iWorld
Planet Marathi OTT brings on Oscar jurist Ujwal Nirgudkar
MUMBAI: Planet Marathi’s OTT platform has been going from strength to strength. After onboarding seasoned entertainment prodigy Amit Bhandari and a considerable investment from Singapore-based Vistas Media Capital, Planet Marathi has roped in Academy Award jurist Ujwal Nirgudkar to serve as an advisor.
Ujwal Nirgudkar is the first Indian to be invited by the Academy to join as a member in the technical category (Members-At-Large) in 2017. He was pivotal in bringing Oscars president John Bailey to India in 2019 and opening the avenues of global recognition for the Indian film industry. Being a dignified industry fellow who has dedicated his life to nurturing the heritage, technology, and art of motion pictures globally, he is an asset to the Planet Marathi team. His role with Planet Marathi would be in an advisory capacity to take Marathi content, talent, and filmmaking art, to global heights. During his career, he has won several accolades his accolades of a number of fellowships and national-International awards for his work in preserving, restoring, and transcribing great works of art.
Nirgudkar said, “I am very happy to join Planet Marathi as an advisor. Marathi language has a rich content in the form of literature, which is still not explored to its full potential. Planet Marathi’s OTT platform has the technology and marketing capabilities to make it possible.”
Planet Marathi CMD Akshay Bardapurkar said, “The way Marathi industry has worked over the years needed a nudge in the right direction. We have immense talent, state of the art filmmaking technology, expertise that can create meaningful and entertaining content, yet we lacked the skill to package our art and pull the audiences to the theatres. Planet Marathi OTT revolutionises the way Marathi films, shows, and digital content is marketed, presented, and consumed. The recent association with Ujwal Nirgudkar is going to give Planet Marathi the right resources, expertise, and fuel to grow. I am glad that not just Marathi or Hindi, but global bigwigs demonstrated their faith in a Marathi platform understanding the value that we bring to the table.”
The recent developments in Planet Marathi OTT’s portfolio have piqued the curiosity of entertainment enthusiasts, industry professionals, filmmakers, investors, and audiences globally. There is an eagerness to experience the Planet Marathi OTT platform and the positive momentum it brings to the Marathi entertainment industry.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
