Roadies Telugu set for debut as JioHotstar unveils 25 new South titles

CHENNAI: JioHotstar threw open the chequebook and rolled out the red carpet on 9th December, pledging Rs 4,000 crore over five years to supercharge southern India’s creative economy. At a glittering ceremony graced by Tamil Nadu’s deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, member of parliament and Padma Bhushan recipient Kamal Haasan, and a constellation of southern cinema’s biggest stars including Mohanlal, Nagarjuna and Vijay Sethupathi, the streaming platform unveiled 25 new titles and signed a letter of intent with the Tamil Nadu government.

The partnership reflects a shared ambition to accelerate the state’s creative and production ecosystem. JioHotstar will introduce regional-first formats and support new storytellers whilst scaling their work beyond geographical boundaries. The platform will launch writing labs, mentorship programmes and skill-building workshops aimed at nurturing the next generation of filmmakers, writers, editors and digital storytellers.

Stalin, unveiling JioHotstar’s blockbuster southern lineup, emphasised the transformative potential of the alliance. “Chennai’s tradition and passion for art and culture are ages old, and even Telugu and Malayalam films are made here,” he said. “Art is a powerful force in politics and life; art can liberate, and movies can educate. We have a history of stories causing social changes, with figures like Annadurai and Karunanidhi instrumental in revolutionary changes in Tamil cinema.”

The deputy chief minister made bold claims about the economic impact. “The partnership with JioHotstar will have a massive impact: it will create 1,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs. Our government is committed to building a strong economy hand-in-hand with cinema.” He also acknowledged the disruptive nature of streaming. “We recognise that OTT is not replacing cinema; it is expanding it. Today, everyone has a voice. A filmmaker in Madurai or Salem can upload a story and reach an audience across the world.”

Sushant Sreeram, head of subscription video-on-demand business and chief marketing officer at JioStar, framed the vision in characteristically ambitious terms. “JioHotstar started as a dream. To build the entertainment future of tomorrow, one that’s rooted in the rich storytelling heritage of our great country and its many facets, powered by cutting-edge technology, and serve as the default destination for Indian entertainment everywhere. The resplendent story-telling heritage of South India and its sheer impact on India’s storytelling culture motivates us to keep championing rich, authentic and rooted narratives.”

Krishnan Kutty, head of entertainment for the south at JioStar, added that over 500 creators, directors and showrunners have joined the platform in just ten months. “The South has always been a creative powerhouse, and it is a privilege to serve a region that is defining the next era of Indian storytelling. The stories born here are bold, the creators are fearless and the audiences are among the most invested than anywhere in the country. We want every creator in the South to dream bigger, build faster and take their stories further than ever before.”

Kamal Haasan, addressing the gathering, offered a characteristically philosophical take on the evolving media landscape. “Today, stories are truly screen-agnostic. They travel with the viewer. The audience has become the platform. Stories do not belong to any screen; they always travel with the listener and belong to people. Screens simply follow them. Today, regional is becoming the new national, and ethnic the new international. Stories born in Madurai, Malappuram, Mandya or Machilipatnam are no longer regional cinema. They are national cultural events.”

The 25-title slate showcases one of the most diverse content portfolios in the region spanning originals, franchises, films and unscripted formats. Blockbuster franchises return with Kerala Crime Files S3 (starring Aju Varghese, Lal and Arjun Radhakrishnan), Save The Tigers S3 (starring Chaitanya Krishna, Priyadarshi Pulikonda and Abhinav Gomatam), Heartbeat S3 (starring Anumol, Karthik Kumar and Deepa Balu) and Good Wife S2 (starring Priyamani, Sampath Raj and Aari Arujunan).

New originals include Cousins And Kalyanams, Moodu Lantharlu (starring Aishwarya Rajesh), LBW: Love Beyond Wicket (starring Vikranth and Niyathi Kadambi), Resort (starring Vijay Kumar Rajendran and Thalaivasal Vijay), Secret Stories: ROSLIN (starring Meena, Vineeth and Hakim), Lingam (starring Kathir and Divya Bharathi), Vikram On Duty, Varam (starring VishwaDev Rachakonda, Shivathmika Rajashekar and Srinivas Avasarala), Batchmates, Anali (starring Leona Lishoy and Nikhila Vimal), 1000 Babies S2 (starring Neena Gupta and Rahman) and Love Always (starring Jaya Prakash, Jayasudha, Gauri Kishan and Ramsan).

Premium originals expand with Vishakha (starring Kajal Aggarwal), a regional adaptation of the Hindi series Aarya, alongside Kaattaan (starring Vijay Sethupathi and Milind Soman) and Pharma (starring Nivin Pauly, Rajit Kapur and Shruti Ramachandran). New films include Lucky The Superstar (starring GV Prakash, Anaswara Rajan and Meghna Sumesh) and Kenatha Kaanom.

The unscripted portfolio, dominated by Bigg Boss across Tamil (hosted by Vijay Sethupathi), Telugu (hosted by Nagarjuna), Malayalam (hosted by Mohanlal) and Kannada (hosted by Kichcha Sudeepa), expands with culturally rooted formats including Comedy Cooks, Mad for Each Other (starring Radha Nair and Sreemukhi) and Second Love. In a landmark first, Roadies will debut in Telugu.

The content library unites the region’s finest talent, from superstars Kamal Haasan, Mohanlal, Nagarjuna, Dhanush, Vijay Sethupathi and Sivakarthikeyan to celebrated actors including Nivin Pauly, Aishwarya Rajesh, Kajal Aggarwal, Meena, Priyamani, Nayanthara, Samantha, Nithya Menen and Nandamuri Balakrishna. The ecosystem spans acclaimed directors like Jeethu Joseph and Ahammed Khabeer alongside leading production houses such as Banijay Group, Vikatan, DQ Productions, Aashirvad Cinemas, ARKA Media and Naavi Productions.

With Rs 4,000 crore committed, government backing secured and southern cinema’s royalty assembled, JioHotstar has made its ambitions unmistakable. Whether the platform can deliver on promises of jobs, creative labs and boundary-breaking storytelling, or whether this proves another case of streaming hyperbole meeting subcontinental reality, will become clear as those 25 titles begin rolling out. For now, the south has found its deepest-pocketed champion, and the cameras are rolling.