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Tag: Pakistani shows

  • Digital channel Zindagi to launch on DTH platforms as a value-added service

    Digital channel Zindagi to launch on DTH platforms as a value-added service

    Mumbai: Digital channel Zindagi which features popular Pakistani soap operas will now be available on DTH platform Dish TV, D2H and Tata Play as a value-added service. The service will be available starting on 23 May.

    The channel launched in 2014, had gone off the air in July 2017 and its content was only available on the OTT service Zee5. Now, the shows Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain with Kirron Kher as the narrator, “Aunn Zara, Sadqay Tumhare” amongst others will be available to DTH subscribers. The channel’s launch is backed by an innovative content strategy of airing two episodes back-to-back.

    Apart from fiction shows, the service will also showcase acclaimed movies like “Baarish aur Chowmein” featuring Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadh, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia; “Toba Tek Singh”, based on a short story by Saadat Hasan Manto, featuring noted actor Pankaj Kapoor and directed by Ketan Mehta; “Silvat” written by Faraz Arif Ansari and directed by Tanuja Chandra with Kartik Aaryan in a leading role; “Saari Raat” a film by National Award winner Aparna Sen starring Konkona Sen Sharma among others.

    “It’s a proud moment for us as we reach yet another milestone and launch Zindagi across key DTH platforms,” said Zee Special Projects chief creative officer Shailja Kejriwal. “What started as a salient idea between a few people deeply invested in the belief of cross border cultural collaborations grew to become one of the most loved television channels in the country. Zindagi took its journey ahead on OTT fueling the digital consumption needs in the country, and the community of believers continued to grow. Today, we add new partners, new believers in Tata Play, Dish TV and D2H, as we take Zindagi to every corner of the country.”

    “There’s a huge fan following for nuanced and author-backed storylines in our country,” said Tata Play chief content and commercial officer Pallavi Puri. “Tata Play Zindagi’s content library is very slice-of-life… they are humari zindagi se milti julti kahaniyan, which we believe will be a treat for the viewers who like relatable narratives.”

    “We firmly believe that providing relatable, wholesome, unique, and relevant content is the most effective way to engage with our subscribers,” said Dish TV India Limited head – VAS Shruti Kumar.

    “We are delighted to announce Zindagi Active as the latest addition to our comprehensive value-added service portfolio. With this, we offer our subscribers the stories that are emotional and enthralling, series & movies that resonate with them, their families, and relationships. We hope to bring together people/communities beyond our country’s border who share similar values, cultures, and traditions. Our Active Services brings the most appealing and relevant content to our subscribers, and the latest addition of the Zindagi Active service reaffirms our commitment towards them,” she added.

  • Zee to go the whole hog on Zindagi

    Zee to go the whole hog on Zindagi

    MUMBAI: There is no dearth of channels to choose from in India. Even with nearly 400 general entertainment channels (GECs) in various languages currently operating, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd  (Zeel) believes that its new offering – Zindagi –that goes on air from 23 June, will be a league apart from the existing Hindi GECs including its own Zee TV.

    “People’s tastes are evolving and so we have to create a standard for our offerings. There is a need for categorisation in Hindi GECs too. Many audiences in SEC A, SEC B and metros want good shows but don’t get them. This number represents about 40 per cent of the total audience but their time spent is less than 20 per cent to 25 per cent because they don’t get such good shows back-to-back.  Zindagi seeks to create a new category here,” says Zeel chief content and creative officer Bharat Ranga.

    The channel is the brainchild of Zeel chief creative special projects Shailja Kejriwal who has spent close to two years viewing and handpicking global content that can resonate with Indian audiences. “I was bored with what I was creating myself,” she says. “This channel is a great opportunity to see another culture which isn’t much different from ours. We will begin with the best shows from Pakistan because it has the greatest language affinity and then go on to co-producing our own shows depending on viewer feedback,” she adds. The channel will soon also telecast Pakistani movies.

    Content on the new channel isn’t limited to our neighbouring country. Shows from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Latin America and Iran are also in the pipeline. Unlike the now extinct channel from Sahara-Firangi  – that aired dubbed international content, Zee will be recreating international shows with Indian and Pakistani talent. The shows that have story affinity but not language will be remade and not dubbed. “So we will buy the licences for these shows and co-produce it using Indian and Pakistani producers, actors, directors, writers etc. Alongside we will also produce telefilms in a similar manner,” informs Kejriwal.

    According to Kejriwal, telefilms are a necessity whether or not they get TAM ratings. “It will give an opportunity to new talent and new stories to be shown. When serials run for more than three or four years, they don’t leave space for new talent,” says she.

    Zee also has plans for commissioned shows that will be created in both India and Pakistan. “So while we will have some Pakistani production houses making shows exclusively for Zindagi:  shot, written and directed in Pakistan, there will also be shows that will be created here in India,” adds Kejriwal.

    The channel aims at tapping those viewers who are open to variety in the content they consume. “It is not a homogenous viewing nation anymore. Many people want to see limited series and we will cater to them,” reveals Kejriwal.

    The show timings are different from the usual ones. If one sees the channel profile, while Zindagi Gulzar Hai begins at 8:00 pm, Aunn Zara will go on air at 8:55 pm and Kaash Main Teri Beti Na Hoti at 9:45 pm every day of the week. While some shows will be weekly, a few will be dailies.  The other shows in the channel programme bouquet include: Kitni Girhain Baqi Hain and Mera Naseeb.

    Kejriwal states that she purposely wanted play with the usual time slots on existing channels. “I was tired of the same 9:00 pm, 9:30 pm, 10:00 pm slots. Life isn’t clockwork, it is between all this. It isn’t that at 9:35 pm there is no life,” she says. All the shows on the channel are periodic with about 45 shows to be aired every year.

    The channel is available on all major DTH and cable TV platforms except for Sun Direct. The Rs 100 crore marketing plan entails a lot of outdoor, digital and print across the country in upscale areas with the concentration being in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.

    Says Ranga, “& Pictures has taken six to seven per cent channel share within eight months post launch. We believe Zindagi will do the same especially with digitisation setting in. Rather than be a victim of fragmentation we want to lead it. Before viewers go to Star Plus, we want to capture them on Zindagi.”

    Speaking at a press conference, Pakistani TV actor Imran Abbas who will be seen as a lead in the show Mera Naseeb highlighted that Indian shows are very popular in Pakistan but awareness about Pakistani lifestyles is limited in India. “You will see something about Pakistan which you don’t see on news channels. People think that women in Pakistan only wear burqas which isn’t true. In fact even films don’t show the real side,” he says.

    During the launch phase, the channel is looking at targeting premium brands to associate as brand partners. Askme.com and Fogg have already been roped in  as sponsors.

    How do media planners view the channel? Says Maxus managing partner for north and east Navin Khemka, “Historically, Pakistani content was always popular in India and vice versa. Viewers will get to sample a fresh channel with fresh faces. It will be a breath of fresh air and if they like it they will get hooked to it. Whatever the channel does later on will depend on the mark it makes with the Pakistani shows. If the channel manages 70-80 GRPs in the beginning, that’s good news, but if it garners 100 GRPs then that’s great news!”

    With the launch of Zindagi, the network is fully focusing on its tagline ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ meaning ‘The World is my Family.’ As Abbas puts it, “People need Visas to travel, stories don’t.”