace. Then I took acting as a route to direction. I did theatre, which gave me films,” Tiwari told PTI in an interview.
The actor-director, who grew up in Mumbai’s Matunga area, said his life changed when as a ten-year-old he saw Guru Dutt’s 1950s classics “Kagaz Ke Phool” and “Pyaasa”.
Years later, he took his first steps towards direction in 2009 when he served as an assistant director on satirical comedy “The President Is Coming”, starring Kunaal Roy Kapur. He also assisted filmmaker Anurag Basu on his Ranbir Kapoor-starrer “Barfi!”.
Later, when he featured in films as an actor, including in Dibakar Banerjee’s “Byomkesh Bakshi”, Tiwari said he used the opportunity to observe his directors.
“I closely followed Vikramaditya beyond my acting part in ‘Udaan’. I would shadow Dibakar during ‘Byomkesh’ to understand how he is going about creating scenes, and observe Raj and DK how they’re dealing with actors and comic timing,” Anand said.
In 2015, he finally made his directorial debut with Y-Films’ web series “Bang Baaja Baarat”. Three years later, his first directorial feature “Love Per Square Foot” hit Netflix, starring Vicky Kaushal and Angira Dhar.
Tiwari has now directed Amazon Prime Video’s new original series “Bandish Bandits”, created by Amritpal Singh Bindra. It started streaming from Tuesday.
He said it was during “Barfi!’ that he met Bindra, who also served as an assistant director to Basu. They both realised they didn’t just want to be write and direct but do it together.
The idea behind “Bandish Bandits” was to chronicle the stories of young people from “the point of view of their aspirations”, Tiwari said.
Starring Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Chaudhry in the lead, the show follows the love story of two young performers from very different musical backgrounds.
During their brainstorming sessions, Tiwari said, they decided to place the story of inner and outer conflicts in a musical setting.
“A lot of the big city stories we were watching were restricted to internal dilemmas but we were looking for a great story with a big canvas and an external dilemma.
“Setting up the two characters in two different mindsets of India. One which is still traditional and the other which has wings. The best way to do that was to set it in the world, family of music.”
The show also features Naseeruddin Shah, playing the role of Pandit Radhemohan Rathod, a celebrated classical musician who inspires his grandson Radhe to follow his legacy.
In the world of streaming, Tiwari said it is a challenge for a filmmaker to keep the audience hooked.
“When I’m directing I’m trying to make sure that it stays interesting. But as soon as you become a creator, you could be the smallest cog in the wheel, your perspective is gone. You can’t keep second guessing yourself. All you have to do is be honest and keep it interesting for yourself.
“Filmmaking is an impersonal process, unlike theatre which is a very tangible, direct, personal experience with your audience. But that’s also the challenge and a high,” he added.
“Bandish Bandits” also stars Atul Kulkarni, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Sheeba Chaddha and Rajesh Tailang. It features an original soundtrack, composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, who make their digital debut with the series. (AGENCIES)
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