iWorld
Devotional category is important growth driver for Shemaroo Entertainment: Hiren Gada
MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has been betting big on devotional category with its recent show launch of Shemaroo Bhakti Studio. From launching devotional devices to various shows and apps in the last one year, this segment has definitely emerged as an important part of its overall business strategy. The content powerhouse has seen impressive growth in this category too.
Shemaroo Entertainment CEO Hiren Gada spoke to Indiantelevision.com on Shemaroo's growth, focus on devotional category and show availability on various platforms.
Will the new show be exclusive to your OTT platform?
I would not really call it a show. It is much larger than just a show. It is a platform for new talent, music and devotional content to get created and discovered. So, it will be available on all distribution platforms – DTH, digital and on Shemaroo Me, Shemaroo Bhakti. It will be available on YouTube too. Even the audio part will be available on all the major audio streaming platforms. The whole idea is that it is the platform which is important. Essentially, we want to put together, create this platform where talent and content can be created, promoted, discovered and the audience also can have easy access to this talent.
Which is the key demographic you are targeting through this show?
Devotion actually cuts across age. The idea will be that the younger audience is better served with this kind of content.
How has been the initial response to your recent devotional device?
The initial response has been very good. We just launched a third device into devotional space which is a smaller device Bhajanbani which has 221 songs and aartis of Ganesh because Ganpati festival is coming up. We just launched that a few days ago. It comes in Hindi and Marathi languages and is priced at Rs 2000 a month. Earlier products were priced at Rs 4500 and had more content and powerful speakers. Right now we are placing it in retail and different parts of the country, opening new distribution channels and tying up with more distribution outlets.
How important is devotional segment in your overall digital strategy?
It's a very important focus for us. In terms of scale, even today Bollywood has a large scale. This is one more important initiative for us. This, I hope, will expand the market in terms of connecting different kinds of consumers to the devotional category.
How do you expect devotional segment to contribute to your overall revenue?
We are in the process of putting our business plan together. Definitely, devotional will form an important part of our overall business mix. I would still say at this point that Bollywood definitely is a large contributor and the market won’t change in a hurry.
How has the category grown in the last one year?
I think we have experienced good growth particularly because we have been investing in content in a big way. We have been investing in production value. Shemaroo Bhakti Studio is an example of the kind of investment we are making in terms of creating a platform for talent, investing in the production values and marketing etc. As a result of all of that, we have seen very good growth on our platforms.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
