iWorld
Laqshya Event Capital announces ‘Event Originals’ division
Mumbai: Laqshya Event Capital (LEC) has announced its expansion with the introduction of a new business vertical called ‘Event Originals’. This new vertical will see the creation of original fiction and non-fiction content connected to IPs owned by LEC.
LEC’s newly appointed CEO Shyam Chhabria, previously the COO and head of branded content at the company, will be at the forefront of this diversification and expansion.
This move has made the company the first mover in the space of event IPs to produce original content on a solid scale. It will be mainly created for OTT, digital, film, and other mainstream platforms, the company said in a statement of Thursday.
A soon-to-be-launched IP will cater to the southern Indian music community producing non-fiction format series that covers music-rich landscapes of southern India. The series will feature famous celebrity mentors and rising singing talent across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada languages, it added.
Speaking about the vision of expansion, Shyam Chhabria said, “This move is in line with our vision to build well-rounded, 360 degree IPs. We want to build innovative and high converting content that audiences can relate to and brands can associate with. We aim to deliver customised and personalized customer experiences that are united whether offline or online. With this expansion in content, our goal is to create offerings for a wide spectrum of audiences, which will help us solidify our existing communities and play a role in developing new communities.”
Elaborating on the expansion, LEC founder & director Deepak Choudhary said, “We are celebrating eight years of being in the event industry, and what better way to mark this milestone than to introduce new verticals. In the past eight years, we have had major success with our on-ground events and when the pandemic hit, we were able to seamlessly transition to virtual events. Today, we are confident to step into the world of digital content and hope to conquer this space with our original and innovative, IP-led content creations. We’re also thrilled to have an ace brand strategist like Shyam leading Event Capital as CEO on this new path. He has led major innovations across events and content and is sure to add immense value to our new avatar.”
LEC recently joined hands with Mango People Media and together they will co-create content slates across different genres for ‘Event Originals’. Along with the content vertical, LEC’s IPs will also introduce interactive digital extensions, gamified options, and other experiential digital formats for its popular IPs.
iWorld
Samay Raina returns with Still Alive, confronts 2025 controversy in bold comeback special
Comeback set tackles controversy, blending humour with raw storytelling
MUMBAI: Samay Raina is set to release his new stand-up comedy special, Still Alive, on YouTube on April 7, 2026, marking a high-profile return following a turbulent year.
The trailer for the special dropped on April 5, offering a glimpse into what Raina describes as a raw and unfiltered set that leans as much on honesty as it does on humour.
Positioned as a comeback of sorts, Still Alive draws heavily from the controversy surrounding his show India’s Got Latent in early 2025. The episode led to legal trouble, multiple FIRs, and a lengthy six-hour interrogation by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell, placing the comedian at the centre of intense public scrutiny.
Rather than sidestep the episode, Raina leans into it. The special reflects on the fallout and his personal journey through it, blending observational comedy with moments of emotional candour. Early audience feedback from live performances suggests the tone is less about rapid-fire punchlines and more about storytelling with bite.
The special was filmed during his global Still Alive & Unfiltered tour, which ran from August 2025 to early 2026. The tour saw Raina perform across major international venues, including the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York, a milestone that places him among the youngest Indian comedians to take that stage.
The title itself signals resilience. “Still Alive” is a nod to navigating both legal and public backlash while choosing to remain unapologetically authentic, a theme that appears to anchor the set.
With the special set to premiere online, all eyes are now on how audiences respond to a performance that promises equal parts reflection and wit. For Raina, the message is clear. He is not just back, he is ready to be heard on his own terms.
