MUMABI: Rainshine Entertainment, a leading entertainment company that creates diverse and iconic content for Indian and global audiences, announced a strategic expansion into the digital audio space through podcasts. The company set the wheels in motion with the launch of two new podcasts on Audible Suno – ‘Thriller Factory’ and ‘Be Stupid with Vir Das’, produced by CM Studios and Weirdass Comedy respectively. Rainshine Entertainment intends to release more than 30 podcasts over the next 12 months, offering consumers a diverse bouquet of stories spanning across genres, ranging from thriller to comedy to self-help. This will comprise content from companies present under the Rainshine umbrella, to be distributed in India and across the globe.
Created by Ruchir Joshi and Pravesh Bhardwaj, with Sameer Pitalwalla as the Producer, ‘Thriller Factory’ is an adapted and abridged version of stories from the bestselling Indian pulp fiction writer, Ved Prakash Sharma. Presented by Anurag Kashyap and produced by CM Studios, one of the content production arms of Rainshine Entertainment, this ten-episodic crime series amalgamates the grit and natural style of Kashyap's cinema with Ved's evocative stories. Leading actors including Tabu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Sachin Khedekar lend gravity and texture to the episodes, thereby creating a peculiar soundscape that merges the old and new, the retro and contemporary, the raw and refined.
‘Be Stupid with Vir Das’, a topical comedy produced by Weirdass Comedy, the foremost comedy content studio and consultancy in India, takes on a lighter persona. In this series, Vir Das discusses how stupidity and stupid decisions across history, his personal life, and the lives of others surprisingly changed the world for the better. From a man who accidentally cycled past the India-Pak border to a young boy who flung his whiskey glass at a politician, ‘Be Stupid with Vir Das’ gives a voice to some of the funniest and the most heart-warming stories of instant regret but ultimate redemption.
Commenting on this development, CM Studios content head Ruchir Joshi said, “We’re very passionate about creating content that’s unique and sets us apart. With the growing potential of audio content and the arrival of international audio OTT players in the Indian market, our strategy was clear. ‘Thriller Factory’ is our entry into a prime space with a standout big-scale property that is quintessentially Indian at heart. Over the course of the next year, we plan on introducing many more compelling stories, and we’re very excited about what’s in store.”
“Comedy can often rely on being visually engaging. So, ‘Be Stupid with Vir Das’ was a cool creative puzzle – trying to get the funny from my mouth to your ears with nothing in between! More than anything else, I got to sit down with amazing people. I'm a storyteller at heart, and I can't wait to bring you their hilarious and stupid stories. I’m so glad I was able to explore this new medium with Audible Suno, and I hope my audience listens to me and the rest of the content on the app, from my particular stupid…all the way to the sensible,” said comedian Vir Das.
Rainshine Entertainment Emerging Business SVP Kiran Nithyanand said, “At Rainshine, we’ve always believed in telling the most interesting narratives in a variety of formats and genres. With the audio streaming space growing globally, podcasts are increasingly becoming a force to reckon with. We believe that our foray into podcasts gives us an exciting opportunity to leverage our expertise and work with a growing base of diverse content creators to provide new and exciting stories for audiences worldwide.”
