Tag: Rainshine Entertainment

Rainshine Entertainment offers power-packed line-up of original shows

MUMBAI: Rainshine Entertainment, a leading entertainment company that creates, nurtures and develops content for global audiences, has conceptualized and produced some of the most inspiring, heart-warming, and thrilling content that has caught the imagination of Indians currently.

The slate includes Vir Das’ critically acclaimed, dark comedy, Hasmukh, streaming exclusively on Netflix. The show has had a dream run since its launch, picking up the No-1 spot on India Top 10 in just a day from its launch on the platform. Hasmukh, a Weirdass Comedy concept, has been Directed by Nikhil Gonsalves and co-created by Vir Das & Nikkhil Advani.

Joining this power list is the Spotify Original Podcast, Special Mission, Rainshine Entertainment’s heartfelt tribute to the Indian Armed Forces narrated by Gul Panag and created and story curated by Saishree Ashwin. Covering unheard stories around diverse topics like international rescue missions, stories of regimental legends, of love, of honor and even the animals that serve in the forces, the podcast features real-life stories of the Indian Armed Forces that go beyond valour, traversing the extraordinary, behind-the-scene lives of these heroes and their families. With two episodes already out, the show has been lauded for its depth, character, and ability to tug at the heartstrings of all those who listen in. The show has been produced by Rainshine Entertainment and ATS Studio.

Last but not least are three Audible Suno original podcasts – Masters of Business, where some of India’s most prominent corporate leaders and entrepreneurs like Harsh Mariwala, Ronnie Screwvala, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Umang Bedi, Deep Kalra, among others, hold audio masterclasses. It has been produced by CM Studios and co-created by Russell Pinto, Upasna Mann and Nudrat Khan. Agla Station Investigation, a light-hearted, humorous account of the Indian Petty Crimes Branch (IPCB), an obscure branch within the police dedicated to solving only the silliest of crimes, and Swami Hasyadev Maharaj, the story of a fictional self-styled Godman who believes he was sent to earth to spread laughter, have both been created and produced by Weirdass Comedy.

Rainshine Entertainment chairman-CEO Neeraj Bhargava says: “We are amidst an extraordinary situation that calls for the utmost levels of patience and strength. During these trying times, art, in its diverse forms, is known to be a welcome distraction and comforter for so many people across the world. With everybody at home, content consumption as a whole has increased manifold because all of us are turning to stories to feel better.”

“At Rainshine Entertainment, we are ensuring that we continue to offer high quality, engaging content, across formats and genres. Through these releases, we’ve curated compelling narratives which are resonating with our audiences and we are delighted with the feedback. There’s something for everyone and I hope these stories will help our audiences get through this long phase of social isolation,” Neeraj Bhargava says.

The owned and partner studios of Rainshine Entertainment are behind the creation, conceptualization, and production of these shows.

SHOW DETAILS

Hasmukh:

Created by and starring Vir Das, Hasmukh is a dark comedy that follows the journey of a timid, young man from Saharanpur who sets out to be the greatest comedian in the world. However, while he is a great writer, he lacks comic timing. Determined to do anything to achieve his dream, his untamed ambition sets him on a murky path when he realizes committing murder is the only way to keep his onstage mojo. The series can be viewed here.

Cast: Vir Das, Ranvir Shorey, Ravi Kishan, Manoj Pahwa, Raza Murad, Amrita Bagchi, Suhail Nayyar, and Inaamulhaq

Writers: Vir Das, Nikhil Gonsalves, Suparn Verma, Amogh Ranadive and Neeraj Pandey

Director: Nikhil Gonsalves

Produced by: Emmay Entertainment and Applause Entertainment

Concept by: Weirdass Comedy (A Rainshine Entertainment partner company)

Special Mission:

Produced by Rainshine Entertainment and ATS Studio, the Spotify Original Podcast, Special Mission, is a heart-warming podcast series on the Indian Armed Forces. It is a collection of twelve real-life stories that go beyond the bravery and courage these soldiers are known for. Each tale speaks of love, of legends, of adventure, and of extraordinary lives that are unimaginable. But, more than anything else, these are human stories of emotions that touch lives in many ways. Covering a diverse range of topics like international rescue missions, stories of regimental legends, music and even the animals that serve in the forces, the series is currently streaming exclusively on Spotify. The first two episodes, ‘Two Men and a Boat’ and ‘Of Love and Longing’ can be accessed here.

Narrator: Gul Panag

Show creator and story curation: Saishree Ashwin

Music: Madhav Ayachit

Writer: Vishal Dayama

Co-Producers: Gaurav Vaz & Ikroop Chamba

Produced by: Rainshine Entertainment & ATS Studio ( A Rainshine Entertainment partner company)

Masters of Business:

Produced by CM Studios, one of the content production arms of Rainshine Entertainment, Masters of Business is a 21 episode series on Audible Suno that provides a free masterclass with India's most successful entrepreneurs and corporate leaders. Amidst the current scenario sweeping the world, Masters of Business serves as a high-profile online classroom with insightful and engaging lessons from industry greats like Harsh Mariwala, Ronnie Screwvala, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Umang Bedi, Deep Kalra, among others. Whether it’s learning how to create a business plan, launching your own company, expanding your team, or scaling your profit and growth, each episode is carefully curated with valuable lessons to help develop and strengthen business acumen. All the episodes are out on Audible Suno and can be accessed from here.

Created by: Russell Pinto, Upasna Mann and Nudrat Khan

Produced by: CM Studios (A Rainshine Entertainment owned studio)

Agla Station Investigation:

Agla Station Investigation is a light-hearted, humorous account of the Indian Petty Crimes Branch (IPCB), an obscure branch within the Mumbai police dedicated to solving only the silliest of crimes. Produced by Vir Das’ Weirdass Comedy, the foremost comedy content studio and consultancy in India, the series follows the unusual characters as they solve crime after crime. Whether it's a case of mysteriously beheaded Barbies or even a bodybuilding champ's missing protein shake, no job is too small for them and no theory too wild. All episodes are streaming on Audible Suno.

Cast: Ratnakar Nadkarni, Mansi Singh, Ajay Shanker & Kavita Pais

Director: Kavi Shastri & Amogh Ranadive

Writer: Anisha Raisurana, Neil Balthazar & Weirdass Comedy

Produced by: Weirdass Comedy (A Rainshine Entertainment partner company)

Swami Hasyadev Maharaj:

Swami Hasyadev Maharaj, also from the Weirdass Comedy stable, is a 15-part satire fiction series featuring Suresh Menon. It tells the story of a godman who claims to be the inventor of every popular joke we now take for granted, from 'Haathi-Cheeti' to 'Door Se Dekha Toh..'. With the help of his 3 lifelong disciples, he travels across the world to bring a smile on people’s faces. While some say he's a fraud, others revere him and his gospel of jokes (known as Hasyaveds). The show can be accessed on Audible Suno.

Cast: Suresh Menon, Avantika Shetty, Omkar Kulkarni, Devender Chauhan

Director: Keith Gomes

Writer: Sriraam Padmanabhan, Navin Noronha, Rajnish Kumar & Weirdass Comedy

Produced by: Weirdass Comedy (A Rainshine Entertainment partner company)

April 28, 2020
Max Fashion partners with Lightstream for #MaxHoliApnoWali campaign

MUMBAI: With Holi 2020 right around the corner, Max Fashion, the most profitable leading value fashion retail brand, released a vibrant new campaign, #MaxHoliApnoWali.

Conceptualised and created by Lightstream, the branded content studio owned by Rainshine Entertainment, the ad targets the Hindi speaking markets of UP, Bihar, and Jharkhand who are known to purchase new clothes during this time. The campaign has been rolled out in all three states, and across the brand’s digital platforms and in cinemas.

The ad portrays a typical Indian family based in Lucknow, where two sisters are seen teasing their younger brother, about throwing colour on him on Holi. In a heart-warming turn of events, the sisters surprise him with a beautiful Max Fashion Holi collection outfit instead. The campaign showcases the true festive feeling of togetherness and celebrating with your loved ones.

Speaking on the campaign, Max Fashion SVP marketing Jiten Mahendra said, “Customer engagement is the core of our communication strategy. Despite us operating in 17 international markets, for us connecting through regional connect is extremely critical and in our endeavour to create brand resonance we selected Holi as an occasion. Like the brand mission of democratising fashion, Holi is also an event which blurs the differences across age, caste and communities. Our campaign objective is to capture real moments and bring a smile on our customer’s face.”

Lightstream CEO Anuraag Srivastava said, “Holi is a widely celebrated festival in India, expressed through the beauty of colours. With the festival coming up next month, Max Fashion wanted to develop something meaningful that captures the true spirit of togetherness. We had the pleasure of working closely with them to conceptualise and translate this vision into a reality. Through this campaign, we were able to portray the celebrations in a quintessentially middle-class family, making it relatable for people across the target cities.”

March 6, 2020
Industry leaders provide valuable insights on content creation at The Content Hub 2020

MUMBAI: The fourth edition of The Content Hub 2020, presented by Indiantelevision.com, saw a gala turnout with scores of people eager to hear industry leaders speak about content and the way forward. While the first part of the day saw discussions on digital content and the second half went into understanding storytelling, research and OTT format, the last part saw a mix of audio content, movies and digital transformation.

Before we venture into day two, here’s a wrap of what happened yesterday.

The audio content business

Rainshine Entertainment co-founder and COO Anuraag Srivastava in a fireside chat with Monisha Singh Katial explored the opportunity of the podcast business. The audio and podcast side is a new venture for the company where it dedicatedly has two verticals looking after AVOD and SVOD services.

Srivastava believes the potential gap between the audience belonging to rural and urban space is increasing because the content on television is not heard on the radio anymore. So, podcast is a way by which small towns can plug in through radios. "One of the things that we see here, unlike the US, is that India entirely skipped the satellite radio market where we went from short wave to FM. There was never a serious radio or anything equivalent of radio where you paid to hear good content" he mentioned.

A new wave is taking over big screens

Rather than relying on big B-Town stars, new-age directors, writers, scriptwriters are focusing on delivering messages through stories. At the panel ‘The role of writers and directors in developing the magic script’ at The Content Hub 2020, the panellists agreed that the audience wants new stories in a familiar way.

Screenwriter, script consultant and advisor Anjum Rajabalia, film director, writer and producer Hansal Mehta, screenwriter and director Hitesh Kewalya, film director, writer and producer Om Raut, dialogue writer and director Sumit Arora participated in the panel.

The panellists opined that not only we have opened up to social issues but the crucial thing is that it is being led by good writing. He also added that people have begun realising the importance of a good script. The panellists also agreed that storytelling needs to be relooked at and constantly evolve. According to them, if the most politically, socially relevant and taboo topics can be told in a manner that can touch hearts, then stories will travel far.

Decoding new-age content

The last couple of years have seen a huge evolution of content with the shifting paradigm. At The Content Hub 2020, the creators who are at the forefront of the change discussed the way forward and what are the new initiatives they are taking.

Actor and creator Mallika Dua said she is looking at long-format content as well. She has been more into short format content. She also added that spending quality time online should be the focus rather than random scrolling. Pocket Aces founder Anirudh Pandita, who in a lighter note said that their mission is to solve boredom in India, mentioned that he is looking at two new segments.

OML Entertainment chief executive officer Gunjan Arya said that working with creators and growing platforms have opened up more opportunities. OML is looking at making Comicstaan in Tamil. It is also working with OTT platforms to get content outside India.

YouTube partnerships director Satya Raghavan said that while there is the platform’s traditional advertising-driven business, now it is also looking at subscription business including YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, etc. He also added that some partners can sell their own inventory on the platform which is another revenue stream. TVF content and business global head Rahul Sarangi spoke about the creator’s new focus in vernacular languages and output deals with major OTT platforms.

Fireworks India CEO Sunil Nair said that it would not depend on influencers-based content. He also added that it’s not necessary for short-format apps to do cringy content.

Digital content, self-censorship and more

Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair took the stage with House of Cheer founder Raj Nayak to discuss the realm of TV and OTT content. Nair said that this trend of pushing everything to digital-first will not allow enough revenue to come through. Instead, we must follow the US approach of first releasing movies in the theatre and then giving them out on DVD or digital.

When it comes to series-based content, Nair said that digital benefits in giving the user the power to decide rather than the broadcaster deciding for them. That's why international content is being consumed with subtitles. TV, though it was successful, it was a one-way street.

Nayak posed a question on the need for self-censorship and whether it will kill creativity. To that Nair responded that self-regulation is a tricky area and people are finding innovative ways to tackle that. He also added that people realise that if they don't self-censor, they will face repercussions.

Movies and their success

The success of a film is never planned, it happens. This was the unanimous response of the panel moderated by Talkietive Content Creators co-founder Priyanka Sinha Jha, with panellists Reliance Entertainment group chief executive officer Shibasish Sarkar, Azure Entertainment chief executive officer Sunir Kheterpal and Zee Studios chief executive officer Shariq Patel.

The panellists were of the view that the emotions embodied in the story of the film resonate with the audience then it definitely creates a market for itself. And, this is the biggest reason why Dangal and Bahubali both part one and two received huge success in the foreign markets like China.

Moreover, the panellists also echoed the same view that the cost of talent is never sustainable. However, there is also value related to the face and that eventually ends up generating more revenue.

There’s a market for everything and the business of films and content is here to stay no matter what platform it is released on.

Stay tuned with us for more updates from day 2 of The Content Hub 2020.

Day 1 Highlights

The Content Hub 2020: An enriching and engaging first day

The Content Hub 2020: Creators emphasise on importance of content quality over formats

Check out the gallery from Day 1 of The Content Hub 2020

March 5, 2020
Rainshine launches two new shows on Audible Suno, an Amazon Company

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.”

December 13, 2019
Rainshine Entertainment backed Culture Machine outlines aggressive future growth strategy

MUMBAI: Rainshine Entertainment, a leading entertainment company that creates diverse and iconic content for Indian and global audiences, announces the strategic expansion and restructuring of Culture Machine, a digital media company under its umbrella. Evolving and adapting itself to the new market of 2020, Culture Machine Media Pvt. Ltd., will be structured into two focussed businesses – CM Studios and Lightstream. With a strengthened management team and robust parentage of Rainshine, the company is well positioned to fortify its offering for audiences across the country.

The new organizations will be led by Anuraag Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer of Rainshine Entertainment. Additionally, Sameer Pitalwalla will transition from his current role as CEO of Culture Machine to an advisory role with Rainshine, and will oversee some of its existing long-format shows.

Commenting on this development, Neeraj Bhargava, Chairman & CEO, Rainshine Entertainment, said, “Culture Machine has been an iconic business and we’ve had a great run so far. It’s now time to accelerate and put the pedal to the metal. We have some of the most passionate and creative minds in the business, and with this new strategy in place, I’m excited about making Culture Machine, in its new avatar as CM Studios and Lightstream, even bigger and better.”

CM Studios and Lightstream will both have focused teams and priorities. Led by Culture Machine front runners, Ruchir Joshi and Russell Pinto, CM Studios will produce long form content and audio podcasts for streaming platforms, with an added focus on the young adult segment and genres like crime, thriller, and romance. The company has already partnered with multiple platforms like Amazon Prime, NBA, Eros Now, Dailyhunt etc., and has launched 6 shows with 5 more currently in production.

Meanwhile, Lightstream has been created to provide the services of Digital Content Marketing, Digital Campaigns and Digital Services to brands who are reaching out to the wide span of consumers in India. This division will be run by media veteran Cyrus Oshidar, who comes with a strong industry foothold, having helped build MTV India and 101India.com, and Bala Iyengar, who has over two decades of experience in the media industry and has been instrumental in co-authoring the journey of Helios Media. Joining them is Manisha Gulati, co-founder of 101India.com, who will continue to work closely with Cyrus, and Bala’s partner, Divya Radhakrishnan, who will lead business development across the public, government, and NGO sectors for Lightstream. The team will work with brands to create short form content and digital solutions, tailored to help them reach communities across the fragmented Indian landscape. Through Lightstream, data analytics, audience targeting, and consumer insights will come together to deliver the best brand stories told through content.

Divya will also work closely with the Rainshine team to develop an international distribution and syndication business.

Bhargava further added, “At Rainshine, we’re furiously innovating to incubate and launch businesses for the future, identifying latent needs, opportunities, and finding newer ways to tell the most compelling stories. As a team, we’re all extremely confident and optimistic about this new strategy and what lies ahead.”

“Culture Machine comes with years of legacy – it is one of the flag bearers of this digital entertainment boom that has gripped India. The re-generation of the two new organizations is an endeavour to build on its brand solutions acumen through Lightstream and storytelling prowess through CM Studios, and take these businesses to the next level. The next few years will see us further accelerate the growth trajectory of the company, and I'm excited to be leading this dynamic team of talented individuals,” said Anuraag Srivastava, COO, Rainshine Entertainment, who also has oversight of these new business units.

October 11, 2019
Rainshine Entertainment adds three new companies to its existing portfolio, strengthening its global content business

MUMBAI: Rainshine Entertainment, a leading entertainment company that creates diverse and iconic content for Indian and global audiences, announces new and significant additions to its bouquet of entertainment content companies. Crystalizing this move is the acquisition of significant stakes in two new media companies – All Things Small (ATS) and FirstAction, which will function independently; Rainshine will collaborate with them to offer strategic direction and drive growth. This expansion is further bolstered by the creation of Rainbox Studios, a new internal division of Rainshine.

All Things Small, the newly launched media company and development platform, has been co-founded by an illustrious quartet of media mavericks, Supriya Nair, Sidin Vadukut, Gaurav Vaz and Devaiah Bopanna. The company will produce high-quality original journalism, documentaries, and narrative non-fiction content in a variety of formats, encompassing shows, films, and digital properties. With a passion for ‘true stories’, ATS will introduce two brand-new journalistic outlets that will publish India’s best storytellers and reporters in unusual formats and various languages. Rainshine is currently co-developing three shows with ATS – a biopic, a campus-based project, and a docu-drama, marking its foray into real-life storytelling.

FirstAction, led by Saad Khan and Maaz Khan, is a Bengaluru-based creative content and film production company that endeavors to be the go-to player for content creation and execution in South India. The team is credited for the writing, direction and production expertise behind the award-winning movie and soon to become web series ‘Humble Politician Nograj’, and a host of other movies, live shows and digital content. On the back of this, they aim to build FirstAction as South India’s largest vernacular platform, thus also cementing Rainshine’s official entry into this space.

Founded by media veteran Munnish Puri and backed by a group of passionate content creators with diverse backgrounds, Rainbox Studios will focus on developing and producing cutting-edge game shows along with high-end non-fiction and fiction concepts. Boasting of pioneering franchises like ULTA FULLTA, India’s first cricket digital game show unveiled during the ICC World Cup 2019, and VotesUp, the world’s first election fantasy league launched around India’s recent General Elections, Rainbox will create inspiring and emotionally engaging content for Indian as well as global audiences.

Commenting on this development, Neeraj Bhargava, Chairman & CEO, Rainshine Entertainment, said, “Rainshine was created to tell the most compelling stories across genres and platforms, spanning both existing and first-of-its-kind formats. Our primary aim is to give India's best creative minds an avenue to turn storytelling into a viable business proposition. The teams at All Things Small, FirstAction, and Rainbox Studios have a rich repository of fantastic ideas waiting to be executed, and we couldn't be more excited to collaborate and create many industry-firsts. Needless to say, we have deep respect for the intellect and vision of each company, and are delighted to have them on-board.”

“All of us are passionate about true stories. At ATS, we want to tell them elegantly, profitably and on every conceivable platform. We’re privileged to have the support of Rainshine, a company whose belief in the value of great storytelling and the pursuit of truth, matches ours.” said Sidin Vadukut, Co-founder & CEO of All Things Small.

Saad Khan, Founder & Creative Director of FirstAction, said, “The synergy between Rainshine and us has been scintillating since day one. Their intent and drive to create high-quality content formidably aligns with our passion, artistic sensibility, and work ethic. We are absolutely charged to work with Neeraj, Anuraag, and the entire Rainshine team. Their work ethic and respect towards creative talent is inspiring.”

Munnish Puri, Founder & CEO of Rainbox Studios, said, “Today, content has no borders and with digitization, the new power is truly in the hands of global viewers. Rainbox Studios is creating cutting edge content formats that break the norms. We are also bringing alive diverse storytelling with a strong focus on high production values.”

With comprehensive coverage of multiple genres, Rainshine brings new stories, formats, and experiences for audiences worldwide.

September 30, 2019
Rainshine Entertainment announces first three investments

MUMBAI: Rainshine Entertainment, a newly formed media and entertainment (M&E) company announced its first three investments today as it acquired significant stakes in Culture Machine, Weirdass Comedy, and Kinsane Entertainment.

Founded by entrepreneur and tech investor, Neeraj Bhargava, founder of Zodius Capital, co-founder of NYSE-listed WNS and a former McKinsey & Company partner, the company aims to acquire majority or high minority stakes in digital entertainment companies and work closely with them to build iconic content brands for both Indian and global audiences.

Commenting on the creation of Rainshine Entertainment and the three deals, Rainshine Entertainment chairman and CEO Neeraj Bhargava said, “Rainshine will be a key developer of talent, content, and platforms in digital entertainment, an industry ripe for rapid growth and disruption. We are delighted to partner with Sameer Pitalwalla, Vir Das, and Kurt Inderbitzin along with their respective teams at Culture Machine, Weirdass Comedy, and Kinsane Entertainment, invest in the businesses and help them build iconic and enviable content brands. We are currently assessing several deals and will add 3-4 acquisitions in the near future to comprehensively address our targeted genres and build a new industry leader.”

February 5, 2019