GECs
Marinating Films’ Desi Explorers now set to explore Taiwan
MUMBAI: After exploring the cities and places of import in Jordan, Marinating Films Pvt Ltd has now stepped into Taiwan for the second part of its concept of web based tourism. The production house began its journey of the island nation on 11 June. Sarah Khan, Surbhi Jyoti and Jai Soni will be the new explorers of the Taiwan edition along with Sukirti Kandpal, Vrushika Mehta and Kishwar Merchant from the Jordan series.
The Taiwan sojourn will be a 10 episodic series and will go live inline from mid-July on in-house YouTube channel. The Hindi travel show will focus on how a country can have different facets for different characters.
The makers of Desi Explorers say that their team will be exploring Taiwan from north to south for 12 days. Some of the iconic sites that will be covered include Sun Moon Lake, Taroko National Park, Hualien and Taitung among others.
Marinating Films producer Sunny Arora says, “Desi Explorers will give an insight about the countries that our team will travel and the celebrities they travel with. The viewers will get to explore a very different side of their favourite celebrities”
The production house asserts that the Taiwan edition will be a journey that will stand out in the content flow of the digital world. It also has plans to take Desi Explorers to many other countries.
Marinating Films has tied up with the Taiwan Tourism Board. On the promotion front, as in the Jordan season, the team is being accompanied by India TV and ABP News this season also. The making will be featured on popular shows Saas Bahu aur Saazish and Saas Bahu Suspense. Apart from news channels, the series will be pushed on celebrity social media platforms and the digital space. There is also an e-travelogue planned after the season which will be available to read online.
Also, as in the Jordan series, the Taiwan series will also be shot with Canon 5D Mark III cameras’. The series is being directed by Prakash Kunjal and produced by Sunny Arora. The makers claim that this series has already cost close to Rs 1 crore.
Marinating Films is rolling out trailers of the Jordan journey, while the episodes will go online every Friday.
GECs
Sony ties up with EU for MasterChef India finale
GI-tagged European ingredients headline finale week
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has struck what it calls a landmark association with the European Union for the finale week of MasterChef India, marking the first such collaboration between the bloc and an Indian television format.
The tie-up will culminate in the “European Union mystery box challenge”, which opens the much-anticipated finale week. The task will see the top six contestant pairs cook with a curated basket of ingredients bearing geographical indications (GIs) from across EU member states: a nod to provenance as well as palate.
Chef Ajay and Chef Guntas, introduced as chef ambassadors to the European Union, will present the mystery boxes and set the brief: use the fewest ingredients from each category and produce a MasterChef-level dish that marries European produce with Indian flavour sensibilities. Precision and restraint, rather than extravagance, will be tested.
For Sony, the move signals a push towards high-value integrations that blur the line between sponsorship and storytelling. The network said the association underscores the show’s growing global stature and its ability to attract world-renowned institutions to Indian screens.
Chef Ajay Chopra, food ambassador in the European Union, described the collaboration as a strategic opportunity to spotlight the heritage and authenticity of GI-tagged European products to India’s vast food-loving audience.
Over the years, MasterChef India has positioned itself as a gateway to global cuisines. The EU partnership sharpens that pitch, turning the finale into a stage for cross-continental culinary diplomacy.
The finale week will air from 2 March, 2026 at 8 pm on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony Liv.
