India’s Zee To Cut 15% Of Staff, CEO Punit Goenka Proposes “Lean” Board Structure

Priyanka Chopra-Produced Doc Debuting On Prime Video India

Naman Ramachandran Billionaire Mukesh Ambani‘s streamer JioCinema is making a play to become India’s top streaming service by introducing cheap premium tier plans. From April 25, the service’s existing INR999 ($12) annual plan for international premium content is being replaced by a monthly plan of INR29 (35 cents) for a single device or INR89 ($1.05) monthly for a family plan that covers four devices. The new plans are branded JioCinema Premium and will be up to 4K streaming quality.

EXCLUSIVE: Indian actress Sayani Gupta has signed with Crimson Media and The SB Initiative for worldwide representation.

Netflix has boarded BBC Three’s upcoming YA adaptation of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder starring Wednesday’s Emma Myers.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amazon’s free-of charge, ad-supported streaming platform that is only available in India, miniTV, is expanding its reach within the country. It is adding 200 shows for regional audiences and speakers of Tamil and Telugu. The new line-up of dubbed titles includes marquee and fan-favourite Hindi originals including “Hunter- Tootega Nahi Todega,” “Physics Wallah,” action-packed patriotic series “Rakshak- India’s Braves,” and young romance series “Highway Love.” Hollywood titles dubbed into Tamil and Telugu will include library titles “Twilight,” “Now You See Me,” the “Hunger Games” series, the “Step Up” franchise films and “Red.” miniTV will also upload Korean, Turkish and Mandarin shows dubbed in Tamil and Telugu languages.

EXCLUSIVE: Metrograph Pictures announced on Wednesday that Good One — the first feature from writer-director India Donaldson, which premiered to rave reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival — will open in theaters nationwide on August 9.

Swiss Films Previews, the only spread of national movies at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel, the country’s leading doc festival. Presented via excerpts at a two-hour showcase on Wednesday, three further titles – “Kalari – the Martial Art of Female Power,” “The Boy from the River Drina” and “Spheres” – underscored the strength in depth of documentary filmmaking in Switzerland and at least in this year’s Previews, a leitmotif.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the disappointed bride in the failed engagement between Zee and Sony India, has formally ended its quest for a merger. On Tuesday, it withdrew its application before the industry regulator National Company Law Tribunal and said that it will focus instead on internal growth.

Cannes parallel section Directors’ Fortnight has unveiled the line-up for its 56th edition running from May 15 to 23, at a press conference in Paris’s Forum des Images cultural center.

Naman Ramachandran Anil Thadani’s AA Films has acquired the Hindi-language distribution rights for four highly anticipated 2024 southern Indian titles. The films are: Sukumar’s “Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2,” starring Allu Arjun; Shankar’s “Game Changer,” headlined by Ram Charan; Nag Ashwin’s “Kalki 2898 AD” led by Prabhas; and Koratala Siva’s “Devara,” starring NTR Jr. All these films are originally made in the Telugu language but will also be released across India and the world in several Indian languages, including Hindi.

India–Taiwan co-production “Demon Hunters” will be unveiled at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. The action-horror-comedy film is directed by Chen Mei-Juin (“The Gangster’s Daughter”) and produced by Light House Productions (Taiwan) and Kleos Entertainment Group (India), with the backing of the Taiwan government. The cast is headlined by India’s Arjan Bajwa (Prime Video series “Bestseller”) and Taiwan’s J.C.

As Barry Hulse walked into the number eight barracks at the maximum security Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai his mind reeled. Awaiting trial for drugs smuggling offences, he'd been locked up with hardcore addicts, terrorists and some of India's most ruthless gangsters.

The BBC‘s news operation in India has formally split in two, as the UK broadcast organization seeks to comply with local media rules.

Naman Ramachandran The BBC‘s news operations in India have been effectively divided from Wednesday with the launch of Collective Newsroom. Collective Newsroom was formed in December 2023 in order to comply with India’s strict foreign direct investment (FDI) in media rules. The Indian government’s cap on FDI in digital news outfits is 26%.

Naman Ramachandran Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Indian media conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, is trimming the organization’s workforce by 15%. “In line with his overall strategic approach, the MD and CEO has initiated the process of rationalization of the workforce by 15%, that will prune the staff strength across the company to arrive at a streamlined team that is sharply focused on the set goals for the future,” Zee said in a statement on Friday.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood A-list actor and musician Ayushmann Khurrana has signed a global recording deal with Warner Music India. Hit songs sung by Khurrana over the past decade include “Mitti Di Khushboo,” “Paani Da Rang” and “Mere Liye Tum Kaafi Ho.” Signing with Warner Music India will enable Khurrana to access the label’s global ecosystem, helping him connect with audiences and artists beyond India’s borders, Khurrana and the label said.

Naman Ramachandran Jio Studios, the content arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), is on a roll with several box office hits in a row. Almost exactly a year ago, Jio Studios had launched a slate of 100 new films and TV shows. Those efforts have now come to fruition.

IFC Films’ Late Night With The Devil topped the specialty market in its second week, as a Tollywood and a Bollywood film both made the top ten in a rare occurrence. Strong horror and Indian fare have helped buoy the box office since Covid. They continue to fill in the top ten, including this week, which boasts a monstrous hit in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire — but is a neighborhood with fewer overall wide release due to Hollywood strikes.

Busan Hires Deputy Director

Naman Ramachandran The first edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival and market (Chandigarh, March 27-31) will feature a range of masterclasses and panels headlined by a range of luminaries including filmmakers Shekhar Kapur (“What’s Love Got to Do with It?”) and Karan Johar (“Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani”). The lineup also includes actors Jaideep Ahlawat (“Paatal Lok”), Roshan Mathew (“Paradise”), Suvinder Vicky (“Kohrra”), Rajshri Deshpande (“Trial by Fire”), Boman Irani (“Dunki”), Rasika Dugal (“Mirzapur”), Abhay Deol (“Trial by Fire”), actor-producers Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal (“Girls Will be Girls”), filmmakers Tahira Kashyap (“Sharmajee Ki Beti”), Sudhir Mishra (“Tanaav”), Ajitpal Singh (“Tabbar”), Anurag Singh (“Kesri”) and Saugata Mukherjee, head of content at streamer SonyLiv.