GECs
Star Plus targets common man with ‘Dance +’
MUMBAI: From dance battles to face-offs, Star Plus is all set to find new dancing stars across the country. An open stage forum for solo, couple and group performers, Dance + (Dance Plus) aims to be a hard core dance reality show.
The new talent hunt is produced by Frames Productions.
According to Frames Productions founder Ranjeet Thakur, dance is a much loved genre in India for everybody. After the star studded dance show Nach Baliye (currently on-air), the channel wanted to target the common man. It can be recalled that in the year 2013, the channel had tried its hands with a common man’s dance programme in India’s Dancing Superstar (IDS).
“After IDS, Star wanted to re-format a little, jazz it up in a different style and this is how Dance + was born. We came up with the idea of doing the show wherein solos, duo’s and groups will be performing with mentorship,” explains Thakur.
The makers have roped in talented choreographer Remo D’Souza who will don the hat of a super judge. Moreover, the show will have three mentors Dharmesh Yelande, Shakti Mohan and Sumeet Nagdev who will be guiding and teaching the contestants and choreographing the act. “The idea was to have a dance show which would blend the dancing talent of a common man with the expertise of the mentor,” asserts Thakur.
Just Dance
The makers have been working on the show for the past one year. “Considering all factors like understanding the market, developing it, understanding the kind of dancers and talent that we can get etc, it has taken us over a year,” informs Thakur.
Thakur believes that it is very important to get talent from across India on a show like this. The talent hunt has traveled to 18 odd cities and reached out to maximum people. This apart, the show also travelled to smaller towns, conducting silent auditions for six months to get the best of talent.
Auditions started from 3 June in Guwahati followed by Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Vadodara, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru and Mumbai being the last destination on 28 June.
To top it all, digital auditions were conducted by Frames in-house. “Because we have our own network also for finding talent, we knew our own talent, co-coordinators and people across India. Many people are sending us their dance videos even now,” he says.
The 12-week series will have the channel first airing audition episodes followed by the mega audition episodes. The grand premier will have top 12 contestants divided into three teams (four in each) who will then battle it out for the title.
The show will go on floors in July and will be shot at Yash Raj Studios, Mumbai. It plans to go on-air by end of July or first week of August.
GECs
Samsung TV Plus launches Kings of Comedy channel
New free FAST channel brings iconic Hindi comedy shows to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners.
MUMBAI: Samsung TV Plus has just turned up the laughter volume and it’s completely free. The leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service in India has launched Kings of Comedy, a premium comedy channel featuring some of the country’s most beloved primetime shows. Available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus, the channel delivers back-to-back hits including Comedy Nights with Kapil, Khatra Khatra Khatra, and Comedy Nights Bachao, with no login or subscription required.
The launch marks a milestone for free streaming in India, offering audiences a dedicated comedy destination directly from their Samsung TV home screen. It arrives as Samsung TV Plus India celebrates its 5th anniversary, during which the service has grown its monthly active users by 42 per cent and more than doubled its total viewing hours. The platform now offers over 180 free channels across 14 languages.
Samsung TV Plus India general manager and head of business development Kunal Mehta said, “Comedy is the heartbeat of Hindi entertainment, and Kings of Comedy brings together the shows Indians already love, completely free on their Samsung TV. Our focus remains the same take the content people know and make it effortless to access.”
Globally, Samsung TV Plus has surpassed 100 million monthly active users across more than 4,500 channels, solidifying its position as one of the world’s leading free streaming services.
Kings of Comedy is now available on all compatible Samsung Smart TVs. For viewers seeking non-stop laughter without any cost, this new channel delivers a royal treat proving that sometimes the best entertainment really does come with no strings (or subscriptions) attached.
