iWorld
VOOT Kids partners with Karadi Tales to bring to life popular Indian Classics
MUMBAI: Do you remember the memories you made and the world you created when your grandma narrated those classic tales to you? Now imagine your kids enjoying the same traditional stories narrated in the magical voices of your favorite celebrities. VOOT Kids, the all-new entertainment and fun-learning app for kids from the house of Viacom18, is bringing to life this vast selection, partnering with the iconic Karadi Tales. The recently launched VOOT Kids is all set to delight kids with these classics narrated in the enthralling voices of legends like Naseeruddin Shah, Gulzar, Usha Uthup, sporting stalwarts like Rahul Dravid and phenomenal actors like Vidya Balan, Javed Jaffery, R Madhavan, amongst others, through a diverse collection of audio stories, set in riveting soundscapes. The Karadi Tales collection on VOOT Kids that is live now will also include e-books and videos.
Introducing kids to various aspects of the Indian folklore, fables and culture, Karadi Tales with its bedtime stories, timeless tales of world’s greatest warriors and much more will provide an immersive story telling experience on VOOT Kids. With hundreds of stories and book narrations by the diverse repertoire of well-known celebrities, VOOT Kids is sure to enrich every child’s entertainment and learning experience.
“VOOT Kids endeavors to provide children with an immersive and holistic edutainment experience. With a wide array of content from Video, Audio stories, E-books, learning segments and more, the platform is set to become a key part of every child’s daily entertainment and fun learning journey. Audio stories is a magical segment, which will definitely fire up their imagination and allow every child to visualize a story in their own unique way," VOOT Kids business head Saugato Bhowmik commented on the partnership.
“Partnering with marquee content partners like Karadi tales, that bring to life culturally rich and relevant stories with morals and learnings, is sure to add significant value to every child’s entertainment need and cognitive skills,” he further added.
"The storytelling tradition in our country spans over 3000 years. This experience of storytelling involves not just the written word but visual imagery, vibrant narration, exciting sound and music textures. Karadi Tales has been involved in taking the joy of Indian folklore and storytelling for over 2 decades now. Karadi Tales audiobooks feature master storytellers from the Indian theatre and film world. The music and songs are based on the Indian classical music traditions and the visual imagery, on the phenomenal art traditions from across the Indian milieu.
Karadi Tales is thrilled to celebrate the sights and sounds of India with VOOT Kids, to take the joy of storytelling to children across our country," Karadi Tales creative director Narayan Parasuram added.
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.
