Mumbai: SonyLIV is all set to launch its first Marathi original series “Shantit Kranti” on 13 August. The show is dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.
Directed by Sarang Sathaye and Paula McGlynn, founders of the YouTube page Bharatiya Digital Party (Bhadipa), the web series features Abhay Mahajan, Lalit Prabhakar and Alok Rajwade in the lead roles along with Vijay Nikam and Bollywood actor Shikha Talsania in prominent roles. Actors Sakhi Gokhale, Mrinmayee Godbole, Amey Wagh, Sarang Sathaye, Jitendra Joshi will also appear on the show.
The story captures the quirky camaraderie of three best friends, Shreyas, Dinar and Prasanna, who hit the road, embarking on a journey of self-discovery that unknowingly changes their lives forever, said the press statement.
“SonyLIV has been at the forefront of bringing to life authentic and relevant stories of India to our viewers,” said Sony Pictures Networks India, head – content, SET and digital business, Ashish Golwalkar. “As we strengthen our slate of regional content, we’re proud to announce our first Marathi original, ‘Shantit Kranti’ in collaboration with two content powerhouses, TVF and Bhadipa. The show captures the true essence of friendship that holds great relevance for today’s urban youth. It also brings together exceptionally strong characters played by a stellar ensemble cast and has a captivating storyline.”
“We are grateful to collaborate with SonyLIV, a platform that has been making in-roads with regional content,” said Sarang Sathaye and Paula McGlynn in a joint statement. “‘Shantit Kranti’ is everyone’s story put together on screen, and we are sure the audience from all demographics will relate to it. The stories, experiences, laughter, and the message that comes out of it, make it an extremely enjoyable watch.”
New Delhi: Over a year after ZEE5 streamed its web series based on the 26/11 terrorist attack, the OTT platform has come up with the second edition of its State of Siege series. This time, the platform has narrated the heroic tale of the NSG Commandos, who led the counter-insurgency operation at Akshardham Temple in Gujarat in September 2002. The State of Siege- Temple Attack is streaming on ZEE5.
The film’s producer Abhimanyu Singh and director Ken Ghosh, and ZEE5, head, Hindi Originals Nimisha Pandey got into a freewheeling conversation with Indiantelevision.com Group, founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari to talk about the making of the film. They were joined by film’s cast Gautam Rode and Vivek Dahiya along with Lt Col Sundeep Sen who worked as a consultant (military veteran) on the film. The virtual roundtable – ‘The making of the State of Siege: Temple Attack’ was presented by Contiloe Pictures.
The film comes a year after the OTT platform launched State of Siege: 26/11, which was based on Sandip Unnithan’s book Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11. Unlike the first edition which was released in eight episodes, this time ZEE5 has launched the State of Siege as a digital film.
“We launched the first web series in March 2020, just when the lockdown began and it remains one of the most-watched series on the platform,” said ZEE5, head, Hindi Originals Nimisha Pandey, “OTT has given us huge freedom, as we are no longer tied up with formats. In today’s time, stories decide which format they should be going into. In the case of Temple Attack, we decided to make a feature film because the story couldn’t have been stretched up to six-seven episodes.”
Elaborating on the audience response, Pandey said the interest for the film has spiked since its launch on 9 July and performed reasonably well over the last weekend. “We had launched it in Hindi and dubbed it in Tamil and Telugu, and it is good to know that the film is doing well pan-India across all three languages,” said Pandey.
“It was a story worth telling,” said producer Abhimanyu Singh, who initially conceptualised the film. “After reading into the subject and doing our research, we thought that nothing has been told from the commandos’ point of view. The more we delved into it, the more we realised how fantastic this story was.”
The film was shot across different states including Himachal Pradesh, amid the challenges thrown by the pandemic. However, the most daunting part of the job was the post-production process, which had to be done remotely, said director Ken Ghosh. “It was challenging to do the post-production during the pandemic, and we had to coordinate on virtual calls. But we managed to pull it off. We have done a lot of research and brought in symbolism in certain scenes. We also tried to ensure that the action looks very real,” said Ghosh.
Son of a Naval officer, Ghosh said he drew experiences from his childhood and was elated to take up the project. “I have always wanted to do a war-based movie,” he added.
The film marks Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna’s debut on the OTT. It also stars Abhimanyu Singh, Gautam Rode, Vivek Dahiya, Akshay Oberoi, Parvin Dabas, Samir Soni, Mir Sarwar, and Manjari Fadnis.
“It was challenging initially, but we went with the director’s vision and Col Sen’s guidance throughout helped in getting the action scenes right,” said actor Gautam Rode, who plays Major Samar in the movie. “We have managed to keep it real, and tried to avoid any over-dramatization.”
Vivek Dahiya who was also part of the SOS: 26/11, said, people were eager to know more about the Akshardham attack, which generated interest for the film. Dahiya plays an NSG commando who is new to the team but is sent to rescue hostages who are being held by terrorists at the temple. “I am glad I got the opportunity to be part of this role. The whole experience has wholly transformed me,” he said.
Lt Colonel Sundeep Sen said he tried to ensure that nothing that’s shown in the movie comes across as derogatory to the Armed forces. “Very few people dare to tell such stories. There has to be sincerity in the effort, and I found that in the team,” he said.
New Delhi: In a global first for Amazon, one of the country’s largest online store, Amazon.in on Saturday announced the launch of a free, ad-supported video streaming service, miniTV which is available within the Amazon shopping app.
miniTV has professionally created and curated content across web series, comedy shows, tech news, food, beauty, fashion, and more, the company announced on its blog on Saturday.
The list includes leading studios such as – TVF, Pocket Aces, and leading comedians – Ashish Chanchlani, Amit Bhadana, Round2Hell, Harsh Beniwal, Shruti Arjun Anand, Elvish Yadav, Prajakta Koli, Swagger Sharma, Aakash Gupta, and Nishant Tanwar. Viewers will be informed on the latest products and trends by tech expert Trakin Tech, fashion and beauty experts such as Sejal Kumar, Malvika Sitlani, Jovita George, Prerna Chhabra and ShivShakti. Food lovers can enjoy content from Kabita’s Kitchen, Cook with Nisha, and Gobble. In the coming months, miniTV plans to add many newer and exclusive videos.
With this launch, Amazon has two video entertainment offerings – miniTV and Prime Video. miniTV is completely free and does not require a separate app. Prime Video requires a Prime subscription and offers a collection of award-winning Amazon Originals, latest movies, and TV shows, in English and 9 Indian languages. Viewers can access Prime Video on the app or stream it on their smart TVs.
With the launch of miniTV, Amazon.in has stepped up its reach as a shopping app that offers customers a one-stop center to shop from millions of products, make payments and watch free entertainment videos.
miniTV is available on Amazon’s shopping app for Android phones. It will also be extended to iOS app and mobile web over the coming months.
KOLKATA: As we wind up the first quarter of the year, Zee5 Global has unveiled a fresh new line-up of content. Viewers can choose from a variety of Zee5 Originals, television shows, and non-fiction shows to enjoy their summer at home.
Leading the April line-up is the much-awaited Zee5 Original Film Raat Baaki Hai starring Paoli Dam, Anup Soni, Rahul Dev, Dipannita Sharma and Akash Dahiya. Set to premiere on 16 April, the film is a remake of the popular play Ballygunge-1990, and has been directed by Avinash Das and produced by Samar Khan of Juggernaut Productions. The film revolves around a fateful meeting between two ex-lovers under strange circumstances: one of them is running away from the law for being a murder suspect.
Zee5-ALTBalaji Original web series Mai Hero Boll Raha Hu starring Parth Samanth, Patralekha and late Asif Basra will drop on 20 April. Taking the viewers through Nawab’s rise as an underworld don in the late 1980s and 1990s, the intriguing drama documents how an amazing friendship and mentorship quickly turns sour when Nawab outperforms his mentor Lala. Next in line is His Story, a Zee5-ALTBalaji Original series starring Satyadeep Misra, Priyamani and Mrinal Dutt in lead roles. The Hindi series premierses on 25 April.
Zee5 Tamil Original Film Mathil revolves around Laxmikanthan, a common man, who fights against a politician who usurps the wall of his dream house for an election campaign. Starring Mime Gopi and KS Ravikumar, Mathil releases on 14 April 2021 (Puthandu, the Tamil New Year); the trailer is already out.
Viewers can also enjoy a special Ramadan curation from 12 April onwards with a variety of delectable festive recipes from celebrity chefs Kunal Kapoor, Sakshi Batra and others. Furthermore, the platform will stream some of the most loved family movies, TV shows and Originals for audiences across markets. From Shabana Azmi’s Mee Raqsam to primetime legacy shows Razia Sultan, Jodha Akbar and popular originals including Daawat-e-Biryani, Jaadu Kadai and more.
For Zee Tamil viewers, the platform is set to celebrate the grand success of Yaradi nee Mohini and Poove Poochudava crossing a landmark 1,000 episodes – the first ever shows to do so, with Vetri Vizha on 11 April.
Zee Bangla viewers can enjoy a new fiction TV show Amader Ei Poth Jadi Na Sesh Hoy, where a rich girl Urmi decides to become a taxi driver, in an exciting journey of self-discovery and independence. Slated to be released on 12 April, the show stars Anwesha Hazra as Urmi. Zee Bangla will soon premiere Dance Bangla Dance Season 10, judged by Bollywood celebrity Govinda and popular Bengali superstar Jeet and Ankush. The exciting Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Bangla gears up to stream the grand finale on 18 April.
Zee Punjabi viewers can celebrate Baisakhi with Neeru Bajwa and top Punjabi artists and TV stars in a special episode on 10 April, while in the popular Punjabi cooking show Swaad Aa Gaya, viewers can celebrate Baisakhi the whole week.
NEW DELHIA: MX Player is now streaming yet another exclusive Marathi web series titled Baykola Hava Tari Kay (What a Wife Wants). The comedy web series includes actors like Shreya Budge, Aniket Vishwasrao, Nikhil Ratnaparkhi, and others. The series is an MX Exclusive and Mirchi Play original.
This six part series is directed by Priyadarshan Jadhav and produced by Dakhkhan Studio.
The core theme of the show is that every wife feels that God hasn't blessed her husband with the best qualities. She finds these features in various other men around her. They want their husband to be the best and in this quest a lot of unplanned things happen, which forms a part of the storyline.
Shreya, an ordinary wife of an ordinary man, manages to please Lord Krishna (played by Nikhil Ratnaparkhi) with her devotion and in exchange asks the Lord to bless her husband (played by Aniket Vishwasrao) with the best of features. Krishna agrees to upgrade her husband to a version that she finds is best for her. Shreya asks Lord Krishna to upgrade her husband multiple times after experiencing the personal life that comes with each of them. Fed up with Shreyaʼs non-stop demands, Lord is left wondering – what does the wife want?
It is expected to be an entertaining package for the audiences and is available for free viewing.
MX Player is creating a strong library of shows including Ashram 1&2, High, Dangerous, Behad ka Baaghi, Bhaukaal, Rakhtanchal, and many others. The OTT platform is getting good traction from viewers and has witnessed a massive increase in time spent and visits.
MUMBAI: After the initial buzz garnered through the sudden release of the Poster of Case Jaundice, hoichoi launched the official trailer of the original in a virtual press conference. After the successful build-up, the first five episodes of Case Jaundice (total- 10) are streaming now on hoichoi. The rest of the episodes will be streaming from 22 May.
This series marks a lot of firsts for the cast: the first web series of Ankush, the first web series of Parambrata for hoichoi and finally, the first lead role of Anirban Chakrabarti on hoichoi besides his ever-green portrayal of Eken Babu. All three of them came together with director Subhankar Chattopadhay to host a virtual press conference from the Facebook page of hoichoi to discuss their decision to do a web series completely shot from home, which of course has its challenges, and also, to launch the official trailer of the series.
The conference was moderated by a popular ex-TV journalist of a leading channel.
With the first five episodes streaming from today, Case Jaundice is a satire of 10 episodes. Two compelling lawyers, Sen played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Das played by Ankush, present an endearing argument in a courtroom, one of them representing human beings and the other representing coronavirus. In each episode, a debate drives the narrative between Das and Sen, moderated by the judge played by Anirban Chakrabarti, who at times becomes partial in his witty comments. Every episode has a different case put forth in front of the judge, resulting in humorous conclusions!
Here are the 10 episodes:
Ep1
Humans Vs. Corona (In Bengali: Manush Bonam Corona Virus)
Ep2
Police Vs. Mask (In Bengali: Police Bonam Mukhosh Pora Jonogon)
Ep3
Private Vs. Public Society (In Bengali: Ruddho Shomaj Bonam Khola mela Shomaj)
Ep4
Work Vs. Home (In Bengali: Office Bonam Poribar)
Ep5
Man Vs. Wild (In Bengali: Badurkheko Bonam Aw-Badurkheko)
Ep6
Work From Home Vs. Work From Office (In Bengali: Work From Home Bonam Work From Office)
Ep7
The Slumber Vs. The Bong (In Bengali: Lyadh Bonam Bangali)
Ep8
Classic Romance Vs. Digital Romance (In Bengali: Shonaton Prem Bonam Digital Prem)
Ep9
Cinema in Theatres Vs. Censorship Board (In Bengali: Cinema Hall’er cinema Bonam Censor Board)
Ep10
The Police Vs. The Pro-Corona People (in Bengali: Police Bonam Coronar Kaachkola)
Parambrata Chattopadhyay, thrilled about the release of Case Jaundice, said, “We had a lot of fun shooting from home, though a lot of challenges were there, however, the end result was to enthrall the audience with a fun yet witty web series and I think we have delivered it quite successfully. Hoping our audience resonates with our thoughts too.”
Ankush added: “Hosting a virtual press conference with my fellow cast members and director was an unusual and unique activity, ideated and executed by the glorious team of hoichoi. We worked twice as hard to deliver this content and it was all for our audience; their entertainment is our number 1 priority. Case Jaundice is a series that highlights the issues and crises of the World now and thus, becomes relatable and relevant for everyone to watch!”
Case Jaundice is streaming now with its first 5 episodes, followed by the next 5 on 22nd May, exclusively on hoichoi.
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Addatimes Media Private Limited is screening SIN, a premium Hindi web-series, directed by Arunava Khasnobis, and starring Aryan D. Roy, Sweta Mishra, Lakshya Punjabi, Jaideep Singh, Iqbal Sultan, and Kripal Sengupta among others. The six-episode series, shot across Kolkata and other parts of Bengal, is an investigation drama focusing on the world of carnal fantasies, Drugs, and deep criminal conspiracies.
The story is built with a fast pace narrative involving quick plot twists with parallel development of the investigation and building up of a crime. Mysterious death of a young girl in the hills triggers a suspicious investigation that reveals the alleys of a high-profile organized crime in Kolkata, involving Drugs, sex-trafficking and murders. While a reluctant police officer meanders through the maze of missing clues and a troubled past, a young couple gets entangled into a journey to explore their carnal fantasies. The exploration reveals a dark secret leaving both the couple and the police officer disoriented and at the brink of collapse.
SIN has been shot over six months in close to 30 locations in and around Kolkata. Some of the lead actors had to go through complete overhaul of their normal look to fit to the characters. The Cinematographer, R Ratno, has created a real look for the series, without gaudy unbelievability, although the psychedelic interior of the main protagonist will not go unnoticed.
SIN is his maiden web series of Director Arubana Khasnobis, and is the fruit of more than eighteen months of research, conceptualization, scripting, character chronicling and making.
Addatimes is the first Kolkata based international video on demand (OTT) platform with a wide array of original contents, ranging from Films, Shorts, Web-series, Sporting Events, Musical shows, and Live events. The platform caters to its international and regional audiences, with avid interest in contemporary Indian and traditional Bengali culture, through carefully curated, smart digital entertainment.
MUMBAI: Pocket Aces’ food channel Gobble won Gold at Talent Track 2019 for the Best Digital Content – Food for their web series ‘You Got Chef’d!’ in association with Dewar’s by Bacardi India
The show features some of India’s most popular digital faces: Rannvijay Singha, Mithila Palkar, Shibani Dandekar, Sumeet Vyas and Dhruv Sehgal cooking street-style versions of their favourite dishes against celebrity chef Kelvin Cheung’s gourmet versions. All this over some banter and delicious food, topped with a perfect cocktail pairing, made by Ernest Reid – Dewar’s brand ambassador and celebrated mixologist.
The show, across 5 episodes, amassed ~4,448,289 with an impressive 111:1 like to dislike ratio. As millennials move from celebrating gigantic occasions to celebrating everyday rituals like binge watching a web series or watching a sports match together, Gobble and Dewar’s conceptualized this series to ignite fun conversations through #DoubleIsBetter.
Mr Anshuman Goenka, Marketing Head, Bacardí India said, “Dewar’s is heavily invested in enabling elevated experiences for millennials which are relatable. With ‘You Got Chef’d!’, we are experimenting with a new quirky platform which encourages them to pair gourmet food with whisky cocktails to enjoy simple occasions like bingeing, sports night etc. in a more effective manner. Both the award and the response that we have received will help us in expanding our efforts in this segment.”
Commenting on the award, Sonalika Mehra, Head of Gobble said, “You Got Chef’d is our first-ever food web series and we’re ecstatic to have won a Gold! Our partnership with Dewar's is a perfect fit for the show, both in terms of audience and narrative. It’s an interesting time to be creating content because the digital audience is clearly open and receptive to new and interesting formats.” “We've got lots of interesting things lined up in 2019, so this has kicked off our year in great style,” she adds excitedly.
Talent Track awards recognize India’s digital content achievers each year. In its third edition held at Mumbai on 8th February this year, over 500 industry players including Hotstar, ALT Balaji, Viu, Zee5, Voot participated.
MUMBAI: After proving to be the mogul of music industry and establishing themselves a successful film studio, T-Series is all set to enter the digital space with web series and web films. Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series along with producing films and music videos have ventured out into locking scripts for web-shows and web-films. With growing demand for digital content, the production house has decided to expand their avenues and explore a new yet a familiar territory of digital space. The new venture will be headed by one of the oldest confidante of T-Series, Vinod Bhanushali, who is currently the president- media, marketing, publishing (TV) and music acquisitions at T-Series.
Speaking on the expansion, head honcho of T-Series, Bhushan Kumar says, “This is the time to expand into digital space with shows and films. There exists a huge audience across the globe that you reach out to with this medium. Web-shows and web-films have an audience for all kinds of genres of storytelling and different languages as well. Along with producing films, we want to create content for digital space and give a platform for new directors and storytellers.”
Bhanushali, who has worked with T-Series for around two decades, along with his team has already started working on scripts and pre-production of few series and films. T-Series is already working with digital platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, Zee5 and other such platforms for digital distribution of their home productions. Speaking on his new role, Vinod Bhanushali, says, “Digital viewership is growing at a rapid speed and is a huge platform that needed to be tapped by us. Web shows and films has its own set of audience and is a huge market as everyone – all ages, races, languages, community across the world are hooked on to it. There are some stories that are not meant for the 70 mm screen yet they are needed to be told. They are commercial yet strong content films. With a new space that has evolved, web-shows and web-films have become a huge demand which is tested and proven to be successful. We have a lot of scripts coming to us every day and many of them are a perfect fit to this medium. We want to give a chance to these storytellers to bring forth their stories. T-Series will now become a platform to produce these stories and associate with our existing digital platforms to release our content.”
Music has always been an important aspect of all T-Series films. Even with the new space which will explore fiction, non-fiction stories on digital platform, music will still be a very integral part.
MUMBAI: Eros Now, the cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform owned by Eros International Plc, a Global Indian Entertainment Company, announced today that its original web-series Smoke, which was released on October 26, 2018, has been nominated by SXSW Film Festival 2019 in the ‘Title Design Category.’
The 2019 SXSW Film Festival celebrates the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. As an essential destination for global professionals, the event features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities. South By Southwest dedicates itself to honoring individuals and companies that create the most innovative, creative, and inspirational work in their respective fields. The festival is scheduled to take place between March 8 – 17, 2019. The crime-drama series – Smoke is contending with the likes of Aquaman, Black Panther, Deadpool 2, Spiderman Homecoming, Mowgli, Sacred Games, amongst othersunder the Title Design Category.
Commenting on the nomination, RidhimaLulla, Chief Content Officer, Eros Group said, “We are delighted for this significant recognition at prestigious SXSW 2019. The nomination of Smoke at SXSW Film Festival 2019 supports Eros Now’s endeavours to offer innovative and path breaking content for its global viewers. The powerful performances by the actors, along with the skilful writing and direction makes it a strong contender for the award.”
Smoke was the first and only Indian original web-series that was premiered at MIPCOM 2018, Cannes, under the ‘Made in India Originals’ category. The 11-episode series garnered rave reviews from the audience with an 8.9 IMDB rating. The series is directed by Neel Guhaand features India’s finest actors such as KalkiKoechlin, Jim Sarbh, GulshanDevaiah, MandiraBedi, Neil Bhoopalam, AmitSial, Satyadeep Mishra and the late Tom Alter.
