“Allu Arjun is the biggest crowd-puller today, even in a village in Haryana,” says Manoj Bajpayee at the ZEE5 Global Add-ons launch

New Delhi, November 30, 2023: The star-studded launch of ZEE5 Global Add-ons USA, an aggregator platform offering the best of South Asian entertainment in one single destination saw an engaging panel discussion on the subject, “Coming of Age of South Asian Entertainment: The Time is Now” moderated by noted film critic-writer Anupama Chopra with award-winning film personalities - Manoj Bajpayee, Vishal Bharadwaj, Guneet Monga, and Pratik Gandhi. Ms. Archana Anand, CBO, ZEE5 Global was also on the panel.
 

Anupama Chopra set the tone as she captured the evolution and success of Indian entertainment on the world stage, when she said, “it seems like apna time aa gaya.” The panel highlighted the significant shift in the Indian entertainment landscape, specifically the ascent of South Asian content on global platforms with Indian narratives finally claiming their well-deserved spotlight, transcending borders and resonating with audiences worldwide.
 

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global elaborated on the initiatives that would change the way content is viewed and consumed, “This year saw the fabulous success of RRR, which changed the way Americans saw Indian films. People in the US were having watch parties for RRR. We were no longer that awkward brown guy with a strange accent. There was a sense of crossover taking place and that got us ambitious. We want to be at the forefront of creating content that does the crossover and goes mainstream. ZEE5 Global Add-ons is the first step to leading the charge!”
 

She also added, “We are living in the time of Rishi Sunak and Ajay Banga, a time of RRR and The Elephant Whisperers. The narrative for us has changed completely and we're very, very dreamy-eyed about the story of the New South Asian.”
 

The panellists discussed the change in the Indian audience towards content and return of rooted content, local heroes and stories. Manoj Bajpayee, who recently won Filmfare OTT’s Best Actor award for ZEE5's drama, Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai, says that he was never in doubt that there was an audience for Indian content abroad, he is just surprised to see the leap it has taken so soon. He said, “The mood of the viewers are changing, they want their filmmakers to communicate with them. Look at the success of RRR, Pushpak or for that matter, Gadar 2. It tells us that they want stories and faces that they can relate to. Allu Arjun, Ram Charan & Jr NTR will be able to draw more crowd than anybody else today, even in a village of Haryana & Bihar because they watch dubbed South Indian films. It is important that we start telling stories that are centred around the common man.”
 

Acclaimed music and film director Vishal Bhardwaj noted that the perception of the West towards Indian films began changing with Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen in 1994. He said, “We’ve had AR Rahman’s success with his music in Slumdog Millionaire. There’s also been The Luncbox. I’ve had my own experience with Maqbool going to Toronto.  With humility, I want to say that many people are doing doctorates on my Shakespeare trilogy. When Guneet won an Oscar, it felt like we were there on the stage with her sharing that moment. In fact, at the rate we are going, a Parasite is waiting to happen here. An Indian film that will break all records and make it big all over the world.”
 

"Indian entertainment is a 100% equity industry and there is some brilliant work happening here. Gangs of Wasseypur was the first Indian five-and-half-hour film that was released as an eight-part miniseries in the US. And if we can constantly expand our footprint that started from there, we'll soon have our very own Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," said Oscar-winning film producer Guneet Monga. She noted that distribution plays a crucial role in the expansion of Indian entertainment, which now sees an addition with streaming services. She sees co-productions helping South Asian entertainment grow adding, “We have the talent and technicians, when another set of exposure and knowledge comes on the whole movie that we create, the footprint increases.”
 

Pratik Gandhi, who headlined ZEE5’s recent film, Atithi Bhooto Bhava said, “The Gujarati community abroad is hungry for content. ZEE5 Global Add-ons for the Gujarati audience will make a huge difference. However, language should not matter anymore and our diversity in language or literature should reach out to the whole world."
 

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global put the spotlight on the role streaming has played in delivering authentic and relatable content to the diaspora. She concluded, “Streaming has democratised content and today even audiences from small towns have become quite discerning while consuming content. So, whether it is the aspiration to go mainstream or to do middle-of-the-road cinema, ZEE5 Global will very much be an integral part of that journey.”
 

ZEE5 Global Add-ons was unveiled at the event by Amit Goenka, President, Digital Business and Platforms and  Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global and solidifies the brand’s position as the top South Asian streaming platform in the US. Add-ons will offers content across languages from streaming platforms like Simply South (all South Indian languages), Oho Gujarati (Gujarati), Chaupal (Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Haryanvi), Namma Flix (Kannada), EPIC ON (Hindi) and iStream (Malayalam) with at least six more platforms being onboarded.