Hindi
iLabs acquires 60% in Lehren Entertainment, to launch first Bollywood news channel
MUMBAI: iLabs Capital, a venture fund which has among other investments a controlling interest in the TV9 chain of channels, has acquired 60 per cent stake in Mumbai-based Lehren Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. to launch the first Bollywood news channel.
iLabs is also expanding its broadcasting presence in Mumbai through the launch of TV9 Mumbai, a city-centric channel in Hindi language. This will be through Associated Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd (ABCL), the company which is 80 per cent owned by iLabs and Unified Group and houses the TV9 channels.
In Lehren Entertainment, iLabs is making the investment through its wholly own subsidiary, Affiliated Media Company (AMC). Besides the TV channel, Lehren will have its other assets including a broadband portal and 10,000 hours of archival video.
Lehren TV has obtained the uplinking licence and plans to launch in April. “We are eyeing 14 April as the launch date. The dry run should start in mid-March,” says Lehren Entertainment founder and MD Mritunjay Pandey.
The Bollywood-centric free-to-air news channel will also have a small portion of its content for other films across the country. Besides news, it will have chat and gossip formats. “It will be a Hinglish (predominantly Hindi but also have English language) channel,” says Pandey.
The ad sales and uplinking will be handled by ABCL to drive in the synergies with the TV9 group of channels.
“We decided to join hands with Lehren because it has an old relationship with the film industry. With the other Hindi channel covering Mumbai, it will offer us a good bundle,” says ABCL vice president operations KVN Murthy.
Lehren‘s engagement with Bollywood dates back to the pre-satellite era when it started film-based entertainment shows in 1987. The videos packaged film scenes, songs, interviews and magazine content in the kaleidoscopic format of Bollywood.
Hindi
Zee5 and Applause Entertainment team up for whodunnit ‘Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa’
Rajat Kapoor directs star-studded murder mystery streaming from 10 April.
MUMBAI: Zee5 is serving up another killer collaboration and this time, the murder mystery comes with a generous side of dark humour and family dysfunction. The streaming platform has partnered with Applause Entertainment and Mithya Talkies to bring Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa, a fresh, twisted whodunnit written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker and actor Rajat Kapoor. The film will stream exclusively on Hindi Zee5 from 10 April.
The movie reimagines the classic murder mystery genre with a contemporary, darkly comic edge. It revolves around a group of friends and family who smile, drink, and celebrate together until the silence snaps and long-buried secrets spill out. The stellar ensemble cast includes Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Waluscha De Sousa, Saurabh Shukla, Chandrachoor Rai, Neil Bhoopalam, Koel Purie, Palomi Ghosh, and Rajat Kapoor himself.
This latest offering continues the successful partnership between Zee5 and Applause Entertainment, which has previously delivered diverse hits such as Mithya, Bloody Brothers, and Jab Khuli Kitaab.
&TV Business Head of hindi Zee5 and chief channel officer Kaveri Das said, “Our collaboration with Applause Entertainment has consistently delivered distinct, high-impact storytelling. Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa is a natural progression, reinforcing our focus on genre-led content with a compelling whodunnit premise and a strong ensemble cast.”
Applause Entertainment business head for movies Sunil Chainani added, “This film adds yet another compelling layer to our slate with Rajat Kapoor’s unmistakable voice.”
Rajat Kapoor shared, “What interested me was not just the mechanics of a whodunnit, but the emotional violence that precedes physical violence. These are people who smile at each other, but there’s so much that is not said.”
The film promises razor-sharp writing, layered performances, and simmering tension, inviting viewers not just to solve the crime but to unravel the complex relationships at its heart.
If you love a good murder mystery served with wit and emotional depth, Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa looks set to be your next addictive watch. Mark your calendars, the whodunnit drops on Hindi Zee5 from 10 April.
