Mumbai: Zee Cafe property Hallyu Nights is adding to the fans’ delight by bringing multiple K-Drama shows in their original language to the Indian audience. To cater to this interest, on Tuesday, Hallyu Nights announced the launch of a new romantic drama Uncontrollably Fond.
The romantic drama stars Woo Bin Kim, Bae Suzy and Ju-Hwan Lim in pivotal roles. Uncontrollably Fond is a story of two former lovers, who reunite years later as a top actor and a documentary producer. When their paths cross again both discover that they have changed and transformed into completely different people but is there still any hope for them to rekindle their past relationship?
Mumbai: Adding new content to its cutting-edge lineup of shows, Zee Telugu is all set to launch its new serial Mukkupudaka. Zee Telugu has always aimed at entertaining its audience with an array of unique fiction shows ranging from romantic tales to mythological and supernatural narratives as well as family dramas. Joining the trend, Mukkupudaka will be a traditional and deep-rooted family drama.
The show will hit screens on 11 July and air every Monday to Saturday at 8 p.m, only on Zee Telugu.
Steering clear from the usual mother-in-law and daughter-in-law tussle, Mukkupudaka revolves around Vedavati’s desperate search for a daughter-in-law who could be her successor in fulfilling a religious obligation to save their village from the wrath of Goddess Annapurna Devi. The catch here is that the daughter-in-law’s horoscope must completely match Vedavati’s horoscope. What’s more is that her younger son, Srikar (Raki Gowda), is Vedavati’s only hope as her money-minded elder son goes against her wishes. While Vedavati’s search continues, Srikar falls in love with Avani (Aishwarya Pisse), a tourist guide in their city.
But will Avani’s horoscope match Vedavati’s horoscope? If not, will Vedavati accept Avani as her daughter-in-law? And why did Goddess Annapurna get angry in the first place? And what obligation did she put on the village? With plenty of questions in everyone’s mind and with several twists and turns in the tale, we are sure the audience will enjoy this thrilling yet emotional rollercoaster ride.
Mumbai: The Indian multinational news channel WION has launched a six-month-long campaign at the domestic and International airport lounges of Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
The campaign leverages multiple live screens across India’s three major airport lounges and premium cafés where the WION channel will run Live constantly targeting the highfliers and potential WION viewers.
Highfliers form a large part of the WION target group. The objective of this campaign is to serve the travellers with news content which is relevant and factual and enhance brand awareness among the English news viewing target group. This will also aid sampling for the brand.
Speaking of the campaign, Zee Media Corporation marketing head Anindya Khare said, “WION has always believed in facts and not in jingoistic reportage and loud debates. By increasing our presence among the frequent fliers, we aim at increasing our brand awareness and viewership through this campaign.”
WION news has been at the forefront in covering news from all over the world. The channel’s reportage on the ongoing conflict between Russia-Ukraine has been lauded not just by viewers across the globe, but also by world leaders. The YouTube channel of WION has received over three hundred fifty two million views, surpassing international media channels such as CNN, BBC, and Aljazeera. It is also way ahead of many Indian English News channels such as India Today, NDTV, and Times Now.
Mumbai: The unending reservoir of talent emerging from the South across languages like Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada indicates that language is no longer a barrier in the consumption of content, only quality. Experts discuss the implications of the South content market boom at Viacom18 presents The Content Hub Summit 2022 organised by Indiantelevision.com.
What genres and stories are directors and producers from the South working on? The answer to this lies in a panel discussion that brought together the prominent creators of south-based content.
The Content Hub Summit 2022 is co-powered by Applause Entertainment and IN10 Media Network. Aaj Tak Connected Stream is the association partner. Industry partners are Fremantle India, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, One Take Media, Pratilipi, Pocket FM and The Viral Fever. The Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) is our community partner.
The session was on the topic ‘The South Content Mantra: Regionalization at its Best’ and was chaired by 91 Film Studios founder and CEO Naveen Chandra. He was joined by Indian film producer and Guru Films founder and CEO Sunitha Tati, MMTV CEO P.R. Satheesh and AHA head-non-subscription Nitin Burman.
The session moderator, Naveen Chandra opened with the question, “how can a 3.5 crore audience-Malayalam film industry make a 100-crore film? For that we need to find out how consumer habits transformed and what changes happened during the pandemic.”
Panellists think that pandemic has changed the consumption habits dramatically and the growth of OTT platforms has bridged the gap between the masses and South India content.
AHA head-non-subscription Nitin Burman opined that the craze for South movies is not recent. It has been there for a long time but it’s the numbers which have notably spiked now. “Earlier, access to this content was not there for the general audience,” he added.
Indian film producer and Guru Films’ Sunitha Tati said that the way we look at the content is changing. “Post-pandemic, we distinguish between stories on whether it’ll draw audiences to the theatres or do we need to take it to the people on OTTs,” she said. Talking about the unique marketing strategy she remarked, “we actually learnt marketing from Bollywood, but we took it to the next level.”
Talking about the growth of the South content industry MMTV CEO P.R. Satheesh said that people are now very particular about the quality of content. He noted, “it’s no longer about language. Language is no longer a barrier- it’s the quality of content that matters. And as we talk about the quality of content, the South industry is in its best stage right now,” he added.
Mumbai: Indian cinema and entertainment has been gradually gaining a share in the global market, with audiences around the world being more receptive to Indian content now than they have been in the past. Spurred, no doubt, in part due to the increased accessibility of the content on online streaming platforms. Despite this, India is yet to score a global hit like Parasite or Squid Game, with a worldwide impact and appeal. How can Indian content woo global audiences better, transcending boundaries and barriers to tell stories that connect with audiences worldwide? Are global co-productions the way forward?
At the sixth edition of Indiantelevision.com’s The Content Hub Summit 2022 held at Mumbai’s JW Marriott on Wednesday, industry stakeholders explore these questions, while sharing their views and insights on how Indian content can play a bigger role in the global cinema & entertainment landscape. The session, “Made in India, For the World” was moderated by film critic, journalist and author Mayank Shekhar and comprised of Friday Filmworks chief executive officer Devendra Deshpande, The Foundry creator-in-chief Vekeana Dhillon, International Media Acq Corp chairman & CEO Shibasish Sarkar, Indian Film Producer Sunir Kheterpal as panelists.
The summit was presented by Viacom18, and co-powered by Applause Entertainment and IN10 Media Network. Aaj Tak Connected Stream is the association partner. Industry partners are Fremantle India, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, One Take Media, Pratilipi, Pocket FM and The Viral Fever. The Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) is our community partner.
Mayank Shekhar kicked off the session by asking the panellists whether any of them had attempted creating anything on a global scale, or content that’s meant for a more global audience. He noted as well that it’s not as though Indian content has not travelled across the world, it just hasn’t broken in the West.
“I don’t think that when we develop a story for a film, we look at the international audience as the primary audience,” Film Producer Sunir Kheterpal responded to Shekhar’s query. In fact, nowhere in the world, except maybe Hollywood or China, do they create movies for international audiences- they just happen, he further said. “So, most of the stuff I end up developing and that goes into production, is for the mainstream Indian audience. And if something comes out of it, great,” he added.
When it comes to storytelling and content, India is just not there yet, where enough people outside (the country) would look to us for original stories, Kheterpal noted.
The DNA of what one looks for in a story is “universal appeal”, said Friday Filmworks chief executive officer Devendra Deshpande, adding that it can be further broken down into whether the story has ‘curiosity’ and ‘awe’. “It’s not about ‘A audience’ or ‘B audience’. Whether it breaks boundaries or not, then depends on various parameters like execution, distribution etc.”
Talking about what international broadcasters are looking for, The Foundry’s Vekeana Dhillon said, “a hyperlocal story with a universal theme, that’s specific but not niche.” Where Bollywood falls into a potentially problematic zone, Dhillon adds, is the ‘Goldilocks zone’- that is, the story can’t be “too hard”, or “too soft” and it has to be just right. Because it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are getting the best product. It means we are getting a product that’s a levelled out, synthesised version of something that’s not quite hyperlocal.
“We develop a lot of content in-house. And one of our stringent rules is to flesh out characters- create human tornados of angst, love, dilemma and complications,” she says, adding that is something that’s going to get you the global gaze.
According to International Media Acquisition Corp’s Shibasish Sarkar, when you write a story, regardless of which country you are from, your first approach is how much audience you want to reach. The great news is that over the last four to five years the ecosystem has evolved and the whole medium of storytelling can now reach an audience, regardless of money, distribution capability or marketing capability.
Post-pandemic, there’s a clear demarcation in audiences’ minds today on what they want to watch in a theatre and what they wish to watch at home, said Sarkar.
When you look at the kind of money that goes into making the kind of movies that Hollywood is known for, is it that they can afford it only because they have an audience across the world. Is that the threshold that India cannot afford to cross, that unless you spend that kind of money you cannot have such a huge market, asks Shekhar of the panel.
The industry experts agreed that the Indian movie industry was more into trying to find stories that would work across the country, rather than targeting a global audience.
“I think we have a bigger battle to win within our country, said Khetarpal. “Even after we cover the Hindi-speaking belt, our next challenge is how do we take our film into the Tamil-speaking and Telugu-speaking audiences.
Devendra Deshpande agreed with Khetarpal, remarking that there’s no metrics which says that spend “X” and you will get “Y” audience. It’s just a matter of time before Indian content goes global, as with technology two major barriers have been breached- One is time- as one can access anything as per convenience. And second is distribution, he noted.
We have to figure out what is our unique selling point (USP), asserted Dhillon. “Bollywood is a brand, however, Indian cinema is far more expansive than that. We have seen the success of the South so we know that. There’s far more vibrancy, far more unique tangents that we can revel in and enjoy across the board as entertainment,” she said.
The industry experts agreed that taking Indian content global is a huge opportunity, because the language has become agnostic today. People have got used to watching content with subtitles, and are consuming it across every other language, be it Indian or any other. With OTTs, Content has acquired an ability to travel, which was not there earlier in the film world.
Mumbai: NDTV has elevated Parimal Dutta as senior vice president. He has been associated with the company for over 11 years. He leads the brand solutions team at the news broadcaster.
During his career spanning 23 years, Dutta has been associated with The Times of India, Star India, CNBC and Bloomberg before joining NDTV in 2011.
He has delivered demonstrated results in digital and broadcast media and is skilled in sales, negotiation, integrated marketing, advertising, channel sales and strategic planning.
Mumbai: The world is undergoing a fierce transformation courtesy the pandemic, streaming services, new content forms and formats and changing work and entertainment consumption habits. The excitement and expectation are palpable amongst those in content creation and distribution – TV, film, streaming, short format, audio series, games, metaverses and what have been to serve those emerging needs.
The transformation leads to a lot of questions such as will the 2020s see a further revolution and exploitation of the opportunities the decade offers? Or will there be a cooling off? Will Indian content follow the trajectory of the Korean Wave? And how? Will the 2020s prove to be India’s roaring twenties?
Finding and discussing the answers to these questions, the first panel of the sixth edition of Viacom18 presents Indiantelevision.com’s The Content Hub Summit 2022 saw an insightful debate on the theme ‘The Roaring Twenties: Repeating The Successful Era Of Content Explosion.’
Moderated by Indiantelevision.com Group founder & CEO, the panel included Indian screenwriter, director and producer Alankrita Shrivastava, Indian Film Director Arif Ali, Pratilipi head, IVM Podcasts Amit Doshi, Neela Films Productions founder and managing director Asit Kumarr Modi, Balaji Motion Pictures creative producer and executive vice president Ruchikaa Kapoor and Zee Studios chief business officer Shariq Patel.
The industry event is co-powered by Applause Entertainment and IN10 Media Network. Aaj Tak Connected Stream is the association partner. Industry partners are Fremantle India, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, One Take Media, Pratilipi, Pocket FM and The Viral Fever. The Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) is our community partner.
A century ago, after the global pandemic known as the Spanish flu, much of the world enjoyed a boom period, later immortalised as the ‘Roaring Twenties’.Opening the discussion, ITV founder, CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari asked the panel, “Are we about to experience another Roaring Twenties?”
Pratilipi head, IVM Podcasts Amit Doshi said, “we’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of what exactly kinds of content we’re going to see in future.”
“Technological transformation over the last ten years has already unleashed creativity in this country and it is going to continue,” he added.
Further, Wanvari asked Neela Films Productions founder and managing director Asit Kumarr Modi, who has successfully run over thirty-five hundred episodes of ‘Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma’, how he sees this remarkable show in the 2020s?
“We started back in 2008 where technology was way behind than where we are today and we have seen it all changing over the years. Now, things are developing rapidly, it might be more challenging but we are more excited to create stories in the new age of technology,” answered Modi.
Taking the discussion further, Zee Studios chief business officer Shariq Pate said, “pandemic has shown that all of us have this insatiable amount of content that all of us could consume and this prompted platforms to step up on investments.”
“We can expect a roaring 2020s with huge amounts of content to be created which is definitely far more than what the existing platforms can digest at present,” he added.
Sharing her outlook for the roaring 2020s, Balaji Motion Pictures creative producer and executive vice president Ruchikaa Kapoor said, “the big realization about this changing content landscape is that there’s an audience for every genre, however the size of the audience differs.”
She added, “the content consumption has increased dramatically over the last three years. But as far as movies are concerned, the urgency of going to the theatres has come down drastically due to the growth of OTT.” Talking about the future, she said, “we expect exponential growth in the 2020s too.”
Agreeing with what his co-panellists had said, Indian film director Arif Ali said, “being behind the doors for so many months during the pandemic has actually opened a lot of doors for content creators.”
“Pre-pandemic there was more focus on making money, but now content creators want to have a legacy and it is going to lead to a thrilling 2020s,” he asserted.
Further, highlighting the challenges that the transformation in the content space brings, screenwriter, director and producer Alankrita Shrivastava said, “today the major challenge is to go back to the core of storytelling and not get overwhelmed.”
Watch the complete video of this insightful session here.
Mumbai: India’s most awaited stunt-based reality show Maruti Suzuki presents Khatron Ke Khiladi Charged by Thums Up is set to return on Colors with a blazing new season. Host and renowned filmmaker Rohit Shetty will challenge 14 daredevil contestants with exhilarating stunts as they navigate through their innermost fears in the beautiful boulevards of Cape Town.
With central theme – ‘Bachke Kaha Jaayega, Khatra Kahi Se Bhi Aayega’ the show is packed with lots of Darr and Terror, infused with tonnes of Dare and Josh, the contestants will have to showcase a lot of Jigar and Himmat to tread through the Khatras
Along with Maruti Suzuki as the presenting sponsor and Charged by Thums Up as the powered by sponsor, the show also welcomes Ching’s, Amazon Prime and Hershey’s Kisses as the associate sponsors for the season. Produced by Endemol Shine India, Khatron Ke Khiladi will premiere on 2 July and air every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm, only on Colors.
Viacom18 head – Hindi Mass Entertainment and Kids TV Network Nina Elavia Jaipuria said, “At Colors, it has been our continuous effort to deliver a variety of content through our fiction and non-fiction properties. In the reality entertainment segment, we have pioneered different genres over the years that include dance, singing, talent, voyeurism, and we are once again delighted to bring back our action-based show Khatron Ke Khiladi. Last season the show broke significant records by becoming the number one non-fiction show in the Hindi GEC space and has received immense love from the viewers and sponsors alike. The excitement amongst the fans is palpable and we are looking forward to a super, action-packed new season.”
She further added, “We are elated to continue our partnership with Maruti Suzuki as our presenting sponsor, and welcome on board ‘Charged’ by Thums Up as the powered by sponsor along with Ching’s, Amazon Prime and Hershey’s Kisses as the associate sponsors.”
The daredevils who will be competing this season are TV personalities including Rubina Dilaik, Shivangi Joshi, Sriti Jha, Mohit Malik, Kanika Mann, Aneri Vajani and Chetna Pande. Ace choreographer Tushar Kalia and Nishant Bhat along with social media sensations Faisal, Jannat Zubair, Erika Packard and Bigg Boss season 15 contestants Pratik Sehajpal and Rajiv Adatia are also on the list.
Viacom18 chief content officer – Hindi Mass Entertainment Manisha Sharma said “Khatron Ke Khiladi presents a unique blend of action and entertainment that the viewers eagerly look forward to every season. We are thrilled to return with another power-packed and adventurous season with the action maven Rohit Shetty as the reigning host. He has been an integral part of the show and he will be adding his personal touch and expertise to some of the featured stunts. The new season will have many adrenaline-surging stunts performed by 14 feisty and popular mixes of contestants. This time the contenders will be seen exploring new arenas of Cape Town which will test their mental and physical tenacity like never before.”
Host and action maestro Rohit Shetty said, “Every year, Khatron Ke Khiladi gets bigger and better with larger-than-life stunts and I am looking forward to elevating the action quotient this season. This year, we have an extremely promising line-up of contestants who have been giving each other a tough competition. The show has been built on a larger scale wherein the viewers will see many new stunts in the unexplored locales of Cape Town. Being a part of Khatron Ke Khiladi has always been extremely special to me.”
Maruti Suzuki India senior executive director – marketing and sales Shashank Srivastava commented, “We are excited to be a part of season 12 of Khatron Ke Khiladi. This is our fourth association with Khatron Ke Khiladi in a row and the partnership has only gone from strength to strength. Khatron Ke Khiladi is an extremely popular show and has created a niche for itself, especially amongst the youth of our country. At Maruti Suzuki, we constantly strive to bring out more youthful and dynamic imagery. We are extremely delighted to associate the iconic Swift with Khatron Ke Khiladi, which since its launch in 2005 has revolutionised the premium hatchback segment in India. The all-new Swift stands out from the crowd and has earned the love of nearly 2.4 million customers with its upright stance, sporty performance and unmistakable road presence which emphasises individuality. Our partnership with the show resonates with Swift’s proposition of performance and being Limitless. We believe that the Khatron Ke Khiladi contestants of this season will bring limitless action to the viewers through their limitless performances on the show.”
Coca-Cola, India & Southwest Asia, head – integrated marketing experiences Sumeli Chatterjee said, “We have recently introduced ‘Charged’ by Thums Up to the Indian market, and we are excited with the immense consumer applause and appreciation that has been received for this electrifying drink. With double caffeine and double kick, this beverage is a perfect partner to the action-packed Khatron Ke Khiladi franchise. We are absolutely thrilled to be part of this season.”
Endemol Shine India CEO Rishi Negi said, “Over the years, Khatron Ke Khiladi has become the most sought-after destination for action on television. The show has carved a niche for itself and this season is going to be nothing short of a blockbuster. With Rohit Shetty as the host and 14 incredible and popular contestants, the bar is already set high. The viewers will see many jaw-dropping stunts that have been designed on a bigger scale with immense precision whilst enhancing the thrill. With some intense action unfolding in Cape Town, we look forward to a great season ahead.”
Colors has designed a mega marketing and digital campaign to announce the arrival of its flagship action-based reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi. A seven-day on-air campaign has been initiated on network channels across Hindi movies, Hindi news, music and regional channels with upto 1,000 spots. High-impact billboards featuring Rohit Shetty and the contestants have been installed in more than 200 sites across prominent sites in Mumbai, national highways, Mumbai Airport digital screens and Delhi.
On the digital front, in keeping with the show’s central theme – ‘Bachke Kaha Jaayega, Khatra Kahi Se Bhi Aayega’, fans can use interactive Instagram filters to match the expressions of their favourite khiladis. A series of fun videos showcasing contestants’ preparation where they test their reflexes and guess what is in the boxes provided to them has been creating a storm on the internet. Elevator-style contestant-unveil videos wherein they are seen entering the stunt arena have been uploaded on the channel’s social media platforms. The meticulous planning that has gone into the campaign has set the stage for another blockbuster season of Khatron Ke Khiladi.
Mumbai: Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India has released TV currency data for Week 24 i.e., 11 June to 17 June. As per data for All India 2+ target group for the Hindi news genre, Aaj Tak is the leading channel with market share of 12.4 per cent.
Aaj Tak is closely trailed by India TV which has a 12.3 per cent market share. News18 India followed with a 11.6 per cent share, TV9 Bharatvarsh had 11.5 per cent share and Republic Bharat had 9.8 per cent share.
Aaj Tak reclaims the leading market share in the Hindi news genre from TV9 Bharatvarsh that had led in terms of market share during Week 10.
As per data accessed by Indiantelevision.com, the channel India TV has been promoted on the landing pages of Airtel DTH between 13-19 June during the primetime slots between 7 p.m to 10 p.m.
However, we were not able to confirm whether this has had any impact on India TV ratings reported by Barc.
Mumbai: On 19 June 2022, Star Gold left everyone surprised by giving an unusual ad in the matrimonial section of two leading papers. It read, “Parents wanted urgently”. The matrimonial section of newspapers often carries ads that demand homely brides and grooms with hefty salaries and government jobs. Star Gold used the space for innovative marketing, to promote the world television premiere of “Hum Do Hamare Do”.
The movie will have its world television premiere on Star Gold this Sunday at 8 pm.
Per the ad posted by Star Gold, a man, who already has found his life partner, is searching for parents who are understanding and loving. The unusual ad is in sync with the story of Rajkumar Rao and Kriti Sanon starrer, “Hum Do Hamare Do”, which revolves around Dhruv and Anya. Dhruv is a self-made man whose life takes a major turn when he decides to engage an elderly man and a senior woman to fake being his parents in an attempt to fulfill his girlfriend’s wish of marrying someone with a family.
Agreeing with the advertisement idea, actor Aparshakti Khurana said, “It’s not easy to grab readers’ attention as newspaper pages are filled with advertisements. I am sure this innovative ad by Star Gold must have stood out as it’s not every day that you get to read about a person searching for parents.”
