iWorld
SonyLIV goes big to retain buzz around Scam 1992
KOLKATA: Amongst the homegrown OTT players, SonyLIV was late to enter the original content space. After its recent rebranding, the OTT platform has made a splash, especially with the launch of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story. Following its success, the platform is leaving no stone unturned to retain the buzz around the show.
On Saturday, SonyLIV published a four-page advertorial in The Times of India. The separate sheet of the feature contains interviews with actors, the production house, the director, and a review of the show along with the promotion of other original content on the platform. It further included original headlines from newspapers around the scam and photographs of Sucheta Dalal, Harshad Mehta and his lawyers.
The content was exclusively created and served as a teaser for the audiences to watch the show on SonyLiv.
While it is not the first time when an OTT player is promoting a new show, but it is one of the rare occasions, when any OTT player has taken the content route in the print media to promote a show.
Use images of news papers attached
The 10-part series began streaming on SonyLIV, from 9 October. It is one of the highest-rated shows on IMDB in India (9.6) and has bagged a place among the top 50 television shows globally. With phenomenal ratings and record-breaking performance, the show has made it to the list of the top five OTT shows for the last week of October, according to a streaming tracker by Ormax Media. Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story was the second on the list with 6.6 million views.
The show has received a remarkable response from audiences for gripping performances from Pratik Gandhi and Shreya Dhanwanthary, stellar direction by Hansal Mehta, and an exceptional script written by Sumit Purohit, Saurav Dey, Vaibhav Vishal and Karan Vyas.
iWorld
Samay Raina returns with Still Alive, confronts 2025 controversy in bold comeback special
Comeback set tackles controversy, blending humour with raw storytelling
MUMBAI: Samay Raina is set to release his new stand-up comedy special, Still Alive, on YouTube on April 7, 2026, marking a high-profile return following a turbulent year.
The trailer for the special dropped on April 5, offering a glimpse into what Raina describes as a raw and unfiltered set that leans as much on honesty as it does on humour.
Positioned as a comeback of sorts, Still Alive draws heavily from the controversy surrounding his show India’s Got Latent in early 2025. The episode led to legal trouble, multiple FIRs, and a lengthy six-hour interrogation by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell, placing the comedian at the centre of intense public scrutiny.
Rather than sidestep the episode, Raina leans into it. The special reflects on the fallout and his personal journey through it, blending observational comedy with moments of emotional candour. Early audience feedback from live performances suggests the tone is less about rapid-fire punchlines and more about storytelling with bite.
The special was filmed during his global Still Alive & Unfiltered tour, which ran from August 2025 to early 2026. The tour saw Raina perform across major international venues, including the Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York, a milestone that places him among the youngest Indian comedians to take that stage.
The title itself signals resilience. “Still Alive” is a nod to navigating both legal and public backlash while choosing to remain unapologetically authentic, a theme that appears to anchor the set.
With the special set to premiere online, all eyes are now on how audiences respond to a performance that promises equal parts reflection and wit. For Raina, the message is clear. He is not just back, he is ready to be heard on his own terms.
