BookMyShow’s charity initiative BookASmile recognises COVID Heroes at its annual charity showcase YESS

With 2020 behind us and a world of possibilities awaiting this year, BookMyShow, India’s leading entertainment destination, welcomed 2021 on a positive note with its charity initiative BookASmile’s annual event – Year End Success Stories (YESS). In the second edition of YESS, BookASmile recognised and celebrated the extraordinary work done by beneficiaries across the country, during the pandemic.

Hosted by leadership coach and inspirational speaker Jeroninio Almeida, YESS 2020 was an evening dedicated to the Magnificent 7 – selected beneficiaries who put their personal challenges aside and worked tirelessly beyond their call of duty to pay it forward to society. From artists supporting other artists, to the lead clown from a popular Mumbai based circus ensuring that his community is taken care of, the event featured several such stories from different pockets of India. These soulful stories were narrated by the Heroes speaking about their humanitarian journey and efforts during the pandemic. Each hero was then honoured by well-known artists including theatre personality Anahita Uberoi, country music artiste Bobby Cash, ex-Naval officer and clown-magician Pravin Tulpule, Palate Culinary Studio & Academy founder Rakhee Vaswani, five-time national squash champion Ritwik Bhattacharya, award-winning singer and composer Sonam Kalra, Hindustani classical violinist & vocalist Sunita Bhuyan and poet & leading voice over artist Nasir Khan. The event was concluded by an interactive Q&A session. 

Commenting on the event, Farzana Cama Balpande, Head – BookASmile said, “When we launched YESS in 2019, our aim was to create a platform that recognises path-breaking, inspiring stories of people who have defeated hardships to achieve their dreams. This year, with the pandemic disrupting every walk of life, we saw the emergence of many real-life heroes who stepped up to make a significant difference in and around their community. YESS 2020 is celebration of the goodness in people, with the hope that many others will get inspired and make this world a better place to live in.”

Magnificent 7 (YESS Heroes)

1. Biju Puskaran - Lead clown & senior artist at Rambo Circus, Mumbai
2. Nisha Vishvakarma - Community leader for skill building workshops at NGO Vathsalya Charitable Trust, Bangalore
3. Prince Mulla - Singer, song writer & music composer, founder of the ‘Artists for Artists’ initiative
4. Rizwan Bendigeri - Athletics coach at NGO Bridges of Sports in Mundgod, Karnataka
5. Dr. Shung Ming Chiu - Doctor and volunteer at the Commonwealth COVID Care centre, supported by the NGO Doctors for You, Delhi
6. Sulendar Kumar Mahato - Youth leader & driver, e-Arth Kala Manch program at the NGO  Project Potential, Bihar
7. Chanda Sahu – Youth football coach at NGO YUWA in Ranchi

You can watch the event here – https://fb.watch/3ixbLtmhyz/

About BookASmile

India's leading entertainment destination BookMyShow launched its charity initiative BookASmile in 2014 with a vision to support special causes and enrich the lives of the less fortunate across India through entertainment-led experiences. BookASmile invests a lot of energies to create an inviting community to ensure that they can be privy to opportunities, by incorporating into their lives, activities and experiences from across genres like Cinema, Sport, Theatre, Music & Arts. The BookASmile initiative has been operational since 2014 and has been integrated within the BookMyShow App and website. With BookMyShow’s vast customer base, the initiative has been raising funds for special causes whereby every consumer can choose to contribute from Re.1/- per ticket - to a maximum of Rs. 5/- per transaction towards charity. For more information, please visit www.bookmyshow.com/donation/ 

About BookMyShow

Launched in 2007, BookMyShow, owned and operated by Big Tree Entertainment Pvt Ltd, is India's leading entertainment destination and the one-stop shop for every out-of-home entertainment need. The firm is present in over 650 towns and Launched in 2007, BookMyShow, owned and operated by Big Tree Entertainment Pvt Ltd (founded in 1999), is India's leading entertainment destination and the one-stop shop for every out-of-home entertainment need. The firm is present in over 650 towns and cities in India and works with partners across the industry to provide unmatched entertainment experiences to millions of customers. Over the years, the company has evolved from a purely online ticketing platform for movies across 6,000 screens, to end-to-end management of live entertainment events including music concerts, live performances, theatricals, sports and more, all accomplished at par with global standards. Some of the key properties that BookMyShow has brought to its markets over the past few years include U2’s The Joshua Tree Tour, NBA’s debut games in India, Disney’s Aladdin, Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR as also international artists such as Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber to name a few.  

BookMyShow has also built India’s largest organic reviews and ratings engine for movies and has driven technology innovations, such as the m-ticket and Movie Mode, impacting tens of millions of users and the industry at large. With continued support from investors including TPG Growth, Stripes Group, Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners), Accel and Network18, BookMyShow is invested in providing the best user experience, whether on-ground or online. Demonstrating category leadership, BookMyShow has grown beyond India with operations in Dubai, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Singapore amongst others. The Mumbai-headquartered company counts Ticket Green, Eventifier, Masti Tickets, Townscript and Burrp amongst its key investments in the sector. BookMyShow is also committed to society at large, by way of its charity initiative BookASmile, which provides entertainment experiences to the underprivileged. For more information, please visit www.bookmyshow.com