GECs
Sonyliv 2.0 to produce 100+ original series in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam
Mumbai: Sonyliv has announced its expanding slate of content for 2022. The over-the-top streaming service is going to offer 50+ Hindi and 50+ other language premium content.
Relaunched two years ago during the onset of Covid-19, the OTT platform saw its subscriber base grow from 0.8 million to 18.2 million and is expanding its production slate across languages to maintain its growth momentum.
The streaming platform will soon foray into Tamil originals with its first web-series Meme Boys, Tamil Rockerz followed by originals in Telugu and Malayalam.
The video-on-demand service recently announced that it will be co-producing the Indian adaptation of Israeli show Fauda with Applause Entertainment and has roped director Sudhir Mishra and co-director Sachin Mamta Krishn for the project titled Taanav.
It has also partnered with Nikkhil Advani’s Emmay Entertainment to create the show Freedom at Midnight based on the book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. The writers of the web series are Abhinandan Gupta, Adwitiya Kareng Das and Gundeep Kaur.
Sonyliv also announced the second seasons of its popular web series Avrodh, Maharani, and Rocket Boys. It will also dive deeper into India’s scamverse with Scam 2003: The Telgi Story helmed by directors Hansal Mehta and Tushar Hiranandani and starring Gagan Dev Riar in the lead role.
Scam 2003 is based on the Hindi-language book “Reporter Ki Diary” by journalist Sanjay Singh on the criminal mastermind Abdul Karim Telgi.
The OTT has roped in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari as the showrunner for a poetic love story titled Faadu written by Saumya Joshi and featuring Saiyami Kher and Pavail Gulati.
Sonyliv has already released the teaser for web series Dr. Arora, a dramedy documenting the interesting life and times of a travelling sex consultant directed by Sajid Ali and Archit Kumar and featuring Kumud Mishra, Gaurav Parajuli, Vivek Mushran, Shekhar Suman and more.
It has partnered with director Onir to make Pulwana Key No 1026 based on award-winning author and journalist Rahul Pandita’s book “The Lover Boy of Bahawalpur”.
The streaming platform has partnered with marquee creators such as Soumik Sen for Jazz City ’71 – Fight for Language directed by R S Vimal, Sudhir Mishra for Jehanabad – Jail Break and Heart Break, Vikas Bahl for Good Bad Girl directed by Rajeev Barnwal and Satyanshu Singh, Children of Freedom led by Sudhir Mishra, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Garmi, creator and director Nila Madhav Panda for Jengaburu – A Billion Dollar Curse, Manish Hariprasad for Main Sahir Hoon, Rahul Dholakia for India’s First Election,
For its Tamil content slate, Sonyliv has partnered with Gokul Krishna for Meme Boys created by Rajiv Rajaram and Drishya Gautam and featuring Guru Somasundaram, Badava Gopi, Aadhitya Bhaskar, Siddharth Babu, Jayanth, Namritha and Nikhil Nair. Production partner Rainshine Studios.
TamilRockerz is directed by Arivazhagan and written by Manoj Kumar Kalaivanan and features Arun Vijay, Vani Bhojan, Ishwarya Menon, Azhagam Perumal, Vinodhini Vaidyanathan, MS Bhaskar. The production partner is AVM Productions.
Upcoming line-up of Tamil content includes Karthik Subbaraj led Kaiyum Kalavum created by Rohit Nandakumar and production partner Stonebench. The cast includes Sanchana Natrajan, Rohit Nandakumar, Madonna Sebastian, Senthil, Karu. Pazhaniappan, Ramya Nambeesan, Chaams, Vivek Prasanna and Vijay Adhiraj.
Victim is an anthology series directed by Venkat Prabhu, Chimbudeven, Pa. Ranjith and Rajesh M and produced by Black Ticket productions and Axess Film Factory. It will star Amala Paul, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Guru Somasundaram, Lizzie Anton, Prasanna, Nataraja Subramanian, Thambi Ramaiah, Kalaiarasan Harikrishnan and Nasser M.
Journey directed by Cheran Pandian and produced by Compass8 Films will feature Kalaiarasan Harikrishnan, Prasanna, Aari Arjunan, Divya Bharathi, Anju Kurian, Aadukalam Naren and Kashyap Bharbarya.
There’s also Accidental Farmer & Co. led by showrunner Balaji Mohan and written and directed by Sugan Jay. The producers are Trend Loud & Open window and cast includes Vaibhav Reddy, Ramya Pandian, Vinodhini, Badava Gopi and Chutti Aravind.
Sonyliv will bring back its web series Iru Dhruvam for a second season produced by Applause Entertainment with director Arun Prakash and cast starring Prasanna, Nanda and Abhirami Venkatachalam.
GECs
Asianet Television Awards 2026 celebrates women power in Malayalam TV
“She is the Colour” theme honours icons as ceremony airs on March 14 and 15 at 7 PM.
MUMBAI: If television lights up living rooms, this year Asianet decided to let women provide the colour. The Asianet Television Awards 2026 turned the spotlight firmly on women empowerment with the theme “She is the Colour”, celebrating the strength, resilience and achievements of women who continue to shape society and the Malayalam entertainment industry.
The ceremony honoured several distinguished personalities whose journeys have left a lasting cultural imprint. Among them was legendary playback singer Vimala Varma, widely recognised as the first Malayalam playback singer. The evening also paid tribute to Padma Shri awardees Devaki Amma and Vimala Menon for their exceptional contributions in their respective fields.
Leading women from the Malayalam film industry were also recognised during the event, including actor Shweta Menon, who currently serves as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, and National Award winning actor Surabhi Lakshmi.
The awards ceremony brought together a glittering lineup of actors and industry figures, including Jayasurya, Vijay Babu, Asha Sarath, Lena, Esther Anil, Anumol, Akhila Bhargavan, Sarayu Mohan, Prajod Kalabhavan, Gayathri Suresh, Sabumon Abdusamad, Swasika, Tini Tom, Sijoy Varghese, Kailash, Veena Nandakumar, Sabareesh Varma, Ansiba Hassan and Dinesh Prabhakar. Kishan Kumar, executive vice president Malayalam at JioStar, was also present at the event.
Beyond individual recognitions, the awards celebrated excellence across Malayalam television, acknowledging artists and technicians whose work continues to drive the industry forward.
The evening also offered plenty of spectacle, with elaborate dance performances, stunt acts and comedy skits performed by popular television and film personalities, turning the ceremony into a full fledged entertainment showcase.
Viewers will get to watch the celebrations when the Asianet Television Awards 2026 air on Asianet on March 14 and 15, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 pm onwards, bringing the star studded tribute to homes across Kerala and beyond.
