SevenzTV achieves 100 episodes milestone in two years
Long Read
Venkat Raman
Auckland, August 20, 2022
Popular community Channel SevenzTV is launching its new Home Chef Series, having crossed 100 episodes, since its launch in May 2020.
The first of the 16-episode-Home Chefs will be screened on Friday, August 26, 2022, and can be watched on the SevenzTV website www.sevenztv.co.nz and at www.facebook.com/sevenztv
Indian Newslink will promote the Series on its platforms, including the Digital Edition, Web Edition, the Indian Newslink Newsletter, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and WhatsApp Groups, reaching thousands of readers in New Zealand and across the world.
The multicultural, multifaceted Television Channel has created a unique entity for hundreds of people to showcase their talent, recount their professional journey and relate their encounters with prejudices and eventual success. As well as politicians, the weekly series has been featuring everyday people in their everyday life, bringing to the fore homegrown talent.
The Sonu Kumar family, comprising Sonu, his wife Shoba and their daughter Bharati deserve credit for their creativity, choice of people and subjects for interviews and most important of all, perseverance and determination to make the Channel work. They have proved time and again that hard work will be rewarded with success despite hardships.
The Home Chefs Series
The Home Chefs Series is a non-fiction offering in multicultural cooking.
Shoba said that cultural integration through food will be the core theme of all the episodes.
“We are hopeful that ‘Home Chefs will live up to its name, bringing out the best recipes from various home kitchens. Our participants will be from different cultural backgrounds presenting their family favourites. The series will feature recipes from India, Fiji, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Iran and South Africa, to mention a few,” she said.
According to Sonu, a creative director who does magic with his cinematographic skills, Home Chefs will be full of fun, entertainment and value.
“The episodes will enable us to learn other cultural recipes which can be easily cooked at home. The episodes will be shown from August to December 2022. Bharati leads ‘Home Chefs’ as the Creative Head and as the Host, she will give the Series a vibrant, youthful, and personal touch. This is a family entertainer with tasty recipes from different cultures,” she said.
Sonu said that SevenzTV is extremely happy to be associated with Indian Newslink for the entire series of Home Chefs.
“These 16 episodes will also be available to the Indian Newslink audience through various platforms. Reaching a wider audience and integrating cultures through food is the prime idea. For the first time, SevenzTV has also been backed by sponsors who add spice to Home Chefs. We are confident that the Series will be popular among our viewers and readers,” he said.
About SevenzTV
This Reporter vividly remembers the early months of 2020 when Sonu and Shoba met us with the idea of commencing a Television Programme that will capture the interests of the wider audience, reaching across various ethnic communities and cultures.
Having known the creative thirst of Sonu and the persistent thrust of Shoba, we encouraged them to launch the project but it was not easy.
New Zealand was under lockdown, with severe strains of Covid-19; most offices were shut and people were asked to work from home.
And detractors were apprehensive and dissuading.
“This is no time for a new venture on untested waters,” they said.
But self-confidence and faith in God encouraged Sonu and Shoba to launch SevenzTV. Bharati, a teenager then, displayed a unique sense of responsibility that would make any parent proud.
A final year student who will graduate in Screen Production from AUT this November, Bharati has been a veritable source of strength, and her involvement as a host, writer and producer, has taken SevenzTV to great heights.
On May 20, 2020, two days before the official launch, Indian Newslink reported that SevenzTV will bring its viewers information, education, entertainment, amusement and more.
“As an internet-based, free-to-view service, it can be accessed from any device- your television set, laptop, Notebook smartphone and other devices, anytime from anywhere, so long you have the appropriate connections. New programmes will be uploaded every Friday and can be seen throughout the following seven days. Archived material may be available on the Channel’s website. SevenzTV is a creation of a family with a high calibre of talent and the urge to serve our communities. Shoba and Sonu have established themselves as reliable providers of creative and branding solutions to companies, community organisations and others as Directors of ‘ShobSonu Limited.’ Shoba, in particular, has been a strong advocate of providing quality information to children- information that is educative, futuristic and value-based,” we had said.
Business Profiles
This Programme features businesses and entrepreneurs sharing their life stories and promoting their businesses. From finance companies, mortgage and insurance brokers, and those in the hospitality, logistics and warehousing industries to law firms, fitness centres, printers, beauty therapists and healthcare and canine specialists, the Business Profiles feature has highlighted the success of well-established players and those aspiring to start their enterprises.
Ethnic businesses often suffer from a paucity of finance to augment their marketing and sales promotion efforts and hence the SevenzTV platform has given them free and open opportunities for advertising and marketing.
Show Case
Show Case features and promotes local talents and skills and community and charitable organisations. People in pursuit of excellence through performing and non-performing arts such as dancers, musicians, actors, writers and painters have been on the Show Case of SevenzTV.
In addition to talents, the Crown Lynn Clay Work Museum, birds rescue, West Lynn Garden are among the others featured. Religious and social festivals such as Eid-Al Fitr, Onam, Navaratri, Bathukkama and Diwali have been shown with their historic significance.
This segment has been creating exclusive features to promote local events and cultural shows. It has covered feature film launches, music and dance shows and fundraisers.
This is Me
Sonu and Shoba created a special series of six episodes that highlighted the personal life of politicians, their younger, scholastic days, love and marriage, interests and passion. Among the participants in this Series were Labour MPs Michael Wood, Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Dr Deborah Russell and former National Party MPs Simon Bridges, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi and Dr Parmjeet Parmar.
During the second lockdown which saw Auckland come to a standstill for 107 days (from August 17, 2021, to December 3, 2021), Sevenz TV produced and presented a special series talking to businesspersons, parents, students and many others on the impact of the stringent measures administered by the government.
About Sonu Kumar
As Director and Chief Operating Officer of SevenzTV, Sonu has brought to the Channel inimitable creative and audio-visual talent, as a photographer, cinematographer, mixer, editor, producer and director, the proof of each of these can be found on Indian Newslink and SevenzTV websites and social media platforms.
Born and raised in a family of filmmakers, producers and directors, Sonu has held senior management positions in media (especially television) in South East Asia and the Middle East. An award winner, he puts his heart into any project, which becomes his personal venture.
His late father, K S Sethumadhavan, is known as a highly successful producer and director of films in India.
Sonu’s engagement with the film industry began with ‘Marupakkam,’ a 1992 Tamil film (starring Sivakumar and Radha) which won the ‘Best Film of the Year’ National Award.
His career in cinematography commenced under the guidance of Madhu Ambat, one of the finest cinematographers of India. He later worked as Assistant Cameraman alongside Madhu for ‘Chanakya,’ a 2005 film.
Sonu has been a Branding and Communication Specialist at a leading healthcare company in New Zealand. A Co-Founder of Chocolait Productions Private Limited, Sonu has husbanded his creative resources with Shoba to produce several wellness campaigns.
While creativity is his great resource, organisational ability and flexibility make him a source of endearment to people.
About Shoba Sonu
As the Creative Head of SevenzTV, Shoba is a no-nonsense woman in the advertising and sales promotion world, with a sound knowledge of every market in which she operates.
Rich with experience in shaping strategies for branding and various aspects of promotion, she brings her innate creative talent to achieve the business objectives of clients.
Shoba is an expert in developing creative campaigns and innovative content that effectively contribute to image-building and growth.
That she is a transformational speaker, adept in conducting workshops on products and services and personal and professional development is evidenced by the success she has achieved in her professional career spanning about 22 years.
Bharati Sonu
A chip of the old block, Bharati Sonu began to display the talent of a performing artiste even during her formative years. Now, as the Digital and Programme Director at ‘Sevenz TV,’ she has ample opportunities to do what began when she was just two years old – singing, modelling and acting. She looks at the world from unique angles, and her interest in filmmaking, photography and cinematography will become legendary.
Bharati will graduate in Screen Production in November 2022.
An opportunity for you
Sonu and Shoba said that SevenzTV continues to give more free features to support and promote the community.
“We would like to grow SevenzTV as an exclusive online multicultural ethnic community channel and as an ideal branding platform to promote businesses, entrepreneurs and talents. From showcasing and promoting business profiles and people to scintillating and inspiring life stories, we would like to be the channel for all people at all times,” Sonu said.
Shoba added, “All episodes are available on www.sevenztv.co.nz and can be viewed on Facebook by liking the SevenzTV page and following on Instagram. Those keen on being featured in our weekly series can send an email to ss@sevenztv.co.nz
These modules serve as an educative and inspirational platform for the young and aspiring entrepreneurs and provide a perfect branding platform for those sharing their stories.”
Photos by Sonu Kumar and Bharati Sonu
