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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved...

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved up and revived in the past few years, AI official sources said.   It marked a symbolic milestone for Air India itself - founded in 1932 by the legendary Bharat Ratna J. R. R. Tata - which once ruled the roost and was India’s pride in the global skies.   Once renowned for its royal service with the iconic Maharaja welcoming fliers on board, in 1953 it was taken over by the government of India. After years of piling losses, ageing aircraft, decline in operations and standards – almost like a Maharaja turning a pauper - it returned to the Tata Group four years ago.   This time it was not just the aircraft, the brand and the deflated Maharaja coming into the large-hearted Tata Group stables, but a formidable challenge to ensure that the airline could regain its old glory and glitter. Of the total around 190 aircraft in its fleet were 30 – or 15 pc – that had been grounded and neglected for years.   At that time, the late Ratan N. Tata had directed that all these valuable aircraft must be revived as far as possible and join the fleet. Accordingly, the VT-ALL, languishing at Nagpur for nearly five years, was ‘hospitalized’ at the Air India Engineering Service Ltd., its MRO facility in May 2025.   New Avatar Then started a thorough, painstaking nose-to-tail restoration of an unprecedented scale, in which over 3000 critical components were replaced, over 4,000 maintenance tasks executed, besides key structural upgrades like the longeron modification, engines, auxiliary power units, avionics, hydraulics, landing gears and almost every vital system was rebuilt or replaced.   After the repairs, the old aircraft was reborn, under the gaze of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and technical assistance from Boeing, and the new ‘avatar’ jetliner emerged with the highest global safety standards.   The aircraft cleared all the rigorous checks, a successful test flight, earned the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate and then made its maiden commercial flight from Monday, March 16 – after a wait of six years.   Sturdy Fliers Created in 1946 to become an instant global icon, the Air India’s mascot Maharaja now sports a youthful and chic look, a welcome with folded hands, closed eyes, featuring a bejewelled turban, stylish jootis, and a textured kurta in Air India’s new colours. He is prominently visible at various touch-points in a flyer’s journey, such as First Class, exclusive lounges, and luxury products.   Today, he commands a mix fleet of around 190 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft like : A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350-900 and B787-8, B787-9, B7770200LR, B-777-300ER. With the merger of Vistara and agreements signed for 10 A350 and 90 A320 aircraft, the Maharaja’s fleet is slated to soar to some 570 in the near future.

OTTs reject Marathi film; hit on YouTube

The Perfect Exclusive

The producer says OTT platforms were not keen on Marathi content. The YouTube audience respond with love and donations as well

Amaltaash

Mumbai: When renowned singer Rahul Deshpande set off on an experimental journey to perform the lead role in a film called ‘Amaltaash’ little did he know that the film will fail to find a place in the world of OTT for four years despite of its rich content. Almost all OTT platforms rejected the film citing a reason of “no audience”. Finally, the producers of the film released the film on YouTube at free of cost in December 2024.


This episode taught Deshpande and his colleagues a lesson on film distribution. However, the silver lining was to the dark and cruel world of the OTT was the response from the audience. The film’s team did not only get a splendid feedback from the audience but also donations for their next project.

The team of ‘Amaltaash’ had been running from pillar to post to have the film showcased at an OTT platform or a satellite channel since 2018. All efforts turned into disappointment.


Over a week ago, Deshpande shared a post on his Instagram profile. In his post, he said that the team of Amaltaash approached all the OTT platforms and satellite channels and none agreed to showcase the film. He further said that finally in last week of December they released the film on YouTube.


Amaltaash, an extraordinarily written film showcases the story of how Rahul, a former pianist running an instruments store in Pune, gets soulfully connected with Keerti, an NRI who gets fascinated by his exceptional talent. The entire movie is a peaceful and serene display of human relationships, and takes note of even the smallest aspects of life. This film is a musical treat for the audience.


The movie was supposed to be released in March 2020. However, it couldn’t make it to any of the OTT platforms, which rejected the film saying “There is no audience for Marathi content on OTT platforms.”


Speaking exclusively to ‘The Perfect Voice’, director of the film Suhas Desale said, “The theatrical release of the film was successfully done on March 8, 2024 in Pune. The film went strong for 50 days. Rahul was our face. We promoted the film well and we really did well in the theatres in Pune.”


Speaking exclusively to ‘The Perfect Voice’, Deshpande said, “All those who we approached in a bid to have the film showcased in the world of OTT or satellite channels are my own friends. Nothing could work out on OTT and satellite channels. We decided to finally release it on YouTube. Without a single advertisement, the film is doing exceptionally well. We are getting donations and offers of sponsorships from viewers who are requesting us continue our good work.”


Deshpande pointed out that the team had got varied responses from various platforms. According to him Amazon Prime had said, “Thanks for reaching out, but the film does not align with our current selection of requirements, hence we are unable to pursue the same.” Netflix responded saying, “We are not interested in regional content, especially in Marathi content” and Sony Liv said, “This year we will not be taking Marathi films.”

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