ZEE5 Global, the world’s largest streaming platform for South Asian content, announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with India’s leading content and IP studio Applause Entertainment, a venture of Aditya Birla Group for a multi-show association. Strengthening its premium offerings with compelling and diverse content, the two leading content companies will collaborate to create a robust original content slate of new ZEE5 originals in Hindi across genres to entertain billions of ZEE5 viewers across the globe.

The move is in line with ZEE5 Global’s content-first approach of partnering with the best in the creative ecosystem and bringing to the fore bespoke and premium content for a diverse audience. ZEE5 Global unveiled its first offering as part of the partnership, titled Kaun Banegi Shikharwati produced by Applause Entertainment in association with Emmay Entertainment and directed by Gauravv Chawla and Ananya Banerjee. The original will premiere exclusively on ZEE5 in January 2022. Kaun Banegi Shikharwati, is a dramedy series with a unique take on a dysfunctional royal family.

In line with its content strategy keeping the viewer at the centre, ZEE5 Global has been engaging with the top talent in the creative ecosystem to build a compelling slate of originals and movies. Through its partnerships with TVF (The Viral Fever), Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Nitesh Tiwari, and Red Chillies Entertainment amongst others, the platform has consistently delivered the most remarkable and highly loved shows across the digital entertainment ecosystem. And now with its new partnership with Applause Entertainment, which is renowned for bringing unique and compelling narratives to audiences in India and the world over, both brands are pushing the envelope further in Kaun Banegi Shikarwati that promises to be an entertainment delight.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Punit Misra, President – Content & International Markets, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said, “ZEE5’s content design principles centre around intimately knowing our viewers and building a bouquet of engaging and entertaining offerings for our multiple consumer cohorts. While Consumer Intimacy is at the heart of our content creation philosophy, our Content Creator Partners are the other crucial pillar in our approach. We are excited about our partnership with one of the leading content creators of our country – Sameer Nair & Applause Entertainment. With our shared belief in consumer obsession, coupled with their unique content creation capabilities, I am confident that we will win the hearts of millions.”

Adding to this, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “At ZEE5 Global, we look to bring to our viewers bold, original stories from South Asia that entertain them and resonate with them and that are brought to life by stellar actors and content creators. We are delighted to announce our partnership with Applause Entertainment to jointly create an exclusive premium slate of stories across genres that are unique and especially curated for our audiences across different countries.”

Commenting on the association, Mr. Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment said, “Over the past 4 years, Applause has created a diverse slate of content and explored stories across genres, languages and geographies. We are thrilled that our first outing with ZEE5 is with Kaun Banegi Shikarwati, a light-hearted, heart-warming dramedy that is both quirky and delightful, and boasts a stellar cast of actors. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with ZEE5 and help contribute in a small way to their global ambition.”

Mr. Nikkhil Advani, Producer Emmay Entertainment added, “In a fine blend of humour and drama, Kaun Banegi Shikarwati offers a quintessential story of Indian families that’s replete with oddities and conflicts. But at the core of it, lies unfiltered emotions that’s sure to resonate strongly with the masses. We are delighted to partner with Applause in creating this wonderful show and are excited to release it to global audiences on a leading platform like ZEE5.”

Ms. Nimisha Pandey, Chief Creative Officer – Hindi Originals, ZEE5, stated, “We are excited to bring premium bespoke originals to our existing gamut of diverse content in partnership with Applause Entertainment. With their expertise in creating captivating content across a multitude of genres, we are sure to create some exciting and engaging shows together. We are glad to present ‘Kaun Banegi Shikharwati’ as the first from this creative collaboration, with more enthralling content in the offing. There is an increasing need for family-viewing content in a post pandemic era and a multi-dimensional drama like ‘Kaun Banegi Shikharwati’ works beautifully in that aspect. We hope that the audience enjoy the roller coaster of emotions with this series.”

A clutter-breaking comedy-drama, Kaun Banegi Shikharwati features a spectacular cast of renowned Bollywood faces, including Naseeruddin Shah, essaying the role of the King while Lara Dutta Bhupathi, Soha Ali Khan, Kritika Kamra, Anya Singh play his daughters, and Raghubir Yadav, Cyrus Sahukar, Varun Thakur and Anurag Sinha play key roles.