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Tag: Hoichoi

  • Hoichoi to bestow Haami with World Digital Premiere!

    Hoichoi to bestow Haami with World Digital Premiere!

    MUMBAI: Hoichoi, the world’s largest digital Bengali entertainment content platform, has acquired the rights to present the World Digital Premiere of Haami, 2018’s most successful film at the box office. The film will be completing its 100 days run at the theatres on 18th August and 19th August it premieres on Hoichoi. This film, adds to Hoichoi’s impressive content tray of Hoichoi Exclusive movies – previously, Khoj, Paanch Adhyay, Room No 103, Ek Nadir Golpo, Bye Bye Bangkok, Accident, Posto, Prakton and Projapoti Biskut. 

    Hoichoi is adding two to three Original content for their viewers every month in the form of a web series, film or short. This acquisition will raise the commitment to their audience to be the top OTT platform for the Bengali diaspora. 

    Directed by popular director-duo Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy, Haami released on 11th May 2018 and has been critically acclaimed and also, commercially successful with raving reviews.  

    Haami is a story of two friends, Bhutu and Chini, who come from completely different background. Bhutu’s parents, Laltu and Mitali are rich furniture-shop owners who are more into popular culture and Chini’s parents, Srinjoy and Rina are academicians – elite and sophisticated. Inspite these differences Bhutu and Chini are best friends. As luck would have it, a situation occurs, where the parents of these two children separate them and put an end to their friendship. 

    However, the young vice-principal cum student counselor of their school, Arundhati tries to make them see reason. Starring Churni Ganguly, Gargi Roy Chowdhury, Shiboprasad, Aparajita Auddy, Kharaj Mukherjee, Koneenica Banerjee & others, Haami is a story that will take you down the memory lane of your childhood days of fun and friendship. 

    Shiboprosad Mukherjee, director of Haami said, “Hoichoi has previously given 3 of my films (2 directed by me and 1 under my production house) the World Digital Premieres and they have received massive response by the audience who watch content on the platform. I am hoping Haami will also do justice, especially to those who live outside Kolkata or India so they can watch Bengali films, anytime, anywhere.” 

  • Bengali OTT players prioritise market growth over competition

    Bengali OTT players prioritise market growth over competition

    MUMBAI: Demand for regional content has received a boost like never before thanks to the smartphone and internet explosion in tier II and III cities. Not only are international and national over-the-top (OTT) players delving into regional content, but also local players.

    One such upcoming regional OTT market is the Bengali one. Though Hoichoi is climbing the ranks to the top, Addatimes is also chasing not far behind. For now, the two players believe in healthy co-existence rather than competition.

    Addatimes and Hoichoi, both were launched in the same year, i.e. 2017. For obvious reasons, Hoichoi could come up with more content and better market strategy because of its parent company SVF’s huge capital. Now, Surinder Films, another leading production house in Bengali industry has started investing in Addatimes for a 33 per cent stake which could give a major boost to the platform.

    Addatimes managing director and founder Rajiv Mehra had a 14 years stint in the Bengali television industry. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Mehra said that he felt there was no creativity left in daily soaps and channels had the ultimate power in hand. Then came the inflection point when he decided to start a digital venture. Despite knowing the fact that it would take a long time to break even, he trusted the digital medium.

    All content was free for the first five months and then a subscription model was added at Rs 100 for three months and Rs 300 for a year. The Addatimes spokesperson claims to have 30,000 subscribers currently and 39 lakh unique viewers.

    Since its launch, it has emphasised on original content but there are some movies also. From mid-August the films produced by Surinder Films will be available on Addatimes. Till July, the platform will see the launch of one web series and one movie a month and from August onwards, there will be two of each.

    Mehra expects the business to break even in 2021. Due to limited funds, it is strategically avoiding cash-burning mode so that the platform can sustain in the market for the next three to four years.

    Hoichoi isn’t too concerned about competition in the market. “We don’t think about competition because it’s not critically important today. It’s about getting more and more people in online ecosystem to grow. Having more players is better because that helps to grow the ecosystem, grows awareness and creates a habit among consumers,” said Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta. He also sees opportunity in the market for more players dedicated to Bengali content. Other than West Bengal, Bangladesh is also a potential market for both the platforms.

    Mehra also reflected the same tone. “It’s not about what we have, they don’t have. Everyone is going forward with their own strategies for the business. But since they (Hoichoi) have more capital, they might reach the desired target one year before us. Eventually, we will also reach the target,” he commented on the competition with Hoichoi.

    These apart, deep-pocketed players at the national and international level will also be able to get into people’s phones faster than the regional ones. If the regional players fail to make a mark soon, they will face difficulty in grabbing a larger market share.

  • Hoichoi’s biggest musical thriller has dropped its TRAILER

    Hoichoi’s biggest musical thriller has dropped its TRAILER

    MUMBAI: Shei Je Holud Pakhi, a Hoichoi Original Web Series, starring eminent actor – Saswata Chatterjee and popular actress – Tridha Choudhury dropped its much awaited trailer today. Tridha is back in the Bengali Entertainment Industry after a hiatus as she was busy doing projects in Mumbai. 

    Hoichoi has recently completed 6 months since its inception, and has promised to deliver Original web series, shorts and films every month. Shei Je Holud Pakhi is one of their most ambitious projects and aims to connect music with thrill in a unique way. It is directed by Anirban Mallik, who has previously directed two of Hoichoi’s other web series Hello (Raima  Sen, Priyanka Sarkar, Joy Sengupta) and Eken Babu (Anirban Chakravarthi). 

    The trailer of Shei Je Holud Pakhi shows a story like no other, which slowly unravels itself. It starts with Shom (Saswata Chatterjee), a police officer who has lost his daughter, Mitil, 5 years ago. He is trying to connect to his daughter through pop sensation and lead singer of Euthanasia, Vaidehi (Tridha Choudhury) by requesting her to sing one of Mitil’s songs. She promises Shom that her last song of the concert would be Mitil’s song but she does not keep her promise. She goes out for her regular drive after the concert, and an agitated Shom follows her only to see her car crash. The media gets involved and even Shom is accused for Vaidehi’s death. The mystery starts as all band members of Euthanasia are suspected even though it appears to be a case of reckless driving. An exasperating plot line develops as Shom with his right hand continue their investigation where they try to find the real Vaidehi through her music and songs. 

    Saswata Chatterjee, the lead actor of the series, went on to say: Shei Je Holud Pakhi is an emotionally driven series, where my daughter has walked out on me and how as a father, Shom becomes a broken man. Realising his mistakes, he is willing to do anything to get her back and finally, accepts the fact that music connects them.” 

    The pop sensation Vaidehi, is being played by Tridha Choudhury, who exclaimed: “Vaidehi is a very complex character which I had to portray, even had to learn how to strum a guitar. So, overall, it was a fun experience for me!” 

  • Hoichoi announces new web series titled “Charitraheen”

    Hoichoi announces new web series titled “Charitraheen”

    MUMBAI: Hoichoi, the world’s largest digital Bengali entertainment content platform, announced yesterday that Debaloy Bhattacharya will be directing a new Original web series called ‘Charitraheen’.

    Hoichoi has recently completed 6 months since its inception, and has promised to deliver Original web series, shorts and films every month. This project is much anticipated and will be streaming around July/August.

    Debaloy Bhattacharya’s Charitraheen is a take on immorality and infidelity. Set in the present time, the characters are portrayed to be characterless. As we keep guessing and judging, this series aim to take the viewers to a plane beyond all judgement.

    The main cast were revealed in an interesting way, as director Debaloy Bhattacharya presented each member by flipping the pages of a book and revealing their “look” in the series. Naina Ganguly is introduced in front of the media, who will be working in the Bengali Industry for the first time and is known for her work in Bollywood. Rest of the cast includes well-known actors Gourab Chatterjee, Saurav Das and Saayoni Ghosh.

    The dark tale of these few lost souls in a maze of love, lust, desire and betrayal are destined to be doomed. The journey traces these men and women as they try to come out clean. It is to see who finally gets nailed as ‘Charitraheen’ and what happens to the rest. It is an effort to categorise these characters in today’s light, to find them around us and to see ourselves in them. Down with morality and social conventions, long live suffering!

    The story revolves around the couple Kiran/KIranmoyee (Naina Ganguly) and Harius/Haran (Gourab Chatterjee) and their complicated relationships with Satty/Satish (Saurav Das), Sabitri (Saayoni Ghosh) and others, who get involved in this quest for love that goes too far.

  • Hoichoi to double original content to 100 hours this year

    Hoichoi to double original content to 100 hours this year

    MUMBAI: The over the top (OTT) platform that has been a rage in the eastern part of India has ambitious plans for the coming year. With about 50 hours of original content live on the platform, Hoichoi aims to double that to 100 hours by the end of 2018.

    A product of Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF), Hoichoi has 16 original shows (with three in-house productions) and 500 movies thanks to its parent. With 20 years of experience in the media business, SVF was no stranger to the content business when it launched Hoichoi in September 2017. The mandate was simple: give premium and ad-free content in turn for subscription. While other players are jittery when it comes to subscription, Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta says it has been confident of an SVOD model in the niche Bengali market.

    Mohta says that out of the three plans of Rs 399 for 12 months, Rs 249 for six months and Rs 149 for three, the six-month plan is the opted for the least. As long as people continue to pick the annual plan, the lack of uptake for the middle one doesn’t bother.

    The first six months were dedicated entirely to brand awareness. Heavy marketing has been kept for later. However, Mohta believes that word of mouth will be a way to attract new customers. “We still believe very strongly that people, who want to watch content of this sort, will largely be driven by referrals. I think that drives a lot more business than pure marketing. We don’t do marketing on large scale. Our focus is largely on awareness,” he says. Last year’s #HoyeJak campaign was called a success and soon another campaign is on the anvil.

    Using feedback, Hoichoi keeps updating its library and recently added an audio-streaming option too. Despite having originals, Mohta thinks that the power to acquire customers lies in the movie section since West Bengal has an active movie market.

    “Movies make your decision easier when you subscribe because they come in handy on a Sunday afternoon.  Originals are about impulse, someone can see a trailer or may be told by a friend about a show. However, we made a promise to our consumers that we would continue with our originals,” he adds.

    Among recent originals, Japani Toy was launched on 12 May. Another original Dupur Thakurpo which got great traction across Bengal, will see its second season launch on 26 May. Another show Shei Je Holud Pakhi, starring famous faces from the Bengali film industry Saswata Chatterjee and Tridha Choudhury will be launched sometime in June.

    Hoichoi sees a potential market outside the state in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Agartala. Even the Indian diaspora markets of the US, UK and Middle East and even Bangladesh are large pockets offering good opportunities to leverage. For exploring the Bangladeshi market more, Hoichoi will provide payment options in local currency in the next one or two months. It has also bundled up one Bangladeshi show shot there and directed by a local name. The show Dhaka Metro will be followed by at least two more in 2018 itself.

    Being in an industry which is backed by partnerships, Hoichoi is dependent on Viulift since its launch for tech support. To provide customers a seamless experience, Hoichoi depends on Amazon Cloudfront as CDN partner. It is in talks with many telcos both in India and Bangladesh too.

    Customers are demanding more features, especially from second seasons, and this has thrown challenges for Hoichoi. But it looks like the plan for 2018 is a done deal.

  • Laboratory – a Hoichoi Original Film for Rabindra Jayanti

    Laboratory – a Hoichoi Original Film for Rabindra Jayanti

    MUMBAI: Hoichoi, the world’s largest digital Bengali entertainment content platform, today started streaming Laboratory, the popular story by Rabindranath Tagore as a Hoichoi Original Film. 

    The “Tagore special film” got uploaded on the OTT platform on 9th May, the day Rabindra Jayanti is widely celebrated. Rabindra Jayanti is a cultural festival celebrated in remembrance of Kabi Guru Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary. It is mostly prevalent among Bengalis and by ardent followers of Tagore. The festival is commemorated on the 25th day of Bengali Calendar’s “Boishakhi”. 

    Laboratory starts off with Nandakishore Mallik (Kaushik Sen), an engineer of the Indian Railways. He dreams of a nation where thousands of scientists would be able to carry out their research works without bothering about the financial obstacles that pre-independent Indians used to face. He is setting up a science laboratory by buying different instruments used in different scientific experiments. He gets married to Sohini (Nandini Ghoshal), a punjabi lady and they give birth to a girl called Neela (Darshana Banik). After Nanda’s death Sohini is now looking for a young talent who can take up the responsibility of the laboratory. Sohini comes to know about Rebati (Anirban Bhattacharya)‚ a bright talent in the field of science. Rebati is mesmerized through Neela’s charm. Sohini notices it. Rebati joins the laboratory but he is continuously distracted by Neela. He is slowly shifting away from his attention towards his research. Neela’s friends keep persuing Neela so that she gets Nanda’s property. A tussle follows between Sohini and Neela regarding Rebati resulting in an adverse outcome.  

    Hoichoi has recently completed 6 months since its inception. For OTT, research has indicated that most of the new internet consumers want to consume content in their local language. According to an industry report, there would be 42 million Bengali internet users by 2021, second only to Marathi internet users (51 million) amongst all Indian languages excluding Hindi. Coupled with the fact that 45% of time spent on mobile is on entertainment, Hoichoi is well positioned to capture the market, as the world’s largest digital content platform exclusively for Bengali entertainment. 

  • hoichoi launches new brand anthem to celebrate life

    hoichoi launches new brand anthem to celebrate life

    MUMBAI: After entertaining audiences with the best in Bengali entertainment, hoichoi, the world’s largest digital platform exclusively for Bengali content, has now launched its brand anthem. The anthem is an ode to celebration and talks about taking a break from busy schedules, getting together and having fun, which is also what the word ‘hoichoi’ is synonymous with.

    Music being the one thing that unifies people, the central theme of the hoichoi anthem, which is in Bengali, is to bring people together through music and entertainment. The anthem will be distributed on major platforms through hoichoi’s distribution channel as part of SVF Music, and will be made available as a ringtone and other such features. The music video would also be available on the Hoichoi streaming platform. The brand also plans to distribute the song to local Puja Pandals across Kolkata.

    The music video for the anthem has been directed by renowned Tollywood director, Birsa Dasgupta and produced by SVF Entertainment. The catchy tune has been composed by Indraadip Das Gupta and written by Prosen and Rajeev Chakraborty. Talented young singers – Ishan, Somlata and Prasmita – have lent their voices to the anthem. Suyasha Sengupta, the lead singer of Indie Rock band Ganesh Talkies, has also been roped in as part of the video.

    Speaking about the hoichoi Anthem, Hoichoi, Executive director – SVF and co-founder, Vishnu Mohta said, “The message of the anthem is to bring people together through entertainment, which is also the mission of hoichoi, as a brand.”

  • Catch the mystery of Satyakam’s murder in Byomkesh on Hoichoi

    Catch the mystery of Satyakam’s murder in Byomkesh on Hoichoi

     MUMBAI: After a massive success of the inaugural season of the first ever web series on Byomkesh, hoichoi, the Bengali entertainment content platform, announced the launch of its Season 2 today. The 1-hour-long first episode of Byomkesh Season 2 will start streaming on hoichoi globally from Saturday, December 16th followed by the second episode on 25 December.

    Aryann Bhowmik, most recently seen as Santu in Yeti Obhijaan joins the cast of Anirban Bhattacharya (Byomkesh), Subrat Dutta (Ajit), and Ridhima Ghosh (Satyabati) in Season 2. Aryann Bhowmik, who plays Satyakam, has premonitions of being killed and turns to Byomkesh for help. Byomkesh will be seen solving the mystery of Satyakam’s murder in this adaptation of Rakter Daag (literally Blood Stain) and directed by Soumik Chattopadhyay.

    Hoichoi is running a social media contest #AmioByomkesh on Facebook where in one has to simply tag a friend and send the correct answer related to Byomkesh movies, as a message at the @hoichoitv page. The duo with the highest number of correct answers stand a chance to win hoichoi Lifetime Free Membership.

    Hoichoi is also celebrating #BishoyByomkesh –a week-long Film Festival on Byomkesh where in viewers have a treasure chest of Byomkesh movies available at their fingertips, with 17 hours of runtime and an average IMDb rating of 7.0 :-

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  • Bengali film Posto to premiere on Hoichoi before satellite TV

    Bengali film Posto to premiere on Hoichoi before satellite TV

    NEW DELHI: Digital Bengali entertainment content platform Hoichoi has acquired exclusive digital rights of this year’s most successful Bengali feature film Posto, ensuring it a world digital premiere today before a satellite TV premiere.

    This will provide Bengali moviemakers a robust additional pipeline of movie-loving Bengali diaspora across the world, who have so far been deprived of many movies in the language because most have a weak or no international theatrical release.

    Hoichoi has already created a huge buzz in the Bengali entertainment industry with the launch of a slew of engaging original web series and shorts, and the acquisition of the Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy directorial venture, Posto, is set to further disrupt the industry.

    SVF & Hoichoi co-founder Mahendra Soni said, “What adds to our delight is that it is with this, the most successful film of 2017 so far, that Hoichoi will not only delight the Bengali diaspora across the world but will also help the Bengali film industry to overcome the challenges and limitations of international theatrical releases and take their forthcoming movies to a massive global audience of movie lovers worldwide.”

    Posto, which grossed more than Rs 50 million within four weeks of its release, received critical acclaim from the film fraternity. Portrayed by Arghya Basu Roy, Posto is a little boy raised by his grandparents (Soumitra Chatterjee and Lily Chakraboty) in Shantiniketan, a small town in Birbhum district, West Bengal. Posto’s parents (Jisshu Sengupta and Mimi Chakraborty) who are settled 200 km away in Kolkata, visit their son only on weekends.

    Trouble ensues when Posto’s father gets a new job offer outside India and plans to take Posto along with him. The boy’s grandparents are against the decision and the argument finally drags the kid into the courtroom.

    The film’s director, Shiboprosad Mukherjee, said, “It gives me great pleasure to announce that Posto will be exclusively available on Hoichoi, which has become the one-stop destination for people looking for great Bengali entertainment content. Any director would want his creation to be seen and liked by as many people as possible and Hoichoi will enable my film Posto to do just that!”

    Hoichoi showcases exclusive original shows every month and more than 500 Bengali movies. Founded in 2017, it is SVF New Media’s maiden venture. Hoichoi is headed by co-founder Vishnu Mohta, who is also SVF’s executive director.

  • 1000 hours of original content a year is our target: Hoichoi’s Vishnu Mohta

    1000 hours of original content a year is our target: Hoichoi’s Vishnu Mohta

    The Bengali content market may not be spoken of much, but it is not without its share of audience. There are 258 million Bengali speaking people around the world, and this is the target for the latest kid on the block. Hoichoi, a Bengali OTT platform was launched on 20 September 2017 by Shree Venkatesh Films, a Kolkata-based media company.

    Hoichoi means positive activities happening around you. The ad-free platform has already launched seven original web series and three more are lined up for this month. Co-founder Vishnu Mohta, who has been with SVF since a decade, speaks to Indiantelevision.com’s Kirti Chauhan about the growth and future plans of the platform.

    What was the thought behind launching a Bengali OTT platform?

    We wanted to give our customers high-quality Bengali entertainment and the market was ready for it. Currently, India is equipped with all the ingredients to make content available over the internet with a ready to serve system, availability of bandwidth, cheap data, digital payment friendly generation and a smartphone handy generation. It was the right time to provide content for people to consume on their smart phones and set top boxes, which include internet, connected devices like – Apple TV, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, etc.

    Where all are the Bengali audiences located?

    India and Bangladesh contribute the largest Bengali community. In India, the Bengali speaking community is around 90 million, wherein, Bangladesh has a population of around 160-170 million Bengali expats and rest of the world has a Bengali diaspora between 5-8 million.

    Currently, 30-40 per cent of Indian population has access to the internet. However, in the coming five years, the number will double, which will include the crowd of tier II and III cities. This new internet user will prefer to consume content in his vernacular language. 75 per cent of the new internet users will come from rural India, of which 75 per cent want to consume content in their local language.

    What would make a person pick Hoichoi over others?

    Our experience of over 20 years has enabled us to understand the needs of the Bengali people, which will be visible through our original content. Apart from this, we have the largest collection of the best in Bengali entertainment that is not available on any other platform. We are offering 360 degree entertainment – movies, original shows and in the future, it will be music streaming. We have started with over 500 movies, 1000 songs and 10 original shows in Bengali language.

    What type of content does the Bengali community like to watch?

    They are an evolved audience. They like to watch mystery shows and films, horror movies, mass films, documentaries and much more. They have an ability to absorb different genres of content.

    What are the new shows in pipeline?

    We are coming up with a stand up comedy show called ‘Stand up’, then another show is ‘Bhutu Re’ which is an investigative story around a haunted house and the third one is ‘Bouma Detective’ where a housewife will be playing the role of a detective. We have 4 shows for November and December too.

    You have kept different subscription charges for Indian and global audiences. Will the same pricing be applied in Bangladesh, which economically weaker than India?

    Our subscription charges for Indian audiences are Rs 399 for 12 months, Rs 249 for six months and Rs 149 for three months. Internationally we have kept the charges around $8.99 per month and $79.99 per year. The international audience is ready to pay for content since they are already in the habit. We haven’t come up with subscription charges for Bangladeshi audiences yet but it won’t be very different from India.

    Will there be any content specifically catering to Bengali audience of Bangladesh?

    We are in process of buying and creating content for Bangladeshi audience. We are creating 2 feature films in Bangladesh, likely to release next year.

    Why did you choose ViewLift for technology over Brightcove, Kaltura or Diagonal Technologies?

    We wanted to work with an experienced company that is aware of current technological demands of the Indian market, since we are new to digital. ViewLift is specifically working on this technology from the past 10 years and has already launched similar platforms worldwide. We are the first Indian company to have worked with ViewLift. Other technology providers like Brightcove, Kaltura and Diagonal are best in content management system. They are a platform itself and you can build on top of it but can’t provide an end-to-end customisation.

    Why you did not choose in-house technology option?

    It would have been a time-consuming experience for us if we had taken the in-house technology option. There was a possibility of making mistakes in the beginning while dealing with the learning of new technology. We did not want to make any mistake in the beginning and so decided to take an expert as our technology partner for best results.

    What is the average time spent on Hoichoi?

    We have just begun and within a month, the average time spent on Hoichoi is around 39-40 minutes.

    How large is your team?

    Hoichoi is a collaboration of three separate teams. We have 300 experts working for SVF, some of whom are actively engaged in the development of Hoichoi. We have 35-40 people of ViewLift working with us. And, Hoichoi separately has a team of 30-35 experts. Altogether, 200 people are working for Hoichoi.

    What are your future targets?

    Our ambition is to create 1000 hours of original content every year, i.e., three hours per day. In addition, we are targeting to launch two shows every month.

    Q. When and what are you planning to bring for kids in your library?

    Kids as a separate genre on Hoichoi will likely be seen early next year. It will be a combination of acquired/curated and created content. Satyajit Ray has written various interesting stories catering to kids. We are planning to translate them in animation for our kids.

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