iWorld
Red Chillies taps into young audience for ‘Dilwale’ via Hotstar tie-up
MUMBAI: Red Chillies Entertainment’s Shah Rukh Khan – Kajol starrer Dilwale in association with Rohit Shetty Productions has drawn up a comprehensive plan to reach young digital audiences by inking a strategic marketing alliance with Star India’s over the top (OTT) platform Hotstar.
Dilwale’s promotions on Hotstar kid-started almost five weeks before its scheduled release.
The production house has employed a start-to-end approach, which is showcasing all the great video elements released – starting from the trailer to two song videos and entertaining behind-the-scenes videos. Additionally, a one-hour video with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol for Hotstar’s original show M Bole Toh has also been specially shot. The content momentum will be sustained right through the release weekend from Friday – Sunday.
Dilwale content will also reach Hotstar’s film-lovers worldwide through Hotstar.com, with cross promotions across the Star network’s international TV channels. The TV cross-promotions of the Dilwale content on Hotstar will also roll out in India across Star Network channels.
The Dilwale content will also be cross promoted across tentpole hotstar properties like On Air with AIB, Cricket, ISL and EPL amongst others.
Dilwale marks the return of Khan and Kajol on screen. The movie, directed by Shetty, also stars Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon.
Red Chillies Entertainment CEO Venky Mysore said, “Dilwale is the biggest film we have made and therefore we decided to promote it across all platforms, especially via Hotstar. Hotstar is a unique platform for a large, fast-growing and important young digitally active audience, which is an important segment for any film marketer today. We have taken a pure content-driven approach with several Dilwale video elements. We are delighted with the great response and the reception it is receiving through Hotstar – both in India and, through its website, across the world.”
Hotstar head Ajit Mohan added, “We are delighted to partner with Dilwale to introduce an exciting movie to our audiences in India and across the world through hotstar. Hotstar is introducing a whole new way of promoting and marketing a movie premiere, and I must compliment Red Chillies Entertainment for their strategic, and brave new approach to reach a large and young digital audience in India and worldwide.”
iWorld
Epic Company launches unified Epic Studio for films and OTT
Vivek Krishnani to head films business; Samar Khan leads OTT & Television.
MUMBAI: Epic just merged its creative superheroes under one cape because when films and OTT need to fight for attention together, you don’t keep them in separate universes. The Epic Company has launched Epic Studio, a next-generation creative and production powerhouse that unites Juggernaut Productions and Movieverse Studio under a single banner. The move creates a streamlined, scalable platform for premium storytelling across theatrical films, OTT originals, television, digital-first formats and branded content.
Vivek Krishnani has been appointed chief executive officer, Epic Studio (Films), overseeing the theatrical and film business with a focus on culturally resonant narratives across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Malayalam cinema. Samar Khan continues as chief executive officer, Epic Studio (OTT & Television) and retains his role as chief content officer for Docubay and Epic On.
The Epic Company managing director Aditya Pittie said, “Epic Studio brings together our entire creative ecosystem under one unified studio vision. This is not just an integration of verticals, but the creation of a collaborative environment where writers, filmmakers, creators, and brand partners can seamlessly develop and scale stories across formats and screens.”
Vivek Krishnani added, “We are building an audience-focused mainstream film studio committed to delivering fresh, engaging, and innovative stories for both theatrical and streaming platforms.”
Samar Khan commented, “This alignment allows us to approach storytelling with a unified studio mindset. We are building IP under one creative umbrella, with scale and longevity in mind from inception.”
The unified structure eliminates silos, enabling ideas to flow fluidly from concept to screen while adapting to evolving audience behaviour. Epic Studio positions itself as a creator-led ecosystem championing purposeful, resonant storytelling with commercial strength.
In an entertainment landscape where stories now leap between screens faster than plot twists, Epic isn’t just building a studio, it’s crafting a single launchpad where every tale gets the best shot at soaring across every platform.
