iWorld
ZEE5 ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST HINDI ORIGINAL FILM, TIGERS
MUMBAI: ZEE5, India’s #2 OTT player has announced its first Hindi Original film ‘TIGERS’ – Can a salesman be a hero?’starring Emraan Hashmi, by Oscar winning director DanisTanovic. TIGERS is a true story based on a Pakistani salesman Syed Aamir Raza (played by Emraan Hashmi) and his fight against unjust practices in the baby products’ industry. The movie will premiere exclusively on ZEE5 on 21stNovember.
The movie shows Emraan Hashmi exposing his company for making a baby formula which is killing infants with the help of IBFAN (The International Baby Food Action Network). The film also features prominent artists like Adil Hussain, Geetanjali, Danny Huston (Wonder Woman), Khalid Abdalla (The Kite Runner),Supriya Pathak, Satyadeep Misra, Maryam d'Abo (The Living Daylights) and HeinoFerch (Run Lola Run) among others.
Emraan Hashmi said, “This movie is very close to my heart, and I am thrilled to announce its premiere with a platform like ZEE5. We have premiered at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival and travelled around the world with the film and the story has received a heart-warming welcome across. We sincerely believe that this is a story that the people should know, and hope that the audience likes it.”
Guneet Monga, Producer, TIGERS said, “Tigers is an important film – it is extremely relevant and topical. It is also an amazing collaboration of talent from around and has been a real labour of love. It has been an incredible honour working with Danis and Emraan on this one. We are thrilled with Zee coming on board to distribute and release Tigers on ZEE5 as their first Hindi Original film.”
Manish Aggarwal, Business Head, ZEE5 India, said, “TIGERS is a film based on a true story that explores the power of corporates, media and ethics by DanisTanovic. Emraan’s portrayal of the protagonist will make sure the message travels far and wide. Movies such as Tigers are essential to spark a meaningful debate in popular conversation and we are proud to present it as the first Hindi Original film from ZEE5.”
Besides Original films, ZEE5 has also been digitally premiering blockbuster and acclaimed movies for its subscriber base. FromPadman, Veere Di Wedding, Mulk, Parmanu and many more in Hindi to Faster Fene, Gulabjaam, Mercury and so on, ZEE5 continues to digitally premiere blockbuster movies across languages.
With over 3500 films, 500+ TV shows, 4000+ music videos, 35+ theatre plays and 90+ LIVE TV Channels across 12 languages, ZEE5 truly presents a blend of unrivalled content offering for its viewers across the nation and worldwide. With ZEE5, the global content of Zindagi as a brand, which was widely appreciated across the country, has also been brought back for its loyal viewers.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
