Animation
Song vs Dance debuts with a bang on TV Asahi, sparks viral frenz
MUMBAI: TV Asahi’s talent competition, Song vs Dance, has made a spectacular debut, drawing massive viewership and igniting social media buzz. Premiering on 28 March at 11:15 pm on Channel 5, the high-energy variety show has captivated audiences with its electrifying format.
A co-production between TV Asahi and Smart Dog Media, Song vs Dance redefines entertainment with its action-packed battles between top-tier singers and dancers. The show achieved a 3.5 per cent rating and a 15.9 per cent audience share, making it the second most-watched programme in its time slot across Japan’s six terrestrial channels. It also emerged as the highest-rated artist performance music show of 2025, proving its dominance in the genre.
Beyond TV, Song vs Dance has taken social media by storm. Clips from the show have amassed over 136 million Tiktok impressions, gained 10,000+ new followers, and racked up 7.2 million views on a single video. The buzz propelled the show to fifth place on Yahoo’s SNS trends and third in Android search rankings, highlighting its widespread appeal across generations.
With such a phenomenal response, TV Asahi is set to roll out more exciting episodes to settle the ultimate debate—are you team song or team dance?
TV Asahi stated, “We are delighted to announce a historic milestone in the realm of TV Asahi variety shows. In this unprecedented move, we have embarked on a cross-border project that brought together both US and Japan teams to collaboratively create an entirely new and innovative format. This bold initiative has successfully redefined entertainment, and we are honoured to have achieved this groundbreaking accomplishment.”
Produced by Craig Plestis and Clara Plestis of Smart Dog Media, alongside TV Asahi’s Takaaki Kitano, Song vs Dance marks TV Asahi’s first co-production with a U.S.-based production company.
MUMBAI: History is getting a fresh rewrite this time with code, creativity and a longer arc in mind. Lens Vault Studios has announced its first original production, Bal Tanhaji, marking the official entry of the newly launched, tech-driven studio into India’s evolving entertainment landscape.
Arriving six years after the box-office success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the new project expands the universe rather than revisiting familiar ground. Bal Tanhaji explores uncharted narrative territory, signalling a clear shift from one-off cinematic spectacles to long-format, world-building storytelling designed for digital-first audiences.
At the heart of this ambition is Prismix Studios, the in-house generative AI and technology arm powering the creative engine behind the show. The studio’s approach blends storytelling with next-generation tools, aiming to reimagine how Indian IPs are created, scaled and sustained beyond theatrical releases.
For Lens Vault Studios chairman Ajay Devgn the new venture represents a deliberate step beyond traditional cinema. The focus is firmly on building long-form intellectual properties across fiction and non-fiction, tailored to changing viewing habits and platform-led consumption. He said the studio intends to explore formats that remain largely untapped, while drawing on the team’s experience with large-scale cinematic storytelling.
Lens Vault Studios founder and CEO Danish Devgn echoed that sentiment, describing Bal Tanhaji as the studio’s first generative-AI-led IP and the starting point of a broader vision. The aim, he noted, is to carry forward the legacy of the Tanhaji universe while connecting with younger audiences through a blend of powerful narratives and emerging technologies.
With Bal Tanhaji, Lens Vault Studios is planting its flag early not just launching a show, but signalling a larger play for cinematic universes that live, grow and evolve across platforms. If this debut is any indication, the future of Indian storytelling may be as much about imagination as it is about innovation.
