iWorld
Hungama Play launches ‘Comedycha Raada’
MUMBAI: Hungama Play, a leading video-on-demand platform owned by Hungama Digital Media, today launched ‘Comedycha Raada’, a Hungama Original featuring stand-up comedy acts in Marathi. The show includes 10 episodes and features a total of 21 aspiring comedians performing fresh, topical and relatable acts that cover a wide range of themes including satire, slice of life, abstract topics and more. Hosted by the versatile Marathi actor, Pranav Raorane, ‘Comedycha Raada’ is created and produced by CafeMarathi.
Starting today, the show will be available to stream on Hungama Play, Hungama’s video on demand platform. It will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Airtel Xstream App, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge, MX Player and Android TVs. Additionally, Hungama’s association with Xiaomi will enable consumers to watch the show via Hungama Play on Mi TV.
Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy said, “With Hungama Originals, we have created a diverse library of multilingual and multi-genre content. There is an immense demand for stand-up comedy in regional languages and we are glad to offer Comedycha Raada, a show that is local, funny and relatable. At a time when Maharashtra and the entire country is staying at home to practice social distancing, we are certain that our stand-up comedy special will offer the audiences an easy way to entertain themselves from the safety of their homes.”
CafeMarathi Co-founder & CEO Nikhil Raibole commented, “We are delighted to work with Hungama Play again and offer a new original show that provides a huge platform to budding comedians in Maharashtra. We are certain that Hungama Play’s strong distribution network will help deliver the stand-up comedy special to a diverse audience. Given the current situation, I hope that Comedycha Raada succeeds in bringing entertainment and humour in people’s lives.”
Talking about his involvement in the show, Pranav Raorane said, “I feel glad to have been the host of the show. Maharasthra has immense talent and it is heartening to see platforms like Hungama Play and CafeMarathi come together to promote regional comedians. I am certain that the audiences will enjoy watching the show, as much as I enjoyed working on it.”
Comedians performing in Comedycha Raada include Ramdas Tekale, Nishant Ajbele, Saish Gotekar, Akash Khedkar, Akshay Kokane, Chirantan Lonkar, Swapnil Jadhav, Yogesh Khedkar, Mandar Patil, Spandan Ambekar, Tejas Ghadigaonkar, Kishor Salunkhe, Shriram Parve, Prashant Wakode, Vinay Natekar, Sukeshini Waghmare, Prashant Manore, Sachin Bhilare, Anand Kulkarni, Vilas Panchal and Aditya Sawant.
iWorld
Ankuur Rajesh Kapila named national sales head – India at ZEE5 & digital
Former sports-gamification executive to drive revenue strategy and digital monetisation across India
MUMBAI: A seasoned dealmaker across television, sport and digital, Kapila steps in as national sales head – India, charged with sharpening revenue strategy, widening market reach and deepening digital monetisation. The mandate is clear: convert scale into sales and attention into advertising.
The move bolsters the streaming ambitions of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited as competition intensifies in India’s crowded OTT market. The focus will be on stronger advertiser tie-ups, smarter packaging and monetisation that keeps pace with shifting viewer habits.
Kapila arrives from JioStar India Pvt. Ltd., where as vice president – sports gamification he helped scale Jeeto Dhan Dhana Dhan into one of the country’s largest live play-along ecosystems. During the Indian Premier League and major international tournaments, the platform engaged over 300 million fans, blending branded integrations with sponsorship-led revenues.
The appointment also marks a homecoming. Across a 14-year earlier stint at the company, Kapila handled brand solutions across regions and genres, led key account management for the GEC cluster and oversaw programming and content acquisition at Zee Studio. Few executives have worked as many sides of the revenue engine.
For ZEE5, the signal is unmistakable: monetisation is back in the spotlight. With advertisers chasing measurable impact and platforms chasing profitability, Kapila’s brief is to make growth pay. In the streaming wars, scale is vanity, revenue is sanity, and momentum is everything.
