iWorld
From stage to screen: Zee Theatre and ZEE5 redefine the theatre viewing experience on OTT
Mumbai: Indian theatre is embarking on an exciting new trajectory with some of the most celebrated Zee Theatre teleplays all set to stream via a world digital premiere on ZEE5 from 9 June onwards. The line-up includes the Gajraj Rao starrer ‘Gunehgaar’, the psychological drama ‘Kusum Manohar Lele’ starring Shweta Basu Prasad, and director Seema Pahwa’s star-studded literary anthology ‘Koi Baat Chale.’ These nuanced teleplays with relatable characters and truly extraordinary writing will now reach a diverse worldwide audience, courtesy of a digital platform with over 119.5 million monthly active users.
ZEE5 India chief business officer Manish Kalra says, “As a content provider to millions of entertainment seekers, our focus has always been on the art of storytelling. And adding Zee Theatre teleplays to our content portfolio will only enhance our content library further. At ZEE5, our aim is to make teleplays easily accessible to the audience. We are hoping that this association with Zee Theatre helps us build the appetite for more such content.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises chief creative officer – special projects Shailja Kejriwal says, “Digital platforms have reshaped the creation and consumption of entertainment around the world and now theatre too has become a vibrant part of this ever-expanding content pool. It gives me great joy that the finest Zee Theatre teleplays will now stream on ZEE5 and become more accessible to not just the passionate patrons of live theatre but those who for some reason have not explored it yet. As a brand, our mission has always been to mainstream Indian theatre as an entertainment option and this synergy will bring it closer to audiences worldwide.”
In June, ZEE5 will stream the Akarsh Khurana directorial ‘Gunehgaar,’ which pits the histrionics of veteran actor Gajraj Rao against the talent of young sparks like Shweta Basu Prasad and Sumeet Vyas. The teleplay revolves around three protagonists whose lives are interlinked mysteriously. Prasad also stars in playwright Ashok Samel’s iconic play ‘Kusum Manohar Lele’ which is about devastating deception and one woman’s obsessive desire for a child. June will also bring to the audience all six episodes of Seema Pahwa’s acclaimed anthology ‘Koi Baat Chale’ with stories by Munshi Premchand, Saadat Hasan Manto and Harishankar Parsai. These classic stories will be read by Manoj Pahwa, Gopal Datt, Vineet Kumar, Vinay Pathak, Vivaan Shah and Sadiya Siddiqui.
In the months to come, the brilliance of KK Raina, Purva Naresh and many more gifted theatre exponents will also be showcased. ZEE5 currently streams multi-genre treats like Shadyantra, ‘Ladies Sangeet’, ‘The Relationship Agreement’, ‘Ok Tata Bye Bye’, ‘Court Martial’, ‘Shireen Shah’ ‘Savita Damodar Paranjape’ and ‘Internal Affairs’. These selections are part of the exhaustive library and are a true celebration of India’s theatrical riches that can be seen in over 190 countries.
Since 2018, Zee Theatre, India’s primary curation and archival platform has expanded the reach of Indian theatre and has aired engrossing teleplays for a discerning audience in search of something more substantial than what mainstream entertainment can offer. Now as ZEE5 takes its teleplays to a global stage, Indian theatre has finally come home in more ways than one.
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.
