Speakers also include Dr. Mehmood Khan of PepsiCo.
By Sujeet Rajan
NEW YORK: The versatile actress Priyanka Chopra, who is fast becoming famous as a singer too – being the first Bollywood actor to win a major record deal in the United States – will be the keynote speaker at the 4th annual South Asians in Media, Marketing and Entertainment (SAMMA) Summit, to be held on September 27-28th at the Time Warner Global Headquarters and Conference Center in Manhattan.
Chopra is no stranger to the city, having been a Grand Marshal at the India Day parade here in 2007, apart from her many shooting stints. She has gained traction in the mainstream music business, with her two hit singles, In My City, featuring will.i.am, which debuted here last year in a TV spot for the NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football, and was a big hit in India. Her second single, Exotic featuring the rapper Pitbull, the video of which was shot in Florida, has become a hit on dance charts in the US and Canada.
Chopra signed a deal with the Los Angeles-based Creative Artists Agency for an album which is due this year. SAMMA wooed her with the Trailblazer Award last year for signing the album deal; the reward is a minor coup, to get her to headline the annual summit.
Apart from Chopra, the meet will also feature star speakers Dr. Mehmood Khan, EVP and Chief Innovations and Science Officer at PepsiCo., who is widely-regarded as one of top innovators and thinkers in worldwide marketing and was recently appointed to this new role by CEO Indra Nooyi; and Keli Lee, EVP and Head of Casting at ABC Entertainment, responsible for casting all ABC morning, daytime and primetime programming, plus its slate of more than 25 pilots each year, widely regarded as one of the most influential women in entertainment, said a press release from SAMMA.
This year’s SAMMA meet, which is being presented by Time Warner, will also see the first-ever ABC Actor Audition workshop, exclusively for South Asians, hosted by ABC Casting.
The meet will also see participation from talent agencies such as CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners and top media, communications and innovation agencies such as Starcom Mediavest, Zenith Media and Vivaki; and digital innovators from companies such as Machinima – the number one entertainment channel on YouTube.
“By harnessing the collective creativity of South Asian innovators, we can reach even higher levels of achievement and bring a powerful and unique voice to an increasingly globalized marketplace,” said Rajan Shah, board member and a co-founder of SAMMA, in a statement.
To contact the author, email to sujeetrajan@americanbazaaronline.com