Top Bollywood stars turn to web originals
3 min read . Updated: 16 Sep 2020, 02:30 PM IST- Top Hollywood stars such as Julia Roberts, Chris Hemsworth, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron and others have already embraced the digital wave by making their OTT debuts
NEW DELHI : After turning up their noses at the small screen and web shows, Bollywood stars are finally reconciling to the growing popularity of the latter. Top stars like Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan and Shahid Kapoor are now ready to make their digital debuts with web originals for video streaming services like Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix. Akshay Kumar, menawhile, has already confirmed an action show titled The End for Amazon Prime Video earlier.
According to reports by web portal LetsOTTGlobal, Devgn may reprise the role of Idris Elba in the remake of British television series Luther for Disney+ Hotstar which would see the actor play a brilliant murder detective. Meanwhile, Disney is also in talks with Roshan for a remake of Tom Hiddleston’s crime drama The Night Manager as is Kapoor with Netflix for an action thriller based on the 1988 Operation Cactus where the Indian Air Force had prevented a mercenary invasion in the Maldives.
Netflix declined to comment on Mint’s queries for the story while Disney+ Hotstar did not respond.
Top Hollywood stars such as Julia Roberts, Chris Hemsworth, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron and others have already embraced the digital wave by making their OTT debuts with shows like Homecoming, Extraction, Hunters and The Old Guard respectively. But their Indian counterparts have long seen the web as a medium meant for those out of work or for risky projects that would never draw audiences to theatres. Their reluctance to take films meant for theatrical release directly to streaming platforms during the covid-19 pandemic has also been evident.
Without doubt, things have changed over the past few months.
“The viewership of several streaming platforms is now inching towards a few million subscribers in India and has made it easy for them to make the kind of investment these stars look at. The production budget is linked to user growth," Raghav Anand, segment leader, digital media at EY said. A top-grade web show in India can now look at budgets of ₹60-80 crore, Anand said, on par with what is usually spent on feature films with compensation for A-list male stars falling around ₹15 crore.
Moreover, the four to five million subscribers that platforms have added to the overall OTT ecosystem over the past few months has given them scale and made sure that stars look at them as avenues that will only help their brand image, not dilute it.
Soumak Banik, chief growth officer at MediCom, a GroupM-owned media agency said Bollywood is getting used to exploring multiple genres of storytelling, including long and short formats. The earliest web shows in India were produced by companies like Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment (Inside Edge for Amazon). The gamut has gradually widened to include many more directors and producers like Karan Johar and Anushka Sharma, all of whom have dished out multiple digital offerings lately.
“This (the foray made by top stars to digital platforms) stems from their desire to stay relevant and connected with the youth and be part of disruptive stories," said Vikram Malhotra, CEO, Abundantia Entertainment that is developing Kumar’s show for Amazon. The opportunity to reach out to a younger audience base and go global at the same time, is an attractive combination, Malhotra added though it wasn’t always so.
“The web was seen as a step down earlier. But there has been a sea change in the past few years and it has reached a point where despite being unchartered territory, it is seen as premium and prestigious," Malhotra added.
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Apple One subscription launched in India: Breaking down all plans for you
HIGHLIGHTSApple One subscription service launched in India
Apple One brings all Apple services under a single plan
Apple One price starts at Rs 195 in India
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AdvertisementsThe Apple One subscription service is official as it brings all of Apple’s services under a single umbrella. This comprehensive bundle includes a subscription to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud and more across three different tiers of plans-- Individual, Family and Premier.
#AppleOne India subscription price
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Individual: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage at Rs195/m
Family: Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200GB iCloud storage at Rs365/m, sharable up to six members
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“Apple One makes enjoying Apple subscription services easier than ever, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud, and more. With Apple One, you can access the best of Apple entertainment across all your favourite devices with one simple subscription,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services.
Apple One Pricing and availability
Apple One subscription is being offered in three tiers with the Individual plan priced Rs 195/month and the Family plan priced at Rs 365/month. The Premier plan isn’t available in India yet and there’s no word on when it will be available outside the US, the UK, Canada and Australia.
All the three Apple One subscription plans will go live starting this fall with the Individual and Family plans making it to 100+ countries.
Apple One subscription details
Apple One is a comprehensive subscription plan by the company that brings together all of its services under a single plan. This includes a subscription to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.
The Individual plan offers a subscription to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and 50GB of iCloud storage while the Family Plan can be shared between six family members giving them access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and 200GB of iCloud storage.
The Premier plan isn’t available in India but offers Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and 2TB of iCloud storage. Like the Family plan, the Premier plan can be shared with upto six people.
Additionally, Apple will offer a 30-day trial for services that users haven’t subscribed to already.
Why should you subscribe to Apple One?
Being a comprehensive service, Apple One subscription does away with the hassle of maintaining and paying for all the Apple services every month. Instead, users can now just subscribe to Apple One and get access to all the entertainment and cloud storage services by paying up just one time.
We compared the prices of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and iCloud services individually to get an idea as to how much can a user save by subscribing to Apple One instead of paying up separately for the four services.
Apple Music, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ are priced at Rs 99 for the monthly individual subscription while the iCloud storage is offered in three tiers-- 50GB for Rs 75, 200GB for Rs 219 and 2TB of Rs 749. Adding up the individual Apple Music, Arcade and TV+ plans along with 50GB iCloud storage, it totals to Rs 372. However, the Apple One Individual plan is priced at Rs 195 which means a saving of Rs 177. Similarly, by choosing the Family plan, Apple users will save Rs 200 per month.
To read more on everything that Apple announced, follow these links: Apple iPad Air, Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE.
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