Company:Applause Entertainment Limited

From HandWiki
Applause Entertainment
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryFilm production
Founded2017; 7 years ago (2017)
HeadquartersMumbai, India
Key people
Sameer Nair (CEO)
Deepak Segal (Content Head)
ProductsWeb Series
ServicesFilm production
ParentAditya Birla Group
Websiteapplauseentertainment.in

Applause Entertainment Private Limited is a media, content and IP creation studio based out of Mumbai, India. The studio is funded by Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group of Companies, whereas, Sameer Nair, ex- Balaji Telefilms & STAR CEO, is roped in to run Applause entertainment at a reported budget of nearly $45 million, investing almost $3+ million every year.[1][2]

As mentioned by Nair in several of his interviews, the studio is planning to stick to making premium over-the-top (OTT) drama shows, ones which he concludes, address the "ideological disparity between Naagin & Narcos".[3]

The studio is aimed towards creating web shows for various distribution platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, etc., out of which Fox’s digital arm in India, i.e., Hotstar has already announced its partnership for 4 shows, namely, The Office, Hostages, Criminal Justice, and Mayanagari - City of Dreams.[4]

Other shows that have been lined up by Applause Entertainment include Hasmukh, Udan Patolas, India Strikes - 10 Days, Mind the Malhotras, Rasbhari, Mayanagari - Taj - A Monument of Blood, Marry Me Stranger, The Scam, Bhaukaal, and Mannphodganj.[5]

Drama Shows

Along with commissioning fresh plots, Applause Entertainment has recently acquired rights for the remake of several BBC shows such as ‘The Office’ and ‘Criminal Justice’, Armoza Format’s Italian TV shows, namely, ‘Honey Badgers’, ‘La Famiglia’, and ‘Hostages’[6], Indian novels such as ‘The Stranger Trilogy’, ‘India’s Most Fearless’, ‘The Scam’, etc. to make web shows around them.[7][8][9]

In March 2019,it was announced by Hotstar and Applause Entertainment, the first slate of originals to be streamed on Hotstar under its new label Hotstar Specials.[10]

The complete lineup of shows thus announced are

Mind the Malhotras

Based on the Israeli comedy show, ‘La Famiglia’ by Armoza Formats, ‘Mind the Malhotras’ shows the daily ordeal of a family undergoing family therapy.

The story follows an urban couple, who, along with their three kids and mother-in-law living in the city’s competitive lifestyle.

Each episode of the series entails several issues, such as parenting troubles, unfulfilled sex life, annoying in-laws and more.

Directed by Sahil Sangha and Ajay Bhuyan, the series is written by Karan Sharma and Sahil Sangha, featuring Cyrus Sahukar and Mini Mathur as Rishabh & Shefali (The Couple), Sushmita Mukherjee as MummyJi, and Anandita Pagnis, Nikki Sharma and Jason as kids.[11][12]

Criminal Justice

BBC Studios India and Applause Entertainment have produced this Indian remake of BAFTA-winning British thriller series, Criminal Justice, originally aired on BBC One.

The cast includes Jackie Shroff, Vikrant Massey, Mita Vashisht, Pankaj Tripathi, and Anupriya Goenka in pivotal roles, whereas the show is adapted for Indian audience by Sridhar Raghavan and directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia along with Vishal Furia.[13]

The plot follows a middle-class family’s attempts to save their boy from being convicted by Indian criminal justice system in the wake of a murder, happened at a party he attended, for a crime he may or may not have committed.

Hostages

The Italian thriller show by Armoza Formats, ‘Hostages’ has got an Indian remake directed by Sudhir Mishra and produced by Banijay Asia, led by Deepak Dhar. Sudhir is known for directing films such as, Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi and Khoya Khoya Chand, among others.

The premises of the original show revolves around four masked men, keeping Danon family as leverage to force the matriarch, who is a surgeon, to kill the PM of the country in routine surgery, scheduled for the very next day.

The Indian version features a cast of Ronit Roy (‘Udaan’ fame), Tisca Chopra (‘Taare Zameen Par’ fame), Parvin Dabas (‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ fame), and Dalip Tahil (‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ fame) playing key roles and instead of Israeli PM, the fictitious CM of Haryana is the masked men’s primary target, and Mira, the matriarch and highly skilled surgeon, must carry out the task in order to save the rest of the Anand family.[14][15]

Maya Nagari - CityofDreams

Directed by the national award-winning director, Nagesh Kukunoor and produced by Applause Entertainment, the city of Mumbai, which is commonly referred to as the ‘city of dreams’ is at the center of this political drama.

The show explores the tale of corruption, deceit, and hunger for power in a Mumbai-based politically-affluent ‘Gaikwad’ family in the wake of an assassination attempt targeting one of its most polarising figures and the repercussions it brings for a large section of the society.

National award winners Atul Kulkarni and Sachin Pilgaonkar play leads in this 10-part drama series.[16]

The Office

BBC Worldwide’s mockumentary sitcom, The Office, which has been remade in 4 countries and syndicated to 32 others, is going to have an official Indian makeover which will be commissioned by Applause Entertainment under the same title, as per the press release shared by the media conglomerate on 20 February 2018.[17]

As put by David Belshaw, the international scripted producer at BBC Worldwide, “Given the surrounding, the ‘desi’ version is going to be even more hilarious and scintillating than the original.”[18]

The Indian version is said to be an official adaptation of the US version of ‘The Office’, wherein, ‘Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch’ becomes ‘Wilkins Chawla Paper Company’ in the satellite town of Faridabad, near New Delhi and ‘Michael Scott’ becomes ‘Jagdeep Chaddha'.

Hasmukh

Directed by Nikhil Gonsalves and written by Suparn Verma, Vir Das, Nikkhil Advani, Amogh Ranadive & Neeraj Pandey, the show's protagonist, a standup comic, with good content but awful delivery, goes on a killing spree to satiate his need for an adrenaline rush to be good enough on stage.

Headlined by real-life stand up comic Vir Das as ‘Hasmukh’ and Ranvir Shorey as ‘Jimmy’ the show's crew comprises of Amrita Bagchi, Mantra, Ravi Kishan, Manoj Pahwa, Joanna Robaczewska, Raza Murad, among others.[19][20]

Nikkhil Advani and his production house ‘Emmay Entertainment’ have created this show for Applause Entertainment.

Udan Patolas

When investment specialists, Amarinder Gill, Noorpreet Dhillon, Puneet Chandok, and Lovely Singh Chhabra find themselves longing for the right man in Mumbai, one happens to come across an exact match, with whom she settles down and sets up an alliance. Now, it’s up to the rest of the girl to find the right men.

The show, directed by Shakti Sagar Chopra and written by Sukhmani Sadana, is an official Indian adaptation of Armoza Format’s Italian TV show ‘Honey Badgers’.[21]

The show features Aastha Sidana, Sukhmani Sadana, Apoorva Arora, and Poppy Jabbal in lead roles.

India Strikes - 10 Days

The show depicts an insiders’ story of what was prevalent in the Indian army camp during the aftermath of the guerilla attack-type massacre carried out by 4 armed militants at the army base in URI, Kashmir, which resulted in the death of 19 Indian soldiers,

Based on the first chapter of the Indian novel “India’s Most Fearless” written by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh, the 10-part series aims to describe the actual tale of the event, formally known as Surgical Strikes.

Directed by Raj Acharya and written by Harmanjit Singha, Sudeep Nigam, Abhishek Chatterjee, and Aadhar Khurana, the show is a nationalism-induced drama, headlined by Amit Sadh as ‘Major Mike Tango’ and Darshan Kumar, Vikram Gokhale, Neeraj Kabi, Madhurima Tuli, Anant Mahadevan in pivotal roles.[22]

Produced by Irada Entertainment for Applause Entertainment and helmed by Samar Khan, who is known for his directorial venture ‘Shaurya’- a courtroom drama film starring Kay Kay Menon, Rahul Bose, and Minissha Lamba in lead roles.

Rasbhari

Directed by Nikhil Bhat and written by Shantanu Srivastava, the story follows life of a school kid, who realizes that his new-English teacher 'Shaanu Madam' has a sex-induced alter-ego named 'Rasbhari', and now he must save her from the ongoing witch hunt, led by his mother.

Set in the backdrop of a small Indian town named Meerut, the manifestation of love in a school boy’s heart for his English teacher has been pitched across as coming-of-age storytelling in India.

The character of Rasbhari/Shanoo is played by ‘Nil Battey Sannata’ actress Swara Bhaskar whereas Ayushman Saxena (Dance India Dance & Bombay Talkies fame) has been roped in for the role of Nand, the student protagonist.

Recently, Rasbhari has become the first Indian original series to be nominated in the short form category at the Series Mania International festival, held in France every year.[23]

Taj - A Monument of Blood

A joint venture between Contiloe Pictures (Best known for their period-historical dramas such as ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’, ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’, ‘Veer Shivaji’ and ‘Maharana Pratap’) and Applause Entertainment, is set to bring forth the secrets of Mughal empire and the stories of beauty, betrayal, fanaticism and power lust during their regime in the latest, 5 season, 60 episodes thriller drama series titled, ‘Taj - A Monument of Blood’.

Set in Mughal era, the show creators, confess it to be a darker and edgier version of Mughal history rather than what is generally taught in textbooks. starting from the birth of Shah Jahan lastly till his death.[24]

The plot is said to encompass life and regime of Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb from 1592 to 1666 along with an overview of their intermixing with Rajput & Persian Royalties, lately till the arrival of British and Portuguese clans.

Marry Me, Stranger

Written by Novoneel Chakraborty, The Stranger Trilogy, is getting an official screenplay adaptation. The first book, Marry Me, Stranger, is all set to transform into a thriller web series.[25]

For the first season, the screenplay adaptation is donned by writer Anand Sivakumaran under the direction of Faruk Kabir, and the project is commissioned by Goldie Behl of Rose Audio Visuals, in partnership with Applause Entertainment.[26]

The first season of the series follows the journey of Rivaanah, a sheltered brat, who is chased by a stalker, bearing good intentions. She later develops feelings for him in her heart.

The show is headlined by Anuja Joshi as ‘Rivaanah’ and Gaurav Chopra, Mrinal Dutt, and Priya Banerjee.

The Scam

Based on the book written by Padma Shri awarded journalist Sucheta Dalal with the help of her husband, Debashis Basu, on the infamous 1992 securities scam[27] pulled off by Harshad Mehta and his associates, is now getting a 10-episode web shows.

The misappropriation of assets triggered a sudden spike in the BSE market of around the US $35 million in that time currency and Harshad Mehta was convicted during trials by Bombay High Court in 1999, a decision which the Supreme Court of India later upheld with 2:1 majority in 2003.  

The book is written by the Sucheta Dalal, who exposed this scam in 1993 and the series is directed by Hansal Mehta, best known for films such as Omerta, Shahid, Aligarh, among others.[28]

Bhaukaal

Bhaukaal is a cop-drama inspired by the real-life events of IPS officer Navinet Sekera who rose to fame after his active involvement in busting the organized crimes and its affiliated syndicates in UP in the early 2000s. Bhaukaal is a local slang in UP which means impressive and robust.

Set in Muzaffarnagar, UP, the notorious state of India, the show is jointly produced by Harman Baweja of Baweja films and Applause entertainment, and features Mohit Raina (Uri & 21 Sarfarosh fame), Harman Baweja himself, Abhimanyu Singh, Bidita Bag, Siddhanth Kapoor, Pradeep Nagar, Sunny Hinduja, Rashmi Rajput, and Gulki Joshi among others.[29][30][31]

The series is directed by Jatin Wagle, whereas, Akash Mohimen, Jay Bansal, and Rohit Chauhan have penned the screenplay.

Mannphodganj

Set in a remote town near Allahabad named Mannphodganj, a young girl, Binny Bajpai, whose father runs a lingerie shop, laden with her mother’s dowry, plans to escape from her middle-class life. When her plan fails, the story swiftly turns to take the form of a bitter-sweet saga of lovers.[32]

Based on the novel, ‘Band Baaja Boys’ by Rachna Singh, the series will feature Pranati Rai Prakash (Femina Miss India 2015 semi-finalist and India’s next top model season 2winner) as Binny Bajpai, and Atul Srivastava & Alka Kaushal as her parents.[33]

Directed by Vikas Chandra and produced by Dj’s A creative Unit in partnership with Applause Entertainment, the show belongs to comedy genre.

Rachna Singh and Amitosh Nagpal have donned the screenplay. The show also features Anurag Sinha, Abhinav Anand, Farmaan Khan, Aru Krishank, Kritika, and Samar Vermani playing key roles.

Shows

Title Release Date Network Co-production Notes
Criminal Justice 5 April 2019 Hotstar BBC Studios India Adaptation of Criminal Justice British Series
Mayanagari-City of Dreams 3 May 2019
Hostages 31 May 2019[34] Banijay Asia Adaptation of Hostages (Israeli TV series)
The Office 2019 BBC Studios India Adaptation of The Office British Series
Mind the Malhotras 2019 Amazon Prime Video

Filmography

In earlier times, Applause Entertainment has jointly produced films like Black[35], Dev[36], etc. before becoming inactive for some time. The studio is now again launched by Aditya Birla Group, steered by Sameer Nair.[37]

Future Plans

As per Applause Entertainment’s CEO, Sameer Nair, "Consolidation and merger tend to happen when several big players start to get into a single territory, and the same is going to happen with digital content platforms in India as well. Our present business model revolves around creating original content and pitching the finalized product to various content distribution platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar, and big telecom players, among others."[38]

They recently completed tie-up with Hotstar regarding the same.[39]

References

  1. ↑ Mandavia, Megha; Kalesh, Baiju (2017-08-17). "KM Birla hires Sameer Nair of Balaji Telefilms; to make 'binge-worthy' shows for Amazon, Netflix, Hotstar". The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/km-birla-hires-sameer-nair-of-balaji-telefilms-to-revive-the-defunct-applause-entertainment/articleshow/60094184.cms. 
  2. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman; Ramachandran, Naman (2018-04-11). "MipTV: India’s Applause Acquires Remake Rights to Hit Israeli shows from Armoza" (in en). https://variety.com/2018/tv/global/india-applause-rights-hit-israeli-armoza-1202750139/. 
  3. ↑ "Human Attention Is The New Oil, Media Veteran Sameer Nair Says" (in en). https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/human-attention-is-the-new-oil-media-veteran-sameer-nair-says. 
  4. ↑ "Fox's Indian Streamer Hotstar Set to Remake 'The Office,' 'Criminal Justice'" (in en). https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hotstar-is-producing-indian-remakes-office-criminal-justice-1192012. 
  5. ↑ Team, Author: Editorial (2018-12-04). "11 Epic Shows to Watch Out For From Applause Entertainment" (in en-US). https://www.iwmbuzz.com/digital/editorial-digital/11-epic-shows-to-watch-out-for-from-applause-entertainment/2018/12/04. 
  6. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman; Ramachandran, Naman (2018-04-11). "MipTV: India’s Applause Acquires Remake Rights to Hit Israeli shows from Armoza" (in en). https://variety.com/2018/tv/global/india-applause-rights-hit-israeli-armoza-1202750139/. 
  7. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman; Ramachandran, Naman (2018-04-11). "MipTV: India’s Applause Acquires Remake Rights to Hit Israeli shows from Armoza" (in en). https://variety.com/2018/tv/global/india-applause-rights-hit-israeli-armoza-1202750139/. 
  8. ↑ Staff, Scroll. "Amit Sadh to star in web series based on Uri attack and surgical strikes" (in en-US). https://scroll.in/reel/891586/web-series-based-on-uri-attacks-and-surgical-strikes-in-the-works-starring-amit-sadh. 
  9. ↑ April 6, P. T. I.; April 6, 2018UPDATED:; Ist, 2018 15:50. "Novoneel Chakrabortys The Stranger Trilogy now a web series" (in en). https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/novoneel-chakrabortys-the-stranger-trilogy-now-a-web-series-1206188-2018-04-06. 
  10. ↑ "Hotstar partners Applause Entertainment to launch first slate of originals". https://www.televisionpost.com/hotstar-partners-applause-entertainment-to-launch-first-slate-of-originals/. 
  11. ↑ Bureau, Adgully. "Applause Entertainment Announces A New Family Comedy - Mind The Malhotras!" (in en-US). https://www.adgully.com/applause-entertainment-announces-a-new-family-comedy-mind-the-malhotras-81871.html. 
  12. ↑ IANS (2018-11-22). "Mini, Cyrus join 'Mind The Malhotras'". Business Standard India. https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/mini-cyrus-join-mind-the-malhotras-118112200155_1.html. 
  13. ↑ "Jackie Shroff and Pankaj Tripathi to star in an adaptation of British series Criminal Justice" (in en-IN). 2018-04-28. https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/criminal-justice-jackie-shroff-tigmanshu-dhulia-5154869/. 
  14. ↑ "Hostages remake to star Tisca Chopra, Ronit Roy, Parvin Dabas" (in en-US). 2018-05-24. https://www.thedigitalhash.com/hostages-remake-to-star-tisca-chopra-ronit-roy-parvin-dabas/. 
  15. ↑ "Applause Entertainment and Sudhir Mishra hold Ronit Roy, Tisca Chopra and Parvin Dabas, ‘Hostage’ - Exchange4media" (in en). https://www.exchange4media.com/media-tv-news/applause-entertainment-and-sudhir-mishra-hold-ronit-roytisca-chopra-and-parvin-dabashostage%0A%0A-90135.html. 
  16. ↑ "Atul Kulkarni, Sachin Pilgaonkar roped in for ‘Mayanagari #CityOfDreams’". https://www.freepressjournal.in/cmcm/atul-kulkarni-sachin-pilgaonkar-roped-in-for-mayanagari-cityofdreams. 
  17. ↑ Shackleton2019-03-05T09:11:00+00:00, Liz. "India's Hotstar to remake BBC shows 'Criminal Justice', 'The Office'" (in en). https://www.screendaily.com/news/indias-hotstar-to-remake-bbc-shows-criminal-justice-the-office/5137394.article. 
  18. ↑ IANS (2018-04-26). "Desi version of 'The Office' is going to be brilliant: Producer". Business Standard India. https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/desi-version-of-the-office-is-going-to-be-brilliant-producer-118042600428_1.html. 
  19. ↑ "Ranvir Shorey joins dark comedy Hasmukh alongwith Vir Das" (in en). 2018-08-04. https://www.mid-day.com/articles/ranvir-shorey-joins-dark-comedy-hasmukh-alongwith-vir-das/19668198. 
  20. ↑ Joshi, Namrata (2019-03-08). "Show me the money" (in en-IN). The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/ranvir-shorey-on-why-he-will-be-happy-with-a-rs-50-crore-hit/article26469296.ece. 
  21. ↑ "Applause Entertainment celebrates the spirit of sisterhood with 'Udan Patolas' - IWMBUZZ" (in en). http://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/iwmbuzz-epaper-iwmbuzz/applause+entertainment+celebrates+the+spirit+of+sisterhood+with+udan+patolas-newsid-100040946. 
  22. ↑ "Amit Sadh to be seen in web series based on Uri attacks" (in en). https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/entertainment/2018/08/23/lst1-sadh-web%20series.html. 
  23. ↑ "Swara Bhasker 'Thrilled' As New Series Rasbhari Gets Ticket To Film Fest In France". https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/swara-bhasker-thrilled-as-new-series-rasbhari-gets-ticket-to-film-fest-in-france-2000288. 
  24. ↑ "Taj A Monument of Blood: Web series on the Mughal Empire in the pipeline" (in en-IN). 2018-07-12. https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/taj-a-monument-of-blood-mughal-empire-5256141/. 
  25. ↑ "Novoneel Chakraborty’s The Stranger Trilogy to be adapted into a romantic thriller series for Applause Entertainment" (in en-US). https://penguin.co.in/news-and-press-releases/novoneel-chakrabortys-stranger-trilogy-adapted-romantic-thriller-series-applause-entertainment/. 
  26. ↑ "Goldie Behl excited about 'Marry Me, Stranger'". https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/goldie-behl-excited-about-marry-me-stranger/1380255. 
  27. ↑ "Economic Milestone: Stock Market Scam (1992)" (in en). http://www.forbesindia.com/article/independence-day-special/economic-milestone-stock-market-scam-(1992)/38457/1. 
  28. ↑ "Hansal Mehta to Make Directorial Debut on Digital Platform with The Scam". https://www.news18.com/news/movies/hansal-mehta-to-make-directorial-debut-on-digital-platform-with-the-scam-1700747.html. 
  29. ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (2019-03-06). "Uri – The Surgical Strike actor Mohit Raina opens up about transitioning from television to movies and his upcoming projects - Bollywood Hungama" (in en). https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/uri-surgical-strike-actor-mohit-raina-opens-transitioning-television-movies-upcoming-projects/. 
  30. ↑ DelhiFebruary 7, Indo Asian News Service New; February 7, 2019UPDATED:; Ist, 2019 12:32. "After 21 Sarfarosh, Mohit Raina to star in police drama Bhaukaal" (in en). https://www.indiatoday.in/television/web-series/story/after-21-sarfarosh-mohit-raina-to-star-in-police-drama-bhaukaal-1450171-2019-02-07. 
  31. ↑ "After Uri, Mohit Raina will play a cop in web series Bhaukaal" (in en-IN). 2019-02-07. https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/mohit-raina-bhaukaal-crime-drama-navniet-sekera-5574356/. 
  32. ↑ Mumbai, BestMediaInfo Bureau; February 25; 2019. "Applause Entertainment launches Mannphodganj, a comedy drama". http://bestmediainfo.com/2019/02/applause-entertainment-launches-mannphodganj-a-comedy-drama/. 
  33. ↑ "Atul Srivastava, Alka Kaushal get together for 'Mannphodganj'". http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/hindi/2019/feb/21/atul-srivastava-alka-kaushal-get-together-for-mannphodganj-1941851.html. 
  34. ↑ Rao, Soumya. "A show where ‘nothing is what it seems to be’: Ronit Roy and Tisca Chopra on web series ‘Hostages’" (in en-US). https://scroll.in/reel/924572/a-show-where-nothing-is-what-it-seems-to-be-ronit-roy-and-tisca-chopra-on-web-series-hostages. 
  35. ↑ Black (2005) - IMDb, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375611/companycredits, retrieved 2019-06-19 
  36. ↑ Dev (2004) - IMDb, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364303/companycredits, retrieved 2019-06-19 
  37. ↑ "Kumar Mangalam Birla revives Applause Entertainment for content play". https://www.livemint.com/Companies/gcAeHpIUwsSH0mfx612uUM/Kumar-Mangalam-Birla-revives-Applause-Entertainment-for-cont.html. 
  38. ↑ "It's time to applaud: The Sameer Nair Interview" (in en-US). 2018-04-23. https://www.iwmbuzz.com/digital/editorial-digital/time-applaud-sameer-nair-interview/2018/04/23. 
  39. ↑ "Hotstar and Applause partner for the first slate of Hotstar Specials" (in en-US). 2019-03-03. https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/54567_Hotstar-and-Applause-partner-for-the-first-slate-of-Hotstar-Specials. 

External links




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