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Tag: Hotstar Specials

  • Disney+ Hotstar’s Koffee With Karan season 8 strengthens its roster with six sponsors

    Disney+ Hotstar’s Koffee With Karan season 8 strengthens its roster with six sponsors

    Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar, India’s leading streaming platform, is back with an exciting new season of its marquee celebrity talk show Hotstar Specials’ Koffee With Karan. The all-new Season 8, hosted by the producer, director, show anchor and actor Karan Johar, gives brands an opportunity to connect with consumers through one of India’s most talked about / popular shows. After a successful Season 7 that streamed exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar, advertiser sentiment for Season 8 is at an all-time high with three returning and three new sponsors.

    A total of six brands have been on-boarded for the new season, with Google Pixel serving as the smartphone partner and Jaquar Bath+ Light as the lighting partner. For the third time in a row, the show will be driven by Audi, and the guests will be gracing their presence on couch partner – Fabricare by D’Decor. Brewing the conversations will be Tata Coffee Grand, while Only Natural Diamonds will add to the glamour quotient.

    Disney Star head of network – Ad sales Ajit Varghese said, “Koffee With Karan is a legacy asset of Disney+ Hotstar that has grown in popularity from season to season. Across all editions, it has been a strong bridge connecting premium brands to viewers. The continuation of association from several brands following huge brand engagement success in the previous season stands testimony to this. With the marquee show once again streaming exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar, our sponsors will get the opportunity to reach a wider and more captivated audience than ever before.”

    Gaurav Sinha, Head (Marketing & PR), Audi India head (marketing & PR) Gaurav Sinha sharing about the brand’s association with the show for the third time said, “Audi is thrilled to continue its strong association with Disney+ Hotstar’s Koffee with Karan for the third consecutive year with Season 8. The Bollywood industry epitomises aspiration, and Audi continues to be the preferred brand of the stars, making this the right property for us to associate with to enhance our brand’s appeal among viewers as well as the Bollywood community. Additionally, since the show transitioned into its Disney+ Hotstar exclusive format starting from Season 7, it has created exciting opportunities for us to connect with our core audience – the premium, urban, affluent, young achievers at scale.”

    Through a legacy show like Koffee With Karan, Disney+ Hotstar provides brands a unique opportunity to reach a highly engaged, urban, affluent and digitally savvy audience. The platform offers a variety of advertising and branded content solutions to help businesses across sectors engage with their audiences more effectively.

    The highly anticipated Hotstar Specials’ Koffee with Karan is back with Season 8, releasing exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar from 26 October onwards.

  • Disney+ Hotstar bags 20 nominations at Filmfare OTT awards

    Disney+ Hotstar bags 20 nominations at Filmfare OTT awards

    Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar has bagged 20 nominations across 12 categories at the Filmfare OTT awards this year. Four Hotstar Specials’ are in the race to win the award including “Grahan” which has received 10 nominations, followed by “Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors” with six, “OK Computer” with three and “City of Dreams 2” with one nomination.  

    This year’s Filmfare OTT awards include several Hotstar Specials’ talent nominated across categories, including Anshumaan Pushkar (Grahan), Pankaj Tripathi (Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors) and Atul Kulkarni (City of Dreams 2) for best actor, series (male), drama as well as Vijay Varma (OK Computer) for best actor, series (male), comedy. Kirti Kulhari and Zoya Hussain bagged the nomination in the category of best actor, series (female), drama and Anupriya Goenka for best supporting actor, series (female), drama for their performances in “Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors” and “Grahan” respectively.

    “Grahan” has nominations for best series, best director, along with additional nominations for best music, best production design, best cinematography, best editing and best costume. “Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors” has been nominated for best series, best director and best adapted screenplay. Additionally, “OK Computer” has bagged a well-deserved nomination for best VFX (series) – imagery.

    “At Disney+ Hotstar, it has been our endeavour to bring to audiences stories that are unconventional and an entertainment experience that is unparalleled,” said Disney+ Hotstar and HSM entertainment network president and head of content Gaurav Banerjee. “We are thrilled with the several nominations for Grahan, Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors, OK Computer as well as City of Dreams 2, at the coveted Filmfare OTT awards. I would like to congratulate the amazing creative teams behind the shows. It further encourages us to consistently rise above convention and bring to our viewers compelling content and the best of entertainment!”

    “Grahan was a unique project that saw multiple talented performers and creators come together,” said actor Anshumaan Pushkar. “I am excited to have been a part of a series that has received multiple nominations in top categories at the awards’ platform. The nomination for best actor in the drama category is particularly special as it motivates me, an upcoming talent, to push harder and explore challenging avenues.”

    “It fills me with immense joy that Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors has received multiple nominations at the prestigious Filmfare OTT Awards,” said Pankaj Tripathi. “It is a true recognition of the time and effort devoted by its talented team at Applause Entertainment to bring Madhav Mishra’s story on screen. To have been nominated for best actor is an added joy for me. The fact that I also get to share this joy with my colleague Kirti Kulhari is a bonus. I hope it motivates our team further to keep working on such phenomenal stories.”

    “An award nomination is a token of appreciation you receive for all the hard work you pour into your work,” said Vijay Varma. “Getting it for the category of Best Actor in Comedy is a new stepping stone for me. OK Computer is a project very close to my heart. I got to work with an immensely talented cast and crew. Its recognition at the Filmfare OTT Awards fills my heart with immense pride and joy. It widened my horizons as an actor.”

  • The biggest focus area for Hotstar is big scale-big idea-high concept series: Gaurav Banerjee

    The biggest focus area for Hotstar is big scale-big idea-high concept series: Gaurav Banerjee

    MUMBAI: Streamers in India are now bombarded with ‘original’ content on over-the-top (OTT) platforms. With so many shows, the only way to make a mark is by telling stories that matter and offering narratives in their comfort language. Hotstar gets both of it right. The late entrant in the game of originals does want to win the crown with ‘x’ number of shows but with quality stories. Hotstar is also ready to tap the regional market this year.

    It has launched its first masterstroke of the year, Special Ops. The eight-episode series marks the digital debut of filmmaker Neeraj Pandey. The seventh series under Hotstar Specials is not targetted at any particular audience segment but the makers hope everyone watches it, as Star India Hindi Entertainment head Gaurav Banerjee said.

    Banerjee noted the importance of the full-length trailer as it would draw more viewers if it receives a good response. Given Pandey's stature and calibre, the OTT platform is depending on those aspects to pull viewers this time.

    Banerjee said that they would leverage the reach of the Star network and Hotstar to make this widely known to fans and to let them know that something “exciting and interesting” is now available. He is also hopeful of IPL giving a further boost to its attraction.

    In a candid chat, Banerjee also spoke on Hotstar’s strategy going forward.

    Edited excerpts:

    Thriller seems to be a common genre in the OTT ecosystem. How is Special Ops different from other shows?

    We can’t know what other people are doing. Therefore, we have stuck to the simple task of believing in our showrunner, his story and the knowledge of his craft. We've been talking to Neeraj and developing the show for the last 18 months. We have to believe that the story that we are telling has relevance, so viewers should see it and want to watch it. And you must believe that the storyteller has a lot of conviction. They're really motivated and inspired to tell that story.

    How many shows do you have in the pipeline for the rest of the year? What are the new formats you are looking at?

    We have several shows in the pipeline. But we are not defining our success by quantity, only by quality. So we don't want to build a big library. We don't want to drop a show every week. What we really want to do is to have some shows which viewers deeply care about or that hugely excites them. I think for us, that is success. So we have a deep pipeline of ideas that excites us but we want those to be really extraordinary. We don't want to build this business on the strength of library or frequency of launches.

    How are you looking at digital original movies?

    We have done a couple. But the biggest focus area for us is big scale-big idea-high concept TV series. I think that's something that that in India is pretty new. We have been at it for the last 13 months. That's what we will truly stay committed to. We want to learn how to make those well, market them, write them differently and cast them properly.  

    What is your plan in the regional market? Will you come out with regional shows this year?

    We will this year. So I'm happy to confirm that Hindi will not be the only language in which we will be running productions. We want to run productions and make original content on Hotstar in other Indian languages as well. There are already two Tamil shows which we are in very advanced production right now.

    Are you only focusing on South Indian languages?

    Tamil is a huge market for us. In the Hotstar India Watch Report which we reported a while ago, we said that Big Boss Tamil was the most-watched piece of content. I think the Telugu market is important as well. We have big creative teams across many Indian languages.  We have a very strong presence in Bengal with Star Jalsha, great presence in Marathi with Star Pravah, we have the best Malayalam channel Asianet. So I think all those are very powerful content engines and people everywhere are looking for ideas and talking to us and hopefully, we will see a lot of that come through.

    What viewership trends have you noticed?

    I think viewers are looking for variety. And what has worked very well for us is that we have offered a wide range of content. I think people have liked that. The second thing is something that really connects, that people watch a lot. So, I think engagement is fabulous. They can watch a long complex drama when they find the content is engaging and they haven't seen earlier. 

  • Hotstar Specials launches ‘Special Ops’

    Hotstar Specials launches ‘Special Ops’

    MUMBAI: Hotstar Specials, along with Friday Storytellers, is set to launch the biggest spy action thriller of 2020, Special Ops. This fast-paced 8-episode series is based on the role of Indian intelligence in a series of real terror attacks that India faced over the last 19 years. Starting with the 2001 attack on Indian Parliament, the show goes back and forth in time covering several other events including 26/11, Kashmir terror attacks amongst others; and the chase for the single mastermind behind these attacks – making it the longest manhunt in Indian Intelligence for India’s deadliest enemy.

    The show has been written by Neeraj Pandey, Deepak Kingrani and Benazir Ali Fida; all of them have spent years carefully researching the ways of Indian intelligence. Every aspect of the show has been conceptualized and created to deliver a high-quality thrilling experience. Keeping with the scale, it has been shot across numerous international locales including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Jordan and India. 

    Special Ops features an ensemble cast including acclaimed actor Kay Kay Menon along with the powerhouse talents such as Karan Tacker, Saiyami Kher, Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, Meher Vij, Vipul Gupta, Sajjad Delafrooz, Parmeet Sethi, Gautami Kapoor, Sana Khaan, Sharad Kelkar, KP Mukherjee, and many others.

    Specials Ops is slated to release on 17 March 2020 in seven languages on Hotstar VIP.

    STAR India Hindi Entertainment head Gaurav Banerjee said: “Neeraj Pandey is one of the most distinguished filmmakers of our time and we are delighted to partner with him for his digital debut. Our goal with Special Ops is to create an action-packed spy series that’s at par with global standards when it comes to quality and scale; it takes forward the Hotstar Specials agenda of bold and varied story telling on a big scale.”

    Neeraj Pandey, who has created the show, added: “Special Ops is a story I thought of many years ago – it’s a big idea that required a lot of patience and research to pursue and develop. With newer and exciting formats of storytelling gaining prominence, we were able to build a fabulous team to create this larger-than-life story that strings together many real events from the past two decades. For the first time in the history of Indian entertainment, the 2001 Indian Parliament Attack has been recreated on celluloid. That’s just one of the many big moments from the show.”

    “A big idea requires the right scale and platform to bring it altogether. This is an exciting partnership for us and has many firsts – first digital series from Friday storytellers, Neeraj’s first on the digital platform and our association with the largest OTT Hotstar. The show has the right mix of scale, talent and pace to enthral and entertain the audiences,” said Shital Bhatia who has produced the show.

  • Star India’s Gaurav Banerjee on Hotstar’s content diversity, SVOD uptake & nurturing talent

    Star India’s Gaurav Banerjee on Hotstar’s content diversity, SVOD uptake & nurturing talent

    Hotstar has consistently outperformed some of the global over the top (OTT) platforms in India with the help of a mix of TV show content, sports and the recently-added originals. After Criminal Justice, the next original to launch under the Hotstar umbrella will be Out of Love. Launching 22 November, the series is based on BBC’s award-winning series Doctor Foster.

    Star India Hindi entertainment president and head Gaurav Banerjee attributes the platform’s success to its content mix. Compared to traditional TV, the digital space provides flexibility to creators to play with content narratives, style and direction.

    On the sidelines of the Out of Love launch, Banerjee spoke about Hotstar’s upcoming content strategy, feedback to Hotstar Specials, viewership ratio, online content regulation along with other topics in a freewheeling chat with Indiantelevision.com.Edited excerpts:

    Hotstar Specials entered the market at the beginning of this year when one of the main goals was to turn AVOD consumers into SVOD base. How has been the initial response? How has it helped to increase the SVOD base till now?

    It has been an incredibly good journey. We are very excited about the response we got. People have liked the shows. Our attempt at creating different types of content has been noticed. Sports documentary, a big edgy legal kind of drama, thriller, comedy and now a female-centered drama – we have it all. We have been overwhelmed by some of the responses we got from viewers and critics for shows like Criminal Justice. Obviously, we are doing this to power up Hotstar VIP and that strategy is playing out well.

    This is just a start. Everything takes time, consistency, effort and a series of quality content. For all digital content in our country, this is day zero. We have a lot to learn.

    What does your inside data say about viewership demography?

    Hotstar as a platform skews twoard the younger Indians. We have a great opportunity with all these types of content which are edgier and varied. The second opportunity from the creative point of view is very interesting; we can play with season length and episode length. In television, over a period of time, the format gets settled. Whereas here it can be led by the kind of stories we have such as the right point to finish a particular episode. This allows for a lot of flexibility for creative people.

    You have worked with renowned production houses or studios for Hotstar Specials. Are you considering giving a chance to young producers like you did for television business? 

    Yes we do and thank you for noticing that about Star India and that's something we are deeply proud of that we are that platform where new voices can come in and tell big stories. But we are just starting out. This is like a startup and there is a lot of content with new filmmaking, stories and talent. Hopefully, there will be a lot to talk about in the coming weeks and months.

    Now many of the platforms are launching a number of originals to build a loyal subscriber base. When do you see SVOD monetisation actually turning easier?

    Brands, including Hotstar VIP, are already attempting this. This will happen as the per capita and GDP grows and people will want to be discerning about the choices they want to make. They would want to watch higher quality and they will be willing to pay for it.

    Cinema prices have gone up but viewers are willing to pay. As a content creator platform, we have to create the experience that people really like, whether it is the technology experience, marketing, talent or stories. All of that has to combine to create something which you say that you like and makes you agree to pay more for it.

    Do you see a model emerging in the future where viewers can go for a bundled model in OTT like cable TV?

    It’s hard to tell. But I think that having an incredible content asset should be any company’s priority. Even with so many OTT platforms, viewers have a lot more choices today. So, people can decide where they want to spend. Essentially everyone is competing for time.

    What is your content strategy for 2020?

    Our first goal is variety. We want different stories and keep expanding them. This year we did a sports documentary, thriller and a social drama. A lot of OTT drama has been male-oriented. Out of Love is breaking that. It’s female-centric, emotional and about marriage. We want to keep experimenting and attract the best talent in the country. We want to work with the best actors, directors, showrunners all the time and we will do everything we can to create the right culture and figure the right scale of ambition so that Hotstar will be their target destination to work.

    Lately, online content regulation has been the talk of the town. What is your take on this?

    My team and I, across TV and digital, believe that we don’t want to do anything irresponsible. We won’t do edgy content just for the sake for it. That’s an ethical choice we all need to make. We need to figure out a method so that people don’t think of this as a chaotic classroom where there are just unruly kids and they need a class monitor or a strict supervisor. That’s the maturity needed from the creative community, platforms and the entire ecosystem and I feel if we do that we are all going to be fine.

  • Hotstar Specials’ unveils first look of new show based on infidelity: Out of Love

    Hotstar Specials’ unveils first look of new show based on infidelity: Out of Love

    MUMBAI: Meet Dr. Meera Kapoor – a doting wife, a loving mother and a trusted doctor. Everything about her life was seemingly perfect; until the fateful day when she found out her husband was having an affair. Hotstar Specials has just released the first look of its latest show – Out of Love, a gripping portrait of a marriage that’s poisoned by infidelity and heartbreak. And raises the key question – when faced with infidelity, would you Forgive, Forget or Fight?

    Starring Rasika Dugal as Dr. Meera Kapoor and Purab Kohli as her husband Akarsh Kapoor, the show is an official adaptation of the award winning BBC series, Doctor Foster. Produced by BBC Studios and Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and Aijaz Khan, Out of Love depicts the emotional and psychological dilemma that erupts from complex relationships.

  • Mallika Dua joins the cast of Hotstar Specials ‘The Office Season 2’

    Mallika Dua joins the cast of Hotstar Specials ‘The Office Season 2’

    MUMBAI: The employees of Wilkins Chawla are back! After spreading laughs across the country with its character-defining first season, Hotstar Specials is ready to double the madness and double the fun with ‘The Office Season 2’. Armed with Naya Staff, Naya Laugh this season welcomes ace comedian Mallika Dua as its latest employee. The 15-episode mockumentary where typical office characters find themselves in atypical situations is here with more fun-jabi jokes, hilariously awkward moments and unexpected relationships.

    Created for Applause Entertainment by BBC Studios India; The Office Season 2 is directed by Rohan Sippy and Bumpy. The ensemble cast including Mukul Chaddha, Gauahar Khan, Ranvir Shorey, Gopal Datt, Sayandeep Sengupta, Samridhi Dewan, Priyanka Setia, Abhinav Sharma, Gavin Methalaka, Preeti Kochar, Sunil Jetly, Chien Ho Liao amongst others will reprise their roles. Hotstar Specials presents ‘The Office Season 2’ is set to tickle funny bones from 15th September 2019 on Hotstar VIP. 

    Actor, Comedian and social media queen, Mallika Dua said, “If you think you know the characters by now – think again! Season 2 of ‘The Office’ is going to be full of hilarious surprises. I’ve had a great time working on the show and we couldn’t stop laughing during scenes because they were so funny. Enjoyed the experience with the entire team of Applause and Hotstar. The show is innately Indian and humorously relatable. Bringing alive the essence of any type of Delhiite is always a fun experience and I hope I have managed to add more quirks to this already mad bunch!”

    Director Bumpy added, “We are excited to continue the story of the employees at Wilkins Chawla, and this time with naya staff that promises to bring in more laughter. Season 2 of ‘The Office’ delves deeper into everyday situations and explores the nuances of unexpected relationships with its own unique twist, making it a fun watch.”

    Set in Faridabad, the show chronicles the 9-to-5 lives of the employees at Wilkins Chawla as they navigate through their mundane routine that invariably gives rise to comical situations. From a ‘fun’jabi branch manager Jagdeep Chadda and the gullible and obsequious TP Mishra to unexpected relationships that can crop up in the corporate world; this slice-of-life comedy features relatable characters found in every workplace.

    Catch a glimpse of the latest season of Hotstar Specials presents The Office – Season 2.

  • Hotstar to disrupt online video subscriptions with Hotstar VIP

    Hotstar to disrupt online video subscriptions with Hotstar VIP

    MUMBAI: Hotstar, India’s leading video streaming platform, launches ‘Hotstar VIP’ – a subscription that offers audiences the best of content at just INR 365 per year. The new subscription plan gives audiences the choice to watch exclusive new content under the Hotstar Specials label, their favourite Star network serials  before television at 6 a.m., and the best of live sporting action, including VIVO IPL, ICC Cricket World Cup, Premier League and much more.

    Speaking about the launch of ‘Hotstar VIP’, Varun Narang, Chief Product Officer, Hotstar, said, “It is our endeavour at Hotstar to delight customers with content that they resonate with, at the same time give them the power of choice at an affordable cost. Hotstar VIP is aimed at providing users accessibility – be it with the  introductory price or the ability to watch exclusive new shows in multiple regional languages. It is a value proposition built with the Indian audience at the heart of it.”

    A key feature of the Hotstar VIP service is ‘Hotstar Specials’ – a label that will bring bold & authentic stories made by the biggest storytellers of India to crores of consumers across India. The launch of Hotstar VIP coincides with the release of the first Hotstar Special ‘ Roar of the Lion’, a story on Chennai Super Kings amazing comeback under the leadership of M.S.Dhoni. This show will be followed by Criminal Justice, City of Dreams, Hostages and many more shows under the Hotstar Specials label.

    For the first time ever, an OTT platform will allow customers to have a  ‘pay by cash’ option. This is being done as a test initially,  where users can subscribe to enjoy the Hotstar VIP benefits immediately with cash to be collected from their doorstep in the next 48-72 hours. Adding another layer of convenience for customers, the platform will now allow phone number logins.

    Existing subscribers of Hotstar All Annual Sports plan will automatically be upgraded to Hotstar VIP, on a complimentary basis with no additional charge,  and can also enjoy access to Hotstar Specials and Star serials before TV. Hotstar Premium subscribers can avail of the benefits under Hotstar VIP  along with the latest American shows, blockbuster Hollywood movies and award-winning content from International studios.

  • Deepak Dhar, Nikhil Madhok on Hotstar Specials show, content creation, consumption trends

    Deepak Dhar, Nikhil Madhok on Hotstar Specials show, content creation, consumption trends

    MUMBAI: Hotstar’s bid to create big, bold and authentic stories and innovate across formats and genres for its much-anticipated Specials landed the streaming service a collaboration with Deepak Dhar’s Banijay Asia and MS Dhoni’s Dhoni Entertainment for its first show. The mini-series, ‘Roar of the Lion’, is a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible comeback story of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) going on to win the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) off the back of a two-year ban.

    “It’s not just about cricket but the human spirit of fighting back. So it didn’t actually take much time for us to say that we should do this together and then Deepak and team have worked really hard to make this come alive,” says Hotstar EVP and head original content Nikhil Madhok.

    Dhar, who was struck by the idea during the last IPL season, believes a comeback story of this nature hasn’t really been told from a sports and entertainment perspective.

    “That space itself is a virgin space and something which is very unique to us and if Mahi [MS Dhoni] was to really lead it and tell us himself how he was doing it, there’s a great space for a show there. So that’s where I started putting the jigsaw puzzle and took it across to Nikhil and Gaurav [Banerjee] at Hotstar and then we started together collaboratively building this,” recounts Dhar.

    For Dhar, it was the coming together of the right story, right platform and right people to embark on this journey. Hotstar as a brand is widely considered as the home of cricket in India. With over 150 monthly active users, the platform was a natural fit for a show of this nature. Having recognised the power of the story, the streaming service plans to throw its might behind the show making it available in multiple languages. Going forward, there’s a good chance of Star Network’s formidable repertoire being leveraged to maximise the penetration of this show.

    In order to ensure reach, every product needs to be marketed and promoted right. While Dhar is the creative force behind the project, does he have a say in how Hotstar presents the show to its consumers?

    “I’m not involved, but I do have a bit of a say there. There are specialists and people who know that side of the game better than I do. I understand the content and the creative or the production side of the game so obviously, after a point you’ve got to let go, you’ve got to say everybody is obviously putting their best foot forward. But I do have a say on how this should be put out,” argues Dhar.

    Documentaries, as a genre, remains largely untapped in India, often not even seen as a mainstream entertainment medium. While Dhar is a tad nervous ahead of the show streaming, he’s also convinced that Dhoni’s story is bound to become a trendsetter for the genre.

    “I think with this show, that’s really bound to change. We’re exploring this in an untold manner, so there is a little nervousness as being one of the creators. But I think it is going to be very fresh, very different from the way you see either a documentary or a scripted series,” the former Endemol Shine India boss points out.

    While the story is bound to excite fans of Dhoni and CSK a great deal, the makers also expect a lot of young people to form the core viewing group for the show.

    “I think when people will log in, I suspect that they will find it difficult to slot it in a particular genre. Hopefully, they’ll just say that this was a really inspirational tale,” adds Madhok.

    While Hotstar and Banjijay could end up joining forces for another show post ‘Roar of the Lion’, the latter is in the midst of developing a diverse range of projects catered for viewing on platforms as part of its joint venture with Dhoni Entertainment.

    “This is what all producers and all content creators have been waiting for and it has finally happened with all kinds of content being accepted,” Dhar states.

    While the industry has slowly veered towards finite storytelling in the last five to seven years, Dhar says a mini-series would have found no takers a year ago.

    “People wouldn’t have even entertained this conversation, but today they are wanting to collaborate on it. So obviously things have really changed, forget in the last five years, in the last 12 to 24 months things have really changed,” he says.

    Madhok describes India as a unique market that will continue to witness the growth of both TV and digital. He sees a great deal of innovation in content, with both mediums delivering a fantastic amount of variation.

    “Digital is about individual consumption and that also means that you need to cater to much wide array of tastes and that’s what’s driving the whole thrust towards a huge amount finite consumption,” he highlights.

    The IPL spot-fixing scandal remains among the biggest and most controversial cricket stories of our times. Given the subject, protagonists and the secrecy around the entire affair, Hotstar and Banijay seem to have a sure shot winner on their hands. In fact, Madhok articulates rather aptly.

    “Usually either the ideas tend to be niche or the platforms tend to be niche. For the first time, we are putting together an idea which is massive on a platform which is the country’s biggest. I think the marrying of those two will hopefully produce a fairly dramatic result,” he sums up.

    Is a sequel in the offing?

    “I think the story has great merit to come back because it has some strong magnets, but obviously we have to get the first one out of the way,” Dhar responds with a smile.

  • Hotstar Specials: ‘Roar of the Lion’ trailer promises to be an ultimate comeback story

    Hotstar Specials: ‘Roar of the Lion’ trailer promises to be an ultimate comeback story

    MUMBAI: Hotstar Specials is delighted to present its first show “Roar of the Lion”, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni who speaks about the darkest phase of his career, when he was accused of the worst crime in cricket and Chennai lost its beloved team.

    The teaser left us wanting to know more about Dhoni’s ‘Zidd’ while the trailer sheds light on the emotions that played a big part in making Captain Cool what he is today.  Demonstrating a side of him not commonly seen, the trailer includes the soon to be iconic line uttered by M.S. Dhoni: “The biggest crime I can commit is not murder, its actually match fixing.”

    Roar of the Lion’ is a story of how a bunch of men in yellow jerseys wrote one of India’s greatest comeback stories under the leadership of M.S.Dhoni. The series follows the human emotions of not only the members of Team CSK, but also of their beloved fans, during the days that led to the CSK ban and the 2 years that followed. 

    Shot across multiple locations including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Australia, this is a finite story of 6 episodes of 30 minutes each.  Shot across locations in India from Chepauk Stadium in Chennai to Dhoni’s hometown of Ranchi, the story weaves in a narrative never seen before for been created by master storyteller Kabir Khan, making his debut in the digital space, written by Kausar Munir, and is a co-production between Dhoni Entertainment Pvt Ltd and Banijay Asia.

    While the trailer leaves a lot to be seen it brings to the screen some of the voices who have for the first time shared their opinion about the ban including the CSK management, the people behind CSK.

    Hotstar Specials presents “Roar of the Lion” will be streaming from 20th March onwards with all the episodes available for fans to watch.

    Hotstar Specials, the new label launched by India’s biggest OTT player – Hotstar- will bring big, bold, authentic stories created by some of the biggest storytellers. Featuring some of the most unconventional stories, every show on Hotstar Specials will be available to crores of consumers across India in 7 languages i.e. Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.