iWorld
Zee5 unveils ‘India Ka Binge-a-thon’ campaign to celebrate fourth anniversary
Mumbai: Video streaming platform Zee5 has announced the launch of ‘India Ka Binge-a-thon,’ a three-day campaign to celebrate its fourth anniversary between 12 and 14 February.
This initiative is aimed at the platform’s long-standing goal of entertainment inclusion where consumers will get access to the top premium web series and movies across languages for three days for free.
Titles such as “Uri: The Surgical Strike” and “Abhay” in Hindi, “Mulshi Pattern” in Marathi, “Lalbazaar” in Bangla, “Geetha Govindam” in Telugu, “Ka Pae Ranasingam” in Tamil, “Madhura Raja” in Malayalam, and “Kalidasa Kannada Meshtru” in Kannada, amongst a host of others, will be freely available as a part of the celebratory offer.
Also in store for the upcoming event is another offering called ‘Zee5 Spark,’ which in partnership with Indie producers and digital content creators, aims to bolster the platform’s AVOD content library. ‘Spark’ has been launched to attract new viewers, especially the youth, onto the platform for a long-term duration with short films and web series that are free to stream.
“With OTT growing in prominence, content consumption got democratised, paving the way for creators to explore and expand the narrative with newer concepts and genres that have led to several consumer cohorts consuming differentiated content on the platform,” observed Zee5 CCO Hindi originals Nimisha Pandey. “Factors such as the shift in demand for authentic stories, the success of women-centric narratives, growth of family entertainment, genre-bending shows and acceptance of characters with multiple layers and shades have ushered in many industry firsts in content.”
In addition to popular series such as “Holiday,” “Ready 2 Mingle,” “Dude,” “The Great Indian Wedding,” and “Happily Ever After,” short films like “Baarish Aur Chowmein,” “Half Full,” “Khujli,” “Kheer” and others, starring popular actors Taapsee Pannu, Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta and Jackie Shroff will be available for AVOD users under Spark.
Over the past 12 months, Zee5 has become the highest growing OTT platform in India as per AppAnnie’s latest industry report. The platform claims to have 101.9 million monthly active users (MAU) and 9.6 million global daily active users (DAUs) as of December 2021. Zee5 users watched an average of 201 minutes of content per month during the last quarter, with the platform releasing 51 shows and movies, including 11 originals during the period
“We are entering our fourth year with great enthusiasm and vigour, riding high on the last one year which has been a blockbuster,” said Zee5 India CBO Manish Kalra. “The response from the last four years of our operations has been phenomenal as we trotted into new markets, partnered with industry stalwarts, introduced many firsts and moved a little closer to our goal of deeper regionalisation and entertainment inclusion.”
“This year is going to be even bigger and better as we expand our content library further with premium offerings, improve our user experience, activate more value-driven partnerships, and set new industry standards. As the multilingual storyteller of India and Bharat alike, we will continue to focus on entertainment inclusion by producing relatable and entertaining content, keeping our diverse audience in mind,” he further added.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
