The Indian digital space is booming. Anyone who wanted further proof of the phenomenon simply had to walk into Ballroom 2 of ITC Maratha in Mumbai’s Andheri (east) last Thursday. VOOT, the over-the-top media platform of Viacom 18 (that has Colors as one of its TV channels) is all set to relaunch — and relaunch big — two years after it first ventured into the streaming media space.
As many as 18 original shows across different genres will be streamed on VOOT in the next few months. With high production values, a stellar line-up of actors and interesting storylines, VOOT is confident that these 18 shows — and then some more — will reinforce its position as one of the “most watched” OTT platforms in India.
“We are in the business of taking every story to its audience and every audience to its story. We have done so in films and on TV and now we are taking our initial steps in the digital space,” said Sudhanshu Vats, managing director of Viacom 18, at the launch of the new shows, with t2 in the house.
The numbers speak for themselves — launched in May 2016, VOOT clocked one billion video minutes within the first seven months and touched four billion video minutes by November 2017.
“The Indian OTT space has opened up dramatically over the last two years, spiralled by the fact that smartphones have been made affordable and more data is now available to the consumer. Today, about 350 million Indians watch videos on their phone and estimates suggest that number could go up to 750-800 million by 2020,” added Vats.
It is with an eye on this burgeoning market that VOOT has decided to not only launch a slew of mint-fresh originals, but also expand its footprint. In November, VOOT will make its global foray, starting with the UK. The platform will also see the addition of news on its platform, with 16 news channels in 13 languages, and introduce Dolby Surround Sound — a first for an Indian OTT player — in its originals.
The originals, ranging from racy crime thriller to legal drama, relationship story to feel-good patriotic tale, have a fresh look and feel, with many of the trailers unveiled at the launch promising to keep it interesting (see t2’s picks in box). Besides Hindi content, VOOT will also venture into the regional space with two Tamil originals and one in Kannada.
t2 is looking forward to...
It’s Not That Simple Season 2
Cast: Swara Bhasker, Sumeet Vyas, Purab Kohli, Vivaan Bhatena, Karanveer Mehra
Swara Bhasker frontlines Season 2 of this relationship drama that looks at extramarital affairs from the point of view of the woman. If Season 1 was about Swara’s Meera getting out of a toxic marriage, Season 2 has her picking up the pieces of her life and moving on… but then, ‘it’s not that simple’. Purab Kohli and Sumeet Vyas are the new additions to the cast.
Law and Honour
Cast: Piyush Mishra, Neha Sharma, Akshay Oberoi, Satyadeep Mishra, Kubbra Sait
This legal drama promises to offer a peek into the behind-the-scenes highs and lows of a law firm. Piyush Mishra leads the cast, but the one we are looking out for is Kubbra, who’s on a high after her Kukoo act in Sacred Games.
QWard
Cast: Prateik Babbar
A taut thriller that will expose the corruption in the medical system, QWard scores with its edge-of-the-seat premise. The trailer is a winner already.
Barefoot 11
Javed Akhtar pens this sports drama that focuses on Indian football — and its heroes — in the 1940s.
Asura
Cast: Barun Sobti
Small-screen heart-throb Barun Sobti plays a forensic scientist on the trail of a serial killer in this show that’s being described as a “mind-bending crime thriller”.
Feet Up With The Stars
Sonam Kapoor to Shahid Kapoor, Karan Johar to Kartik Aaryan — celebrity stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania gets up close and personal with our favourite stars… in their pyjamas!
The Sawaikar Case
The dark underbelly of relationships in a seemingly normal Indian family is the focus of this drama.
Woh Kaala Ladka
This social satire focuses on our obsession with fair skin with this story, set in the ’70s, of a dark-complexioned north Indian boy who harbours dreams of becoming a newscaster.
RAW Diaries
Some of the most intriguing cases from the files of intelligence agency RAW will be dramatised as an ode to the faceless men and women who protect the country on a daily basis.
X Ray
Twelve stories. Twelve cities. One master storyteller. Tolly man Srijit Mukherji gives a contemporary twist to some of Satyajit Ray’s much-loved short stories.
