SAI ABHISHEK HAS BEEN developing non-fiction programming for Discovery for over a decade, but he firmly believes 2023 was a watershed year for the genre on streaming. Head of factual and lifestyle cluster, South Asia, Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes Discovery Plus, an OTT platform reserved for non-fiction programming, Abhishek reminds you how the first Indian production to win an Oscar was a documentary (The Elephant Whisperers) and how with Amazon Prime and Netflix joining the fray, the hours devoted to factual programming have increased. Netflix perhaps set the ball rolling, when it gave us a glimpse of the elusive filmmaker Aditya Chopra in The Romantics, followed by the fascinating The Hunt for Veerappan; Amazon Prime scored a hit with Dancing on the Grave, about the Shakereh Khaleeli murder case, and drew acclaim for Cinema Marte Dum Tak, a love letter to the pulp film industry of the 1990s; while Discovery Plus got eyeballs for Hunt for the Indian Mujahideen and History Hunter. “It’s heartwarming to see,” says Abhishek, “that a category that’s dying for an industrywide uplift is finally seeing it.”
Denne historien er fra February 12, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra February 12, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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He gave the beat to the world
He would pick up the rhythms of each experience of mobility and weave them into his taals. Thus it was that he reflected joy and laughter in rhythmic cycles...such was the magic of Zakir's fingersText and photographs by Raghu Rai
KERALA TOURISM CAMPAIGN, 1989 - TICKETS TO PARADISE
All it took was a catchy tagline-'God's Own Country'-for the world to discover Kerala's wealth of natural beauty. It remains among the best tourism ad campaigns, earning the state a place among top 10 international destinations
SPIRITUALITY - THE GURUS OF COOL
Among the cult Indian gurus, no one had a bigger hold on western minds than 'Osho' Rajneesh. He's also perhaps the role model for the enterprise-building gurus of today
RETAIL SHOPPING - THE MALL MANIA
Shopping malls, a 1990s innovation in India, changed the way the Indian middle class shops. Their success now lies in being 'shoppertainment' destinations, offering something for everyone
CULINARY RENAISSANCE, 1978 - TANDOORI NIGHTS
ITC's Bukhara and Dum Pukht turned the world to tandoori cuisine and had an enormous impact on the F&B industry. Decades on, they are still a pit-stop for celebrities and heads of state visiting Delhi
INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH - REVENGE OF THE NATIVE
Rushdie lit the way but Indian writing in English has taken a life of its own in the past few decades, with translated Indian fiction most recently having its moment in the sun
INDIAN ART - A BRUSH WITH GOLD DUST
The 1990s economic liberalisation came as oxygen, lighting up the Indian art scene. Today, artworks by established masters routinely go for astronomical amounts
FESTIVAL OF INDIA, 1982 - CULTURE CAPITAL
The Festival of India grew into a symbol of our 'soft power', introducing our art and aesthetics to a global audience while also helping rebrand our domestic products
THE INDIPOP TREND - DISCO GOES DESI
For ages, the film song ruled. Nothing else was audible. Then came Nazia, charioteered by Biddu, and Indian ears went into a pleasant madness. Literally, Disco Deewane. A whole genre was born
SHOLAY 1975 - THE BIRTH OF THE FANDEMIC
India had seen hits before. But Sholay seared into its collective psyche like a badland bullet. The effect was on a scale never seen before- one film creating a new mass folk culture. And a trail of monster blockbusters that still continues
