The first project under the agreement is 'Kaun Banegi Shikharwati', which will launch in January 2022.
South Asian streaming platform Zee5 Global has entered into a strategic partnership with India’s content and IP studio Applause Entertainment, for multiple shows.
The partnership is designed to create a slate of Hindi-language originals across genres. It will kick off with Kaun Banegi Shikharwati, produced by Applause in association with Emmay Entertainment and directed by Gauravv Chawla and Ananya Banerjee.
A drama-comedy focusing on a dysfunctional royal family, Kaun Banegi Shikharwati features Naseeruddin Shah, essaying the role of the King while Lara Dutta Bhupathi, Soha Ali Khan, Kritika Kamra, Anya Singh play his daughters, and Raghubir Yadav, Cyrus Sahukar, Varun Thakur and Anurag Sinha. It will premiere on the service in January 2022.
Commenting on the partnership, Punit Misra, President – Content & International Markets, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said: “Zee5’s content design principles centre around intimately knowing our viewers and building a bouquet of engaging and entertaining offerings for our multiple consumer cohorts. While consumer intimacy is at the heart of our content creation philosophy, our Content Creator Partners are the other crucial pillar in our approach. We are excited about our partnership with one of the leading content creators of our country – Sameer Nair & Applause Entertainment. With our shared belief in consumer obsession, coupled with their unique content creation capabilities, I am confident that we will win the hearts of millions.”
Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, Zee5 Global added: “At Zee5 Global, we look to bring to our viewers bold, original stories from South Asia that entertain them and resonate with them and that are brought to life by stellar actors and content creators. We are delighted to announce our partnership with Applause Entertainment to jointly create an exclusive premium slate of stories across genres that are unique and especially curated for our audiences across different countries.”
Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment stated: “Over the past four years, Applause has created a diverse slate of content and explored stories across genres, languages and geographies. We are thrilled that our first outing with Zee5 is with Kaun Banegi Shikarwati, a light-hearted, heart-warming dramedy that is both quirky and delightful, and boasts a stellar cast of actors. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Zee5 and help contribute in a small way to their global ambition.”
Nikkhil Advani, Producer Emmay Entertainment commented: “In a fine blend of humour and drama, Kaun Banegi Shikarwati offers a quintessential story of Indian families that’s replete with oddities and conflicts. But at the core of it, lies unfiltered emotions that’s sure to resonate strongly with the masses. We are delighted to partner with Applause in creating this wonderful show and are excited to release it to global audiences on a leading platform like Zee5.”
Nimisha Pandey, Chief Creative Officer – Hindi Originals, Zee5, remarked: “We are excited to bring premium bespoke originals to our existing gamut of diverse content in partnership with Applause Entertainment. With their expertise in creating captivating content across a multitude of genres, we are sure to create some exciting and engaging shows together. We are glad to present Kaun Banegi Shikharwati as the first from this creative collaboration, with more enthralling content in the offing. There is an increasing need for family-viewing content in a post-pandemic era and a multi-dimensional drama like Kaun Banegi Shikharwati works beautifully in that aspect. We hope that the audience enjoys the roller coaster of emotions with this series.”
