iWorld
ZEE5 announces Sharate Aaj, their biggest Bengali Original, yet
MUMBAI: ZEE5, the #2 OTT player in the country, today announced the beginning of the shoot of the next marquee Original from the regional stable. Sharate Aaj, being shot completely in London, traces the lives of a close-knit Bengali community getting set to bring in the festive cheer of Pujo while being hit by a terror attack conspiracy. Will they be successful at it? The show will take you through an eerie turn of events.
Renowned Actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay who has previously produced Kaali, the first ZEE5 Bengali Original web-series, is now directing Sharate Aaj and also acting in it. The power-packed star cast of the show include Payel Sarkar, Riddhi Sen, Surangana Bandyopadhyay, Kanchan Mallik, Joydeep Mukherjee, Bidipta Chakraborty and Soumya Sengupta.
The show will also be high on the music quotient featuring a mix of Rabindra Sangeet and folk songs. These are being rearranged by Sahana Bajpaie, one of the most prominent contemporary Rabindra Sangeet and Bengali folk music singer/ publisher along with Samantak Sinha, who is also a leading Rabindra Sangeet singer.
Parambrata Chattopadhyay comments, “It feels good to be associated with ZEE5 for the second time. Working with this platform gives me the freedom to think creative and try different concepts. Sharate Aaj is the story of identity crisis, cultural bonding and a terror threat, making the show an edge-of-the-seat thriller. The show is being completely shot in London and will showcase the vibrant Bengali culture present in the city. I am really excited about beginning this shoot.”
Manish Aggarwal, Business Head, ZEE5 India said, “We have seen a steady increase in the user engagement for ZEE5 across regions, making us the #2 OTT platform in the country. West Bengal is one of the key focus markets for us and we have received a phenomenal response to our Bengali Originals – Aranyadeb and Kaali and the exhaustive original content repertoire dubbed in Bengali. Sharate Aaj is one of our marquee shows with a gripping narrative and supported by noted actors. The cultural significance and sensibilities explored with Durga Puja and Rabindra sangeet will also catch the attention of the audience.”
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
