iWorld
Star disrupts programming; moves Plus’ youth show ‘Badtameez Dil’ to hotstar
MUMBAI: ’Tis the age of disruption and leading from the forefront is Star India. Even as media pundits have been shouting from rooftops about how over-the-top (OTT) platforms are poised to disrupt the Pay TV business, Star Plus has gone ahead and done the unthinkable.
In a first of sorts, the network is uprooting Star Plus’ youth fiction show Phir Bhi Na Mane Badtameez Dil from the channel and moving it exclusively to its OTT platform – hotstar.
The show will be available on hotstar exclusively from Monday, 28 September. New episodes of the show will be released every weekday morning.
Produced by Tequila Shot Productions’ Saurabh Tewary, Star Plus launched the show on-air on 29 June. It was being aired six days a week from Monday to Saturday in the 8.30 pm slot.
In an earlier interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Tewary had said that it would be a finite show with 300-350 episodes. “It is impossible to narrate a love story for ages and ages. Love stories are always finite shows and cannot be kept running for a longer period otherwise the show will lose its relevance and visibility,” he had said.
While internationally, seasons of shows like House of Cards amongst others have been exclusively released on the online platform Netflix, India is just waking up to the OTT game. A few baby steps have been taken by Indian OTT players like Sony Liv, ErosNow, DittoTV etc to churn out innovative and exclusive original content for the platform. However, this is the first time that a show from a linear channel is being uprooted and put on an OTT platform.
Phir Bhi Na Maane… Badtameez Dil is a love story between a VJ and a business head. The story revolves around the two, who get separated because of their misunderstandings and the manipulations of others only to meet again after seven years to resolve unsettled issues.
Star India has taken this step keeping in mind the fan following that Phir Bhi Na Mane Badtameez Dil has attracted on hotstar amongst digital users in the 18-24 age group.
The OTT space in India is rapidly picking up pace with companies churning out innovations and exclusive content. With competition heating up amongst players, disruption will be the only way forward to stay ahead in the game.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
