iWorld
ALTBalaji to conduct Writers’ Lab, a YouTube online masterclass series to inspire & educate aspiring students of cinema!
To bridge the gap between the prolific writers of the entertainment industry and aspiring students of cinema, ALTBalaji – one of the country’s leading OTT platforms has come up with a thoughtful and unique initiative – ‘The Writers' Lab’. Proposed to be an online masterclass where renowned writers and directors from the entertainment world will provide information focusing on nuances in scriptwriting and direction directly to the students.
The idea behind ‘The Writers' Lab’ is to create a platform on ALTBalaji's YouTube channel which imparts tips and tricks of writing for the web (films and digital shows), wherein the industry professionals would be interviewed directly by the aspiring students.
For the same, the team of ALTBalaji has collaborated with the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (SIMC) to conduct weekly online masterclass starting from the second week of October. This intends to provide post graduating film making students with a platform to voice out their questions and get a better perspective from the writers’ point of view.
One of the biggest and most successful content creators on the web, ALTBalaji has been able to create multi-genre Indian original content, including drama, crime, comedy, adult, thriller, love stories, etc. The masterclass will include scriptwriting tools and apps that one can use, structuring the script, ways to develop an idea, writing the script for episodic series and multiple seasons, understanding of scenes and sequences, developing character arcs and dialogues, research involved in scriptwriting, etc.
The renowned names from the digital world comprising the masterclass activity include the likes of Harsh Dedhia (Director – Broken But Beautiful), Nandita Mehra (Director – Baarish), Abhijit Das (Director – Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain), Ritu Bhatia (Writer – Mentalhood), among others.
Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO ALTBalaji, and Group COO Balaji Telefilms said, “The Writers’ Lab initiative is our way of giving back to our community. It is specifically curated to support new writers and directors who want to learn and enhance their craft in their respective areas of expertise. The YouTube specials series would be led by real students asking the right questions to the working professionals having successful scriptwriting and direction background. It is a great platform to discover and develop your skills and prepare the next-gen of filmmakers for a better tomorrow”.
Dr. Ruchi Kher Jaggi, Professor & Director, SIMC, Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, adds, “Besides the didactic nature of the project, it is an opportunity for the students and the stakeholders in the project to draw on to the online mediums’ potential of reaching a spectrum of audiences. The aim is to have industry experts educate the generation on the nuances of using the medium for diverse storytelling.”
Catch the first episode featuring Abhijit Das talking about stories inspired from life:
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
