ITV

Category: Fiction

  • Applause Entertainment announces new comedy drama ‘Mannphodganj’

    Applause Entertainment announces new comedy drama ‘Mannphodganj’

    MUMBAI: Applause Entertainment has announced a new comedy drama titled Mannphodganj. The series is an adaptation of the book, Band Baaja Boys by Rachna Singh and is directed by Vikas Chandra, who has been a part of films like Ghajini and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy.

    The story revolves around a 22-year old girl Binny Bajpai who challenges the customs and traditions in Mannphodganj, a small town near Allahabad (now called Prayagraj).

    Amitosh Nagpal’s screenplay paints a picture of real life families in small town India, who stand hesitantly, but promisingly, at the cusp of modernity.

     Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair said, “Light hearted, comedic family dramas allow us to push the boundaries of storytelling, to get closer to the real issues that face modern India in its small traditional towns. Mannphodhanj brings together the perfect combination of a well-written script, a fantastic team of show runners Tony, Deeya Singh and director Vikas Chandra, and a wonderfully talented cast of actors.”

    Director Vikas Chandra said, “Mannphodganj is a very light hearted comedy show. I always wanted to direct a show which the audience can relate to and I am grateful to Sameer Nair, Applause Entertainment and DJ’s for trusting my vision. I am thrilled to work with such outstanding/gifted cast and can’t wait to have audiences consume it.”

  • Big Synergy appoints Simmi Karna to produce fiction series for OTT, TV

    Big Synergy appoints Simmi Karna to produce fiction series for OTT, TV

    MUMBAI: Anil D Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment's Big Synergy, a content creation and production company, is powering its fiction content team and has appointed Simmi Karna to produce fiction series for OTT and broadcasters.    

    Karna brings to Big Synergy her vast experience of having developed and produced hundreds of hours of fiction content in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu languages and will empower the company’s ambition in both national and regional markets. She has over two decades of experience in creating long form (TV, OTT/web series) and short form content (films, documentaries).  In the past, she has worked in various capacities as a writer, producer, director, head of programming, business head, chief revenue officer and content head and has been associated with Sakal Media, Reliance Broadcasting, Balaji Telefilms, IMG and more.

    Reliance Entertainment Big Synergy CEO Rajiv Bakshi said, “Big Synergy is committed to producing the finest content across both fiction and non-fiction and across all platforms and markets. Today, we are in an ideal position to create fiction content across all genres including thriller, comedy, romcom, crime, family, mystery, women empowerment and more. The team is passionately progressing in developing multiple high-impact series, with some releases planned across platforms in 2019. With her vast experience, Simmi will further augment our strategy and boost the ambition to offer the widest variety of content and creative partnerships to our esteemed clients on both OTT & broadcast platforms."

    Big Synergy has amplified its fiction content offering over the past few years and currently produces impactful content in both genres across broadcast and OTT platforms. Some of the popular fiction web-series include Bose: Dead/Alive on ALTBalaji’s, Yo Ke Hua Bro on Voot and the new season of Savdhaan India, Savdhaan India Naya Adhyay on Star Bharat and many more.

    She said, “I am excited to join Big Synergy at this amazing time when the industry is treating content as central for growth. Having produced fiction content in over 5 languages over the last many years, I am confident of creating path-breaking, soul-touching, contemporary and entertaining content for viewers across platforms and markets.”

  • Peninsula Pictures eyes new genres for digital foray

    Peninsula Pictures eyes new genres for digital foray

    MUMBAI: Peninsula Pictures, the production house known for its shows like Vishkanya, Dev Anand, Shree Krishna, Mayavi Maling and Aladdin has decided to foray into the digital world, with the intent of providing quality content. One of the key reasons for entering digital is also to retain show IPs.

    Apart from its expertise in genres like mythology and fantasy, the production house has plans to experiment with a romantic thriller, crime, comedy and paranormal genres among others for its new web series. As far as television is concerned, it has plans to produce shows in genres like contemporary love story, thriller, etc.

    The production house, led by Nissar Parvej and Alind Srivastava, highlighted that the year 2018 was a bittersweet one. Parvej said that Shree Krishna has done quite well in the industry and has completed 400 episodes. Mayavi Maling was yet another show produced for Star Bharat that didn’t garner much attention from viewers but it didn’t let them down. Aladdin, a period fantasy for Sony Sab, has already made an entry in the space, while Alibaba for Colors and two other shows are in the pipeline to enter the TV space. It also has plans to produce shows for the regional segment.

    Talking about the challenges that they have faced, Srivastava said, “Detective shows take time for the audiences to pick up. The other challenge was streamlining our studio which was launched last year. In 2018, there were a lot of shows that were VFX. Now, we will be able to take more VFX-based shows. We also want it to become one of our strengths and this does not mean that we just want to stick to VFX shows.”

    Parvej further added that they don’t want to pick up too much work so that they can focus on quality. Srivastava said that there was a wave of shows like Daayan, Chudail that were trendy in 2018. Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is the show that is still working well with the audience. “One should know that when you are making a show, you are making it for the audience, so whatever relates to them should be made and should follow certain basics like touching the emotional core of it,” he said.

    Talking about OTT, Parvej said that the money is definitely more in the OTT space, but according to him, that does not make TV insecure. However, it will take 4-5 years for OTT to settle. He feels that show production cost on TV will go down because of dipping advertising money.

  • Balaji Telefilms TV, film biz report stellar growth; ALTBalaji subscriber base at 13.1 mn

    Balaji Telefilms TV, film biz report stellar growth; ALTBalaji subscriber base at 13.1 mn

    BENGALURU: India’s premier television and digital content creation house Balaji Telefilms Ltd reported stellar performance from its television and film making business (TV business, or standalone) for the quarter ended 31 December 2018 (Q3 2019, quarter, period, under review).

    The company has three segments – commissioned programs, films and digital.

    Balaji’s TV business commissioned programmes – (number of hours of content creation) grew 11 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) during the quarter under review to 199 hours as compared to 179 hours in the corresponding year ago quarter. Net realisation per hour of commissioned programmes went up to Rs 0.4 crore or by about 21 percent y-o-y in Q3 2019 as compared to Rs 0.33 per hour in Q3 2018.  However gross margin and gross margin percentage have both gone down in Q3 2019 to Rs 0.11 crore and 27.3 percent respectively as compared to Rs 0.13 crore and 37.9 percent respectively in the year ago quarter.

    Overall, Balaji Telefilms TV business (or standalone) operating revenue increased 87.4 percent in the period under review to Rs 111.3 crore as compared to Rs 59.4 crore in Q3 2018. TV business profit after tax grew 29 percent y-o-y to Rs 12 crore from Rs 9.3 crore.

    Balaji reported Rs 7.93 crore for Q3 2019 for its film segment as compared to Rs 1.85 crore for Q3 2018. The segment had an operating profit of Rs 1.42 crore during the period under review as compared to operating profit of Rs 0.73 crore in Q3 2018.

    However, on a consolidated basis, it is Balaji Telefilms digital segment, its OTT platform ALTBalaji that more than wiped off the profits generated by the other segments. ALTBalaji incurred a loss of Rs 36.4 crore on operating revenue of Rs 8 crore during the quarter under review. Comparatively, in the third quarter of the previous fiscal, Balaji Telefilms had reported revenue of Rs 1.1 crore and a loss of Rs 17.8 crore for ALTBalaji. The good news is that ALTBalaji’s sold subscription base has gone up by more than twenty times – from 0.052 crore in Q3 2018 to 1.05 crore at close of December 2018.

    Balaji Telefilms managing director Shobha Kapoor said, “We are pleased to announce another strong performance this quarter, highlighted improving margins that has cemented our place as a leader in the Indian media industry. Our in-house content gives us the ability to create strong franchises, nurture new talent and ultimately give consumers the best possible entertainment choices, hence making it a value proposition for our investors and stakeholders.”

    Let us look at the other consolidated numbers reported by Balaji Telefilms

    Balaji Telefilms consolidated revenue from operations increased 48.8 percent y-o-y in Q3 2019 to Rs 96.33 crore from Rs 64.73 crore. Consolidated total income for the period under review grew 50.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 105.3 crore from Rs 69.85 crore. The company reported a consolidated loss of Rs 27.31 crore in Q3 2019 as compared to profit after tax of Rs 25.82 crore in Q3 2018. Calculated consolidated simple EBITDA for Q3 2019 was an operating loss of Rs 26.18 crore as compared to a consolidated operating loss of Rs 7.5 crore in Q3 2018.

    Total expenditure for the quarter under review was 66.1 percent higher y-o-y at Rs 126.92 crore as compared to Rs 76.4 crore in Q3 2018. Cost of production/ acquisition and telecast fees in the quarter at Rs 95.95 crore was 26.6 percent higher y-o-y as compared to Rs 75.77 crore in Q3 2018. Marketing expenses increased 53.5 percent y-o-y in Q3 2019 to Rs 10.74 crore from Rs 7 crore. Employee benefits expense in Q3 2019 increased to more than double – (increased by 107.2 percent) to Rs 14.25 crore from Rs 6.87 crore. Other expenses in Q3 2019 declined 18.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 9.83 crore from Rs 12.08 crore.

  • One Take Media has acquired rights for globally acclaimed Crime Thriller Series ”Undercover ”

    One Take Media has acquired rights for globally acclaimed Crime Thriller Series ”Undercover ”

    “Undercover" is a modern crime TV series having 5 seasons which realistically depicts the reality of the underground world in Bulgaria.

    The series revolves around Martin Hristov, just an ordinary boy from the Sofia suburbs who becomes the first bulgarian undercover cop. Forced by his father when he was young to lie and cheat, Martin becomes the perfect liar. That skill, and also the hatred of the 'underworld' makes him the perfect match for a dangerous mission – to infiltrate the crime organisation of a rich and powerful businessman. While infiltrating and living in fear of being uncovered, Martin falls in love with the most inappropriate woman – Djaro's girlfriend, Suni. Just when he gains the trust of the mobsters, it appears that the real enemy is in the police. Martin is alone against all, facing difficult decisions.

    “UNDERCOVER” – the most sold TV series in the world – 192 territories & countingis now in India.

    After the most sought after acquisition Mr. Anil Khera – Founder & CEO of One Take Media Co (OTMC) said,we are very excited to showcase this mind blowing TV series with heart pumping actions toour audiences. This series has gripped the world with its twist and turns. The series goes beyond languages or regions and has a global appeal.”
     

  • Shemaroo Entertainment brings new movie series ‘Picture Ki Cheer Phaad’

    Shemaroo Entertainment brings new movie series ‘Picture Ki Cheer Phaad’

    MUMBAI: Content powerhouse Shemaroo Entertainment has begun experimenting with a new format of ‘Roast Cinema’ in association with VKAAO, a joint venture of BookMyShow and PVR Pictures. The new movie series named Picture Ki Cheer Phaad will be released exclusively across PVR theatres in 20 cities in India.

    The new series will see standup comedian Gaurav Kapoor roasting Bollywood movies in his unique style during the first phase of the initiative. On 1 February, the first movie is slated to release. The series will be horror thriller Papi Gudia.

    “Shemaroo has been a close part of Bollywood’s cinematic evolution. With this new series, we aim to showcase the change through a humorous take on Bollywood movies. The quality of content has been in vast contrast with today’s Indian cinema, and Picture Ki Cheer Phaad will reflect the same with an added sense of humor. Our main aim is to entertain the audience, showcasing yesteryear movies in a comic way without hurting anyone’s sentiments. The industry has matured over the years and we hope this is enjoyed alike by the moviemakers and the audience of today who are always in search of innovative content,” Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd CEO Hiren Gada said.

    Talking about the target audience of the show, Gada said although comedy format works for everyone, roast format has been working more in a younger audience. He also added that the youth audience have not even watched some of the movies from 80s or 90s. According to him, this is a funny way to connect to this audience.

    “We have tied up with PRV VKAAO, they have supported us lot with in-theatre trailer placement. Apart from that, we have done marketing on few limited TV channels, digital media. Like I said, this an experiment and I hope this works. At this point, there is a limited release. It’s a national release in 20 cities but we will be releasing it on 40 screens. The marketing is more focused on theatre goer audience in those cities,” Gada commented on the marketing initiative.

  • Big Synergy appoints Rajiv Bakshi as CEO

    Big Synergy appoints Rajiv Bakshi as CEO

    MUMBAI: Reliance Entertainment's Big Synergy Media Ltd has appointed Rajiv Bakshi as its chief executive officer.

    At Big Synergy, Bakshi will take forward the mantle of enhancing multi-platform reach, driving strategic partnerships & developing the Original Content portfolio.

    Speaking about his new role, Bakshi said, “I am incredibly excited to join Big Synergy at this stage of the company's evolution into scripted shows, along with the non-scripted content. Content will fuel the next wave of growth in media. India is one of the rare markets where both television broadcast and OTT platforms continue to demonstrate robust growth. I am passionate about transformative disruptions that change consumer behaviour and will strive to create a competitive advantage and long-term value for the business and our esteemed clients.”

    On the development, Reliance Entertainment group COO Shibasish Sarkar said, “We are happy to have Rajiv on board. He comes with a wealth of experience and domain expertise. With his extensive knowledge across the television and digital medium, we are confident that he will be able to further accelerate the growth of the entertainment sector within the group.”

    An alumnus of Harvard Business School, Bakshi comes with over two decades of experience and a proven track record across TV, internet, media, telecom and consumer durable industries. He has a deep understanding of broadcast media & OTT, digital, mobile and FMCG industries.

    Previously, Bakshi was the chief marketing officer at Intex Technologies where he led the brand strategy across 4 business verticals – smartphones, electronics, durables and accessories.

    Prior to Intex, he was at Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific as VP & Head products & marketing, India & South Asia where he steered strategic development and localisation initiatives for a multi-channel portfolio for Discovery Channel serving 100+ million Pay TV households.

  • Bodhi Tree focusing on three verticals to scale up business

    Bodhi Tree focusing on three verticals to scale up business

    MUMBAI: Over the top (OTT) services have given a big boost to production houses in the country  Bodhi Tree Multimedia, started by Mautik Tolia and Sukesh Motwani five years ago, only concentrated on general entertainment programs on TV initially. Following the change in the overall entertainment industry, they have also expanded their work arena. Currently standing with a team of around 50 people, the production house is aspiring to scale up its business by focusing on three verticals – GEC, regional and the freshly included web content.

    The three verticals operate with completely separate teams. Show type dictates team structure because sensibility for each genre and vertical is different. Bodhitree Multimedia’s three shows with two leading broadcasters are currently on air including Aap ke Aa Jane se, Fearfiles and Hrudayaat Vaaje Something. After already having established its position in the TV production space, it has also entered the booming digital space. Its two web series Banned and 13 Mussourie are also streaming on Viu, while one with Voot is yet to be released.

    In the content pipeline, it has five-six web properties for different OTT platforms while for GEC two-three shows with leading broadcasters are under development. The next content slate also include biopics and period pieces. Both the founders spoke to Indiantelevision.com and reaffirmed that they will pay equal attention to all the segments.

    “We are very clear right now in terms of being able to find a way to give equal importance to each vertical. We still believe TV is big and it will grow and we need to have a very strong presence there. We also believe web is here to stay and gives us more experimentation for new content. We also feel regional content is going to be lot more relevant now both on TV and web. We are also focusing on synergies that can be worked on between OTT, television and regional content,” Bodhi Tree Multimedia director Tolia commented.

    “We are very much focused on different business activities. Only thing we are doing is being clear about the slate we are developing and the product we are developing. So, there we are particular about what we do but not in terms of a single line of business,” he added.

    Talking about digital content, Tolia said that since it’s an evolving medium right now, content creators are trying to figure out the type of viewers and their preference for content.

    However, along with the rapid growth of OTT in the country, the question of regulation has also been raised. A certain section of the industry has feared if a regulatory framework comes in, it may curb the creative freedom of producers and the platforms.

    “I feel that as long as there are some very basic standards and practices, it’s about how to have some ethics for content. Those ethics need not be very restricted. The whole idea is that content has to understand and mature. So, there will be certain discussions that will happen, certain kind of code that should come but how restricted that’s code going to be that’s the debate,” Bodhi Tree Multimedia director Motwani commented on the issue.

    Over the five years going through changes, working with leading platforms, the road was definitely not all flowery. Motwani said they took up interesting challenges in terms of content they made which were slightly different. As the content they create is more complex, realistic with more layered characters, they end up spending a little more time than other producers. Due to the run-of-the-mill content, they don’t follow the usual economy of scale model. Hence it has led to the question if they can make the amount of money that another producer makes.

    “We are passionate and that keeps our hunger growing. So that has been one fascinating challenge for us and also the idea that while we are taking on a different type, can it still deliver a hit. How do we mix popular elements with different ideas, how do we mix the grammar of telling a story which can reach to a mass viewer while the theme itself is slightly unconventional?” Motwani added.

    In a stark contrast to many other production houses who concentrate on only one genre, Bodhi Tree Multimedia keeps working in different segments across TV and digital. In addition to that, as demand for OTT content increases, it is optimistic that new opportunities will open up. While it acknowledges the learning curve has to be very steep and high for developing expertise in all segments, there is confidence that they are strategically placed at the right position.

  • Malta tourism minister Mizzi invites content producers to Malta

    Malta tourism minister Mizzi invites content producers to Malta

    MALTA: The international leg of the International Radio Festival 2018 (IRF 2018) kicked off in a grand style in the Cultural Capital of Europe for 2018 – Valletta, the capital city of the island nation of Malta, yesterday evening (31 October 2018). The Maltese Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi opened IRF 2018 officially for international participants. Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) CEO Gavin Gulia was the other notable VIP from Malta present.  About 150 Radio professionals from across the world and Malta and Italy along with 30 registrations participated in the event. Among the radio professionals was the winner of the Sound of India contest RJ Devaki.

    “There will be 100 million listeners of IRF 2018,” said IRF founder and festival director Darryl von Daniken while inviting Mizzi to open IRF 2018.

    “This is really a celebration of wonderful channels coming together here and broadcasting from Malta,” said Mizzi after thanking all the IRF participants for coming to Malta. “I’m delighted to welcome you all to the city of Valletta, the city of culture. Malta has been changing over the last few years. We’re welcoming nearly 2 million tourists every year and another 800,000 come by cruise liners. We’ve changed from becoming to resort to a city destination. We pride ourselves in having good cuisine, lovely beautiful shows, good parties and good music. Malta is a cosmopolitan place which welcomes business, tourists and welcomes people to come and work here.”

    Speaking with www.indiantelevision.com senior editor Tarachand Wanvari, Mizzi said, “Malta has developed its tourism industry since independence in1964. Now we must have a diversified economy. We have changed from being a resort destination to more of a leisure destination. People come here for 5-6 days, where they can enjoy history, culture and also have fun. We’re trying to create festivals for people of all ages. So we have young festivals like Isle of MTV, but we also have initiative for older generations where festivals such as this (IRF) will bring people together and radio stations from all over the world to discuss a non-controversial topic like radio and music and have fun. We want to be a place where people meet, feel at home, more as a cosmopolitan  nation, becoming a cosmopolitan city and we want to act as a gateway to the Mediterranean.”

    Speaking about benefits for the media and entertainment industry, Mizzi explained, “Malta has amazing facilities. We have the film studio with the largest water tanks in the world where large movies have been filmed and amazing outdoor areas and 200 days of sunshine. That is the reason why films like Gladiator and Troy have been filmed here. More recently, we are also attracting Bollywood Movies. Also, the tax incentives and cash rebate system incentivise productions to be done in Malta. We have a 26 per cent cash rebate. As of next January, that cash rebate is going to increase to 40 per cent which will make it the most competitive cash rebate for producers from around the world.”

    “We encourage producers to make more content in Malta. The supply chain is amazing, props are available. If they want costumes, equipment for making films, they are available here. We would also encourage companies to set up their own productions companies for individual movies in Malta.”

    Mizzi confirmed that the cash incentives would also apply to television companies for television shows. “They will get the same incentives and cash benefits as films. We support television series, especially now, with the advent of Netflix and online content. We support that,” he said.

    During an impromptu on-air in India mini interview with Devaki, Mizzi’s message to India was, “Come to Malta, you will feel welcome here. It’s an amazing place that has also Indian culture. There’s an Indian community here. At the same time, I am also encouraging people from here to visit the beautiful Mumbai, Delhi, to visit Rajasthan and Udaipur and all the wonderful places around India.”

    The minister said that sequences of two Indian movies – Bharat and Thugs of India were shot in Malta. Besides having met Bollywood star Salman Khan (with and without his shirt on) during his production of Bharat, the minister informed that Bollywood diva Vidya Balan would be visiting his country soon. The first edition of the Malta India awards that would alternate between Malta and Mumbai in India would happen in Malta in December this year Mizzi informed further.

  • Producers Guild of India forms committee to address sexual harassment at work

    Producers Guild of India forms committee to address sexual harassment at work

    MUMBAI: The #Metoo campaign has finally caught the eye of the industry. The Producers Guild of India has formed a committee in order to make the industry safer and more productive for women employees. This committee will address the issues of sexual harassment at the workplace.

    Sneha Rajani will lead the committee along with Apoorva Mehta, Ekta Kapoor, Fazila Allana, Jyoti Deshpande, Kiran Rao, Kulmeet Makkar, Madhu Bhojwani, Priti Shahani, Rohan Sippy, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Vijay Singh.

    The first meeting took place on 10 October where the members were sent a copy of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace law and were asked to implement them soon, in case they haven’t been done yet.

    The guild will also organise specialised workshops with the support of professional agencies, to guide the members in how to implement robust processes and best practices to deal with sexual harassment at their workplaces – whether in their offices or on the sets of their productions.

    The guild will organise multiple sessions of these workshops over the coming weeks and months, to enable all the members and their teams to participate. The special committee that has been set in place will meet frequently in the coming days to ensure that this is an ongoing and sustained effort that will lead to a safer environment for all members of our industry.