MUMBAI: When your lead actor jokes, “I’ve mastered dying on screen,” you know a show isn’t playing it safe. At the 9th edition of The Content Hub Summit 2025, the spotlight fell on Netflix’s Rana Naidu’s second season, an audacious blend of blood, baggage, and brutal family dynamics that’s got everyone talking (and watching).
Director Suparn Verma, screenwriter Vaibhav Vishal, and actor Sushant Singh were joined by session chair and RJ Stutee Ghosh for a frank, no-holds-barred conversation on the show’s gritty new season where the emotions run as high as the body count.
“Reaching the heart is the real win,” said Verma. “The kind of emotional and thematic depth we’ve explored this season, I genuinely believe it hasn’t been done before in Indian storytelling.”
Indeed, the father-son conflict, explored with near-mythological gravitas, was framed by Verma in classic archetypes: “There’s a Shakti, a Vishnu… and now, with Angam, we’ve created a force that’s just as primal and layered.”
But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. The team faced backlash after Season 1 for its raw language and depiction of abuse. Vaibhav Vishal admitted that it did prompt some introspection and even self-censorship but only to widen the show’s reach without diluting its essence.
“There was a lot of criticism, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me,” he said. “But then came the numbers. That’s when we knew we weren’t off-track Rana Naidu shot up to become the number one show.”
Sushant Singh, whose character meets a dramatic end in the new season, brought humour to the session. “He told me during the loop test, ‘You’re going to die.’ I just smiled and said, ‘I’ve mastered dying on screen by now.’”
The team also addressed representation especially of women with intention. Vishal noted that Arya’s character this season wasn’t written as a love interest or sidekick. “In her mind and ours, she’s the main character.”
This season also marked a shift in tonal choices. While the violence has intensified, the language has been consciously restrained. “We created narrative solutions,” said Vishal. “Like Venkatesh’s character doing Angoom Gilo to avoid abusing, it was all thought through.”
The makers are clear-eyed about the creative trade-offs involved in storytelling for a broad OTT audience. “You adapt, learn, evolve,” said Vishal. “Once Season 1 was out and we saw how the family dynamic resonated, we layered it back in for Season 2.”
OTT, for actors like Sushant Singh, has also offered meatier roles than cinema ever did. “It’s given me hope,” he said. “The kind of characters I’ve gotten on streaming platforms are far richer than most I got in films.”
The Netflix show creators didn’t shy away from controversy, but they also didn’t pander. Their belief? Let the characters be flawed, the dialogue be daring, and the women be unapologetic.
And if a few heads roll in the process well, that’s just part of the Naidu family tradition.
With the kind of films being made which find their way to the cinema halls, one can’t blame the dull period at the box office to the fasting month of Ramzan when the Muslim audience keeps away from entertainment or the Championship Trophy 50 over matches being played in England.
It is more to do with a good film and a bad film. Because, Hindi Medium, which released on 19 May, continued to do excellent business even through its second and third weeks when Ramzan and Championship Trophy, both were already underway. And, Bahubali, a dubbed film, continues with its record breaking spree.
Last week saw both, 10 new releases and flops each. This Friday, three films released and all three films failed badly. There were no hopes rested on Behen Hogi Teri and Love U Family. But, the trade as well as the exhibitors expected Raabta to help fill the auditoriums for at least four to seven days coming as it does from T Series backing and stars Sushant Singh Rajput, fresh from the success of M S Dhoni: An Untold Story.
*Raabta is a high cost film and the prudence of such an investment in a next to nil face value film (it stars Sushant Singh, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarb) with no other cast in support or even to distract one from the tedious goings-on! The choice of the subject, the screenplay and direction were poor beyond comprehension.
The film opened to poor houses on Friday with some screens having to cancel shows due to lack of audience. As the negative reports spread, it failed to add much on Saturday and Sunday to end its opening weekend with Rs 13.2 crore.
*Behen Hogi Teri, a film about neighbourhood romance of a UP girl and guy, was not quite the film for the multiplex era. The star cast lacks draw of any kind and the film faced a miserable fate on day one and through the weekend. It managed to put together about one crore for its first three days. The film’s screenings through rest of the week look unlikely.
*Love U Family was a nonstarter.
*Dobaara: See Your Evil has managed to cross one crore figure by collecting Rs 1.25 crore in its first week.
*Hanuman Da’ Damdar (Animation) has collected Rs 1.1 crore in its first week.
*The other releases of June 2: Dear Maya, A Death In The Gunj, Sweetiee Weds NRI, Mirror Game: Ab Khel Shuru, Flat 211 all fared badly proving to be total loss ventures.
*Sachin: A Billion Dreams has added Rs 6.35 crroe in its second week to take its two week tally to Rs 39.85 crore.
*Half Girlfriend has collected Rs 1.2 crore in its third week to take its three week total to Rs 54.1 crore (Rs 541 million).
*Hindi Medium is a super hit for its budget. This much appreciated film has added 11.3 crore in its third week taking its three week tally to Rs 53.9 crore (Rs 539 million).
*Bahubali (dubbed) has collected Rs 4.7 crore in its sixth week to take its six week total to Rs 496.8 crore.
MUMBAI: Between his outrageously funny jokes, bang on comic timing and ‘put-you-at-ease’ smiles, comedy king Kapil Sharma has redefined the genre on television. His quick rise to fame flummoxed several in this entertainment industry as it didn’t follow the generic tropes – a strong Bollywood background, political backing or affluent beginning, Sharma had none.
But it is this ‘guy next door’ image that drove his fandom in the country and compelled brands with big marketing budgets to turn and take notice of him back in 2014. The last two years saw Sharma’s career take some topsy-turvy turns – his heights to fame with the his show Comedy Nights With Kapil, the tiff with Colors TV, and his subsequent departure from the channel, his hiatus from the small screen and finally his re-entry through Sony with The Kapil Sharma Show – and yet brand Kapil Sharma is going strong and how!
As per the data audience research organisation Ormax shared with Indiantelevision.com, Sharma tops the non-fiction characters in Ormax Characters India Loves list. Averaging the data for six months between October 2015 to March 2016, Kapil Sharma of Comedy Nights With Kapil has bagged 36 per cent of popularity, beating Salman Khan at second place with 16 per cent, Rannvijay of the Roadies fame at third place with a 4 percent share, Rannvijay ties it with Anoop Soni from Crime Patrol; and Sushant Singh from Savdhaan India at fourth place with 3 per cent. Here percentages denote the popularity share of each person.
“Because of his ‘non starry’ appeal, his fan base is basically a family audience including women above thirty five years of age. Within the Hindi speaking market (HSM) his core strength is mostly in the northern states. What Kapil has achieved with this fan base is quite remarkable. There have been comedy shows before his, but none could become a household name such as he has,” states Ormax Media founder Shailesh Kapoor.
Kapoor also points out that even though the show went off air, Sharma remained the most popular non-fiction character in the category by quite a large margin. His popularity is evident from the anticipation in the nation for his come back to the small screen with his flagship The Kapil Sharma Show on Sony, which he is producing under his banner of K9 Productions.
Kapil Sharma fame isn’t confined to the television industry alone. His fame competes with the likes of Saif Ali Khan and Sonam Kapoor. He is the only television star who has featured in Forbes India’s top 100 Celebrities list in 2015 at rank no 27 when it comes to popularity, beating Saif Ali Khan, Ranveer Singh, Yo Yo Honey Singh, and even Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for that matter. The same list reports his net income as Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million). While that’s a jaw dropping figure for any average entertainer, Sharma has a long way to go to rank high when it comes to net income per year. But no, there is no reason to fret for Kapil fans. Judging by how brands are enamoured with him, it’s only a matter of time before he joins the prestigious Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) club.
“When it comes to brand value, Kapil Sharma is one of the few personalities who came without any established filmy baggage and made it really big. In spite of him taking a short hiatus off screen, there hasn’t been a dent in his brand value,” says multi-platform entertainment management company Exceed CEO Uday Singh. “It is amazing how the hysteria and euphoria around Kapil Sharma remains constant since Comedy Nights With Kapil became a hit. I can’t quantify whether it’s a Rs 100 crore, but the familiarity and the relativity that Kapil Sharma gives off to his audience is what makes him a good choice for brands who want to reach the masses,” Singh explains.
So far every brand that has sought Kapil’s help to boost its brand message has cast him as a middle class or upper middle class man, or a guy next door character rather than the star Kapil Sharma is. In 2014, Sharma starred in a digital campaign for Honda Mobilio in which he played a salesman. With a success story of garnering millions of views, it was a perfect fit. As per media reports Honda India paid him Rs 4.5 crore (Rs 4.5 million) for the deal.
But it was his partnership with online classifieds website OLX India that truly took off his endorsement career. OLX India signed him on for Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million) approximately for the campaign. “When the deal between Kapil Sharma and OLX was inked back in 2014, several eyebrows were raised as it was considered too big for a television star like Kapil,” revealed a source who was close to the development. Back then entertainment agencies facilitated the endorsement deals for Kapil Sharma, like most of the celebrities in the industry. Now, Sharma has taken it upon
Like most celebrities, Sharma locks these endorsement deals on a daily rate basis for the number of days he needs to commit to the campaign in a year. Having said that, the norm varies from brand to brand, depending on the nature of the campaign. Being a live performer allows Sharma to be flexible with what he offers to the brands, and his contract may include live engagements and event shows. That naturally adds to the quote he gives the advertiser. As per an industry insider, Sharma demands anything between Rs 3 to 4 crore (Rs 30 to 40 million) from a brand for an endorsement.
On an average, Sharma works on eight to ten different brands at a given time. These have included TVS Tyres, Policy Bazar, Micromax, PaisaBazaar and more. The number is likely to go up once his show goes live again on Sony, on 23 April, provided it makes the mark that it promises to.
“Obviously, if he has to maintain his brand value he needs a show on air. While one or two months haven’t affected the value of brand Kapil Sharma, if he doesn’t have a show for a long time, the audience might move on. Therefore just like a movie star needs to keep coming with movies, a television stars need to have at least one show on air at a time,” Kapoor shares.
Before one-upping his past show with more gripping content remains important for Sharma, brand Kapil Sharma has more pressing matters to handle as The Kapil Sharma Show goes head to head with one of the biggest brands and events in India, the Indian Premier League. Only the coming Thursday’s BARC data will tell us if Sharma has walked out of his show’s premiere with his head held high. His fans – of which there are many – won’t really care. They were the ultimate winners as they got a chance to engage with Kapil and team and roll over with laughter over the weekend .
MUMBAI: Between his outrageously funny jokes, bang on comic timing and ‘put-you-at-ease’ smiles, comedy king Kapil Sharma has redefined the genre on television. His quick rise to fame flummoxed several in this entertainment industry as it didn’t follow the generic tropes – a strong Bollywood background, political backing or affluent beginning, Sharma had none.
But it is this ‘guy next door’ image that drove his fandom in the country and compelled brands with big marketing budgets to turn and take notice of him back in 2014. The last two years saw Sharma’s career take some topsy-turvy turns – his heights to fame with the his show Comedy Nights With Kapil, the tiff with Colors TV, and his subsequent departure from the channel, his hiatus from the small screen and finally his re-entry through Sony with The Kapil Sharma Show – and yet brand Kapil Sharma is going strong and how!
As per the data audience research organisation Ormax shared with Indiantelevision.com, Sharma tops the non-fiction characters in Ormax Characters India Loves list. Averaging the data for six months between October 2015 to March 2016, Kapil Sharma of Comedy Nights With Kapil has bagged 36 per cent of popularity, beating Salman Khan at second place with 16 per cent, Rannvijay of the Roadies fame at third place with a 4 percent share, Rannvijay ties it with Anoop Soni from Crime Patrol; and Sushant Singh from Savdhaan India at fourth place with 3 per cent. Here percentages denote the popularity share of each person.
“Because of his ‘non starry’ appeal, his fan base is basically a family audience including women above thirty five years of age. Within the Hindi speaking market (HSM) his core strength is mostly in the northern states. What Kapil has achieved with this fan base is quite remarkable. There have been comedy shows before his, but none could become a household name such as he has,” states Ormax Media founder Shailesh Kapoor.
Kapoor also points out that even though the show went off air, Sharma remained the most popular non-fiction character in the category by quite a large margin. His popularity is evident from the anticipation in the nation for his come back to the small screen with his flagship The Kapil Sharma Show on Sony, which he is producing under his banner of K9 Productions.
Kapil Sharma fame isn’t confined to the television industry alone. His fame competes with the likes of Saif Ali Khan and Sonam Kapoor. He is the only television star who has featured in Forbes India’s top 100 Celebrities list in 2015 at rank no 27 when it comes to popularity, beating Saif Ali Khan, Ranveer Singh, Yo Yo Honey Singh, and even Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for that matter. The same list reports his net income as Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million). While that’s a jaw dropping figure for any average entertainer, Sharma has a long way to go to rank high when it comes to net income per year. But no, there is no reason to fret for Kapil fans. Judging by how brands are enamoured with him, it’s only a matter of time before he joins the prestigious Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) club.
“When it comes to brand value, Kapil Sharma is one of the few personalities who came without any established filmy baggage and made it really big. In spite of him taking a short hiatus off screen, there hasn’t been a dent in his brand value,” says multi-platform entertainment management company Exceed CEO Uday Singh. “It is amazing how the hysteria and euphoria around Kapil Sharma remains constant since Comedy Nights With Kapil became a hit. I can’t quantify whether it’s a Rs 100 crore, but the familiarity and the relativity that Kapil Sharma gives off to his audience is what makes him a good choice for brands who want to reach the masses,” Singh explains.
So far every brand that has sought Kapil’s help to boost its brand message has cast him as a middle class or upper middle class man, or a guy next door character rather than the star Kapil Sharma is. In 2014, Sharma starred in a digital campaign for Honda Mobilio in which he played a salesman. With a success story of garnering millions of views, it was a perfect fit. As per media reports Honda India paid him Rs 4.5 crore (Rs 4.5 million) for the deal.
But it was his partnership with online classifieds website OLX India that truly took off his endorsement career. OLX India signed him on for Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million) approximately for the campaign. “When the deal between Kapil Sharma and OLX was inked back in 2014, several eyebrows were raised as it was considered too big for a television star like Kapil,” revealed a source who was close to the development. Back then entertainment agencies facilitated the endorsement deals for Kapil Sharma, like most of the celebrities in the industry. Now, Sharma has taken it upon
Like most celebrities, Sharma locks these endorsement deals on a daily rate basis for the number of days he needs to commit to the campaign in a year. Having said that, the norm varies from brand to brand, depending on the nature of the campaign. Being a live performer allows Sharma to be flexible with what he offers to the brands, and his contract may include live engagements and event shows. That naturally adds to the quote he gives the advertiser. As per an industry insider, Sharma demands anything between Rs 3 to 4 crore (Rs 30 to 40 million) from a brand for an endorsement.
On an average, Sharma works on eight to ten different brands at a given time. These have included TVS Tyres, Policy Bazar, Micromax, PaisaBazaar and more. The number is likely to go up once his show goes live again on Sony, on 23 April, provided it makes the mark that it promises to.
“Obviously, if he has to maintain his brand value he needs a show on air. While one or two months haven’t affected the value of brand Kapil Sharma, if he doesn’t have a show for a long time, the audience might move on. Therefore just like a movie star needs to keep coming with movies, a television stars need to have at least one show on air at a time,” Kapoor shares.
Before one-upping his past show with more gripping content remains important for Sharma, brand Kapil Sharma has more pressing matters to handle as The Kapil Sharma Show goes head to head with one of the biggest brands and events in India, the Indian Premier League. Only the coming Thursday’s BARC data will tell us if Sharma has walked out of his show’s premiere with his head held high. His fans – of which there are many – won’t really care. They were the ultimate winners as they got a chance to engage with Kapil and team and roll over with laughter over the weekend .
