iWorld
Amazon miniTV and Sikhya Entertainment brings together : Gutar Gu
Mumbai: Amazon miniTV, a free video streaming service, has released the trailer of its upcoming modern teen Gutar Gu, that captures the nuances, intricacies and subtlety of young romance love. The series features Ashlesha Thakur (Ritu) and Vishesh Bansal (Anuj) in the lead wherein the two experience the dawn of first love and the challenges that come along. This six-episodic series focuses on issues, challenges that can uncover their notions and how it affects their relationship, while the intense parental pressure adds to their woes.
The trailer gives a glimpse of how the lives of the Gupt Gyaan duo- Ritu and Anuj, so different from each other yet get tangled together like grape-vines. Witnessing teenage romance with an unexpected turn of events, their relationship gets more complicated and intense. It will be fascinating to see how their journey develops different shades of first love given their different perspectives and familial backgrounds. This coming-of-age drama, which is produced by Guneet Monga’s Oscar Winning Production house Sikhya Productions, will be available to stream exclusively on Amazon miniTV within the Amazon Shopping App and on Fire TV for free starting on 5 April.
Amazon Advertising head Girish Prabhu sharing his thoughts about the show said, “At Amazon miniTV our goal is to keep audiences entertained and present them with stories that warm up their heart. With Gutar Gu, we look to bring forth a light-hearted show about young love and give viewers the feeling of sweet nostalgia. It has been a delight and an honor to work with Sikhya Entertainment for this new-age romance show, which we’re certain will leave viewers spellbound.”
“First Loves are always very special and it’s time to re-live them with us. After receiving unprecedented love for ‘Gupt Gyan’, we at Sikhya are super excited to work with director Saqib Pandor, transforming our well-received short film into its own Web Series! “Gutar Gu” – a new chapter in the story of Ritu and Anuj, dives deep into the many ups and downs of teenage relationships- navigating strict parents, dating protocols and the innocence and moments of first love.” said Sikhya Entertainment producer Guneet Monga.
She further added, “There’s so much to relate to in this beautiful tale of Pehla Pyaar, and we’re incredibly excited for audiences to re-live the nostalgia of young love with us.”
“At Mamaearth, our purpose is to spread Goodness and connect with our consumers deeply. As a natural personal care and beauty brand, we are thrilled to reach out to our consumers through this heartwarming love story ‘Gutar Gu’ that is set in a charming small town. We believe that this partnership with Amazon miniTV as the title sponsor for Gutar Gu, will enable us to engage with our consumers in a very relevant manner,” said Honasa consumer Ltd. CMO Anuja Mishra.
Produced by Sikhya Entertainment, title partner – Mama Earth, and special partner HP, Gutar Gu is all set to release on 5 April exclusively on Amazon miniTV for free, accessible with the click-of-a-button on Amazon’s shopping app, Fire TV, desktop.
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
