ITV

Tag: Abhimanyu Singh

  • Vidnet 2016: India’s First Focused OTT Conference

    Vidnet 2016: India’s First Focused OTT Conference

    MUMBAI: In today’s mobile-first-with-the-young-generation scenario, content creation, distribution and consumption is constantly evolving.

    Capturing the rapid emerging mood of innovation is Indiantelevision.com’s breakthrough conference, Vidnet 2016: Content on the Go which is to be held on 24 August at the swanky Westin Hotel in Mumbai’s Goregaon suburb.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Vidnet is a day-long congregation of the OTT ecosystem to discuss business models, tech trends, revenue streams, content creation and consumption patterns, success stories within the ecosystem and the way forward for its various constituents.

    The morning will begin with the Vidnet 2016 Summit, which will be followed / accompanied by a closed door VOD / OTT / broadcast CTO conference called Vidnet Tech.

    Vidnet Tech is chaired by Broadcast Media Consultant and Project Specialist, Vynsley Fernandes, Castle Media Pvt Ltd.

    Industry biggies and who’s who of the media and entertainment fraternity are set to attend the event in different capacities. Some confirmed attendees are Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar, Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO, Hungama Digital, Uday Sodhi, Executive VP and Head, Digital Business, Sony Pictures Network India, Abhimanyu Singh, CEO, Contiloe Entertainment, Ajay Chacko, Co-Founder, Arre, Archana Anand, Business Head, DittoTV, Shamsuddin Jasani, Managing Director, ISOBAR, Mahesh Narayan, Managing Director, Saavn, Salil Kapoor, Managing Director, Hooq India, Vivek Bhargava, MD & CEO, iProspect, Tushar Vyas, CSO, GroupM, Baskar Subramanian, Co-founder, Amagi, Gautam Mehra, Data Stack, Aparna Joshi, Radioandmusic.com.

    Vidnet will begin at 10.30 am with an introductory note by Anil Wanvari, CEO, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Indiantelevision.com Group.

    It will be followed by Presentation on OTT trends in the APAC Region by Vivek Couto, Media Partners Asia.

    The sessions and individual key notes will address holistically many pivotal issues and questions pertaining to the OTT and VOD ecosystem and usher new knowledge paradigms which will set industry trends in time to come.

    For full information on the agenda and list of speakers, visit http://vidnet.in/

    Speaking on the initiative, Anil Wanvari said: “There’s disruption in the video ecosystem, with viewers wanting to consume content wherever and on any device – at home or on the move. The industry has responded through independent or broadcaster affiliated on-demand offerings –either through an ad model or through subscription. Nobody knows what will work, what is needed to make it work and for how long. We hope that Vidnet – Content on the Go will help OTT players, content creators, advertisers, media buyers and planners, brands and the ad delivery measurement guys go a little further in their understanding of the way ahead.”

    In attendance will be major OTT players, individual content creators, advertising and media professionals, tech gurus, writers, journalists among others.

    Akamai is the CDN Partner for the event, Summit Partners include Hotstar and Voot, Elemental is Associate Partner and Amagi is Support Partner. Animationxpress.com, Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com are Online Partners. The event is executed by ITV 2.0 Productions.

  • TV content creators keen on digital platforms but rue dearth of writers

    TV content creators keen on digital platforms but rue dearth of writers

    GOA: Producers of content for television feel that they are not creating value as the intellectual property rights go to the channels. However, they are ready to invest in creating content for digital networks and over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

     

    Addressing a session on whether the content ecosystem was ready to serve 2000 channels, these producers said serials made for television gave them money but they did not feel satisfied since they were not the owners of their creations. 

     

    Contiloe Pictures CEO Abhimanyu Singh said there was little doubt that TV got more eyeballs than cinema, but this was not totally satisfying. Singh was in fact keen to syndicate their content, which the company could then monetize in different languages.

     

    “One reason why content creators settle for the present position is because the risk lies with the broadcaster and not with the creator,” he said.

     

    In the session moderated by Indiantelevision founder CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, Singh said that he was keen to take up the challenge of creating content for other digital platforms.

     

    Further stating that the younger generation was not coming to television but taking to other mediums, Singh lamented the shortage of good writers in the industry. “The ecosystem has to change for content creators, and this can happen when the intellectual property rights remain with the creator,” he emphasised.

     

    Concurring with Singh on the shortage of writers, Colosceum Media CEO Lalit Sharma looked upon the future as an opportunity for new people to come in. He said, “We will be ready to create content for other digital platforms.”

     

    Beyond Dreams Entertainment Ltd founder Yash Patnaik added, “We have already been doing programmes for other platforms and we have tested audiences for new formats. I am waiting for the market to open up with the entry of OTTs.”

     

    Referring to the shortage of writers, Patnaik said that the writer was also preparing himself for digital platforms. “It is an investment on losses, which may turn into profits later. Content creation needs money, which in turn will create value, which will fetch more investments,” he added. 

     

    Wanvari expressed confidence that OTT players will pay well.

  • Sony to embellish ‘Hanuman’ with VFX and stunts

    Sony to embellish ‘Hanuman’ with VFX and stunts

    MUMBAI: Taking a cue from the popularity of mythological shows on the small screen, Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) general entertainment channel Sony Entertainment Television is all set to roll out a show on Hanuman.

     

    With an emphasis on the creative aspect, Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman will showcase Hanuman’s unique voyage in a manner, which is hitherto untapped. The channel, along with the production house Contiloe Productions, will be using state of the art visual effects and stunts to give the show a larger than life look and feel.

     

    Contiloe Productions CEO Abhimanyu Singh said, “Contiloe has always experimented with multiple genres. This would be our first mythological show and we are pretty excited about it. The show will project the tale of the Hanuman ji from his childhood. We will be using state of the art visual effects and stunts to tell this great tale of Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman. I hope the audience enjoys the show as much as we have while creating it.”

     

    The show will go on air from 4 May, 2015 and will air from Monday to Friday at 8 pm. 

     

    SET India senior vice president and marketing head Gaurav Seth said that Indian viewers would be treated with extensive visual effects and high technological developments. “In this series we will show a number of never seen before imagery of Hanuman and large scale of visual effects to make the end product look as allusive as possible. It will be a larger than life avatar of Hanuman and that makes the series interesting. We cannot change the concept as Hanuman is a mythological character but we added whatever we could to make it a worthy experience for viewers,” Seth said.

     

    Sony has backed the launch of Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman with innovative marketing activities. “We have organised a drone that will fly Hanuman in 12 cities across the Hindi speaking territory. This is something that we are doing for the first time and is witnessing success so far. In the 12 cities, we take a busy location and fly Hanuman with the help of a drone and people gather to enjoy the sight. Besides that, we have built huge creatives of Hanuman in various cities. We also constructed a mobile friendly interactive website to connect with people and are also distributing the Hanuman Chalisa in different temples. Besides the normal marketing activities, these are the extra efforts that we put for Hanuman,” informs Seth.

     

    With Leo Burnett as the creative agency on board, Sony ran the outdoor campaigns in 35 cities across the Hindi Speaking Market.

     

    The entire show will be reverberating around courage, power and faith, which are few words synonymous with the mighty Hindu God, Hanuman.

     

    Sony Entertainment Television senior executive vice president and business head Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “We, at Sony Entertainment Television, would like to bring a mix of various genres to our viewers. We feel that adding the mythology genre to our offering, completes the channel and we are happy to present the story of Lord Hanuman in a very unique format to our viewers. The show explores a mix of untold and popular mythology around Lord Hanuman, in a never seen before format, with mindblowing visuals and powerhouse performances. We are delighted to collaborate with Contiloe Productions once again, with whom we have tasted phenomenal success with the show Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap. We are confident that Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman will set a new benchmark on how mythological shows are presented on television.”

     

    Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman will see Nirbhay Wadhwa as Lord Hanuman.

  • Sony’s ‘Maharana Pratap’ completes 400 episodes

    Sony’s ‘Maharana Pratap’ completes 400 episodes

    MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television’s (SET) historical show Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap recently completed a milestone of 400 episodes.

     

    Contiloe Telefilms producer Abhimanyu Singh said, “Maharana Pratap is one of our landmark shows. Leap will showcase the siege of Chittor, which is a sad chapter in our history. However it reflects the true spirit of our freedom fighters who did not lose hope in such adversity and showed great courage and bravado. We are going to take the help of VFX to show this conflict and give it the required scale. We are introducing new and well known characters in the show. It will be interesting for the audience to watch another episode of history unfold.”

     

    SET chief creative officer Ajay Bhalwankar added, “It is a really good feeling that our show completed a milestone of 400 episodes. It is a joyous moment for all of us associated with this show. We wish that the show completes many such episodes and keeps entertaining everyone.”

     

    Actress Rachana Parulkar, who essays the role of Ajabde in the show, said, “I am overwhelmed with the response of the viewers’ towards the show. It is a moment of pride to see our show complete glories 400 episode. We promise to live up to the expectation of the audience by giving our best performance.”

  • Colors bets big on historical ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’

    Colors bets big on historical ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’

    MUMBAI: History repeats itself… or so they say. From the time Indian television was born, historical and mythological shows have been an integral part of it. In the early 90s, Sunday mornings were dedicated to Mahabharata and Ramayana and today prime time slots are dedicated to the numerous gods and kings, as they battle it out for the ratings.

     

    Colors, the channel synonymous with edgy content and reality shows, is once again dabbling with historical show with Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat. Through the tale of a great emperor who charted the course of Indian history, the channel aims to write its own saga in the genre.

     

    “It is one of the biggest shows of 2015 from Colors stable,” said Colors CEO Raj Nayak at the dusty yet magnanimous sets of the show at ND Studios in Karjat. The idea of launching another historical show after Veer Shivaji was always on the cards, but the actual work on the new series started six months back.

     

    “We took Veer Shivaji off air because it gave us low ratings as compared to other shows on the same time band across channels. But in hindsight, we realised that we shouldn’t have. Hence, we have always been toying with the idea but it has taken us a lot of time to build on it. And we are glad that we have been able to put a great team together,” said Nayak.

     

    The one hour long historical, which goes on air from 2 February, is produced by Contiloe Entertainment and will see set designers Omung Kumar and Nitin Desai collaborating.

     

    “Our brief to the production house was simple – the show needs to be the best ever,” proclaims Nayak.

     

    Contiloe Entertainment, which has numerous genres to its credit, isn’t new to historic shows as well. After creating shows like Jhansi ki Rani, the production house is optimistic about the latest show on its platter. “Everybody knows about Ashoka the emperor and the story will resonate with urban as well as rural India. The show is about creation and will inspire viewers too,” said Contiloe Entertainment CEO Abhimanyu Singh.

     

    The show will follow the story of young Ashoka’s journey in a dramatised manner. “There are always gaps in history, which need to be filled and we’ve made sure that the dots are joined in a responsible way,” said Singh.

     

    A huge research team under the guidance of Srikant Sharma worked on the show. “A number of books have been written on it and we have read almost everything on the era to get story as real as possible,” added Singh.

     

    The young Ashoka is played by Dhoom 3 star Siddharth Nigam and will see Pallavi Subhash (Dharma), Sameer Dharmadhikari (Bindusara), Manoj Joshi (Chanakya), Tej Sapru (Seleucus Nicator), Suzanne Bernert (Helena), Sumit Kaul (Justin) and Ankita Sharma (Noor Khorasan) among others etching the roles.

     

    It wasn’t an easy task to get the cast right. According to Nayak, if the cast is right then a show will work. After numerous auditions, Nigam was shortlisted and had to undergo a three-month long training to play the part with ease.

     

    So far, 10 episodes have been canned. Shot with three Alexa cameras, an episode takes almost four to six days to shoot. “We shoot from 7 am till 10 pm, depending on the demand of the script. However, things have improved now as we have all got a hang of it,” said Prasad Gawandi, who has directed the show.

     

    Planned to be a finite show, which will be on air for six months, the channel will take a call on extending it based on audiences’ reaction. “At Colors we are very clear; if something doesn’t work, we kill it. But that doesn’t stop us from experimenting and taking a risk,” points out Nayak, when asked if the show will get an extension or if the one hour time slot would be shortened in the future.

     

    With Ghari Detergent as its title sponsor, Nayak is confident that many will follow suit once the show is up and running. “In case of fiction shows, one doesn’t have to bother about sponsors as they come on their own as ratings scorch unlike non-fiction where one has to get sponsors on board beforehand as they are expensive,” highlighted Nayak.

     

    The channel, which has a premium charge attached to it, expects Rs 1.5 to Rs 1.8 lakh for a 10 second ad slot.

     

    Media planners too believe that since the story has not been told on the small screen before, it will tend to work in favour of the show and the channel. “Other stories have been told and retold but the story of Ashoka on small screen with modern technology should work,” said a media planner.

     

    To market the show, Colors is routing through unconventional methods. For instance, Mumbai metro travellers are in for a surprise as they will get a coin used in the Mauryan era rather than the usual ticket token for a week. Apart from this, a special school contact programme will be executed in close to 200 schools in 50 towns in tier II markets where students will, in an interactive way, learn about Emperor Ashoka and his life.

     

    “A number of melas and yatras are on in the country and we are tapping in to these as well to give viewers a real life feel of the characters. For instance, people can engage through archery to get a feel of the era gone by,” said Nayak.

     

    One of the most expensive fiction shows apart from 24, the channel is betting high on the story of the young emperor and only time will tell how it fares.

  • ‘Bhanwar’: Sony revives its tried and tested label in the crime genre

    ‘Bhanwar’: Sony revives its tried and tested label in the crime genre

    MUMBAI: It’s survival of the fittest in a highly-competitive TV world. One needs to keep re-inventing oneself and that’s exactly what works wonders in the end. Likewise, Sony Entertainment Television (SET), has gone back to its tried and tested formula gory crime!

     

    The crime genre has until now, been the bread and butter for the channel.  Programmes like C.I.D, Crime Patrol and at times, Adaalat have gripped audiences and thus, Sony has unanimously got a thumbs-up for its non-fiction, criminal offerings.

     

    SET literally takes the viewer through a virtual reality show. It gives them a gripping courtroom drama series, an enthralling and emotional journey, engaging their consciences in matters of right and wrong, and the ultimate balance of justice.

     

    Christened – Bhanwar – Kalyug Ki Hairatangez Kahaniyaa, its provocative stories will compel our society to sit up and take cognizance of the fact, that for every crime committed under the Indian Penal Code, there is an equally harsh justice system meted out.

     

    You may recall, in the late 1990s, Sony had launched a series with an identical name that dealt with landmark judgements from the Indian judicial system. Produced by TV18, the show was so popular that it enjoyed re-runs on SAB and Fox History to boot. Its audiences were treated royally for over two years on Sony, and its episodes were remarkably directed by Sanjay Ray Chaudhari.

     

    It’s back with a bang with a fresh menu of juicy, judicial cases. Come 10 January, 2015, the two veterans of TV production, Contiloe Entertainment’s Abhimanyu Singh and Sunshine Rise Productions’ Anshuman Kishore Singh, will present true-to-life stories of human excesses, which depict volatile social relationships of today.

     

    SET chief creative director, Ajay Bhalwankar, believes that the name of this series is defined by the twists and turns of true events, which often shows that ‘truth is stranger than fiction.’ “Presented in a unique style, the show promises to raise the benchmark of crime shows on Indian television.”

     

    He feels, “The channel has invested a lot of time in researching and digging out real-life stories that take place in a courtroom. It took three months for the channel to pick up the best stories, which were then executed in a fictional manner.”

     

    With this new property, the channel now has a complete portfolio focusing only on crime properties on weekends, starting with Adaalat at 8 pm, Bhanwar in close succession at 9 pm, followed by C.I.D and Crime Patrol at 10 pm and 11 pm respectively. “Sony has been a pioneer in crime genre. We have made a lot of sense and the outcome has turned out very well. We are confident that audiences will relate to this kind of drama that occurs in a courtroom,” asserts Bhalwankar.

     

    “I think this is a good move that the channel has made. In a way, they want audiences to stay tuned to the channel and sample the content one after the other. C.I.D and Crime Patrol both have been consistently delivering decent numbers and Bhanwar will follow suit and jump on the bandwagon, considering its different content. But on the other hand, experimentations have happened on the channel, but viewers haven’t really accepted it; I hope this one pays off for Sony,” says a media planner.

     

    The one-hour courtroom drama TV series is going to face tough competition from Bigg Boss eight on Colors, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs five on Zee TV, Diya aur Baati Hum and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai (Saturday) and Airlines (Sunday) on Star Plus, Supercops vs Supervillains… Shapath on Life OK and The Great Indian Family Drama on Sab.

  • Sab to launch ‘The Great Indian Family Drama’

    Sab to launch ‘The Great Indian Family Drama’

    MUMBAI: Continuing its promise of delivering light-hearted comedy to the viewers, Sab is all set to launch a new weekend comedy show – The Great Indian Family Drama. Inspired from the daily adventures in the life of a Nawaab, the series is a hearty humorous family entertainer and shall hit the tube on 3 January 2015 at 9 pm.

    It features a Nawaab, a living soul that has never worked a day in his life and lives in a world of fantastical imaginative ideas, a distinctive individual who believes working is meant for general public not himself as he is of the firm ideology that Nawaabs are not meant to work as it’s against their pride and public image.

    The new weekend series is produced by Contiloe Productions and is a distinctive take and a light hearted comedy based on the splendid lifestyle of a typical Nawaab. The story revolves around the concept of how Nawaab Saab and the love of his life Begum Paro deal with day-to-day circumstances with quarrels and disagreement between them on a humorous note as a part of their marital life.

    In addition to the lovely couple they also house another family member Sikandar living with them and working for them for years. Sikandar is an integral part of this family and his pranks often lead to hilarious situations in Nawab’s life. He also aspires to become a superstar singer but is never able to leave the family due to his love for them. Together they live under one roof as a family and share love and happiness collectively sprinkled with funny misunderstandings that lead to whacky and humorous situations.

    Sab SVP and business head Anooj Kapoor said: “Sab has constantly offered the best to its viewers in the genre of comedy by presenting various formats and unique content within its space. The Great Indian Family Drama presents yet another interesting plot about the glamorous yet hilarious lifestyle of a Nawaab. The show is a part of our weekend programming and also is along the lines of our belief in ‘Differentiation through Innovation’ as it shows the erstwhile nawabi set-up with bits of contemporary humour seamlessly woven into the story. The concept of the show is completely fresh and we are positive that our audiences will be thoroughly entertained.”

    Contiloe CEP Abhimanyu Singh opined: “Doing comedy has always been very exciting for us; our association with the channel goes a long way. With The Great Indian Family Drama, we get some well-known and talented senior artistes from the industry together to present a unique comedy drama with a Nawaabi twist. We hope the audiences love the concept and show.”

     

  • Star One brings back horror show ‘Shh…Phir Koi Hai’ on 3 November

    Star One brings back horror show ‘Shh…Phir Koi Hai’ on 3 November

    MUMBAI: Star One has announced the launch of the second season of horror show Shh…Phir Koi Hai which is slated to kick off on 3 November 10 pm.

    The show air every Friday and what’s interesting is that every show will have a different story.

    Announcing the new programme, Shailja Kejriwal Star India senior creative director, said, “Star One was launched in November 2004 with the promise to push the boundaries of Hindi general entertainment programming. In the past year, we have delivered on this promise with innovative programming like The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Nach Baliye, Siddhanth, Sarabhai vs. 
    Sarabhai, Remix, The Comedy Show Ha Ha Ha amongst others. Shh…Phir Koi Hai will be weaved into an exciting line-up of programmes that will make Friday prime time viewing on television a whole new experience. With this we keep up with the promise of offering innovative and the best content to our viewers.”

    From production perspective Contiloe Films Abhimanyu Singh said, “The series would have a mix of conventional horror, concept based horror and backdrop horrors thus giving variety and avoiding any fatigue. This one-hour weekly will be a start to finish story with a twist in the tale at the end. The entire drama will be extremely gripping and ensure that the viewers are hooked to their television sets right from the beginning.”