iWorld
Disney+ Hotstar announces ‘Home Dancer’ online dance competition
MUMBAI: Premium streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar has announced a first-of-its-kind online dance competition: Home Dancer. As people across India remain confined to their homes, Disney+ Hotstar is gearing up to offer a unique opportunity for dance lovers to showcase their moves from the comfort of their homes. Within the first week of the show’s announcement, Disney+ Hotstar has received thousands of submissions, far surpassing what an on-ground show would achieve in terms of entries, encompassing participants across age groups and regions. While most submissions have come from the younger generation (below 30 years), there has also been a great response from people in the age groups of 30 years and above. The show has not only received several entries from metros but also from smaller cities and towns such as Banswara, Jhunjhunu, Bhilwara, showing that India is full of budding talent. Disney+Hotstar will air the pilot episode of Home Dancer on 25th May.
The show will feature an exciting celebrity line-up and selected performances from the best entertainers in India. Bollywood star Jacqueline Fernandez will launch Home Dancer, which will be hosted by popular television actor Karan Wahi.
Acclaimed choreographers, Chandni Srivastava and Chetan Salunke of Dance+ fame, will be the judges of the show.
Home Dancer, which will air bi-weekly, is the first online competition of its kind in India that allows viewers to vote for their favorite entries. Spanning a period of five weeks, there will be a cash prize of INR 4 lakhs up for grabs every week.
Disney+ Hotstar spokesperson said, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of Home Dancer as part of our endeavor to offer interactive and innovative ways to connect with our viewers while we continue to stay at home. We are glad to receive participation from metros and non-metros while tapping into a diverse set of audiences and cultures”
To be able to participate in the campaign, interested viewers can login to the Disney+ Hotstar app, select the theme of the week and choose any one of the 10 pre-loaded tracks to submit their respective 60-90-second dance videos on the microsite. The first week’s theme is #LockdownDanceUp. After receiving the entry submissions, the judges will shortlist the top 10 entries. Every week two episodes will be released on Disney+ Hotstar wherein the shortlisted performances will be featured in an episode, following which voting lines will be open for two days. Thereafter, in the follow-up episode, the contestant with the maximum number of votes will be announced the winner of Home Dancer for the week.
Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez shared, “I’m extremely happy that Disney+ Hotstar has launched Home Dancer, to connect with their audiences as we continue to stay quarantined. What appealed to me is that it caters to both – dance lovers as it gives their talent the stage it deserves and viewers, who are always eager to watch fresh content.”
Actor and host Karan Wahi said, “I’m thrilled to host Home Dancer. I urge all viewers to put their best foot forward and participate in the show while others can lend their support by voting for their favourites”
Chandni Srivastava said, “The lockdown has encouraged brands to think out of the box and I am truly excited to be associated with such a unique show format. As a judge, I can’t wait to witness the talent and love for dance that people have in our country. I’m looking forward to new learnings and a fun-filled experience.”
Home Dancer will be an exciting and a super fun addition to Disney+ Hotstar’s offering of high-quality free content, which includes daily catch-up TV shows in 8 Indian languages, a vast library of blockbuster movies and LIVE and on-demand news in 8 languages from the country’s leading news channels. It also features comprehensive sports clips covering major sporting events, such as the IPL, BCCI cricket series, Premier League, ISL and PKL, with all the exciting action from the day available as match highlights, key individual performances and match analysis.
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.
