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The big stars, rocking performances and bigger brands are all still there. The prize money at these events is as big and the competition as fierce as before.
Unmaad 2008, the IIM-B fest sponsored by 17 big companies, had cash prizes ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000. National Law School of India University

, Bangalore, gave Rs 35,000 to the winning rock band at the TOI Strawberry Fields, which saw performances by Shruti Haasan and rock band Pentagram. Srinivas Gowrishankar, from the event management committee of NLSIU, says things were a bit difficult at the beginning but they managed to pull it off. “When we started talking to sponsors in June and July, we got a positive response. But at the end of September and October, companies started pulling out because of the economic climate,” Srinivas says. Banks, however, came to the aid of the college. “There was a bank that had changed its logo and used the fest for branding and promotion, spending a lot on the exercise. Others also invested substantial amounts,” he adds.

Harish G, head of publicity and media relations for the students’ cultural committee, IIM-B, says the institute plans to cut down on the number of events to manage the financial constraints. “Last year, there were two big stars performing on two days. At Unmaad 2009, we’ll have one big event with big stars like KK to pull in crowds. We’ll also have some amateur rock bands as we want to promote talent,” says Harish.

The cash prize will remain the same in 2009. “A lot of effort goes into choreography and fashion shows, and if we cut down on prizes the whole purpose is defeated,” he says, adding, “We also need radio partners to give rock bands a slot.”

Arup Haldar, culture secretary of IIM-B, maintains that the college has managed to raise the necessary funds for Unmaad 2009. “Last year, our cultural fest was the biggest compared to previous years. So, while next year’s fest may seem average in scope, we’ll manage within the budget,” says Arup. He adds that it’s too early to predict the number of sponsors for the January event.

Fest O’Comm, the three-day festival of Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune, will have more than 30 colleges from across the country participating. Bharath Shastri, media trainee of Symbiosis Institute, says the sponsorship this year has been better than last year. “It will be bigger than this year. We’ll have a lot of music and dance events, besides seminars. Last year, we had Palaash Sen and next year also we’re looking at someone as big to up the glamour quotient,” he says.

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Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Potpourri/The_campus_really_rocks/articleshow/3784163.cms