iWorld
ZEE5 has announced the ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival
Mumbai: ZEE5 has announced the ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival, an exclusive Diwali celebration featuring family-friendly and dramatic films for free. Running from 24 October to 3 November 2024, this festival aims to bring the joy of the season to screens, offering entertainment in eight languages.
Viewers can enjoy a selection of over 75 premium titles across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali, and Punjabi, reflecting themes of joy, tradition, and togetherness. With ZEE5 available on connected TV, audiences can experience these films with cinema-quality visuals at home.
The 11-day campaign includes notable titles such as Saand Ki Aankh, Uunchai, Chhatriwalli, and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha in Hindi; Paappan and Moothon in Malayalam; Yaar Anmulle Returns, Saas Meri Ne Munda Jameya, and Beautiful Billo in Punjabi; Vimanam, Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava, and Jersey in Telugu; Thothapuri: Chapter 1, Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, and Kurukshetra in Kannada; Basu Poribar, Mini, and Parineeta in Bengali; Yaanai, DD Returns, and Ayothi in Tamil; and Timepass 2, Timepass 3, and Sairat in Marathi.
ZEE5 India CBO Manish Kalra said, “At ZEE5, our constant effort has been to make world-class entertainment more accessible to everyone, while continuously providing greater value to our consumers. Our festive campaigns have always been loved by the audience and we are eager to bring them back this year. For this season, our focus is on expanding the offerings on the platform to ensure a wider family viewing experience. This Diwali, our aim is to make every moment count with the ZEE5 Manoranjan Festival as the one stop destination for festive family entertainment.”
iWorld
Shemaroo buys OHO Gujarati’s entire content library for ShemarooMe
The deal lands over 30 original web series and 450-plus actors on ShemarooMe, with Pratik Gandhi’s Vitthal Teedi leading the charge
MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has moved fast and moved big. The company has snapped up the entire content library of OHO Gujarati for its streaming platform ShemarooMe, a consolidation that has no precedent in the Gujarati OTT market.
The haul is considerable. More than 30 original Gujarati web series, featuring the work of upwards of 450 local actors, will now sit under ShemarooMe’s roof. For a platform that has spent years quietly building its Gujarati credentials, including originals, curated libraries, and culturally rooted narratives, this is the kind of bulk acquisition that changes the competitive arithmetic overnight.
Saurabh Srivastava, chief operating officer for digital business at Shemaroo Entertainment, made clear the company’s ambitions stretch well beyond the subcontinent. “As we bring the well-established catalogue of OHO Gujarati onto ShemarooMe, our focus remains on making high-quality Gujarati stories more accessible while continuing to invest in compelling content,” he said. “With our strong connection to Gujarati viewers across the world, we believe these stories from the OHO catalogue can travel far and create an exciting entertainment offering for viewers.”
The first title out of the traps will be Vitthal Teedi, which hits ShemarooMe on April 10th. The series stars Pratik Gandhi, a name that needs no introduction to Gujarati audiences, and has the distinction of being the only Gujarati web series he has appeared in to date. Set in the heartland of Saurashtra during the 1980s, it traces a small-time gambler torn between personal ideals and the brutal logic of his circumstances. Character-driven, culturally embedded, and backed by a soundtrack featuring folk artists Aditya Gadhvi, Jigardan Gadhavi, and Geeta Rabari, the show arrives with considerable pedigree.
For Shemaroo, the deal fits neatly into a digital growth playbook built on sustainable expansion and deeper regional engagement. The Gujarati diaspora is large, dispersed, and underserved by mainstream streaming giants. If the company can deliver the goods, the OHO library may prove to be the most valuable land-grab in regional OTT this year.
