Over 1,500 Movies from Across India now at YouTube.com/movies

India is not just the world’s largest producer of motion pictures, but most likely has the world’s largest population of cinephiles. That means it’s tough to satisfy the insatiable Indian demand for films — but we have accepted the challenge.

Over the last year, we’ve worked to bring together over 1,500 Indian films on YouTube, available free of charge. And with so many titles, we thought it was time to give the youtube.com/movies page a brand new look. (For those outside of India who want to access our Indian films, go to http://www.youtube.com/movies/indian-cinema or alternatively, http://www.youtube.com/movies/bollywood.)

This renovated Movies page not only brings together the site’s Bollywood and Indic films into one convenient place but breaks down films by genre, spotlights new and interesting films, and gives you a Top 10 list of recent favorites. If you’re looking for a comedy this weekend, just scroll down to the Comedy section and check out Golmaal or Andaz Apna Apna.

Beyond Bollywood, the page also offers top Telugu hits like Pokiri and Kick, as well as Tamil films Kanchivaram and Baashha. You can watch movies in the language of your choice by selecting their preferred language in the top-right hand of the page.

Going forward we want YouTube to be the most convenient place for your film needs — whether that be watching old classics like Gumrah, Anand and Abhimaan, checking out trailers for upcoming releases like Don 2, Rockstar, and Desi Boyz, or viewing behind-the-scene footage for the films you love such as Swades, Band Baaja Baaraat, or the Making of a blockbuster song.


Posted by Manan Singhi, Strategic Partner Manager, YouTube

Are you the next big chef or trainer on YouTube?

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog )


Since launching the first YouTube NextUp, we’ve been working to supercharge the careers of partners from around the world, and now we’re expanding the program even further. Today we’re kicking off two new YouTube Next Creator Programs to highlight the stars of tomorrow on YouTube today: YouTube Next Chef and YouTube Next Trainer.

Each program will have sixteen participants who take part in a three month virtual class held on Google+ Hangouts. Our chefs and trainers will each receive an equipment kit worth more than $5,000, mentoring from industry leaders, filming and editing lessons and more than $10,000 worth of promotion on YouTube. Here’s more info on each and an introduction from our hosts.

YouTube Next Chef
Crafty in the kitchen? Love sharing your family’s recipes with the world? With YouTube Next Chef, you could be selected to learn filmmaking tailored to cooking videos. Shea Hess of Hungry in Brooklyn will be your host.



YouTube Next Trainer
Personal health comes in many forms, and we’re interested in your unique approach. From yoga to 100-yard sprints, this program will help you develop filmmaking talents specifically for fitness videos. Sarah Dussalt ofSarahsFabChannel will be your host.



How to apply
Starting today through October 25, partners from Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States can apply at youtube.com/NextChef and youtube.com/NextTrainer, which also includes all rules and details.

We’ll be back on November 9 to introduce you to the selected chefs and trainers, as we keep working on ways to help YouTube Partners turn their passion into their career.

Austin Lau, YouTube Creator Programs, recently watched, “How To Peel a Head of Garlic in Less Than 10 Seconds.”

Launching the MyYouTube Contest: Subscribe, Vote for your favorite celebrities and win prizes

We’re launching a new contest on YouTube which gives you a chance to show your favorite artists just how much you really love them. The MyYouTube contest has just launched and all your favourite Indian celebrities need your help to win.

Over the next two months, your favourite celebrities from bollywood, singers, models and popular TV stars will compete to score the most points on the MyYouTube Channel. But they only score points when YOU subscribe to their channels and share with your friends.

So what’s in it for you?
By subscribing to your favorite artists’ channels, you’ll get their latest videos delivered straight to your YouTube homepage. It’s a quick and easy way for you to stay up-to-date on their music videos and behind-the-scenes news.

On the MyYouTube Channel, you can flip through all the participating artist profiles, watch their exclusive videos, and even find out what YouTube channels they, themselves, like to watch.

And did we mention all the prizes?

Every artist is giving out several prizes to users who score points for them in the contest. That’s a lot of prizes, ranging from autographed t-shirts and CD’s to fully-loaded ipod shuffles and concert tickets. The winners will be announced in the week of May 2, 2011.

How to score points:
You can earn an artist up to 7 points by doing the following from the MyYouTube Channel:

1. Subscribe to the artist’s YouTube channel. (1 point)
2. Subscribe to any of the artist’s four recommended channels. (1 point for each recommended channel)
3. Share to your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts. (1 point each)

You can view the points you have scored for an artist, as well as that artist’s total points to date, next to the artist’s thumbnail on the left side of the page.

These artists can’t win without your help, so head on over to youtube.com/myyoutube and start subscribing now!


Posted by Manan Singhi, Strategic Partnerships and Kushagra Shrivastava, Product Marketing Manager , Google India

Watch special coverage of the Indian Union Budget 2011 live on YouTube

We’re delighted to share that CNBC-TV18 India’s leading business and finance channel have partnered with us to bring you live coverage of the Union Budget 2011 on YouTube. Starting on 28th Feb from 10 am IST, users will be able to watch the live stream of CNBC-TV18 budget reporting on CNBC-TV18's channel on YouTube. The URL is http://www.youtube.com/cnbctv18.

In addition to this, the special budget related programming on the TV channel will also be available on the same day of airing on its YouTube channel, all through the month of February and March.

The Union Budget is an important economic event for Indians and impacts the life of every citizen. This is in continuation our effort to provide Indian users a wide range of content and quality programming around important events such as the Union Budget. It also marks another step in our commitment to help provide even further access to the moments which determine the governance of India’s democracy.


Posted by Manan Singhi, Strategic Partnerships and Kushagra Shrivastava, Product Marketing Manager , Google India

YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011: The Shortlist Is In, Let The Voting Begin

Musicians from Finland to New Zealand, from Austria to Vietnam, have done their bit - submitting their audition videos for the chance to be part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 at Sydney Opera House. Now, with 336 finalists from 46 countries including India, it’s your turn to play your part: voting is open for who you think should make up the orchestra.

Your votes at youtube.com/symphony over the next seven days will help decide which of these talented musicians will be packing up their trombones, violas, and timpani and heading to Sydney Opera House from March 14-20, 2011, to perform together for a global audience.

You can vote once per video, per day, until 23:59 EST on December 17 to help YouTube Symphony Orchestra Artistic Advisor Michael Tilson Thomas boil the 300 shortlisted hopefuls down to the final 96. Your votes are also needed to help choose four solo improvisers.

“Mothership” composer, Mason Bates, will be using your input to choose from 36 soloists, including show-stopping performances on instruments like the guzheng, the musical saw and… the udderbot.

Congratulations to those in the running, and to all of those who submitted an audition -- thank you for your hard work. We've been blown away by your talent and determination.

Check out the channel now and vote for your favourites.

Posted by Jamie Dolling, Marketing Manager