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

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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.

iWorld

Netflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film

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MUMBAI: Netflix is celebrating ten years in India with a slick anniversary film voiced by Shah Rukh Khan, a nostalgic sprint through a decade that rewired how the country watches stories. The campaign doubles as both tribute and reminder: streaming did not just enter Indian homes, it quietly rearranged them.

Roll back to 2016 and television still dictated schedules. Viewers waited weeks, sometimes months, for favourite films to appear on prime time. Family-friendly filters narrowed options further, and piracy often filled the gaps. Then Netflix arrived, softly but decisively, carrying a catalogue of international titles rarely seen in Indian theatres and placing them a click away. Old blockbusters and new releases suddenly coexisted on the same digital shelf.

The platform’s real inflection point came in 2018 with Sacred Games, a breakout series that refused to dilute India’s grit for global comfort. Audiences embraced its unvarnished tone, signalling readiness for stories that did not need box-office validation or censorship compromises. What followed was a steady procession of relatable narratives. Competitive-exam anxiety fuelled Kota Factory. College relationships unfolded in Mismatched. Everyday pressures, not grand spectacle, proved bankable.

Language barriers thinned as foreign series arrived with Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbing, expanding viewership beyond urban English-speaking pockets. Marketing mirrored the shift. For global releases such as Squid Game, Netflix leaned on regional creators and influencers to localise buzz and make international content feel native.

The library widened beyond fiction. Documentaries stepped out of festival circuits into living rooms. Stand-up comedians found scale. Established filmmakers, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali with Heeramandi, embraced the platform’s long-form canvas. Subscriber numbers swelled to 12.37 million in India, according to Demandsage, and behaviour followed suit. Late-night binges became routine. Friday release rituals loosened. Watch parties turned solitary screens into social events.

Economics demanded adjustment. Early subscription pricing carried a premium aura that deterred many households. Over time, Netflix recalibrated plans to align with Indian spending sensibilities, conceding that accessibility is as critical as content. To extend momentum around marquee titles, the platform also experimented with split-season releases, stretching anticipation and watch time.

The anniversary film, narrated by Shah Rukh Khan, captures the linguistic shift that mirrors the cultural one: from “Netflix pe kya dekha?” to “Netflix pe kya dekhein?” The question moved from recounting the past to planning the next binge. In ten years, Netflix morphed from foreign entrant to familiar fixture, exporting Indian stories abroad while importing global ones home. The remote no longer waits; it chooses, clicks and moves on. In the streaming age, patience is out, playlists are in, and the next episode is always one tap away.

 

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e-commerce

Tulasi Mohan Padavala elevated to Associate Director at Blinkit

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Gurugram: Blinkit has elevated Tulasi Mohan Padavala to associate director, capping a three-year climb inside the quick-commerce firm and signalling confidence in an executive steeped in ecommerce, category management and on-ground sales execution.

Padavala shared the update publicly, saying he was “happy to share” the promotion, a succinct announcement that nevertheless marks a notable step up within one of India’s fastest-moving delivery platforms. The new role follows nearly three years at Blinkit, where he most recently served as senior category manager from February 2023 to January 2026, focusing on strategic sourcing and assortment planning.

The promotion places Padavala in Blinkit’s mid-to-senior leadership tier at a time when the company continues to expand its rapid-delivery footprint and sharpen category economics. His brief tenure as associate director began in January 2026, with responsibilities expected to span category growth, supplier strategy and cross-functional execution.

Before Blinkit, Padavala spent a short but intensive stint as global ecommerce manager at Wholsum Foods, the parent of Slurrp Farm and Millé, between November 2022 and February 2023. There he worked on digital marketplace expansion and online retail operations, adding a direct-to-consumer and international ecommerce layer to his résumé.

A longer stretch at Amazon shaped much of his cross-border commerce experience. As business development manager for Amazon’s India Global Selling programme from February 2021 to October 2022, Padavala helped Indian D2C brands enter the North American market. His remit ranged from seller recruitment and category revenue management to coordination with industry bodies, regulators and logistics partners. Key outcomes included launching more than 50 D2C consumable brands in the United States, driving a cumulative gross merchandise sales figure of $1m in FY21-22, tripling sales for participating brands during Prime Day through marketing and visibility levers, growing the monthly recurring revenue of more than 10 newly launched sellers from zero to an average $20,000 each, and negotiating ecommerce partnerships that reduced initial launch costs by 20 per cent.

Padavala’s earlier career was forged in the field rather than the dashboard. At Coffee Day Group, he spent close to five years across multiple sales leadership roles. As sales manager in the Greater Delhi Area from July 2019 to January 2021, he led vending-machine and consumables sales for small and medium enterprises with a team of more than 15 assistant and territory sales managers, managed over 2,000 clients, drove upselling and cross-selling, maintained channel partnerships and ensured timely collections. Prior to that, he served as area sales manager in Delhi between May 2018 and June 2019, handling south and east Delhi markets, and earlier in Hyderabad from April 2016 to May 2018, where he led Andhra Pradesh sales for the vending division, supervised service and logistics functions and managed a base of more than 600 machines with a four-member team.

His professional arc began with internships that combined analytics and process improvement. At Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015, Padavala analysed the impact of brand extension on the drug Pradaxa, identified key performance indicators through market research and assessed sales forecasts, recommendations that drew positive responses in pilot studies. Earlier, at Genpact in 2014, he automated manual sales-order backlog reporting using VBA and Excel, increasing efficiency by 800 per cent, and worked on benchmarking metrics within supply-chain planning processes.

From automating spreadsheets to scaling cross-border ecommerce and now steering quick-commerce categories, Padavala’s trajectory tracks the evolution of India’s retail economy itself. Blinkit’s bet is clear: blend data, discipline and delivery speed. The promotion formalises what his career already suggests. In the race for instant commerce, experience that moves from warehouse floors to global dashboards is no longer optional. It is the engine.

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e-commerce

Bharatpe plays a super over as Rohit Sharma fronts T20 push

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MUMBAI: When the stakes rise and seconds matter, even payments need a match-winning finish. That’s the cue for Bharatpe, which has rolled out Super Over, a nationwide campaign led by Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma, timed neatly ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The campaign draws a straight line between the pulse of cricket and the pace of everyday digital payments. A new brand film taps into India’s emotional bond with the game, while positioning UPI as the quiet hero that keeps daily transactions ticking along at match speed.

As part of Super Over, users making payments via Bharatpe UPI can bag daily rewards ranging from match tickets and signed merchandise to a chance to watch a T20 World Cup fixture alongside Rohit Sharma himself. Both consumers and merchants are also assured Zillion Coins on every eligible transaction, adding a little extra sparkle to routine payments.

Behind the scenes, Bharatpe is also batting for safety. The platform is backed by Bharatpe Shield, a fraud-protection layer designed to offer enhanced security, comprehensive coverage and dedicated support aimed at helping users transact with greater confidence as digital payments scale up.

Announcing the campaign, Bharatpe head of marketing Shilpi Kapoor said Super Over mirrors the aspirations of everyday Indians, combining speed, security and instant rewards to make UPI transactions feel both reliable and rewarding.

The campaign will play out across digital platforms, social media and on-ground activations nationwide, staying live through the T20 World Cup season proof that in cricket, as in payments, timing is everything.

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