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Tag: Siddhartha Roy

  • Hungama Play launches ‘Comedycha Raada’

    Hungama Play launches ‘Comedycha Raada’

    MUMBAI: Hungama Play, a leading video-on-demand platform owned by Hungama Digital Media, today launched ‘Comedycha Raada’, a Hungama Original featuring stand-up comedy acts in Marathi. The show includes 10 episodes and features a total of 21 aspiring comedians performing fresh, topical and relatable acts that cover a wide range of themes including satire, slice of life, abstract topics and more. Hosted by the versatile Marathi actor, Pranav Raorane, ‘Comedycha Raada’ is created and produced by CafeMarathi.

    Starting today, the show will be available to stream on Hungama Play, Hungama’s video on demand platform. It will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Airtel Xstream App, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge, MX Player and Android TVs. Additionally, Hungama’s association with Xiaomi will enable consumers to watch the show via Hungama Play on Mi TV.

    Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy said, “With Hungama Originals, we have created a diverse library of multilingual and multi-genre content. There is an immense demand for stand-up comedy in regional languages and we are glad to offer Comedycha Raada, a show that is local, funny and relatable. At a time when Maharashtra and the entire country is staying at home to practice social distancing, we are certain that our stand-up comedy special will offer the audiences an easy way to entertain themselves from the safety of their homes.”

    CafeMarathi Co-founder & CEO Nikhil Raibole commented, “We are delighted to work with Hungama Play again and offer a new original show that provides a huge platform to budding comedians in Maharashtra. We are certain that Hungama Play’s strong distribution network will help deliver the stand-up comedy special to a diverse audience. Given the current situation, I hope that Comedycha Raada succeeds in bringing entertainment and humour in people’s lives.”

    Talking about his involvement in the show, Pranav Raorane said, “I feel glad to have been the host of the show. Maharasthra has immense talent and it is heartening to see platforms like Hungama Play and CafeMarathi come together to promote regional comedians. I am certain that the audiences will enjoy watching the show, as much as I enjoyed working on it.”

    Comedians performing in Comedycha Raada include Ramdas Tekale, Nishant Ajbele, Saish Gotekar, Akash Khedkar, Akshay Kokane, Chirantan Lonkar, Swapnil Jadhav, Yogesh Khedkar, Mandar Patil, Spandan Ambekar, Tejas Ghadigaonkar, Kishor Salunkhe, Shriram Parve, Prashant Wakode, Vinay Natekar, Sukeshini Waghmare, Prashant Manore, Sachin Bhilare, Anand Kulkarni, Vilas Panchal and Aditya Sawant.

  • Hungama launches ‘Hungama Kids’ with 2000+ minutes of short-format content

    Hungama launches ‘Hungama Kids’ with 2000+ minutes of short-format content

    MUMBAI: Hungama, India’s leading digital entertainment company has launched Hungama Kids, a platform for kids, parents and teachers to access content created and curated specifically for them. The destination will provide a comprehensive learning experience for children of all age-groups, teachers and parents by offering relevant and targeted content across diverse academic and parental topics. Hungama Kids’ library consists of over 500 videos in English and Hindi with new content added every day to ensure age-appropriate entertainment with ample academic opportunities. 

    The app provides a user-friendly interface with separate sections for kids and parents. The content is further categorized to suit the different needs of the diverse target audience – toddlers, school-going children, pre-adolescents and adolescents. Users get access to a universe of academic topics such as language practice, general knowledge, science, maths, social sciences and career guidance. This is in addition to infotainment videos covering nursery rhymes, bedtime stories, poems and more. Parents and teachers can consume counsel topics related to career guidance, parenting tips, pregnancy care, among other things. 

    Commenting on the launch of Hungama Kids, Hungama Digital Media  COO  Siddhartha Roy said, “We have continually worked towards crafting experiences that sit at the cusp of entertainment and technology. With Hungama Kids, we intend to address the serious gap that exists in the demand and availability of age-appropriate content and create an interesting educational experience for the audience. We are certain that the app will serve as the go-to infotainment destination and be appreciated by kids, parents and teachers alike.”

    The platform provides parents a gamut of features that include a range of parental controls, no third-party advertisements and no in-app purchases. A single subscription of ₹ 30 per month or ₹ 299 per year will allow users to stream HD-quality content on mobiles, laptops and tablets.

    Speaking about the platform, Hungama Digital Media  Vice President Soumini Sridhara Paul said, “Parents, today, have to be cautious of the format, medium, and type of content that their children are consuming. The content on the app is curated to be kid-friendly. It is especially designed to educate in an engaging and interactive manner. Our extensive library houses all original content ranging across academics, infotainment, and counsel for children of all age-groups and their parents or teachers.”

    Hungama Kids has been developed by D’Café. D’Café  CEO Vineet Dhawan said, “One of the biggest challenges of digital entertainment is ‘content delivery’. There are multiple issues from poor bandwidth to low-end devices, more so in India, where the sheer size of the audience presents OTT operators with more than one end-user challenge. Hungama has established itself as one of the biggest entertainment destinations in India. We were absolutely thrilled to be a part of the launch of the Hungama Kids platform and were mindful of the fact that we owe Hungama’s users the best video streaming experience. With Hungama Kids where the content library is so varied, we have ensured that when a viewer logs in to the app, content discovery is easy. With our intuitive design, and user-friendly functionalities, we aim to enable Hungama Kids acquire new users faster and increase cross-screen engagement. We look forward to continued innovation and a collaborative relationship in the future.”

    Available on Google Play Store, Hungama Kids is free to use for the first 24 hours, followed by a subscription fee of ₹ 30 per month or ₹ 299 per year  

  • Tanishk Bagchi, Darshan Raval & Jonita Gandhi light up this festive season like no other with “Yaari Ka Circle”

    Tanishk Bagchi, Darshan Raval & Jonita Gandhi light up this festive season like no other with “Yaari Ka Circle”

    Mumbai: McDowell’s No.1 Soda Yaari Jam Originals, has always been an enabler of strong bonds of friendship with fascinating stories of yaari that are brought alive through music. After the massive success of its latest originals “Apni Yaari” by SANAM and “Yaarder Shonge-The Festive Song” by Sunidhi Chauhan and Anupam Roy, McDowell’s No.1 Yaari Jam Originals has partnered with renowned musicians Tanishk Bagchi, Darshan Raval and Jonita Gandhi to release its next original song “Yaari Ka Circle”. The new musical track celebrates the spirit of festivities and encourages everyone to celebrate these moments with yaars rather than being confined in their homes.

    The original featuring the trio has been written and composed by the ace musician Tanishk Bagchi. The inspiring track is soulful, lively and full of emotions. The music video has been created and produced by McDowell’s No. 1 Soda in collaboration with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.

    With this original, Tanishk Bagchi, Darshan Raval and Jonita Gandhi, relive the fervor of what it meant to celebrate the festivities together with the whole community. Celebration meant putting up beautiful lamps and lights, decorating homes with Rangolis, exchanging gifts with family and friends, inviting friends and neighbors and celebrating it together. Today, with changing times, we live in a digital world with barely any real connection with the world around us. The song encourages everyone to open to newer friendships and celebrate festivities wholeheartedly beyond the boundaries of the internet. It inspires everyone through the line that defines friendship “Akele Thoda Kam hai, Yaaron se bane Hum hai” to get together with your yaars and families alike.

    Talking about the launch of the original, Tanishk Bagchi said, “Growing up in times when we celebrated as a community and not as families, this song reflects the world we live. I loved creating this Festive Melody also looking by the lyrics, ‘Dil ke darwaze ko khol, tatolo rishta naya’, I hope the song inspires the listeners to welcome yaars in their hearts and not just home.”

    Adding to it, Darshan Raval said, “I grew up in Ahmedabad where any festival meant getting together, decorating our houses and celebrating it with family and friends. In times where we are only connected over phones, we must step out and celebrate offline too with our yaars.”

    “Celebrations are always incomplete without our friends… of course they would be, we’re our true selves when we’re with them. No matter how many pictures we take, or how much we light up our homes, we’ll always feel that disconnect if we don’t spend time with those we love. This track is a reminder that festivities are the best time to have fun and celebrate with our friends and family together,” added Jonita Gandhi.

    Amarpreet Singh Anand, VP Marketing and Portfolio Head, Diageo India, said, “McDowell’s No.1 Soda has always believed that celebrations are best when you are with your yaars. The festive season is a time when everyone tries to meet old friends and make new ones too. With this track, we look forward to bringing people together and enjoying the festivities with smiles and loads of entertainment.”

    Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “Music plays an important role in our culture and festivals. It has the power to unite people and encourage a spirit of togetherness. We are glad to partner with McDowell’s No. 1 Soda and create such mesmerizing musical experiences for listeners and viewers worldwide. We are certain that the magic created by Tanishk Bagchi, Darshan Raval and Jonita Gandhi will find a special place in the hearts of the listeners this festive season.”

    Soumini Sridhara Paul, Vice-President, Artist Aloud, Hungama Digital Media said, “We are delighted to work with Tanishk Bagchi, Darshan Raval and Jonita Gandhi, three of the most talented musicians that we have in the country. Independent content is fast gaining momentum and is being appreciated for its originality by listeners. We are certain that listeners across the world will be moved by the song’s message and vocals.”

  • Hungama Play partners with NBCUniversal; announces an incredible line-up of blockbuster movies

    Hungama Play partners with NBCUniversal; announces an incredible line-up of blockbuster movies

    MUMBAI: Hungama Play, a premium video on demand platform owned by Hungama Digital Media, today announced a partnership with NBCUniversal to release a slew of critically acclaimed and blockbuster hit movies from the studio. As part of this agreement, movies such as the BAFTA® and Academy Award® winning films from the Bourne franchise, the Jurassic franchise and The Mummy franchise, are all now available to stream on the platform. Giving the films a wider audience, Hungama Play will also make certain titles available in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

    Over the next few months, Hungama Play will also launch numerous NBCUniversal feature films such as Back to the Future, American Pie 2, Shrek 2, The Theory of Everything, King Kong, Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2, among others.

    Besides Hungama Play, the movies will be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Airtel Xstream, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge and Android Smart TVs. Additionally, Hungama’s strategic association with Xiaomi will also enable users to watch the movies via Hungama Play on Mi TV.

    Speaking about the association, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media, said, “Hungama Play always strives to provide a diverse, multi-lingual and multi-genre library of content. Our strategic content partnership with NBCUniversal will aid us in expanding our library and offer our audience a chance to experience their favourite movies in multiple languages. We are hopeful that the latest additions will introduce our viewers to content that transcends language and geography barriers.” 

    Belinda Menendez, President & Chief Revenue Officer, Global Distribution and International, NBCUniversal, said, “NBCUniversal prides itself on engaging and immersive storytelling that captivates and enthralls viewers around the world. We are proud to offer our most-watched movies on Hungama Play and partner with them to make our world-class content available to a wider audience in India.”

    The movie line-up will also include legendary science-fiction, adventure and action films such as The Chronicles of Riddick, Battleship, Oblivion and Incredible Hulk. Comedies including Land of the Lost and Liar Liar, in addition to supernatural horror films such as Ouija, will also be available to viewers.

  • Hungama Play premieres ‘For All That You Are’ – an award-winning short film about love and retribution

    Hungama Play premieres ‘For All That You Are’ – an award-winning short film about love and retribution

    MUMBAI: Hungama Play, a leading video on demand platform owned by Hungama Digital Media, today premiered a new short film – For All That You Are. The film explores the relationship between two female ex-lovers from different cultural backgrounds, who happen to reconnect post an abrupt break-up but are unaware of each other’s intentions. Replete with unexpected twists, the film highlights the women’s varied beliefs and shocks the viewers with an unpredictable climax. Besides Hungama Play, the short film will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Airtel TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick and SHAREit. Additionally, through Hungama’s association with Xiaomi consumers will also be able to watch the film via Hungama Play on Mi TV.

    Appreciated for its unusual theme, the film has won several awards at film festivals around the world. These include Best LGBTQ Film at Top Shorts Film Festival USA, Best Woman Filmmaker at The IndieFEST Film Awards, Best Actress at Actors Award Los Angeles and Accolade Global Film Competition USA along with the Best Short at MedFF. Besides these, the film has also been an official selection at New York Film Awards and a semi-finalist at Nassau Film Festival.

    Speaking on the release of the short film, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “We take pride in offering our users a multi-lingual and multi-genre library that includes a wide range of Indian and international movies, short films, documentaries, TV shows, kids’ content, original shows and short-format videos. For All That You Are will join our curation of award-winning films and offer our viewers a fresh form of storytelling.”

    The film is directed by Avantika Khattri, who also plays the main lead along with Tatiana Tat. The film has been produced by Avantika Khattri and Dhiraj Sarode under the banner of Mad Hatters.

    Speaking about her film, Avantika Khattri said, “For All That You Are is a film very close to my heart as it’s my directorial debut and has also turned out to be a super success story for my company ‘Mad Hatters’. It explores the relationship between the two leads in an emotionally mature manner. The protagonists are vulnerable, yet act in ways that shock the audience. I am glad that with its availability on Hungama Play, users worldwide will be able to watch my film.”

    Available on Hungama Play starting today, For All That You Are, will join Hungama Play’s vast content library that includes over 5000 films in English, Hindi and regional languages, 1500 short films, original shows, kids’ content, TV shows and over 150,000 short format videos in various genres like music, film gossip, humour etc.

  • Hungama Music starts original audio programming in Tamil ‘Endrendrum Punnagai’

    Hungama Music starts original audio programming in Tamil ‘Endrendrum Punnagai’

    MUMBAI: Hungama Music has announced its foray into original audio programming from 22 January. Starting with Endrendrum Punnagai, a Tamil audio original, Hungama Music will soon launch additional shows in other key Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi, Bengali and Marathi, among others.

    Endrendrum Punnagai is hosted by RJ Sindhu and is now available to stream on Hungama Music.

    Speaking about the foray into audio originals, Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy said, “Like video content, there is an increasing demand for differentiated and local content on music streaming platforms. Over 48 per cent of our audience consumes content in languages besides Hindi. Our audio originals will help us enhance the user experience by offering an enriching catalogue of exclusive content, besides a multi-lingual and multi-genre library of songs and music videos. We plan to launch five to six audio originals in the next 12 months and aim to increase our regional user base by almost 30 per cent.”

    Hosted by RJ Sindhu, a known name on radio in Chennai – often called the morning energy shot for her listeners, Endrendrum Punnagai will focus on musicians from Tamil Nadu and their contribution to the world of music. The initial episodes of the show will be dedicated to the internationally-acclaimed musical maestro, AR Rahman, with subsequent episodes being dedicated to other well-known musicians from Tamil Nadu.

    Through its audio originals, Hungama will focus on creating locally-relevant audio content that enhances the overall music listening experience and complements its vast library spanning multiple genres and various Indian and international languages.

  • Hungama Digital focuses on storytelling & narrative

    Hungama Digital focuses on storytelling & narrative

     

    MUMBAI: Jumping on the digital content bandwagon, digital entertainment company Hungama Digital Media announced four web series in the first half of this year. On the back of the encouraging response from its first two shows, it forayed into the regional content space recently. While “content is the king” has been hailed as the tagline in the ecosystem, Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy also said storytelling and narrative have been the primary focus of the platform‘s content strategy.

    Recently, the streaming platform launched its third original web series Bar Code. Roy said that it took them more than 1.5 years to ensure it was of high quality. To promote the show, Hungama will primarily leverage its own assets in digital media as well as YouTube. Along with that, interesting corporate communication, public relation and outdoor marketing will play an important role.

    Before Bar Code, it released Damaged and Hankaar which got good consumer response. “The response has been encouraging and that’s the reason we went into the regional space. Between the two shows, we have done 48 million episodic views. It gives us a lot of strength to go out and build this space. So you will see a lot of it on the back of this great consumer acceptance,” Roy said.

    Boys with Toys, another show which was announced earlier this year will be launched in the next two months. The first Marathi original show will also be launched soon. In addition to that, there are a number of new shows in store which are in the process of greenlighting or under production. More interestingly, with the first regional show, Hungama will also enter the brand integration territory. “We will not tell a story as we have a brand to work with but we will look at the story and will see if there’s an opportunity in that story to work with the brand,” he mentioned.

    “Now we are reaching out to the target of 53 million users today and of that we have roughly about 32+ million users which consume video product. So, our intent is basically to go out to that audience.  “Along with a large Indian audience, we have a very large South Asian audience when it comes to outside India,” he said.

    While he was asked if international players are putting more pressure on local players, he said Indian market is ever growing and the game is beyond “us versus them”. Consumers will flock towards the content they find interesting. It will be about who can tell a good story and build a community for that narrative.

    “The ecosystem today has roughly 150-180 million consumers who are consuming video. I believe that will grow to 500 million over the next three years. More opportunity to come and much more consumers,” he commented.

    The new player with an ambitious roadmap is waiting for FY 20 with exciting plans. Over time, it will invest more in the digital content space and for better distribution will look at more partnerships.

  • Hungama expands footprint in digital content space

    Hungama expands footprint in digital content space

    MUMBAI: Hungama has expanded its footprint in the digital original space with the launch of its new Hindi show Bar Code. The new drama has been produced by Abhishek Pathak under the banner of Panaroma Studios. From 10 October, the show is available on its video on demand service Hungama Play.

    “Hungama originals have helped us present stories that are different from those offered by the conventional medium, this narratives have widespread appeal and are appreciated by digital audiences globally. With Bar Code, we explore universally identified themes like friendship, ego, love and rivalry. We are certain that a strong content line-up and a robust worldwide distribution strategy will help us increase our user base on Hungama Play significantly,” Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy said.

    To reach the audience base, the company will leverage its distribution strengths. The new show will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick and other Android TVs along with Mi Video and Mi TV.

    Though the company has dabbled with online music and short-form video content for a long time, it has jumped into the long-form video content bandwagon recently. In the first half of this year, the company announced four web series among which three have been released. Recently, the company also ventured into original in regional languages. It will soon roll out shows in several regional languages across genres.

  • Hungama Digital associates with Ultra Festival – the Chainsmokers’ destination

    Hungama Digital associates with Ultra Festival – the Chainsmokers’ destination

    MUMBAI: Hungama has announced a partnership with Ultra Music Festival’s Road to Ultra Tour India to be held in Mumbai on 7 September and in Delhi on 8 September.

    Headlined by The Chainsmokers, the festival has created a buzz within the music circuit and is being eagerly anticipated by music lovers in India and around the globe.

    Hungama is associated with the festival as the official digital partner, and will offer EDM fans access to the ‘Road to Ultra’ specials and curated playlists comprising the best tracks by the festival headliners, along with some of their remixed versions, across its network including Hungama Music, Hungama Play, Tata Sky Music+ and more.

    Commenting on the association with Road to Ultra, Hungama.com CEO Siddhartha Roy said, “Hungama is set to become the ultimate destination for The Chainsmokers’ fans with a wide range of audio and video playlists curated specially for the festival. Interestingly, the Chainsmokers are among the top five most popular artistes on our platform.”

    Hungama has also lined up a Road to Ultra special on Tata Sky Music+.

    Hungama is also running contests for the Hungama Music app users that gives them an exclusive chance to win tickets, and be a part of the biggest EDM festival of the year!

    Percept Live’s Karan Singh says, “Hungama has been a preferred partner for digital amplification for our events of such magnitude.”

  • Videocon d2h consumer will have a wider choice of Hungama movies, says Dhoot

    MUMBAI: Videocon d2h has partnered with Hungama Play for its HD smart connect set-top box.

    Hungama Play a video-on-demand service, offering over 35,000 hours of video content in 12 languages, including movies, television series, kids shows, live events, music videos along with short films and documentaries. The content includes Hollywood, Bollywood, Fun Kids content which is sure to enthral. The service is available to consumers with various subscription options including a select free offer.

    HD Smart set top box (connected set top box) converts any existing TV into a Smart TV besides showing 650 Channels and services in HD and SD. The DTH service allows one to watch their favorite channels in SD and HD, the Connected set top box allows one to browse content from applications residing on STB.

    These applications will enhance the pleasure of accessing content on a bigger screen thus making it a family event rather than solo watching on a smaller screen. HD smart connect set-top box will work as a tool for personalisation, engagement and new customer experiences and with internet connectivity, one can convert one’s TV into a smart TV using it.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “Our HD smart connect set-top box aims to provide an app store experience. We are delighted to have Hungama available as an app; our consumer will have a wider choice of movies with Hungama coming on board”

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “Our HD smart connect set-top box has now a wide range of curated apps to meet every entertainment need of consumers. With Hungama Play, consumers can access wide range of Indian Movies as these will be available on demand.

    Hungama Play CEO Siddhartha Roy said, “Through this technology, we hope to reach a larger segment of users and offer them an enhanced entertainment experience with the best of Hollywood, Bollywood, Regional movies, kids content, music videos and more, all on their television screens.”