iWorld
aha Studio and Applause Entertainment partner to produce four bi-lingual web series
Mumbai: Telugu OTT platform aha on Monday launched an independent content and IP creation entity – aha Studio, which has also entered into a partnership with Applause Entertainment to co-produce four premium bi-lingual series.
Their first offering- a web series titled ‘Half-Lion’ will tell the story of former prime minister P V Narsimha Rao. Based on the book with the same name written by Vinay Sitapati, the series will be released in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil, the streaming platform announced at an event held on Monday.
aha Studio will work on projects at a Pan-India level and tell stories that have their origins in the South. The entity will self-finance these projects and license it to various platforms once the production is finished. “The studio is an initiative to create content at an arms-length from the platform. Doing this helps us work with the top talent in the country. We’re looking for projects that have a Pan-India appeal but have their origins in the South, that’s our USP,” said aha CEO Ajit Thakur.
“For us, this partnership is about collaborating with a strong creative and production company,” said Applause Entertainment chief executive officer Sameer Nair. “Geetha Arts is one of the largest content creation companies in South India and have been making movies and series for many years, and they’ve launched the platform aha. In order for us to do bigger, better and brighter things, we will have to collaborate with other content studios. This is not the age of going solo. Lot of creative people should work together on projects.”
Elaborating on the new web series, Nair said, “We enjoy telling stories of this kind. These stories are increasingly being told in the language that they deserve to be told. ‘Scam 1992’ was equal part Hindi and equal part Gujarati. Once we’ve made it, I’m sure there will be a lot of people interested in it because it is an important story to tell.”
The series will be helmed by National Award-winning director Prakash Jha known for his socio-political films such as ‘Gangaajal’, ‘Apaharan’, ‘Rajneeti’ and ‘Aarakshan’ and web series ‘Ashram’. “Hardly a small percentage of today’s generation knows about Rao, the ”man who changed India”. He brought about changes, systems in our polity, economy, society and everyday life in our country which now is completely irreversible,” said Jha.
aha Studio had acquired the rights to the book ‘Half-Lion’ and approached Applause Entertainment that has the expertise in telling layered narratives with an ensemble cast. The content studio headed by Nair recently bagged 12 Filmfare OTT awards for ‘Scam 1992’ their biopic on stockbroker Harshad Mehta.
“It’s been a remarkable journey with aha in Telugu so far,” said Geetha Arts managing director and aha promoter Allu Aravind at the event. “We are overwhelmed with the love and support we’ve received globally from the audience, who’ve made aha one of the fastest growing apps in India within a span of two years. In what is another pioneering effort from aha, we believe aha Studio will help us work with the best creative talent in the country to present world class entertainment to our global audience.”
Telugu OTT platform aha is set to launch in Tamil language next year. The platform which has grown by 13+ million downloads in the last year and a half will increase its content investments in 2022 and launch new unscripted formats including ‘Indian Idol Telugu’.
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.
