iWorld
Royal Stag BoomBox returns with music, gaming and big beats
MUMBAI: Seagram’s Royal Stag BoomBox, India’s iconic live music festival, is back and bigger than ever. Season Four promises to unite fans across four cities: Kolkata, Vizag, Mumbai and Mohali, for an unforgettable celebration of music, fashion, food and gaming.
Kicking off on 21 February in Kolkata, the festival will travel to Vizag on 7 March, Mumbai on 14 March and Mohali on 28 March. Since its inception, BoomBox has redefined India’s live music scene by blending Bollywood’s timeless melodies with the energy of hip-hop, creating a one-of-a-kind experience for the youth.
This year, fans can look forward to chart-topping performances from rap sensation Badshah, pop icons Armaan Malik and Divine, melodious voices like Neeti Mohan, Nikhita Gandhi, Rashmeet Kaur and Sreerama Chandra, and the legendary band Fossils. Hip-hop heavyweights Raftaar and Dino James, along with DJ Sahil Gulati, will keep the beats pulsing. Adding a new twist, gaming star Payal Dhare will host an action-packed gaming face-off, making the festival a full-on cultural extravaganza.
Tickets are now available on Skillbox, renowned for its immersive sound and lighting, interactive fan zones and vibrant cultural showcases, Royal Stag BoomBox brings the spirit of each city to life, giving audiences more than just a concert, a true celebration of youth culture.
iWorld
Applause, Story TV team up to push microdrama content
Partnership to create premium short form shows for mobile first viewers
MUMBAI: Applause Entertainment and Story TV are betting on short attention spans with a long-term vision, joining forces to create a slate of premium microdramas for mobile-first audiences.
The partnership brings together Applause’s storytelling pedigree and Story TV’s fast-growing digital reach, with plans to co-produce and distribute bite-sized dramas across genres. As part of the deal, Story TV will also adapt the romantic thriller Hello Mini into a vertical microdrama format, signalling a shift in how stories are being reshaped for smaller screens.
Backed by the Aditya Birla Group, Applause Entertainment has built a reputation for high-quality content with titles like Scam 1992 and Criminal Justice. Story TV, launched in 2025, has quickly scaled up with a library of over 1,000 titles across languages and genres, riding the wave of mobile consumption.
Story TV founder and CEO Saurabh Pandey said, “Phones are now the primary screens for content consumption, and microdramas are evolving into a mainstream format. At Story TV, we are blending storytelling with technology to push this format further.”
He added that the collaboration with Applause Entertainment will help expand the reach of microdramas while introducing a layer of premium storytelling to the space.
Applause Entertainment chief business officer Prasoon Garg said, “At Applause, we have always focused on strong storytelling across formats. As microdramas gain momentum, this partnership allows us to explore the space with a platform that understands both the format and its audience.”
With mobile screens shrinking and content getting sharper, the collaboration hints at a future where storytelling is not just shorter, but smarter, designed to fit neatly into the scroll of everyday life.
