Hindi
World Storytelling Day Special: From humor to inspirational, check out these four entertaining stories
Mumbai: Sudhanshu Rai has weaved magic with his stories that are more than 500 in number. While Detective Boomrah and Dr Shekhawat are popular characters created by him, thrillers and horror mysteries by Sudhanshu are lapped up by the audience. However, Sudhanshu shows his versatility as his other stories are also equally popular among the masses. From humor to inspirational stories, Sudhanshu enthralls the listeners with every word of his. So here are some stories by Sudhanshu Rai that you can enjoy on World Storytelling Day.
Bhai Sahab Chale Bangkok
Set in a village of Uttar Pradesh, this story revolves around Bhai Sahab, a teacher who has never set foot outside his village but is widely respected for his ethics, knowledge and benevolence. His world turns upside down after one of his student’s father who happens to be a travel agent gifts him a tour to Bangkok. As the news spreads like a wildfire, the teacher becomes the subject of gossip. Unware of the fun that Bangkok offers, the teacher decides to go ahead and revels in the pride of his first foreign visit. Ram & Bhagat, two of his notorious friends who have travelled till the outskirts of Lucknow but claim in their village to be urbanely, suggest Bhai Sahab that he should not venture alone to a foreign destination. After much deliberations teacher decides to tag them along. This trip to Bangkok turns out to be a life changing event for him, who grapples to come to terms with the diversity while keeping intact his principles and habits.
Adhyapak Ram
This is the story of a teacher who has devoted his life to teaching the less fortunate kids in a remote village. For more than two decades, the man has been changing the lives of hundreds of people by helping them get educated. But when he is asked to leave his home for more than 20 years by government officials, he suffers the greatest blow of his life. In the last stages of his life, the small things that mean the most to him—like a banyan tree—will no longer be by his side. However, when a high-ranking government official pays him a visit, something unexpected occurs. Will the memories of life turn into mere nostalgia for him? Or will his good deeds reward him? You are sure to get inspired with this heart-touching story by Sudhanshu Rai.
Mangu Chitrakaar
The touching tale of Mangu Chitrakaar is about a young child who was raised by his maternal grandmother after experiencing the death of both parents at a young age. His ability to communicate with paint and canvas, a god-gifted talent, is what sets him apart. When his poverty forces him to part from his grandmother, it is devastating. The distance is easy for neither of them, for they were inseparable when together. But because of his talent and enthusiasm, he makes sure that he returns stronger than before. He ensures that the tears flowing from his grandmother’s eyes are that of happiness, not sadness.
Pappan Bata Gappan
This Hindi horror comedy is set in the small tourist hamlet of Panpan. Pappan and Gappan, two street smart guides, want to earn quick money. They start fooling tourists by taking them to an abandoned train coach. Encountering weird and dark events, their journey becomes a nightmare as they face the unseen. The story is in two parts and keeps the listeners hooked on till the very end.
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
