BY SACNILK

Streaming giant Amazon Prime Video has issued an unconditional apology for the controversy around its recently premiered political drama series, Tandav. The series which starred Saif Ali Khan in the lead role was subject to hurting religious sentiments and also for showing a community in a bad manner. ## "Amazon Prime Video again deeply regrets that viewers considered certain scenes to be objectionable in the recently launched fictional series Tandav. This was never our intention, and the scenes that were objected to were removed or edited when they were brought to our attention. We respect our viewers' diverse beliefs and apologizes unconditionally to anyone who felt hurt by these scenes", the statement read. ## #AmazonPrimeVideo issues an unconditional apology for #Tandav controversy pic.twitter.com/ZrhB7SrwvI— Sacnilk Entertainment (@SacnilkEntmt) March 2, 2021 ## Talking about the series, Tandav is created, directed, and produced by Ali Abbas Zafar, in his digital debut. The series is about the dark corners of Indian politics, where people will go to any lengths in pursuit of power.## Apart from Saif Ali Khan, the series has an ensemble cast including Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dimple Kapadia, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Dino Morea, and Anup Soni in prominant roles. The 9-episodes series premiered on January 15. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

After a lot of complaints against the OTT platforms for showing objectionable content, the government of India, on Thursday (February 25), decided to tighten the grip over digital platforms including social media by introducing a new set of guidelines. And now, over new rules and regulations, the OTT content creators have shared their views and some of them are sensing these regulations indirect censorship.## Pritish Nandy, creator of the popular web series "Four More Shots Please", tells IANS, "Without doubt, the purpose of this regulation is to have greater control over digital media and OTT platforms, which have in recent times demonstrated amazing power and reach through their content. The banality of Bollywood has been left miles behind by new-age original content. Indian content makers have also shown that they can compete against the best in the world".## Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, who has created web series such as "Twisted", "Maaya" and "Twisted 3", says, "Unfortunately, the nature of politics is to make issues and there is nothing that makes issues better than Bollywood and showbiz. Yesterday, people were more interested in OTT and social media than in Nirav Modi's extradition. This is the nature of the beast. I think we can shout, scream and go crazy, that's the rule of the game".## "Every country has a safe zone and as long as you play in the safe zone, things are fine. The minute you step out of it, you will be penalized. That is the rule of the game whether you like it or not. You can scream blue murder, nothing is going to happen. For years filmmakers have asked the government to turn films into a regulatory system like the OTT. The censor board gives certification but they are still giving cuts. It has been years and years now, and all my career I have been waiting for something to happen but nothing did", he added. ## Writer Sumrit Shahi says, "It is indirect censorship. It is trying to form an opinion on what can be seen or not. Unlike television or films, which are means of collective experience, OTT content was meant for private viewership. OTT content by its nature was meant for individual consumption, hence the idea was to giving people the choice to view. Censorship is made keeping these things in mind".## According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), the OTT platforms would self-classify the content into five age-based categories - U (Universal), U/A 7+, U/A 13+, U/A 16+, and A (Adult). Platforms would be required to implement parental locks for content classified as U/A 13+ or higher, and reliable age verification mechanisms for content classified as A.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Bollywood actress, Sushmita Sen made her comeback on screen after 2015, with the Ram Madhvani web series, 'Aarya'. It also happened to be her digital debut. Notably, Sushmita Sen won the best actress award in the web series for 'Aarya' at the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2021, held on Saturday. Bobby Deol won the best actor award in web series for 'Aashram'.## 'Aarya' series was a big hit and fans have been waiting for its second season. On Thursday (February 25), Sushmita confirmed the second season of 'Aarya' through an Instagram post. ## "She sees a storm coming...in the mirror!!! #Aarya #season2. Your wish is our command. I love you guys!!! Let's do this @madhvaniram @officialrmfilms @disneyplushotstarvip #TeamAarya #duggadugga", she wrote. ## View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sushmita Sen (@sushmitasen47) ## Talking about the series, Aarya, Sushmita Sen who plays the title role, Aarya an independent woman who joins the mafia gang, in order to seek revenge on her husband's murder, and also protects her family. The series also stars Chandrachur Singh who plays Aarya's husband along with Sikandar Kher, Ankur Bhatia, Namit Das, Vikas Kumar, and others in key roles. ## Produced by Ram Madhvani, Amita Madhvani, and Endemol Shine India and directed and created by Ram Madhvani, and Sandeep Modi - the 9 episode series premiered on Disney Plus Hotstar on June 19, 2020. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Filmmaker Nitya Mehra made her debut as a director with the 2016 Bollywood feature film 'Baar Baar Dekho', starring Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif. Despite the decent buzz, the film fared below expectations at the box office. Mehra then focussed on the OTT space and struck gold with the popular show Made In Heaven. She also directed one of the stories of the anthology film Unpaused which premiered on Amazon Prime Video last year. ## Mehra, who hopes to return to the big screen next year, is unmoved by the rise of OTT platforms and said that digital platforms should be accepted as a natural progression. She also feels that theaters are not going anywhere as people need a collective experience which mobile phones can't provide .## "When television came, people on the radio were worried. As we evolve, there will always be new things that come out and they may give a run for the money as they say. OTT platforms have given theatres a run for the money but I think each one of these formats finds its own space. There are enough human beings on this planet to consume it all", Mehra tells according to TOI. ## "The audience is becoming accustomed to viewing things on their phones, tablets, and laptops, but I do feel that theatres will survive. Human beings by nature require a collective experience. I am personally dying to go to the theatre because of the feeling of going to the theatre and consuming a piece of entertainment with other people who you perhaps don't know, and yet (there is) the collective laughter and tears, which is an experience in itself".## "Your phones are never going to give you that. I do feel that human nature will prevail because at the end of the day we all need collective experience", she added.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

After almost a year, the happy days for the cinemas are finally returning at a rapid pace. The next 8 to 9 months are going to be as big as they were in the pre-covid era for the film industries. After a dull phase, the most awaited movies such as Sooryavanshi, Bell Bottom, RRR, KGF 2, Vakeel Saab, Pushpa, Radhe, along with many others are lined up to release in the upcoming months. ## However, there are still some movies that are swinging in between a theatrical and a direct-to-digital release. One of them is the superstar Dhanush starrer Tamil movie, Jagame Thandhiram. As per the latest buzz, the makers of 'Jagame Thandhiram' are keen to release the film directly on the OTT, though, Dhanush is not happy with the decision as he wants the movie to release in the theaters first. ## According to reports, Dhanush wants to follow the pattern of 'Master' which premiered on Amazon Prime Video after 16 days of its theatrical release. On the other hand, Netflix reportedly offered a fancy price to the makers to beg for the direct streaming rights of Jagame Thandhiram. ## Meanwhile, in one of the interviews recently, director Karthik Subbaraj was very confident about a theatrical release of the movie and even lauded producer, Sashikanth for patiently waiting for theaters to reopen. And now, the reports of the OTT release of the movie have really come as a shocker to Dhanush's fans. ## Talking about the film, Jagame Thandhiram is an action thriller directed by Karthik Subbaraj. Produced by S. Sashikanth, and Chakravarthy Ramachandra, the movie also stars Aishwarya Lekshmi and James Cosmo in lead roles, while Joju George and Kalaiyarasan portray supporting roles. The film will also be released in the dubbed version of Telugu which has been titled Jagame Tantram. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Actress Kajal Aggarwal, who was last seen in the Tamil movie, Comali in 2019, is all set to return to the screens post marriage with the horror series, Live Telecast, which also marks her digital debut. The trailer of the show was launched on Friday, and the show itself drops on February 12 on Disney+ Hotstar VIP and Premium.## Watch Trailer here -## ## Talking about the show, Kajal said to Zee News, "As an actor, I am constantly looking for roles that challenge me and take me out of my comfort zone. 'Live Telecast' did just that. My character Jenny, a director by profession, is a strong and independent woman whose single-minded goal is to make a successful TV show and, in that quest, she finds herself locked in a huge house with no way out". ## The seven-episode Tamil series has been directed by Venkat Prabhu and also stars Vaibhav Reddy, Kayal Anandhi, Priyanka, Selva, Daniel Annie Pope, and Subbu Panchu Arunachalam.## The series narrates the story of a TV crew adamant about creating a superhit show, who come to realize that they are trapped in a house controlled by supernatural powers. Their tryst with the supernatural is live for millions to watch.## Meanwhile, Kajal Aggarwal has as many as five movies in the pipeline. Among them, the Telugu movie Acharya featuring megastar, Chiranjeevi will release on 13th May 2021 on the occasion of Eid. She will also be starring in the Hindi movie, Mumbai Saga, which might release directly on OTT. Other movies are Mosagallu (Telugu), Hey Sinamika (Tamil), and Indian 2 (Tamil). ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Thalapathy Vijay and Vijay Sethupathy starrer Master proved to be a big blessing for the cinemas when it released on January 13th. Despite the pandemic, the makers were expecting a good response from the audience, and what they get in return, was truly more than their expectations. The movie also stars Malavika Mohanan as the female lead. ## The Master's theatrical release not only revived the struggling theatrical business it has also encouraged all exhibitors and filmmakers to release their movies on the big screen as the audience is keen to experience the magic of the big screen cinema all over again. ## While the movie is still running successfully in theaters, Makers of this action entertainer have already announced the digital premiere. Though the OTT premiere of Master was always on the cards considering the covid-19 and 50% seating capacity of cinemas, makers have left everyone surprised by announcing the digital premiere date sooner than it was expected. ## In just 16 days from Master's theatrical release, the movie is now set to stream from January 29 on Amazon Prime Video across 240 countries and Territories worldwide. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the movie was earlier expected for its OTT premiere only after completing 4 weeks of its theatrical run. However, the OTT premiere plans of Master is something that trade analysts calling it, 'new norm' in today's time. ## Here is Master's official press release for the OTT premiere - ## After its Blockbuster run in theaters, #ThalapathyVijay's #Master is now set to premiere on #AmazonPrimeVideo in a record 16-days time gap from Jan 29 across 240 countries. Here is the official press release... pic.twitter.com/YYiNUFiAaR— Sacnilk Entertainment (@SacnilkEntmt) January 27, 2021 ## Meanwhile, Master is a blockbuster at the box office. After 13 days from release, the movie has a collection of INR 141 crores as a net collection while its worldwide gross collection has crossed INR 200 crores. ## Master Box Office Collection | All Language | Day Wise | Worldwide## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Ravi Teja starrer Telugu movie, Krack, has been a box office blockbuster despite the pandemic and 50% seating capacity of theaters. It was released on January 9, and in no time, the movie emerged as a Sankranthi blockbuster. Fans showered their love for the movie by watching it in cinemas in large numbers. ## Though Krack got a positive response from the audience, it could have been bigger if there had not been the covid-19 pandemic. Keeping that in mind, the makers of the movie decided to premiere it on the digital platform after three weeks of theatrical release. It was all set to premiere on aha - an original Telugu streaming platform, on January 29, however, the platform has now postponed its streaming date by a week on February 5. ## "We, at aha, believe that we are a part of the cinema ecosystem and we will always be there to support the industry in every possible way. With that in mind, we have decided to postpone the release of KRACK by a week to February 5", aha said in a statement posted on Twitter. ## "aha wishes actors Ravi Teja and Shruti Haasan, director Gopichand Malineni, producer Tagore Madhu and the exhibitors and distributors of the film a continued successful run at the BO", the statement concludes. ## #KrackOnAHA@RaviTeja_offl @shrutihaasan @megopichand @MusicThaman @TagoreMadhu @TheKrackMovie pic.twitter.com/emvw9pUgUb— ahavideoIN (@ahavideoIN) January 25, 2021 ## While many filmmakers and streaming platforms are in hurry to release their movies as soon as possible directly on OTTs, it is nothing sort of a heartwarming gesture towards cinemas, the exhibitors, and distributors who are still recovering from the loss caused by the lockdown. ## Talking about the box office collection of Krack, it has crossed INR 50 crores worldwide, including INR 30.06 crores AP/TG area wise share collection. ## Krack Box Office Collection | Day Wise | Worldwide ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Shahid Kapoor is all set to kickstart his digital debut series with the director duo Raj & DK. It was revealed last year that Kabir Singh actor will be leading Amazon Prime Video's next action thriller web series which is said to be a two-part series. According to reports, Shahid will be in the title role in & as 'Sunny', and the shooting is said to be begun next week in Goa. ## Shahid took to his Instagram stories and shared a picture with Raj & DK. "It's taking offfff...... These bad boys got a hard vibe and a dark plan..", he wrote on the picture. ## "Raj & DK's show with Shahid has been titled Sunny. It's an explosive action-thriller with their usual quirks infused in it. Planned as a two-season project, this series will see Shahid in the titular role, performing some acutely designed daredevil action sequences. He is excited to dive into the quirk world of Raj & DK and will fly off to Goa today to join them", said a source quoted in Peepingmoon.com. ## South film industry superstar Vijay Sethupathi has reportedly been signed to play the villain which also happens to be his digital debut. Earlier, it was said that Malavika Mohanan will play the leading lady, however, the South Indian actress Raashi Khanna is now reportedly cast as the female lead. Actor-director Amole Gupte will also play a pivotal role and will join the sets on 2nd February. The show has been planned to be wrapped by the end of April 2021. ## This web series marks the third collaboration between Raj & DK and Amazon Prime Video after their two seasons of Manoj Bajpayee-fronted The Family Man with the second season set to premiere on Fabruary 12. On the other hand, Shahid Kapoor will next see the Hindi remake of the Telugu movie, Jersey which is scheduled to be released on November 5 on the occasion of Diwali this year. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

There was a massive demand for the sequel of Disney+Hotstar's action espionage thriller web series, Special Ops, headlined by Kay Kay Menon. The series gained a homogenous response from the viewers and now, filmmaker Neeraj Pandey and Disney+ Hotstar on Friday announced a multi-series franchise, titled "Special Ops Universe". ## The first show in the franchise will be "Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story", which will see Menon reprising his role of Himmat Singh from the 2020 series. The new series will tell Singh's backstory and form a pivotal part of the universe in three episodes which will start production later this year. ## "We are starting off with a unique 'Special Ops 1.5' which is neither a prequel nor a sequel. The series will start with Himmat Singh being assigned to another case, but the deflection point is the same parliament attack that started the series of events. It will be narrated across three episodes, approximately an hour-long each", the filmmaker said in a statement as reported in News 18.## You loved it, so we brought it back! Get ready for another chapter in the #SpecialOpsUniverse because #SpecialOpsIsBack!..@FridayStorytel1 @kaykaymenon02 @ShitalBhatiaFFW @neerajpofficial pic.twitter.com/0DMgfMFXTj— Disney+HotstarVIP (@DisneyplusHSVIP) January 22, 2021 ## Menon said he is thrilled to be part of this new universe. "If you thought that you had seen the best of Himmat Singh, you need to wait for 'Special Ops 1.5'. It is a terrific redemption story. There is some interesting history about the character that will unfold. As an actor, I strive to do different things, and being part of a new universe is very exciting".## The series will be shot across multiple international locations and the makers plan to scale up the action and drama. Sunil Rayan, President, and Head at Disney+ Hotstar said that they are thrilled to partner with Pandey to bring this ambitious new format.## "We're excited to venture in this nonlinear format of storytelling that brings alive an entire universe; where stories and different characters can simultaneously co-exist. The scale at which this is being conceived is enormous and speaks of our passion for creating world-class entertainment for our audiences" Rayan said. ## The original series, Special OPS starred Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh, a member of the Research and Analysis Wing along with Revathi Pillai, Karan Tacker, Vipul Gupta, Muzamil Ibrahim, Sana Khan, Meher Vij, Saiyami Kher, Divya Dutta, and Vinay Pathak in key roles. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Actor Vivian Dsena, who rose to fame with the supernatural television show Pyaar Kii Yeh Ekk Kahani, is not perturbed by the sudden wave of OTT taking over. He believes that the two mediums are different and cannot be compared.## "Everybody is not an OTT fan, and everybody is not an Indian television fan. The audience is very neatly separated or rather bifurcated", Vivian tells IANS.## The actor who is known for his performances as Abhay in Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahani, R.K. in Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon, has reasons to believe that the digital world should not be confused with what television has to offer. ## "The digitalization is in the direction of a digital world so if you compare it with television it would be very different because both the mediums are different. I don't think OTT should be in competition with Indian television because the basics never change, so television has always been the base of the mass audience platform, and digitalization is a completely different world", he says.## Speaking about his popularity, Vivian says he never imagined he could deliver a hit following the super success of 'Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani' show in which he played a vampire. ## "I never thought all three shows of mine would do so good. After 'Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani', I never thought that 'Madhubala: Ek Ishq Ek Junoon' would become such a big show, and after 'Madhubala...', my next release 'Shakti: Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki' would also become such a big show. I just went with the flow", Vivian told IANS. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Actor Rana Daggubati will be seen in the new show of discovery plus 'Mission Frontline'. He says working on the documentary, which highlights the life of jawans of the Border Security Force, has given him a perspective on what goes into guarding our frontiers.## "India's Border Security Force - or the country's first line of defense has no holidays, no breaks and no breathers. If it isn't for those brave-hearts always on their toes, our nation stands at risk. I feel grateful to have been able to meet them, live with them and train with them", Rana said.## "As a civilian and countryman, this experience gave me perspective on what goes into guarding our frontiers, 24/7. These Jawans are our lifeline, our guarantee to sovereignty, and they're the true heroes", the actor added.## Also Read - Discovery Plus Announces Three New Originals, Gets Into OTT Content Creation in India ## "Going by what I experienced in Jaisalmer, Mission Frontline is a tribute to those Jawans' grit and spirit, with the intention to drive home some inspiration and gratitude for our defense forces, whose service we often take for granted", he shared.## The documentary will premiere on discovery+ on January 21. ## On Monday, Rana took to Twitter and shared the promo of the show in which he can be seen experiencing the life of a BSF Jawan and live with them at the Murar Post, Jaisalmer. In the show, he will be seen performing several tasks, including physical training routines and running drills. Rana will also be trained to use weapons, patrolling on a camel, and riding sand scooters. ## Being in the @BSF_India is not easy! Drills, firing, simulated mission, I could feel the rush and a sense of pride! Going through grueling physical training with these heroes was a priceless feeling. #MissionFrontline Premieres 21st Jan on @discoveryplusIN #DiscoveryPlusOriginal pic.twitter.com/9U3O2iglyJ— Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) January 18, 2021 ## Stay tuned...