iWorld
MX Player announces 20 new originals by March 2020
MUMBAI: Bringing viewers stories that matter, stories that are authentic and powerful narratives that evoke emotion – the brand has now announced 20 new originals by March 2020, making it a colossal 35 originals by the end of the business year.
Hosting one of the largest collections of premium content available for video on demand in India, the platform has 1,50,000 hrs of “Everytainment” including content from their partners like SonyLIV, Applause, HoiChoi, SunNxt, TVF, Radio Mirchi, Dice Media and Arre amongst others.
Elaborating on the same, MX Player CEO Karan Bedi said, “To bring alive our next slate of amazing originals, we have collaborated with writers and directors par excellence, a stellar talent pool of superlative performers and stories which are a class apart! With our scale and penetration that is unparalleled in India, we truly have succeeded in building an entertainment ecosystem with widespread appeal.”
Here’s a look at some of its marquee properties for the year.
This November, fans will be treated to a musical extravaganza like none other with the launch of Times of Music which features the who’s who of the music world as a part of the show – including Vishal-Shekhar, Bappi Lahiri, Salim-Sulaiman, Pyarelal-ji, Amit Trivedi, Rajesh Roshan, Agnee, Euphoria, Indian Ocean, Shantanu Moitra and Amaal Malik just to name a few. This series heroes a never-seen-before concept where each episode features two legends – veteran composers and new age artistes – performing their renditions of each other’s most celebrated songs.
An ode to Indian weddings and the shaadi season is an MX Original Series ‘Shaadi Fit’ that traces the journey of 4 young couples who are put through an intensive journey to turn into the best shape of their lives physically, mentally and emotionally for their wedding day.
Investing in regional content across genres and languages, MX Player adds ‘Ek Thi Begum’ and ‘Samantar’ to its Marathi slate. The former is a thrilling revenge drama where a woman, pushed to the brink emerges as a dominant force to avenge her lost husband while ‘Samantar’ is another ambitious regional project featuring the superstar of Marathi cinema – Swapnil Joshi in the lead. The brand is also dabbling with 2 Bhojpuri shows – ‘Madhuri Talkies’ and ‘Runaway Lugaai’, while the Tamil slate brings you the most awaited series by National Award-Winning Director – Gautham Vasudev Menon – ‘Queen’.
‘Call it Magic’ is a crime thriller which stars acclaimed performers like Ranvir Shorey, Akshay Oberoi, Shweta Basu Prasad and Mrinmayee Godbole as the leads and its next is a relationship drama about love in your 20s, 40s and 60s – ‘Pawan and Pooja’ which features an ensemble cast including Mahesh Manjrekar, Deepti Naval, Gul Panag and Sharman Joshi amongst others.
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.
