ITV

Tag: Abhishek Rege

  • Endemol Shine India to create series on Damyanti Biswas’ bestselling novel

    Endemol Shine India to create series on Damyanti Biswas’ bestselling novel

    MUMBAI: Endemol Shine India has optioned Damyanti Biswas’s bestselling Indian crime novel "You Beneath Your Skin" to develop as a multipart drama series, with all proceeds from this option going towards social enterprises in the author’s native New Delhi.

    Dramatic rights were acquired by Endemol Shine India from agent Ed Wilson at Johnson & Alcock Ltd, working with Sidharth Jain at Mumbai-based agency The Story Ink.

    You Beneath Your Skin was published by Simon & Schuster India in September 2019 and has since gained considerable acclaim notching up multiple Amazon #1 bestseller categories. Set in contemporary New Delhi, the multi-strand narrative concerns an Indian American single mother and her autistic teenage son, whose comfortable middle-class lives are turned upside down by a police investigation; a crime spree of slum women found stuffed in trash bags, faces and bodies disfigured by acid. Although a work of fiction, it tackles many endemic problems in India: violence against women, slum poverty, and police corruption.

    Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege said, “You Beneath your Skin is a crime thriller, layered with issues of poverty, misogyny and corruption. Taking a leaf out of the vast legacy of phenomenal women writers in the crime thriller genre – Damyanti’s book brings a sensitivity to an otherwise violent genre. The protagonist is fascinating as she is a single mother and traversing an unorthodox life through the rather orthodox setting of Delhi. Gripping, relevant and hard-hitting, this is a story populated with many characters, multiple fractured relationships, small intimate moments and effective back stories. This is a thriller with a family at the center of the plot. These are the stories that Endemol Shine India wants to bring to the fore.”

    “Thanks to Ed Wilson and Sidharth Jain, You Beneath Your Skin has been optioned by a wonderful brand like Endemol Shine India. I’m pleased that Jatin and Anjali’s journey is headed for screens, highlighting voices against poverty and acid violence," said Biswas.

    Biswas is a writer and activist, now based in Singapore. All proceeds from the book go towards her chosen causes: the educational charity Project WHY, and the Chhaanv foundation, which helps acid attack survivors. The charity sector in India has been hard hit by Covid2019, which has severely affected underprivileged communities.

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  • TV producers on restarting offices with safety measures

    TV producers on restarting offices with safety measures

    MUMBAI: On 8 June the Maharashtra government allowed all private offices to operate with up to 10 per cent of full staff strength or ten people (whichever is higher). Production houses are still waiting for permission from Film City and district collectors to start production in Mumbai and Thane. In the meantime, certain producers have restarted their offices, while others are waiting for things to get normal.

    Famous Studio MD Anant Roongta who resumed office on 8 June thanked his team for their constant effort. The company is currently working with less than ten people. However, it has introduced a shift system to manage the workflow. There are no more than five people per floor. The studio has five facilities and across the entire facility, 35 to 40 people are working.

    Apart from that, the office space is sanitised on a regular basis. It is mandatory to wear surgical gloves while working on any equipment to stop the mitigating virus. Social distancing is followed by providing separate rooms to each employee. As far as visual reality is concerned people are working in the extreme ends of the room. Most employees are also given separate stations to maintain the social distancing norm. For travelling, employees are using private vehicles or sharing a car with no more than two people.

    Creative Eye has also re-started its office. Its managing director Dheeraj Kumar says, “We are functioning as per the permission granted by the government. We have already started working on a project that was supposed to happen before the lockdown. We have booked the set, paid advances and realigned 15 scripts.”

    In the last few days Kumar has shifted his focus to operational issues. As a service provider Kumar highlights that the company works on a project basis. If needed, it has close to 100 people on the set. For now, the permanent staff consists of 50 employees and only those who are close by are coming to the office in their private vehicles. People who live far off are still working from home.

    The teams required in the office are the ideation and creation teams. They include CEOs, CFOs, head of departments, general managers, operational team, studio manager, executive secretary, administrative manager, housekeeping staff and kitchen staff. Apart from that, editors are permanently also living in the office.

    Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege makes it clear that it will not be starting its office any time soon. Employees will be working from home for the next six months at least and even after that work will resume in a shift system.  

    He adds, “The key change will be the number of people coming on the set and how they behave. What can be done to maintain social distancing, and other necessary guidelines.”

    On a similar note, Hats Off Productions founder J D Majethia is also not planning to restart his office. Firstly, he wants to ensure that everything is in place in terms of SOPs and safety and then he will think of restarting. Until then all the employees will continue working from home.

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  • Production houses plan for return after lockdown

    Production houses plan for return after lockdown

    MUMBAI: As lockdown restrictions ease across the country and state governments start handing out approvals to resume shooting, production houses are gearing up to get back on track with requisite precautions and safety measures. Tasks like an SOP plan will be on top of the priority list and this means added costs for production houses.

    IFTPC chairman TV wing and Hats Off Production founder J D Majethia is optimistic that Maharashtra will start shooting in June itself. Anticipating that the pandemic will run longer he has bought a temperature check kiosk, sanitisation stand and other necessary equipment rather than rent them. He also mentioned that insurance policies will become a necessity that will cover workers, technicians and artists for the SarsCov2 virus. 

    “On ground, our focus is crew safety and thereafter following the right protocols. We are preparing to implement SOPs on ground. We want to ensure that the number of people is less. Our focus is not just on what the government has advised but we also want to keep things under control from a safety perspective,” says Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege. However, he says that their shows will commence production only by August.

    Even though Endemol is waiting for shoots to resume here, other regional areas have commenced where permissions have been granted such as Tamil Nadu. Going forward, the company will work in a shift system, so that at any given time required crew members are present. Maintaining distance and required people on the set will be the big change. He, too, added that employee health insurance will be imperative.

    Currently, Rege is working on only new shows. “We are trying to figure out ways where we don’t compromise on our script and yet deliver good content,” he says.

    Famous Studio MD Anant Roongta, who is ecstatic about re-starting his work, thanked his team members for their constant support. Famous Studio re-started studio work from 8 June. During lockdown, his 50 employees were able to work on pending projects remotely because of its previous efforts in upgrading technology. Even artists came up with techniques to work from home.

    While mentioning hygiene and sanitisation measures Roongta says, “We have seven action areas, for all the employees and clients who are coming in our studio. We have a self-declaration form that is mandatory to fill before entering the studios. It is a list of 20 to 30 questions which includes their travel history, any possible symptoms, if they live in a containment area and much more.”

    Once people fill the form, they go to the sanitisation stand outside the office. Post that, their temperature is checked and it is mandatory to wear a mask. The studio is sanitised and disinfected every morning. Surgical gloves are provided to people who are working on equipment. As people are working on separate wings and rooms, social distancing is also taken care of. Everyone has to enter and exit from one point to avoid overlapping.

    The staff follows a dedicated SOP which included appointing housekeeping for deep cleaning before opening up the office. On the insurance front, he says “Most of the people we work with are consultants and not employees, so they are individually responsible for their own insurance policies.”

    Creative Eye Limited MD Dheeraj Kumar says that they too resumed work from 8 June. He adds, “I am waiting for broadcasters to give us the green signal to start fresh projects as well as pending ones. But even if we want to shoot, we will need a minimum of 25 days time in our hand to do all the preparation which was lost in three months.”

    Their precautionary measures include thermal infra-red guns at the entrance to check the temperature and will be written in a physical register. Whoever enters the premises will have to provide their contact details and home address. After entering the building, people must sanitise their hands with a stand that’s operated by the feet. He is also providing tailor-made in-house masks and gloves. In the past ten days, the entire Creative Eye building and office has been sanitised thrice. About 100 Creative Eye employees have also been covered under an insurance policy.

  • Identify safe places to shoot, Maharashtra CM tells industry delegation

    Identify safe places to shoot, Maharashtra CM tells industry delegation

    MUMBAI: A 12-member delegation of television producers and broadcasters on Friday interacted with Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray who asked them to find safe and secluded places for resuming shooting.

    In the zoom call, Thackeray responded positively to the delegation’s concerns and demands and assured them that shooting can restart soon. He asked them to identify green zones/safe areas for resuming shooting.

    The delegation apprised the chief minister the huge losses the industry has been incurring since the lockdown was imposed in March. The leaders shared with him the concerns of job losses and the industry’s wish to restart shooting with utmost care and by adhering to SOPs.

    He quickly addressed all issues and asked his team to set up a committee and work out the possibilities to start shooting at the earliest. The industry has to find out studios away from civilization, list of necessary precautions to be taken and spacious post production studios where social distancing can be maintained.

    Once this is done, the permission for the maintenance of sets, monsoon sheds, fire safety measures, etc. can be obtained. The shooting has to be conducted with minimum crew. Government officials will also be visiting Goregaon film city to examine its safety.

    Those who attended the meeting included: Zee Entertainment Enterprises managing director and chief executive officer Puneet Goenka, Sony Pictures Networks managing director and chief executive N P Singh, Network18 MD Rahul Joshi, Star & Disney India head K Madhavan,  Zee Entertainment Enterprises CEO Punit Misra, Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege, TV producer Ekta Kapoor, Banijay Asia founder-CEO Deepak Dhar, actor-producer Adesh Bandekar, Dr Sanjay Mukharji, Vikas Gharelu, Sudhir Naik, IFTPC managing member Nitin Vaidya, and jd Majethia.  

    jd Majethia informed that the chief minister posed for a picture of the video conference meeting. “I was very happy to discover a hidden streak of our beloved CM’s sense of humour which kept everyone in the meeting comfortable. The chief minister concluded the meeting by asking us all to be positive and hopeful with a line of a song from film chhoti si baat “Aanewala pal jane wala hai,” said Majethia.

    After several weeks of uncertainty, the television and broadcasting industry can finally heave a sigh of relief. Though an exact date has not been fixed yet, it is certain that production activities can resume soon. 

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  • Ekta Kapoor leads TV frat to make inspiring COVID-19 film

    Ekta Kapoor leads TV frat to make inspiring COVID-19 film

    MUMBAI: You have to hand it to creative czarina Ekta Kapor. If she does something, she does it in style. Like her latest effort at assuaging the ennui that some might be going through thanks to being boxed in their homes courtesy the long-drawn lockdown on account of COVID-19. She has got together more than a score of actors, a bunch of leading TV producers from the Indian Film & TV Producers Council, and put out a short film labelled Quarantine which not only educates, engages, but also entertains about how we can deal with the pandemic.

    It was sometime around the end of the first week of April that she mentioned on the IFTPC WhatsApp group that the TV industry should make a film that would be TV-centric  and that she had a concept which could be fleshed out.  The Amitabh Bachchan Covid2019 short  film  Family with several leading actors had just been released and the view was  that the TV frat should also be doing something to keep viewers entertained and positive.

    She sought volunteers from the group who would work with her to make it a reality. Almost immediately, Binaifer Kohkli, Fazila Allana (Sol India Banijay), Anil Wanvari (The Indian Telly Awards – and the indiantelevision.com group), Abhishek Rege (Endemol Shine India), JD Majethia (Hats Off Productions), Gul Khan agreed and came on  board as executive producers. (Tanushree Dasgupta came in a couple of days later as executive producer).  Dheeraj Sarna – a producer in his own right –was roped in to write the script for the short but entertaining film, with dialogues being penned by him and Anukalp Goswami.  Prolific TV music director Aashish Rego hopped on board to do the background music for the film.

    Full House Media MD Sonali Jaffar was assigned with the creative responsibility, while Guroudev Bhalla was given the task of directing the video, disclosed  actor and producer JD Majethia.

    Another Whatsapp group was formed with those who had volunteered.  “We connected on a Zoom call where the ideas were discussed,” he says. “After brainstorming and discussing with fellow producers a collective call was taken on how this video should be light hearted and yet conveying the important message of staying home. The basic premise was that the actors would simulate as if they were in the Big Boss house and not forcibly locked down in their homes and the story would take off from there.”

    He adds, “After getting the final script the next stage was the casting.  Few were mentioned in the script and few names of actors were discussed who could participate in the video. Some were available and some were not but most of them did their best to make it happen.  It was the collective effort made by the producers, actors, editor and director to shoot this video. Because technically speaking it was not easy to shoot this video on your phone. Guroudev Bhalla did a fantastic job of putting this together. He and along with other executive producers constantly coordinated with actors for every frame of the video. He coordinated with them regarding props or lighting, how their lines should be, who should say what. He coordinated with the editor Vikas Sharma.”

    Binaifer Kohli was one of the executive producers. She mentioned that Ekta Kapoor approached Sonali Jaffar to look at the creative aspect of the film. Kohli assisted Guroudev Bhalla in the direction. Kohli’s primary job was to ensure proper coordination between director, actor and the editor. According to Kohli, the actors did a phenomenal job of pulling this off. As it was not that easy to shoot just with their phone. Ensuring the proper angle and lighting. The entire shoot was done in five days as each actor was allocated different lines.

    She echoes, “Some of the actors shot the video by themselves on their phone, others took help of the family members. It had moving shots where eye level had to be maintained. Lighting was a very important aspect. Whenever the changes were required actors reshot the video there and then. They sought help from the editor on uploading it. We also changed the script according to the person.”

    Ekta Kapoor who spearheaded “Quarantine” says, “This video is an initiative of the television producers association of our country and we got all the top television actors to participate in this video, which was conceptualized over numerous conference calls! It is an effort from all of us in encouraging people to stay home. We hope this reaches far and wide.”

    The entire concept of making this video was to keep it casual, entertaining yet focusing on the importance of staying at home. Says SOL India-Banijay Group founder & MD Fazila AllanA: “In these unprecedented times it’s just nice if one can bring a smile to people’s faces and this was a small endeavour by the TV fraternity to do just that.”

    Full House Media MD Sonali Jaffar instructed the actors about their dialogues and in which manner they have to shoot. She adds, “Shooting at home was quite challenging also as a lot of prop exchanges were going on with the broom. Everyone was instructed to use a plain background as it would be difficult to match lightings. Because some were standing in the balcony some were having other backgrounds so we had to tell them to keep the same background. The other option was to use black and white background but it would have been difficult.”

    “The important thing was whenever we were shooting we shared the clips with the director there and then so that the changes could be made before editing the video. I thank all actors and producers for coming together and creating this beautiful video,” she further added.

    Adds Wanvari: “What is amazing how all of us worked as a team without shying away from whatever we  were asked to do. Even the actors immediately caught on to the idea that was shared with them by the creative director and Guroudev Bhalla. And they were also more than willing to do their bits to help Indians at home. They have all done a fantastic job, the results are for you to see.”

    According to Majethia two versions of the short film have been created, one featuring sign language for the hearing and speech impaired and one without it. He adds, “I think this is the beauty of this video. The idea I personally loved the most.”

    The video is being promoted across all social media platforms Majethia also mentions that the producers are in talks with television broadcasters to play it on national television.

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  • More localised stories is the way forward to connect with larger regional audiences

    More localised stories is the way forward to connect with larger regional audiences

    MUMBAI: Regional GEC is the new focus area after Hindi GEC for broadcasters, OTT platforms and production houses as well. South market is the biggest market in the regional space; it has grown by 45 per cent with OTT platforms investing in regional content. So, what is the way forward to connect with larger audiences in the regional market for broadcasters and OTT players?

    A panel discussion on the power of regional storytelling at The Content Hub 2020 organised by Indiantelevision.com highlighted that more localised and relatable stories that connect the audiences in regional market is the way forward. The panel was moderated by Bodhitree Multimedia co-founder and director Mautik Tolia with panellists Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege, Vaishnave Mediaa Works managing director Kutty Padmini, Star Maa & Star Vijay creative consultant and Zee Network Programming Trainer Vivek Bahl, Fakt Marathi co-promoter Shirish Pattanshetty and Prime Focus Technologies SVP-global localisation Jyothi Nayak. 

    The panellists also elaborated on the need to explore regional stories, challenges faced by broadcasters and creators, dubbed content, remaking of regional content and the way forward.

    Padmini said, “Today, 45 per cent of south Indian content has grown and this year Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar, and Zee5 have invested huge money and created so much of work for people like us who are creative. The south content is very strong because it has talented technicians and writers. Hindi GEC is the largest space and the budget allotted to them is also high but South GEC has limited budget and in that limited budget we also create very good content.”

    Bahl lamented that although it is fantastic to see so many networks going into regional market he is a little disappointed that the content is similar and not unique. "We need to dive deep down and look more into local stories which are relevant in that particular market." He added the network owns all the IPR and replicate in whichever language they want without paying the writer or creator anything else and they are probably not even getting the credit. That also is holding back the talent.

    Rege said that there is a great acceptance of formats like Bigg Boss in the past few years. "More than acceptance it was always a demand to want high-quality stuff which wasn’t coming by. It helped the advertisers and broadcasters pushing it in. There is always going to be such demands again, so you put through all formats as long as you can make it viable and it's upto producers to come up with such stuff.”

    Pattanshetty said that some people from the fraternity claim that Maharashtra is bilingual so the requirement of Marathi which was classified as a P1 market a couple of years back is now going down because buyers feel that their requirement is covered by Hindi channels while that is not the case. "If we exclude Mumbai and Pune we find that Maharashtra has a lot of regional content requirement and it is growing fast. On the Marathi remake of Tarak Mehta… also we were little hesitant and we took a strong call on doing it. We saw that with that show we grew in the urban market as well.”

    Nayak said, “From 2019 to 2022, the OTT space probably is going to grow around 118 per cent. As a company, we have to ensure what is that your audience is looking at in order to scale up. If we talk about dubbing, it’s not just about translating the language, it’s about understanding that particular regional space. As a company we have to be the backbone and support and ensure that we are working hand-in-hand with content creators to ensure their expectations are met. At the same time our audiences are accepting what you are delivering. So we are in the middle of content creators and audiences and we have to satisfy both our people and that’s the challenge. Overall, the digital disruption in the media and entertainment industry has definitely impacted the market landscape and that has helped the industry while going to the next level when it comes to creating the content or serving the partners.” 

  • ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ S10 heads to Bulgaria for new thrills

    ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi’ S10 heads to Bulgaria for new thrills

    MUMBAI: After the success of Bigg Boss season 13, Colors is all set to replace it with Khatron Ke Khiladi season 10 from 22 February at 9 pm. Last year the show garnered around 222 million viewership throughout its journey on the channel and it was the biggest reality show in FY 19 for Colors. 

    "The DNA of the Khatron Ke Khiladi is stunts; its action, its thrill. It's about how one overcomes their fear. But the fact that we're taking it to Bulgaria has changed the scenario completely. We had our own challenges in Bulgaria and to overcome those challenges we innovate. And that's what brings Khatron Ke Khiladi to its newness. The USP of the Khatron Ke Khiladi will be Bulgaria and unimaginable stunts that viewers will see and truly some of them will keep you on the edge of your seat," says Viacom18 hindi mass entertainment and kids network head Nina Elavia Jaipuria. 

    And that's what entertainment is all about. The kind of emotion it can evoke is reality TV. "We have invested a lot in Khatron Ke Khiladi, it's an expensive show. When the viewers will see the show they will realise that stunts and Rohit Shetty are the USP of the show," says Jaipuria. 

    She adds, "In FY 2019, Khatron Ke Khiladi was leading and it was the biggest nonfiction show of FY 19. On an average, I think on a weekly average it had about 9 million viewership. But overall, the entire journey had 222 million viewers. That's huge and that's the biggest non-fiction show has had in a long time. We want to make sure that all the viewers who were watching Bigg Boss season 13 watch Khatron Ke Khiladi too."

    The channel has utilised the platform of Bigg Boss season 13 to promote the upcoming season of Khatron Ke Khiladi. "We got integrations going into Big Boss and Filmfare Awards to talk about it. Of course, we have a lot of outdoor will have some radio buzz, and we have a very solid digital strategy because stunts can be done and lend themselves well to digital."

    For the first time, the channel will use social media platform TikTok, along with Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The channel is going to take the daring challenge with the contestants through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Jaipuria informs, "We will get first the contestants to take the daring challenge and then we'll ask viewers to take the daring challenge. We've done some very peculiar content, which is specially made for viewers online, where we have actually shot two sides of the same contestant. So the contest for example Karishma Tanna – how she wants to face the fear but the other side is about being scared. A lot of social media engagement will be happening throughout show. We wish to trend as much as Bigg Boss worldwide," she added.

    Rohit Shetty returns as the host with the theme of the season Darr Ki University. Enrolling in the university and turning the scintillating country of Bulgaria into a battleground, will be Adaa Khan, Karishma Tanna, Karan Patel, Shivin Narang, Tejashwi Prakash, Balraj Syal, Amruta Khanvilkar, Rani Chatterjee, RJ Malishka and Dharmesh Yelande. Every stunt, every challenge will count when Darr Lega Class, Dega traas and the report card will determine the fate of the contestants in the game.

    For the first time, contestants will be seen performing stunts on a moving train which has been designed by Shetty. Each episode will have a mix of thrilling acts including an aerial stunt performed on a chopper.  Along with performing adrenaline rushing stunts, the contestants will also be seen having their share of fun.  Be it Karan Patel and Amruta Khanvilkar breaking into Chaiyya Chaiyya atop a moving train, Tejasswi trying to talk to a ravenous crocodile or Karishma Tanna falling in love with a Gorilla, there will never be a dull moment on India’s largest stunt-based reality show.

    Viacom18 hindi mass entertainment chief content officer Manisha Sharma says, “Khatron Ke Khiladi is one of our marquee properties that presents a perfect blend of action and entertainment. This season, 10 audacious contestants have been carefully handpicked to be a part of Darr Ki University helmed by our revered host Rohit Shetty. He has been an integral part of our journey and will give this season his personal touch by designing some of the daredevil stunts. For the first time, the season has been shot at the picturesque locations of Bulgaria that serves as a perfect backdrop for the thrilling experience. The contestants will be accompanied by creepy crawlies, deadly animals and innumerable hurdles on their journey that will increase the challenges manifold.”

    The professor of the University and show host, Rohit Shetty said, “The idea of fear seldom puts us on a backfoot but on Khatron Ke Khiladi, it is definitely not an option. This is my fifth year of association with the show and my job is to push the contestants, which I have always done, to face their phobias head-on and explore their true potential. Even the breathtaking views of Bulgaria will fail to ease out the pain when the contestants’ endurance and mental strength will be put to test.”

    Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege says, “Thrill and adventure put together always makes for a great entertainment proposition and Khatron Ke Khiladi provides you just that. The show has successfully grown over the years to become our biggest action-based property while amping up the energy and action. Rohit Shetty is tantamount to an action guru and with every season, he has reinvented himself to take the show to the next level. We hope to keep up the same momentum as the new season is packed with edgy and high-intensity stunts.” 

  • Endemol Shine Group appoints top screenwriter for ‘The Ibis Trilogy’

    Endemol Shine Group appoints top screenwriter for ‘The Ibis Trilogy’

    MUMBAI: Global content creator, producer, and distributor Endemol Shine Group today announces the latest high- profile talent to join forces in the development of The Ibis Trilogy, a major high-end production for the global market.

    Internationally acclaimed screenwriter Michael Hirst, who is behind the Oscar-winning historical film ‘Elizabeth’and TV series such as ‘Vikings’ and ‘The Tudors’ has signed to bring Amitav Ghosh’s blockbuster novels The Ibis Trilogy to life.

    Shekhar Kapur, the award-winning film director behind ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ as well as Bollywood smash hit ‘Bandit Queen’ will direct the series. 

    Amitav Ghosh’s masterpiece The Ibis Trilogybegins with ‘Sea of Poppies’, continues with ‘River of Smoke’ and concludes with ‘Flood of Fire’, is seen as a landmark of twenty-first century literature. Set in mid-nineteenth century Asia, the exotic series begins in India and will interweave the lives of vividly drawn characters against the backdrop of the opium wars between Britain and China.

    The Ibis Trilogycombines a huge narrative sweep to explore the iniquities of colonialism and the seeds of modern capitalism fuelled by the trade in opium with finely drawn, psychologically rich characterisation of people from multiple different nationalities and walks of life who are swept into the vortex of history.

    Tiger Aspect will lead production with newly appointed Head of Drama, Lucy Bedford joining executive producers Gub Neal, Justin Thomson and Jeremy Gawade (DoveTale Media). Story Editor Justin Pollard will serve as Co-Executive Producer. Headed up by Abhishek Rege, Endemol Shine India is also on board in the development of the project.

    Endemol Shine Group head of scripted for EMEA Lars Blomgren says, “Since Abhishek brought The Ibis Trilogy to our attention over a year ago, it’s been a joy to bring together a talented and passionate team – to supercharge this high-end, multi-layered journey. Michael Hirst has a distinctive writing style which appeals to a contemporary audience – and this paired with Shekhar’s vision – puts us in an excellent position to take a fully developed package to the global market in the new year.” 

    Michael Hirst says; “It’s absolutely magic to be working with Shekhar Kapur once again to create a historic world of characters that the audience can universally connect with. The Ibis Trilogy is an extraordinary series of novels, which delivers the material to create an impressive, exciting and unique television series with the both commercial and critical appeal. I’m thrilled to be working on this project which will take television drama into new worlds and new opportunities and will tell the story of the Opium Wars from an Indian and Chinese perspective.”

    Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege, says, “It is amazing to see such a talented team come together to visualize Amitav Gosh’s outstanding novel series. This was exactly what we had in mind when we first pursued the project, bringing the best talent from across the globe together to create a drama showing the intricacies of the characters and the era.”

  • Top TV producers weigh in on OTT challenge, formats & IP rights

    Top TV producers weigh in on OTT challenge, formats & IP rights

    MUMBAI: Content creators today cannot rely on daily soaps to attract viewers. With OTT looming large, production houses have to broaden their content nexus. Indiantelevision.com’s The Content Hub hosted a session – ‘The TV production Story: Reality, Non-fiction’, with the panellists Contiloe Pictures producer and founder Abhimanyu Singh, Endemol Shine CEO Abhishek Rege, SOL India – Banijay Group founder and MD Fazila Allana. The session was moderated by Bodhitree Multimedia co-founder and director Mautik Tolia. 

    The panel discussed the hot topic of IP rights, whether it should be given to the broadcaster or kept with the creator. To this, Singh said that it is valuable for every production house to hold its IP rights, where one can syndicate and get certain revenues on a recurring basis. "If the ecosystem thinks of it then I think the law needs to protect creators just as the musicians are protected," he said and Allana agreed with him.

    Rege said that retaining IPs means financial risks for the producer. He further explained, "If we have commissioned a show in Hindi, why would you have the IP of all the languages go with the network? But while we think all this to happen, are we ready to take all the risk?”

    Discussion on the potential of content, Rege said that scripted shows are platform-agnostic. He said that the challenge here is making attractive content for the viewers and targeting the right TG. "With OTT, I don’t think it’s easy to do as many talents shows that we do on linear," he added.

    The new tariff order will bring about a change in content creation, according to Rege. With customers choosing individual channels, broadcasters need unique content to attract people. “This fight is based on non-scripted or premium scripted property," he said.  

    Allana said that non-fiction producers have a bigger challenge as opposed to fiction producers because there has been a saturation of ideas. But she added that non-fiction content is going to evolve in the OTT platform but the future belongs to scripted shows. “On OTT there will be a lot of social experimentation as well as lifestyle programming.  Earlier we all used to chase formats now we chase stories,” she said.

    The deluge of daily content has thwarted premium content from growing. Rege said, "In creating premium content, you will have to spend time in writing. Apart from that, as far as production is concerned, you will have to have the discipline of pre-producing the series and this doesn’t exist on our television. The whole ecosystem needs to move in this direction." 

  • The Content Hub 2019: Creators discuss digital adaptation, creativity and originality

    The Content Hub 2019: Creators discuss digital adaptation, creativity and originality

    MUMBAI: Indiantelevision.com on Wednesday wrapped the third edition of its popular event The Content Hub in presence of some of the biggest names from the TV, digital, and the movies industry. Spanned across several panel discussions and fireside chats, this edition of The Content Hub discussed ‘the new era of content creation’ with a focus on the digital boom, need of good content creators, the synergy between creators and producers, and creating properties that can travel globally.

    Starting the day was a panel discussion on ‘The TV Production Story: Reality, Not Fiction’, moderated by Bodhi Tree Multimedia co-founder and director Mautik Tolia. In discussion were some of the most successful and prominent names in the TV industry – Contiloe Pictures Pvt Ltd founder and producer Abhimanyu Singh, Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege and SOL India – Banijay Group founder and MD Fazila Allana.

    The distinguished panel discussed the opportunities and challenges fiction and non-fiction formats today face in the TV and digital world. They also shed some light on the prospects premium content has in the Indian industry.

    The panel agreed that non-fiction producers face bigger challenges in creating content as compared to those investing in fiction and dramas. Allana noted that while earlier people were chasing formats, now they are chasing stories. However, she quipped that there is a vast opportunity for non-fiction shows on OTT platforms citing examples of TV shows like MTV Troll Police.

    Singh reflected the same sentiments as he noted that this is a very good time for the content creators. He said, “I feel it is a great time to tell stories. I think we as an industry haven’t delivered premium content because the nature of delivery has always been daily content. So, this is an opportunity to deliver premium content.”

    Rege mentioned, “Scripted becomes a little easier to tell stories more across TV, OTT or across multiple platforms. The challenge here is making attractive content for the viewers and targeting the right people. With OTT I don’t think it’s easy to do as many talent shows that we do on linear.”

    The second session was a fireside chat between Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari and Swastik Productions  & One Life Studios founder and chief creative officer Siddharth Kumar Tewary.

    Tewary, based on his extensive experience of industry work, reflected upon many aspects of content creation and production including formats, IP rights, and disruptors in the industry. He noted while most of the people believe that longer formats don’t work internationally, the reality is not the same.

    Speaking about IP rights of content, Tewary made some relevant points saying, “IP creation is a scientific thing related to the socio-political situation in the country and the world. We need to know where the world is heading. If you are going to add value and bring something unique for the TV, then you will get the IP.” He also announced the foray of his group in the animation category at the platform.

    The next session was a discussion on the animation industry with an esteemed panel of Discovery Kids head Uttam Pal Singh, Golden Robot Animation head of business development RK Chand, Paperboat Animation co-founder and chairman Soumitra Ranade and Bioscopewala Pictures managing partner Nishith Takia. The session was moderated by Kinsane Entertainment Inc chief marketing officer Pranab Punj.

    The panel highlighted the vast opportunities OTT platforms are offering them right now. Takia shared that his company is in talks with several big digital players to create content for them. Another point that the panel highlighted was that Indian audience is not very keen to visit theatres to consume animated content and that closed their avenues of creating content for a wider audience and not just the kids.

    Answering a question on why there aren’t more female-led animated shows in India, the panel shared a similar tone as they mentioned that in most of their shows, the female characters have an equal prominence as the mail lead, they are inclusive to the storyline. They added that male-led shows are doing well in the market and from a business perspective they are focusing on that aspect as well.

    The next session was an interesting and insightful chat on ‘The Syndication Opportunity’ between Sony head networks—licencing Malvika Prabhu, Go Quest Media Ventures MD Vivek Lath, Swastik Productions and One life studio producer and managing director Rahul Kumar Tewary, MX Player head of content acquisition Mansi Shrivastav and ANM Global co-founder partner Nidhish Mehrotra. Moderating the panel was Wanvari.

    Wanvari started the discussion by asking the panellists whether the demand for Indian content in the global market is going up or declining. To this, the panel stated that it has probably reduced over time. However, the Indian creations are performing well at markets like Thailand and Sri Lanka.

    The panel mentioned that genres like romance, drama, horror, and good animation has a lot of markets overseas. They also added that premium content will also attract a lot of traction towards Indian creations. Kumar stated that we need to relook at the type of content we are creating and invest more in subjects that have the potential to travel. He also said that Indians do not value their content enough.

    Lath said, “We have to think like a programmer and not from a sales perspective,” as he elaborated on the right approach to sell content overseas. He predicted that India has the potential to make around Rs 400-500 crore with content syndication (minus the movies) because it is still young in the market and has a lot of potential to improve in the coming times. Kumar added that in the next few years Indian premium content will find a lot of audiences globally.

    Taking the insightful day ahead was the next panel of digital producers including Addatimes Pvt Ltd managing director Rajiv Mehra, The Viral Fever (TVF) global head of business and content Rahul Sarangi, Viacom18 EVP and head content Monika Shergill, MX Player chief content officer Gautam Talwar and One Digital Entertainment COO and co-founder Gurpreet Singh. The panel was moderated by industry veteran and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment executive producer Sanjeev Lamba.

    While the panel agreed that there is a great influx of male-oriented and sexually-oriented content performing on OTT platform, they all are looking beyond that. They all mentioned that the industry is currently focusing on good writing talent and meaningful stories. Sarangi said that TVF is not looking towards creating violent or sexual content at all, at least for the next four to five years. Its focus is on stories like Pitchers and Yeh Meri Family that touch the hearts of the people.

    Shergill shared that Voot is looking at ideas that bring new and original voices to the stories. Unless platforms experiment, she believes they will lose their audience.

    Talwar shared that the focus of recently launched MX Player is on creating content that can be watched on a 5-inch phone screen rather on a 50-inch TV. The TG for the player is 18-30-year-old male and it wants the platform to be genre-agnostic.

    The next event was a fireside chat between Wanvari and Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair. The duo discussed ‘The New Studio Model’.

    Nair started with launching an amazing showreel of upcoming programmes from the Applause banner. They included a wide variety of content ranging from humour to political to drama. It also included the Indian version of the very popular The Office series.

    Nair stated that he did not want to start a company which goes on to become just a production house but he rather wanted to invest in good content. He thus worked with some amazing directors, writers, and actors like Ronit Roy, Pankaj Tripathi and Swara Bhaskar to create the first instalment of the Applause shows. One of the flagship series, Rasbhari-starring Swara Bhaskar and written by Shantanu Shrivastava—has in fact already been selected for ‘Series Mania’ festival in France. Warning them of slacking in content, he said, “If the content industry is not careful right now, it will end up becoming a replica of TV.”

    The day continued with a panel discussion on how new Hindi film producers are making their mark and what business models they are drawing up. Part of the discussion were Essel Vision (Zee Studios) CEO Shariq Patel, Viacom18 Studios chief operating officer Ajit Andhare, Alliance Media and Entertainment owner Sunil Doshi and Fox Star Studios India CEO Vijay Singh. Moderating the panel was film reviewer at Film Companion Suchitra Tyagi.

    The panel was a light-hearted but with insightful discussions on the current trends of the Indian movie industry, the need for well-written scripts and content that performs. The panel agreed that today is an amazing time for good storytellers and content creators. They forced upon the fact that literature is the sibling of cinema. The panel also discussed on creating avenues to make the system more approachable to the budding writers who want to reach out to the studios.

    The evening was concluded by an overview of the MIP platform by MIP China Hangzhou director of market development Ted Baracos, who in an interactive session apprised the gathering of various opportunities this global content-sharing platform brings and how they can leverage on that.