iWorld
Zee5 looks to drive up subscription with Sunny Leone biopic
MUMBAI: Sunny Leone is back. But this time it’s not her dance moves that will sway you but rather her biopic. Zee5, the over the top (OTT) platform by the zee group, is launching Karenjit Kaur-the untold story of Sunny Leone.
Commenting on the offbeat theme of the biopic Zee5 India CEO Tarun Katial said, “What’s the point of repeating what has been done before?”
The platform has been bullish about original content right from day one. After launching original shows of diverse genres including ZERO Kms, The Story, Babbar ka Tabbar, this platform is set to drive up subscription by adding a biopic. While the biopic is in episodic format, Sunny Leone played her own character.
Zee5 launches 20 originals to drive up subscription
In addition to that, the series will be available in four regional languages including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi which can help it garner fans outside metro cities. Other than focusing on digital marketing, there will be heavy promotion on ZEEL’s network as well as outdoor.
Katial said that all the platforms shows are getting the required traction. “In digital, we want to build some robustness in the user data before we take decisions of preferring one genre over the other. We don’t want to get bracketed and clustered just yet,” he said.
Katial believes that there ample opportunities in getting subscription revenue. “There’s definite room for big subscription revenue. I think you should give more credit to Indians. They didn’t want to shop online but e-commerce is such a major business now,” he commented on the future of the SVOD model.
In the six months of Zee5, the earlier users of OZEE and Ditto TV have been integrated successfully and the platform has already rolled out a global launch. The plan is to market to different geographies on user-based segments, language-based segments and tastes and preferences. Rather than going with a very generalised marketing strategy, the platform is opting for user-based marketing strategy.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
