iWorld
SonyLIV, Applause Entertainment announce first Tamil original ‘Iru Dhuruvam’
MUMBAI : Startled at the sudden disappearance of his wife Geetha, Viktor an astute cop gets cracking on the case. But as he probes deeper, a series of gruesome murders put the entire city in panic leaving him in a predicament. What will he do next? SonyLIV, India’s first premium video on demand (VOD) platform along with Applause Entertainment, a venture of the Aditya Birla Group announced the launch of their first Tamil original ‘Iru Dhuruvam’ premiering on SonyLIV.
Produced for Applause Entertainment by Pramod Cheruvalath’s Sign of Life Productions, the show which means ‘bipolar’ is directed and written by M Kumaran. The show begins with a series of horrific murders that put the city in a state of shock and chaos overnight. It turns out to be the work of a serial killer who quotes couplets from the “Thirukkural” (a classic Tamil text) as clues, leaving everyone at sixes and sevens. Inspector David Viktor, a hawk-eyed cop is assigned to hunt down the killer. But what happens when the hunter himself becomes a prey? As Viktor gets embroiled deeper into this strange turn of events, little does he know what lies ahead for him. While investigating the brutal murders, he himself is under the scanner for his wife’s mysterious disappearance. Is there a connection between these two events? Will this investigation lead him to his wife? The gripping series will see inspector Viktor encountering all details that will put him at crossroads of his professional and personal life.
Running over 9 episodes, Iru Dhuruvam features actors Nandha Durairaj – one of the first popular Tamil actors venturing into the OTT space post a hiatus, Abhirami Iyer – former Miss Tamil Nadu who is a popular face in the Tamil web space, the young YouTube sensation Abdool and popular theatre and film artist Sebastin, Anisha in lead roles of this nail-biting web series, that is sure to leave you on the edge of your seat and hooked on till the end.
Iru Dhuruvam is SonyLIV’s second content offering for its Tamil audience. Post its foray in the market in May 2019, the platform recently launched the Tamil version of its marquee show Crime Patrol with actor Ganesh Venkatraman that has got the audience talking. With tailormade stories like Iru Dhuruvam, Crime Patrol, My Marappu, Cookies and the upcoming Tamil original Aivar amongst others SonyLIV plans to pique the interest of its Tamil audience by engaging them with localised content rooted in Tamil traditions and sensibilities. Additionally, some of the most popular shows from SonyLIV include TVF originals such as Pitchers, Permanent Roommates, Tripling, along with over 40 iconic shows from Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) content library like CID, Patiala Babes, Ladies Special, Aladdin, Beyhadh amongst others are available in Tamil to the audience for a customized entertainment experience.
Uday Sodhi Business Head Digital Sony Pictures Networks India said, “This partnership with Applause Entertainment blends our in-depth consumer understanding with their finesse in storytelling. With ‘Iru Dhuruvam’, we plan to scale up our Tamil offerings and be the go to OTT destination for the local audience. In a cluttered market like India, such collaborations are a leap towards an evolved ecosystem and will strengthen our promise of delivering cutting edge stories in the digital space. We look forward to a long term and fruitful association with Applause Entertainment as we collaborate to diversify our content offerings for the region.”
Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment said, “India is a mass of niches and at Applause we want to build a diverse content repertoire to appeal to every audience palate. The launch of ‘Iru Dhuruvam’ is a step towards that direction. It marks our foray into regional content and is the first Tamil original partnership for Applause Entertainment and SonyLIV. We are excited to associate with SonyLIV and commence our journey of localized content through this show.”
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
