Movie Channels
Star Movies to bring back ‘Made In India’ band next month
MUMBAI: The Star network is all set to start 2004 with a bang. Star Movies, Star Plus and Star Gold will showcase a slew of top notch films from January.
Star Movies will bring back its Made In india programme band in the Sunday 9 pm slot. Steven Spielberg’s series Taken completes its run this month. As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the show failed to attract viewers.
The Made in India band should put the channel back in the reckoning at that slot. Earlier this year, the channel had a great deal of success with films like Bend It Like Beckham. One of the films that will be showcased is Mira Nair’s Golden Globe nominated Monsoon Wedding. As the title suggests, different goings on happen during a wedding and secrets are revealed. The film stars Naseerudin Shah and Vasundhara Das. Other films that will be showcased include the coming of age drama Anita & Me, the side splittingly funny Bollywood Hollywood, American Born Confused Desi about Indians in America unsure about their identity, Split Wide Open.
The channel will also continue to showcase blockbusters like the world war II actioner Pearl Harbour, the animated Ice Age, which earlier this year got an Oscar nomination.
Star Plus has lined up a list of films that should make the Bollywood buff salivate for more. Among them is Jism which shot Bipasha Basu into the limelight. The film drew inspiration from the 1981 film Body Heat which in turn was inspired by the Billy Wilder 1944 classic Double Indemnity. Kabir Lal (played by model turned actor John Abraham) is an alcoholic. He practices law in Pondicherry.
Bowled by Sonia’s (Bipasha Basu) bare back and looks, he lusts for her. Sonia, married to a businessman (Gulshan Grover), too reciprocates ‘love’ to him. Together they plan to eliminate her hubby to lead a life of their own. However after the murder of her hubby, Kabir finds out that Sonia has set eyes only on money but not on him.
The other films include Bhoot, Ishq Vshq, Hamara Dil Aapeke Paas Hai, Dum and Kuch To Hai. Meanwhile Star Gold will have dubbed versions of Jackie Chan’s City Hunter Bruce Lee’s The Game of Death and Shaolin Soccer which is one of the biggest hits in Hong Kong.
Movie Channels
Zee5 launches five free FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus India
New genre-led channels bring comedy, drama, horror, classics and South films to Smart TVs.
MUMBAI: Zee5 just turned Samsung Smart TVs into a free entertainment buffet because when premium content costs nothing, even the remote control starts smiling. Zee5 has launched five curated free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus India, making high-quality, genre-specific entertainment available subscription-free to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners across the country.
The five channels now live are:
Zee Comedy Nation – Popular comedy shows and movies
Zee Dil Se – Compelling drama series
ZEE Horror Nights – Horror and supernatural content
ZEE Cine Classic – Timeless Indian films
ZEE South Flix – High-energy South Indian films dubbed in Hindi
All content is drawn from Zee5’s extensive library and programmed in a lean-back, always-on format ideal for large-screen viewing. This launch strengthens Zee5’s Connected TV strategy at a time when 64 per cent of its premium content watch time already comes from connected devices.
Zee5 chief business officer Siju Prabhakaran said, “At Zee5, we believe accessibility and scale will define the next phase of digital entertainment growth in India. Our presence on Samsung TV Plus strengthens our Connected TV strategy, enabling viewers to discover curated, genre-led content in a seamless, free, and premium environment.”
Samsung TV Plus India head of partnerships Kunal Mehta added, “Local partnerships are at the heart of how we grow Samsung TV Plus in India. Zee Entertainment is one of India’s most iconic media brands, and bringing their channels to our service means millions more Samsung Smart TV owners can enjoy premium local content, subscription-free.”
The channels are available directly through the pre-installed Samsung TV Plus app with no login or subscription required. This marks another milestone in Zee5’s CTV expansion and builds on its growing international presence, with Zee channels already available on Samsung TV Plus across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In a streaming world where paywalls often block the fun, Zee5 and Samsung have quietly opened the gates, proving that sometimes the best things in life (and on your TV) really are free especially when they come with a side of comedy, drama, horror, classics and South Indian blockbuster energy.
