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Tag: Vijay Subramaniam

  • Snap to It Mahabharat Finds a New Lens with Historyverse and Snapchat

    Snap to It Mahabharat Finds a New Lens with Historyverse and Snapchat

    MUMBAI: When Mahabharat meets a Snap filter, you know history’s getting a glow-up. Collective Artists Network’s Historyverse, the tech-driven storytelling platform reimagining India’s past, has teamed up with Snapchat to bring one of the country’s oldest epics to one of its youngest audiences.

    In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, Historyverse’s AI-enabled series Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh will now reach Snapchat’s vast Gen Z community in India, giving the timeless saga a modern makeover through the app’s playful digital formats from bite-sized episodes to immersive AR Lenses that let users step right into the story.

    “Our collaboration with Snapchat is a perfect reflection of what we stand for bridging culture, creativity, and technology,” said Collective Artists Network founder and group CEO Vijay Subramaniam. “With Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh, we’ve reimagined a story that has defined generations using AI. Partnering with Snapchat lets us take this heritage and introduce it to Gen Z in their own language and on their preferred platform.”

    Snapchat, long considered a digital playground for India’s 70 million-plus Gen Z users, sees this tie-up as a way to merge myth with modernity. “We’re chuffed to partner with Historyverse to bring the world of Mahabharat to our community,” said Snap Inc head of content partnerships & AR Saket Jha Saurabh. “From short-form content to immersive AR Lenses, this gives millions of Snapchatters a unique way to experience one of India’s greatest epics.”

    The AI-enabled adaptation, created under Historyverse and powered by Galleri 5’s homegrown G5 AI Pipeline, is already streaming on JioHotstar and airing on Star Plus from 25 October. The series uses advanced AI-driven storytelling and visual design to retell the Mahabharat with a futuristic flair where timeless dharma meets cutting-edge tech.

    Meanwhile, Historyverse’s presence on Snapchat has been growing at warp speed. Its vertical Sanatani Itihaas has already crossed 100,000 followers, reached 6 million unique viewers in the past month, and racked up 14 million Spotlight views proof that even ancient tales can trend in the age of AR.

    With this collaboration, Snapchat becomes the new Kurukshetra where tradition and technology spar playfully for Gen Z’s attention. For the Mahabharat’s warriors, destiny was written in the stars; for today’s creators, it might just be written in Snaps.

    As Historyverse and Snapchat team up, the message is clear history doesn’t have to stay in textbooks. Sometimes, all it takes is a camera lens, a clever filter, and a little bit of AI magic to make the oldest stories feel brand new again.

  • When Gods Meet the Grid JioStar’s AI Mahabharat Rewrites Epic History

    When Gods Meet the Grid JioStar’s AI Mahabharat Rewrites Epic History

    MUMBAI: When Arjuna draws his bow this time, even the algorithms hold their breath. JioStar’s Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh is here to prove that when ancient mythology meets artificial intelligence, the result can be divine disruption.

    In an era when filmmakers worldwide are wrestling with AI’s role in creativity, JioStar has galloped ahead of the chariot line. Its latest web series, Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh, uses AI not as a gimmick but as a guiding force to reimagine India’s most revered epic for a new generation. The show’s trailer already hints at a visual spectacle that fuses emotion with engineering where machine intelligence breathes new life into gods, warriors, and moral dilemmas that have shaped Indian thought for millennia.

    Launching on JioHotstar on 25 October and premiering on Star Plus on 26 October, the first instalment spans 100 episodes, inviting viewers to relive the dynastic war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas now rendered with astonishing realism and cinematic scale. The AI-assisted production doesn’t just recreate battles and palaces; it reconstructs the soul of the Mahabharata itself, translating its philosophical weight into a modern, immersive visual language.

    “For many of us, the Mahabharat is more than just a story; it’s the tales we grew up hearing from our parents and grandparents,” said Collective Artists Network founder and group CEO Vijay Subramaniam. “With AI Mahabharat, we get to experience those same timeless stories in a completely new way, brought to life through the power of modern AI technology. The trailer is just a glimpse of what’s ahead emotional, grand, and immersive.”

    The collaboration between creative storytellers and machine intelligence lies at the heart of JioStar’s latest leap. JioStar CEO of entertainment Kevin Vaz called it “a fusion of a timeless epic and machine intelligence that mirrors the spirit of a new India.” He added, “Through this series, we’re building a bridge between tradition and the future, proving that our oldest and most revered stories can still be our most futuristic yet.”

    The show stands as a technological and cultural statement that India’s storytelling tradition can evolve without losing its soul. For a generation raised on screens and scrolls, Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh offers not just nostalgia, but a rebirth of mythology in pixels and code.

    From Krishna’s counsel to Karna’s tragedy, every scene is rendered with AI precision yet retains the heart of human conflict and emotion. If JioStar’s gamble pays off, Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh may just mark the beginning of a new genre, one where myth meets machine, and creativity becomes truly infinite.

    Because when the Gita meets the grid, destiny isn’t just written, it’s rendered.

  • When AI met Arjun, Mahabharat gets an epic tech twist

    When AI met Arjun, Mahabharat gets an epic tech twist

    MUMBAI: Some battles never end, they just get a software update. Collective Media Network’s Historyverse has dropped the trailer for Mahabharat enabled by AI, a retelling of India’s most enduring epic where myth meets machine. Set to premiere on Waves OTT on 25 October 2025, followed by a Doordarshan telecast every Sunday at 11 am from 2 November, the series promises to blend nostalgia with next-gen storytelling.

    The trailer feels like déjà vu dressed in digital armour, familiar faces of dharma and destiny, rendered with the power of artificial intelligence. Behind the screens, a team of writers, researchers, technicians, and engineers at Collective Artists Network’s Galleri5 have built this brave new Kurukshetra pixel by pixel, turning age-old verses into a visual feast that bridges the past and the future.

    “For many of us, watching the Mahabharat on TV was part of our childhood, those Sunday mornings meant something special,” said Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam. “With Mahabharat enabled by AI, we wanted to bring that memory back, but make it feel fresh, relevant, and made for this time. It’s emotional, it’s big, and it’s built with care.”

    At the heart of this digital dharma lies a collaboration between Collective Media Network and Prasar Bharati, a pairing that merges old-school television tradition with cutting-edge creativity. Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi noted, “This is exactly the kind of innovation that keeps our cultural legacy alive for generations to come. It’s exciting to see how technology can reawaken stories that unite people.”

    For viewers, the AI-driven Mahabharat is less of a reboot and more of a renaissance, a chance to relive the grandeur, the moral conflict, and the emotion that once glued an entire nation to its TV screens. Only this time, Bhishma’s armour gleams with digital precision, Krishna’s wisdom echoes through neural networks, and the battle for truth plays out in ultra-HD.

    As Historyverse puts it, the project isn’t just a show; it’s a statement that even in a world ruled by algorithms, the human heart still craves stories of courage, loyalty, and fate. So come October, when conch shells sound and pixels clash, audiences will witness an epic reborn not rewritten, just re-coded.

  • Doordarshan and Collective Media reimagine the Mahabharat with AI

    Doordarshan and Collective Media reimagine the Mahabharat with AI

    NEW DELHI: India’s most celebrated epic is getting a technological makeover. Collective Media Network’s Historyverse has unveiled an AI-led reimagining of the Mahabharat, set to premiere on Waves OTT on 25 October 2025. Doordarshan will broadcast it every Sunday at 11:00 AM from 2 November 2025.

    The collaboration pairs Prasar Bharati’s nationwide reach with the creative firepower of a next-generation media network. Advanced AI tools have been used to reconstruct the epic’s sprawling universe—its characters, battlefields and moral quandaries—with cinematic scale and striking realism.

    “Like millions of Indians, I grew up watching the classic Mahabharata on television every Sunday. It was an experience that shaped my imagination and my connection to our culture,” said founder & group chief executive Vijay Subramaniam. “With Mahabharat, our hope is to give today’s generation a similar touchstone that feels as immersive and unifying as it did for us, but told through the possibilities of today’s technology.”

    Prasar Bharati chief executive Gaurav Dwivedi noted that the original Mahabharat‘s re-telecast during lockdown reminded viewers how deeply these narratives bind families together. “Partnering on this AI-led reimagining allows audiences to experience one of India’s greatest epics anew—honouring tradition while embracing cutting-edge technology in storytelling.”

    Waves, Prasar Bharati’s official OTT platform, has quickly amassed millions of users with its credible, family-friendly and multilingual content. The platform offers video-on-demand, live events and an extensive library of television, radio, audio and magazine programming. The Mahabharat project exemplifies how heritage and innovation can converge to create contemporary narratives that resonate across India and beyond.

  • Under 25 crosses 1m downloads, pays out six crore to students

    Under 25 crosses 1m downloads, pays out six crore to students

    MUMBAI : Under 25, the flagship youth platform from Collective Artists Network, has hit one million downloads, cementing its status as one of India’s fastest-growing student-first communities.

    With over 4 lakh monthly active users, the app has become a digital playground where students create, connect and cash in. In just 18 months, it has paid out more than Rs 6 crore to 1.5 lakh students, hosted 600+ events across 25 cities, and powered the creation of 2.5 million pieces of content.

    “This is the largest youth cohort India has ever seen — they are digitally native, culturally aware, and deeply expressive,” said Collective Artists Network founder & group Vijay Subramaniam.“Under 25 has done what few platforms have managed to do: bring this generation together in one place, on their terms. It’s not just an app, it’s a cultural engine built for the future of India.”

    “What excites me most is how quickly this has grown, not just in numbers, but in energy,” said Under 25 CEO Jeel Gandhi. “From students discovering new interests to finding their voice through content or showing up to events across the country, this isn’t just user growth, it’s real community. We’ve built something that belongs to them, and they’re building it with us.”

    Having collaborated with 350+ brands, the platform is now set to supercharge engagement with Season 2 of its in-app campaign, Joyride Through the Universe, offering Rs 10 lakh in rewards.

    For India’s Gen Z, it seems, Under 25 has become the ultimate extracurricular activity.

  • Terribly Tiny Tales goes big with bite-sized drama

    Terribly Tiny Tales goes big with bite-sized drama

    MUMBAI: Terribly Tiny Tales (TTT), the cult storytelling brand under Collective Artists Network, has launched Terribly Tiny TV — a slick new vertical riding the wave of “microdramas,” scripted short-format fiction tailor-made for today’s Insta-hungry, binge-in-a-scroll generation.

    Forget long-winded narratives — these are sharply cut, emotionally loaded episodes served in just 2, 5 or 10 minutes. Built for mobile, designed for social and engineered to hook you fast, TTT’s microdramas aren’t sketches or trending commentary — they’re full-bodied fictional plots that hit hard and vanish quicker than your coffee break.

    “What short films were to festivals, microdramas are to digital culture,” said Terribly Tiny Tales founder & CEO Anuj Gosalia. “With Terribly Tiny TV, we’re creating an IP engine where creators can build deeply human stories designed for digital velocity. This is the next era of storytelling — efficient, emotional, and unforgettable.”

    Episodes are fully scripted, cast, and produced by TTT’s in-house storytellers and a growing collective of emerging voices. With new drops every week across Instagram and YouTube Shorts, the platform offers brands and platforms a future-facing, fiction-led format that plays native to digital culture.

    “Terribly Tiny Tales has always stood at the intersection of storytelling and new formats,” said Collective Artists Network founder & CEO Vijay Subramaniam. “Microdramas are the natural evolution of that legacy, high impact through high-volume, high-feeling IPs that can live natively on social media while building long-tail value across platforms.”

    Backed by more than 60 million organic views and a community of 2,500+ storytellers, TTT is betting big on turning emotional intelligence into shareable IP gold. From Instagram feeds to licensing deals, Terribly Tiny TV isn’t just surfing the short-form wave — it’s scripting the next one.

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  • Collective Artists Network hits the road with India’s first bilingual AI travel influencer

    Collective Artists Network hits the road with India’s first bilingual AI travel influencer

    MUMBAI: Collective Artists Network has unveiled Radhika Subramaniam, India’s first AI-powered travel influencer fluent in both English and Tamil, and the latest entrant in the firm’s expanding world of virtual creators.

    Unlike her glossier predecessor Kavya — who leans into luxe aesthetics — Radhika is your girl-next-door meets globetrotter. A Gen Z solo traveller with a backstory that reads like a millennial quit-notice, Radhika ditched her corporate job to chase culture, conversations and chai at roadside stalls across India.

    “Radhika feels like someone we all know — that one friend who took the leap and actually went on the trip. She’s thoughtful, independent, and interested in the world around her. With her, we wanted to build more than just a new kind of influencer — we wanted to create someone who could tell stories with heart, and make people feel seen,” said Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam.

    What sets Radhika apart isn’t just her synthetic pixels — it’s her human nuance. From local folklore to hidden cafés, she dives into places and perspectives often left behind by mainstream tourism content. And her bilingual voice allows her to bridge geographies, resonating deeply with both urban metros and regional markets.

    “There’s a warmth to Radhika that’s hard to fake. She’s not just spitting out trends or trying to be viral — she actually gets the context,” said Collective Artists Network chief revenue officer and CEO of Big Bang Social CEO Sudeep Subhash. “For brands, that’s gold. You get someone who’s always on, always in sync with your voice — but also genuinely engaging for the audience. That kind of storytelling at scale is really exciting.”

    As AI-powered influence evolves from novelty to nuance, Radhika signals a bold step forward — where connection trumps curation, and virtual creators feel less like code and more like companions.

  • Collective Artists Network imbibes Galleri5’s AI solutions

    Collective Artists Network imbibes Galleri5’s AI solutions

    MUMBAI: One plus one sometimes equals two and a half, and not just two. That’s something that entertainment and martech outfit Collective Artists Network and its offshoot martech outfit Galleri5 are banking on.

    The former has got together with the latter to introduce its AI-powered suite, which they hope will  revolutionise brand marketing. This platform combines advanced technology with cultural intelligence to streamline content creation, uncover emerging trends, and deliver real-time insights, enabling brands to connect with their audiences more effectively than ever.

    At the core of Galleri5’s offering is its ability to generate hyper-realistic catalogue visuals without the need for traditional photoshoots. By transforming basic product images into ad-ready visuals, brands can reduce production time by (a claimed) up to 70 per cent while significantly cutting costs. This capability  can prove to be a game-changer for digital-first marketers seeking faster, more efficient ways to produce engaging content.

    Galleri5 also claims to provide a robust social Intelligence module that analyses audience sentiment and  campaign performance. These insights allow marketers to go beyond surface-level metrics, enabling smarter, data-driven decisions. Meanwhile, its advanced trend discovery tool scours millions of social media posts and media articles to identify emerging topics, helping brands stay ahead of the curve and even drive trends rather than react to them.

    “Galleri5’s tools are not just about enhancing workflows—they represent a new era of brand storytelling where creativity and data merge seamlessly,” said Collective Artists Network  founder &  Group CEO Vijay Subramaniam. “This suite is empowerng brands with the tools to shift from manual processes to precision-driven strategies. This goes beyond optimising efficiency—it’s about reimagining what’s possible in brand media.”

    Galleri5 founder & CEO Rahul Regulapati added: “At Galleri5, we’re shaping the future of brand content—fusing AI-powered catalogue imaging, social intelligence, and trend-driven insights. We enable brands to create personalized, trend-first content that resonates and leads the conversation—faster, smarter, and at scale. The future of media isn’t about keeping up; it’s about defining what comes next.”

    What sets Galleri5 apart is its  integration with the Collective universe. This synergy ensures that the platform’s AI tools are not only technologically advanced but also deeply rooted in pop culture, enabling brands to scale their content creation while maintaining cultural relevance.

    Galleri5’s suite is already trusted by over 50 leading brands and supported by partnerships with top social platforms. By combining advanced AI, creativity, and a powerful media network, Galleri5 is poised to redefine how brands craft and execute their marketing strategies.

  • Collective Artists Network & Pinterest create one lakh shoppable pieces for Myntra campaign

    Collective Artists Network & Pinterest create one lakh shoppable pieces for Myntra campaign

    Mumbai: Collective Artists Network, in partnership with Pinterest, has created one lakh shoppable content pieces for Myntra, marking a major milestone for an affiliate marketing campaign of this scale. This tech-driven content production highlights the potential for creator commerce platforms.

    During the Myntra Big Fashion Festival, 30K shoppable content pieces went live within two weeks. The collaboration reflects Collective’s commitment to fostering growth opportunities for creators and strengthening their presence in the affiliate marketing space.

    “Our collaboration with Pinterest and Myntra has been instrumental in enabling us to push boundaries and set new benchmarks in affiliate marketing,” said Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam. “By leveraging automation and deep insights, along with a new media approach to business,  we have empowered creators to drive engagement, while enabling  brands like Myntra to directly tap into the scalable trend-driven commerce landscape.”

    Myntra’s senior director – performance marketing Deepash Jain said, “Our collaboration with Collective Artists Network has been incredibly fruitful. The Big Fashion Festival is one of our biggest events and we’re thrilled to witness  this milestone in affiliate marketing by creating 1 lakh shoppable content pieces on Pinterest. We’re always innovating to support the growth of the creator ecosystem and this collaboration is a testament to that.”

    The campaign has scaled successfully, offering technology-driven insights into trend-based content-to-commerce models. These insights help brands and creators better understand consumer behavior and leverage trends for more targeted strategies, enhancing the shopping experience on platforms like Pinterest, which drives real conversions.

    With one lakh shoppable Myntra content pieces live, Collective Artists Network’s campaign marks the largest content effort in the affiliate marketing space within a short timeframe, highlighting a significant milestone in creator-led commerce.

  • Collective Artists Network announces partnership with Parallel Studios

    Collective Artists Network announces partnership with Parallel Studios

    Mumbai: Collective Artists Network is proud to announce a partnership with Parallel Studios, a visionary gaming studio that blends art and technology to create cutting-edge gaming experiences. This strategic alliance will see Collective represent Parallel Studios, providing comprehensive support in building brand awareness, audience and consumer research, brand, media and Content partnerships, social media-led storytelling around the game, talent partnerships (celebrities and influencers), and IP creation– all aimed at gaining ground towards the acquisition of new players to build a community around Parallel.

    Parallel Studios has already made significant strides in the gaming industry, and this partnership marks an exciting new chapter in its journey. With a team comprising veterans from Blizzard, Epic Games, Ubisoft, Riot Games, and Xbox Game Studios, Parallel Studios is poised to redefine the trading card game (TCG) landscape with its award-winning digital trading card game, Parallel. Parallel Studios is leveraging blockchain and NFT tech to build games, movies & more. Parallel Studios is developing the next AAA sci-fi franchise and leveraging blockchain/NFT tech to deploy IP as cards, games, comics, movies, & more. They aim to continue breaking ground as they merge blockchain tech with traditional entertainment to create a new paradigm in which the users own parts of the digital worlds they grow to love.

    Collective Artists Network founder and group CEO Vijay Subramaniam commented on the partnership, saying, “Our collaboration with Parallel Studios represents a significant milestone in our journey to blend technology with creativity. By joining forces, we are setting a new standard for what is possible in the media industry. We have the potential to work together to develop revolutionary approaches that push the limits in this realm.”

    Dhruv Chitgopekar, co-founder of Collective Artists Network added, “We are thrilled to join forces with Parallel Studios to charter their India market entry. We intend to build community and content around Parallel’s unique approach to gaming experiences through our robust flywheel.

    Parallel Studios has seen remarkable success since its founding in 2021, with its TCG already in open beta and winning several games of the year awards. Parallel Studios CEO Sascha Mojtahedi,  expressed enthusiasm for the partnership “India represents a big opportunity for Parallel and our studio’s goal to grow a game that truly redefines the TCG space. Partnering with Collective made sense given they are at the epicentre of culture in India and have relationships with many partners that can help us bring our game to the masses.”

    As Collective Artists Network and Parallel Studios embark on this exciting new venture, their shared commitment to innovation and quality storytelling promises to deliver exceptional experiences for gaming enthusiasts.