Tag: jiocinema

JioCinema Premium Plans With Ad-Free 4K Video Streaming Starting at Rs. 29 Announced

JioCinema Premium can now be purchased as a monthly subscription in India, the streaming service announced on Thursday. The Viacom18-owned platform will let users stream movies and TV series — including content from HBO, Paramount, Peacock, and Warner Bros. — without advertisements, at up to 4K resolution, along with the ability to download content for offline viewing. The default plan will enable streaming on one screen at the time, while a family plan will increase that limit to four devices.

The subscription page on the service’s website reveals that a JioCinema Premium plan is now priced at Rs. 29 per month with access to one screen, while the four-screen ‘Family’ subscription costs Rs. 89. It’s worth noting that the mention of “special introductory pricing” for both JioCinema Premium plans suggests that these plans could eventually be priced at Rs. 59 and Rs. 149 per month for the individual and family plans, respectively.

JioCinema Premium was previously available as part of an annual subscription that was priced at Rs. 999. This plan is no longer listed on the streaming service’s website, which means customers will have to opt for the monthly plan. With the ongoing introductory pricing, the effective cost of the personal JioCinema Premium plan is Rs. 348 — much lower than the older plan. Meanwhile, the ‘Family’ plan effectively costs Rs. 1,068 for one year.

JioCinema’s website reveals that the plans are available at ‘introductory’ prices

 

At its current price, JioCinema costs less than Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Amazon Prime Video. The cheapest Netflix plan in India costs Rs. 149 a month, while Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video both cost Rs. 299 for a one-month subscription.

Meanwhile, the JioCinema website says that both the individual and family plans will offer ad-free streaming, except for live and sports content — including the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament.  The platform will continue to offer access to sports content for free, along with advertisements that will still be displayed for subscribers who pick either of the JioCinema Premium plans, according to the platform.

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Six Classic Indian Films Shot Before 1947 to Stream This Republic Day

Republic Day movie recommendations are often a compilation of patriotic movies, which we have probably already seen a few times over the years. I was about to do the same when I got into thinking if there was another way of feeling more connected to our roots through the lens of cinema, and bingo! What could be a better way to do this than peeping back in time captured by the classic movies shot in pre-Independence India? These films were impacted by the ongoing struggle for independence and rightly capture the essence of that era.

However, to look for films shot before 1947 available to stream on OTT today isn’t an easy task. While most platforms have “retro” “classics” or “old” genres, you’ll probably wind up with hits from the later parts of Indian cinema – a brilliant array of films starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, or Dilip Kumar.

While I was counting on Netflix the most, I couldn’t find a single title from the era in its long list of recommendations (believe me, I tried every cheat code and hack). Even Prime Video had just one – Mehboob Khan’s Humayun.

JioCinema, however, will let you stream plenty of these classics, free of cost (of course, with some annoying advertisements at the beginning of the film) Besides the ones recommended below from JioCinema, you could also go for Shah Jehan (1946), Sikandar (1943), Tansen (1943) and Pukar (1949) available on the streaming platform.

Next in line was Sheemaroo’s own OTT platform SheemarooMe, which is still harbouring films from the bygone days of even 1920s. While you might still have to battle a few ads here and there, if you aren’t a subscriber, for an ardent admirer of retro films this could be their next favourite website!

While YouTube itself doesn’t have many films from the pre-Independent era to rent or buy, some channels like Ultra Movies and Shemaroo have uploaded complete films for cinema lovers including Neel Kamal (1947), Achhut Kanya (1936), and Amar Jyoti (1936).

If you have an Amazon Prime Subscription, you could also go for an add-on for Eros Now – which includes plenty of such titles like the iconic Devdas (1935), Khazanchi (1941), and Anmol Ghadi (1946). While the original Eros site and application are down, the Eros Now channel on Prime’s Video is working just fine.

With that being said, get ready to take a trip back in time this Republic Day with these rare cinematic pieces. Here are our picks for six classic Indian films shot before 1947, available to stream in 2024. Happy binge-watching!

Bhakta Pralhad (1926)

Where: SheemaroMe

By 1926, silent films had already been around in India for around 13 years. At this time, mythological and religious storylines dominated the cinema.

Bhakta Pralhad is yet another classic by the father of Indian Cinema, Dada Saheb Phalke. It tells the mythological legend of demon king Hiranyakashyap and his defiant son Prahalad, who is a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap did everything — from burning Prahalad with oil to getting him trampled under elephants — to stop him from worshipping Vishnu, but Prahalad’s faith remained unscathed. Per the legend, the film shows the Lord finally appearing to his rescue and killing his demon father. The film was later remade in most of the Indian languages.

Now, let’s not forget the fact that this was the time when the cinema was still relatively new to colonised India and the viewers were strongly associating the actors with their mythological roles outside of the theatre as well. Interestingly, this is also the time when buses were introduced in India, in the coastal city of Mumbai.

Dharmatma (1935)

Where: ShemarooMe

Dharmatma came to the Indian audience when social injustice and untouchability made the rule of the day. It is a biopic of Sant Eknath – a philosopher, saint, and poet from 16th century Maharashtra. The film particularly focuses on his humanitarian defence of the ‘untouchable’ castes.

Dharmatma provides a rare glimpse into the deeply troubling social fabric of that time. The bilingual film was shot in both Hindi and Marathi and was one of the only four films made on casteism at that time.

The film was originally titled “Mahatma”, but the name didn’t get a clearance from the certification board (probably because the term had become synonymous with Gandhi at the time?). This is also the year when The Government of India Act 1935 was passed by the British Parliament.

Pukar (1939)

Where: JioCinema

Get a taste of the bygone days and lengthy Urdu dialogues in a 4:3 aspect ratio with the black-and-white classic Pukar. One of the earliest Muslim social films of the time, Pukar follows the inner conflict of Mughal Emperor Jehangir – known for his “an eye for an eye” attitude – when a woman accuses his wife Noor Jahan of murdering a commoner by mistake.

It is worth mentioning that after a few months of the release – when people were probably still bringing up the film and its characters in their evening ritualistic tea breaks – British India officially declared war against Nazi Germany, during World War II. (Isn’t it intriguing to think how the timeline for wars and art co-exist?)

Kismet (1943)

Where: JioCinema

Kismet holds a special position in the history of Indian cinema for a lot of reasons. It was the first Indian blockbuster film, which grossed one crore and redefined the position of cinema in India. It is also the first one to show an anti-hero character in prominent dual roles. Packed with a bunch of patriotic songs, the film resonated with the ongoing struggle for Independence as well.

Here Ashok Kumar – an undisputed superstar of that time – steps into the shoes of a pickpocket, who doesn’t have an ounce of shame for his immoral acts. (You probably remember him from his role as Professor Sinha in Mr. India. Or is it just me?). Moral epiphanies, emotional breakthroughs, and strides of romance are in store.

Prithvi Vallabh (1943)

Where: JioCinema

Prithvi Vallabh is an ideal king for Avantipur- kind, just, and courageous; he bows his head before God and no one. Tailap, the ruler of his neighbouring state is just the opposite. Envious of Vallabh, Tailap hatches an evil plan to attack his estate and hold him captive.

Durga Khote of Mughal-E-Azam fame plays Tailap’s equally wicked sister, who plays accomplice in all his conspiracies.

Interestingly, the film was a remake of Manilal Joshi’s silent film of the same name from 1924 – which in turn was an adaptation of a Gujarati novel.

Humayun (1944)

Where: Prime Video

Another hit from Ashok Kumar around that time was this classic – the seventh-highest-grossing film of 1945. The movie brings a slice of history in the form of Mughal emperor Humayun, who was forced to flee to Iran after losing Delhi to his enemies, shortly after he was crowned after Babur’s death. Nargis (Mother India) plays Humayun’s Queen Consort Hamida Bano in the film.

Sadly, this is the only pick from the era which I could find on Prime Video. So, if the cinephile in you awakens and you decide to search for more on the platform, let me save you from the disappointing drill!

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Disney Said to Near Multibillion-Dollar Deal With Reliance

Reliance Industries, controlled by Asia’s richest tycoon Mukesh Ambani, is nearing a cash and stock deal to buy Walt Disney‘s India operations, according to people familiar with the matter.

The US entertainment giant may sell a controlling stake in the Disney Star business, which it values at around $10 billion (nearly Rs. 83,100 crore), as opposed to piecemeal transactions weighed earlier, the people said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. Reliance views the assets at between $7 billion (nearly Rs. 58,150 crore) to $8 billion (nearly Rs. 66,470 crore), some of the people said.

The acquisition could be announced as early as next month with some of Reliance’s media units merged into Disney Star, the people said, without providing further details.

Under the proposal, Disney will likely continue to hold on to a minority stake in the Indian company after any cash and stock swap transaction is completed, the people said. No final decision has been made on the deal or the valuation, and Disney could still decide to hold onto the assets for a bit longer, they added.

Reliance “evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis” and will make necessary disclosures as required, a spokesperson for the company said in an emailed reply. A representative for Disney in India didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The deal talks are illustrative of Ambani’s disruption of India’s entertainment industry after he scooped up the streaming rights to the Indian Premier League for $2.7 billion (nearly Rs. 22,430 crore) in 2022. The billionaire’s JioCinema platform then chose to broadcast the hugely popular domestic cricket tournament for free earlier this year.

Reliance then scored another win by bagging a multi-year pact to broadcast Warner Bros. Discovery‘s HBO shows in India, content that was previously with Disney.

Even as Disney Star struggled with sliding subscriber numbers, the media group hasn’t ceded the market and had been making investments. It has been weighing other options for the business, including an outright sale or setting up a joint venture, Bloomberg News reported in July.

Still, Disney’s India streaming platform managed to draw in a record 43 million viewers on Sunday for the men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and New Zealand, the company said in a statement. That was higher than the 35 million viewership the highly anticipated India-Pakistan grudge match drew earlier this month.

© 2023 Bloomberg LP 

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Ahsoka to Aakhri Sach: Top Movies and Web Series to Watch This Week

As we approach the end of August, OTT platforms have ramped up their content output, offering ample options for people to binge-watch shows and movies throughout the weekend. No one wants to waste time scrolling through streaming apps for hours, and so, we’ve come back with a list of films and shows that’ll keep you entertained. The new Star Wars live-action series Ahsoka is easily the standout, with Rosario Dawson returning to investigate an emerging threat in the galaxy far, far away. It’s already out on Disney+ Hotstar. Meanwhile, on the Indian content front, we’ve got Guns & Gulaabs, the retro-style crime-comedy from Raj & DK that blends romance, action, and nostalgia into a fine paste.

For Indian hip-hop fans, we’ve got Bajao, which navigates the Punjabi pop music industry via the eyes of three young filmmakers who’ve found themselves in big trouble. The series marks rapper Raftaar’s acting debut, and is now streaming on JioCinema. On the movie side, the Gal Gadot and Alia Bhatt-led Heart of Stone is a major one, continuing its #1 global rank, as per Netflix’s charts.

With that, here’s a guide on what to watch this weekend:

Ahsoka

When: Now streaming
Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano makes her long-awaited live-action debut in the latest series from Dave Filoni, as she embarks on a new adventure to take on General Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who is poised to return as the heir to the Galactic Empire. Her effort is compounded by having to deal with her strained past — specifically, her former student Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) — an expert on explosives — who was abandoned mid-training and therefore has a bone to pick with her master. Completing the trio of returning Star Wars Rebels characters is the Twi’lek ace pilot Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), navigating the stars via her starship ‘Ghost.’

The series will also pit Ahsoka against her former master Anakin Skywalker, who we know will eventually turn to the dark side and be known as the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Hayden Christensen will be reprising that role, presumably touching on his reasons for abandoning Ahsoka many years prior. Meanwhile, the dark force honing Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and his student Shin (Ivanna Sakho) serve as other major hurdles in Ahsoka’s path to saving the fragile New Republic.

The first two episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. The remaining six will drop on a weekly basis, every Tuesday, until October 3.

Best Star Wars TV Series to Watch Before Ahsoka

Bajao

When: Now streaming
Where: JioCinema

A trio of young aspiring filmmakers — Ved (Tanuj Virwani), Dhaari (Sahil Khattar), and Cookie (Sahil Vaid) — strike a deal with a problematic hip-hop icon Babbar (Raftaar) to make a music video that would herald his comeback to the rap scene. Their lives soon take a disastrous turn when a night of celebration turns to chaos, causing them to lose a bag of Rs. 2 crore in cash, and the rapper missing. With no recollection of their memory and a 48-hour countdown, Bajao swells into a twisted search and rescue mission, navigating hip-hop culture and street crime, all the while dealing with a local gangster, whom the filmmakers appear to have wronged.

Yes, that last part is quite reminiscent of Todd Phillips’ The Hangover, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the missing rapper had been right under their noses the entire time.

Jio Studios Unveils Content Slate With 62 Titles: Raftaar-led Bajao, Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki, More

Satyaprem Ki Katha

When: Now streaming
Where: Amazon Prime Video

Kartik Aaryan stars in this musical love story as Satyaprem aka Sattu, a good-for-nothing law school dropout, who always dreams — literally — about getting married to a beautiful woman, but gets rejected for being jobless. However, the realisation doesn’t strike him hard until much later, when he encounters a mesmerising dancer Katha (Kiara Advani), who is way out of his league and is looking to marry the ideal husband — something Satyaprem isn’t.

That said, fate has different plans for him and the pair end up getting married, much to Katha’s dismay, forcing Sattu to improve his ways and become a worthy husband, while being understanding of her dark secret. Marking director Sameer Vidwans’ first Hindi-language film, Satyaprem Ki Katha also stars Gajraj Rao (Maja Ma), Supriya Pathak (Rashmi Rocket), and Rajpal Yadav (Phir Hera Pheri).

Heart of Stone

When: Now streaming
Where: Netflix

After partaking in a sleek heist in Netflix’s Red Notice, Gal Gadot is now slipping into the role of Rachel Stone, an international spy working for the Charter, an elusive group with no political leanings that relies on a mysterious asset called ‘The Heart’ for its day-to-day tasks. It’s basically a powerful AI that keeps track of a person’s digital footprint to create data that helps predict potential global threats and deliver odds of success in thwarting them. That prize soon gets stolen by the mysterious hacker Keya Dhawan (Alia Bhatt), kickstarting a globetrotting hunt across the snowy mountaintops to even some risky airborne manoeuvres.

Heart of Stone also stars Jamie Dornan (Belfast) as the MI6 agent Parker, Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of the Dead) as the Charter’s tech specialist ‘Jack of Hearts,’ and Sophie Okenedo (Hotel Rwanda) as its leader Nomad.

Guns & Gulaabs

When: Now streaming
Where: Netflix

Guns & Gulaabs serves as an ode to Bollywood in the mid-90s, focusing its sights on a fictional cartel-run town called Gulaabganj, where a group of outlandish characters try making a name for themselves. Among them, we’ve got Rajkummar Rao’s (Monica, O My Darling) Paana Tipu, a lovesick mechanic distraught by his father’s death, who murders a couple of thugs by shoving a spanner down their throats. Hence the first name: Paana.

Then there’s Chhotu Ganchi (Adarsh Gourav), the reluctant heir to a drug empire, who struggles with transporting a large amount of opium and is hell-bent on making his father proud. Adding some spice to this interconnecting drama is a local goofy assassin named ‘4 Cut Aatmaram’ (Gulshan Devaiah), notorious for killing his victims with four stabs of a switchblade. He never breaks his rule.

Adding some normalcy to the otherwise cartoonish characters is the honest narcotics Officer Arjun Varma (Dulquer Salmaan), who turns into a chaos agent when asked to turn corrupt and help out with smuggling opium. It’s an all-around quirky story that jumps between its characters and focuses on worldbuilding in the first half before things fall into place to unfold a revenge arc, heartbreak, and the taste of sweet innocence through the eyes of three schoolmates. Adding to its aura are the vintage titles, pop-culture references, and some classical music suited to the time period to best immerse you in Raj & DK’s newly-crafted world.

Aakhri Sach

When: August 25 (Now streaming)
Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Hard-nosed investigative officer Anya (Tamannaah Bhatia) is summoned to solve a bizarre case, in which the 11 members of a ‘regular’ family were found dead — 10 of them were found hanging in the courtyard of their residence. Yep, this new Hotstar Specials show is based on the infamous real-life Burari deaths from 2018, where it was concluded that the family had committed mass suicide. While going about her investigation, Anya discovers an odd connection between the house’s layout with the family member count — there are 11 windows, 11 doors, and 11 odd pipes peeking out of a wall, making for a rather perplexing case. The only solid account she has is a set of diaries maintained by the family members.

Robbie Grewal — best known for Romeo Akbar Walter — directs all episodes of Aakhri Sach, which also stars Abhishek Banerjee (Paatal Lok) as Anya’s junior officer, and Shivin Narang as a key suspect.

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Blind, Starring Sonam Kapoor, Is Now Available to Stream on JioCinema

Blind, the new suspense thriller starring Sonam Kapoor in the lead, is now available to stream on JioCinema. Originally slated for a theatrical release, the film was surprisingly listed among Jio Studios’ 2023 content slate, after presumably being shopped around for a while since wrapping production in early 2021. Marking Kapoor’s digital debut, the film’s overarching theme is aimed at shedding light on the life of a visually impaired individual, giving marginalised voices a platform. Shome Makhija, best known for his work on the Amitabh Bachchan-led Badla, has written and directed Blind — essentially setting his directorial debut.

Ahn Sang-hoon’s 2011 Korean thriller Blind has seen numerous regional reinterpretations, ranging from a Chinese (The Witness), a Japanese (Mienai Mokugeki-sha), and even a Tamil-language Indian remake (Netrikann). Makhija’s version is therefore the second Indian remake, which while being coincidentally produced around the same time period as the Tamil version, succumbed to numerous delays before settling for a digital release. The setting remains the same across all versions of Blind, which wraps around the mysterious disappearance and killings of numerous young women — presumably the works of a serial killer.

Blind puts you into the shoes of Giah (Kapoor), a former police officer whose career ended when she lost her eyesight in a tragic car accident. Years later, still unable to land a job in the force, she’s forced to accept a lift from a stranger in the middle of the night, only for the ride to get weirder when she hears an odd bump and a yelp from the car’s boot. Fearing that it must be one of the abducted victims she’d heard about on the news, she creates a ruckus to no avail, with the suspected killer letting her go because she’s blind. On a mission to help solve the case, Giah turns to the law, only to get ridiculed and rejected by the lead officer Prithvi Khanna (Vinay Pathak) due to her disability, which doesn’t make her a solid witness or ensure that her testament will hold up in court.

Regardless, through her years in the academy and an even acutely developed sense of smell and perception, Giah impresses him by accurately judging his height and build — in turn, forming an alliance to track down the killer. Amidst all this, she’s got a mysterious stalker (Purab Kohli) with a peculiar smell, whom she recognises as the serial killing driver, kickstarting a cat-and-mouse game where he isn’t afraid to call and challenge her to put an end to his crimes. Blind was largely shot in Glasgow, Scotland and also stars Shubham Saraf (Shantaram), Lillete Dubey (Kal Ho Naa Ho), Lucy Aarden (Ten Percent), and Javed Khan (A Murder at the End of the World).

As with most other Jio Studios releases, Blind is available to watch for free on JioCinema — no login or subscription required — with additional dubs in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Bengali. The film is part of Viacom18’s 62-title-long extensive content slate, which includes major theatrical releases such as Shah Rukh Khan-led Dunki, Amitabh Bachchan’s Section 84, and in June, played host to Shahid Kapoor starrer Bloody Daddy.

Any Bollywood theatrical release from Jio Studios should eventually make its way onto JioCinema as well. The streamer also comes with a Premium plan — costing Rs. 999 yearly — which grants access to a chunk of HBO and Warner Bros. content, alongside a collection of content from Peacock.

Blind is now available to watch for free on JioCinema.

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Netflix, Amazon, JioCinema-Backed Group Protests New Tobacco Warning Rules in India

An Indian group representing Netflix, Amazon and Disney has told the government its new tobacco warning rules are impossible to implement for streaming giants and will impinge on content creators’ freedom of expression, a letter seen by Reuters showed.

As part of India’s anti-tobacco drive, the health ministry last month ordered streaming platforms to insert static health warnings during smoking scenes within three months. Also, India wants at least 50 seconds of anti-tobacco disclaimers, including an audio-visual, at the start and in the middle of each program.

The three companies, and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s streaming platform JioCinema, were recently part of a privately held discussion to consider pushback options, including a legal challenge, as executives worried that the rules would require editing of millions of hours of Indian and Hollywood content.

The amount of multilingual content on platforms “is very high … there is a practical impossibility associated with including such warnings across content,” the letter by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) stated.

IAMAI asked the health ministry to revisit the “onerous” rules, saying a survey had shown viewers were indifferent to depictions of smoking on streaming platforms, the letter said.

Netflix declined to comment, while IAMAI and the other companies did not immediately respond. The health ministry also did not respond.

Beyond Hollywood content, streaming companies Netflix, Amazon, Disney and JioCinema have become inreasingly popular in India. Popular Hindi content starring Bollywood actors on such platforms have smoking scenes.

Activists have welcomed India’s new rules, saying it would discourage smoking in a country where tobacco kills 1.3 million people each year.

The companies believe content descriptors — which warn users with a label “smoking” in a video alongside its title at the start — were more effective, IAMAI said.

The “disruptions” caused by warnings, the group said, were “problematic for creators that put in considerable investments.”

All smoking and alcohol drinking scenes in movies in India’s cinemas and on TV, under law, require health warnings, but there were so far no regulations for the streaming giants.

In 2013, Woody Allen stopped his film, Blue Jasmine, from being screened in India after learning that mandatory anti-tobacco warnings would be inserted into its smoking scenes.

Sanjay Seth of non-profit Sambandh Health Foundation said there should be no difference in how smoking is discouraged in cinema, and on digital platforms.

“They must implement this. It will save lives,” Seth said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023 

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Disney+ Hotstar to Stream ICC Cricket Tournaments for Free on Mobile Devices in India

Walt Disney Co’s Hotstar will offer free streaming of cricket tournaments in India on mobile devices, following rival JioCinema’s success in garnering millions of viewers with a similar strategy in the cricket-crazy nation. Hotstar said on Friday it would offer the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup tournaments at no cost to users. JioCinema had offered free telecast of the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the world’s most lucrative annual sporting properties, after it bagged the internet rights from Hotstar.

The broadcasting joint venture of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries said it had clocked a record 13 billion digital views in the first five weeks of the tournament, with each viewer spending an hour on average per match. Research firm CLSA has estimated Hotstar’s subscriber base shrank by nearly 5 million users after it lost the IPL rights.

While JioCinema is preparing to start charging users for content, its executives have said IPL streaming will continue to be offered at no cost. Cricket is the most popular game in the world’s top populous nation, where the bulk of digital consumption is driven by smartphones with an estimated 700 million users.

“If continued over the longer term, free cricket offerings may magnify losses for streaming platforms or lead to consolidation, as many platforms may not be able to survive with lower revenue per user,” Elara Capital analyst Karan Taurani said. With hefty content costs and strong competition in digital ads, freemium – a blended revenue model that relies on both subscription fees and ad sales – is the best way to go for steaming platforms in India, Taurani added. 

© Thomson Reuters 2023 

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Netflix, Disney, Amazon, JioCinema to Challenge Tobacco Warning Rules for Streaming Services in India

Streaming giants Netflix, Amazon, and Disney on Friday privately discussed a possible legal challenge and other ways to stall India’s new tobacco warning rules, amid fears they will need to edit millions of hours of existing web content, sources said. The pushback is the latest headache for streaming giants in India, a top growth market. Companies often face legal cases and police complaints their content sometimes hurts religious sentiment, and many have self-censored content over the years. As part of India’s anti-tobacco drive, the health ministry this week ordered streaming platforms should within three months insert static health warnings during smoking scenes. 

Also, India wants at least 50 seconds of anti-tobacco disclaimers, including an audio-visual, at the start and in the middle of each program. In the first signs of industry distress, executives of the three global streaming companies, and India’s Viacom18 which runs billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema app, held a closed-door meeting, where Netflix said the rules would hit customer experience and push production houses to block their content in India, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.

Executives in India also discussed ways of a possible legal challenge to assert that other ministries – IT and information & broadcasting – have powers over streaming giants, and not the health ministry, said one of the sources. The companies, and India’s health ministry, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters is the first to report the industry’s planned pushback.

Already, all smoking and alcohol-drinking scenes in movies in India’s cinemas and on TV, under the law, require health warnings, but so far there were no regulations for the streaming giants, whose content has become increasingly popular. In 2013, Woody Allen stopped his film, Blue Jasmine, from being screened in India after learning about mandatory anti-tobacco warnings would be inserted into its smoking scenes. Activists have welcomed new anti-tobacco rules by India, the world’s second-largest producer of tobacco that kills 1.3 million people each year in the country. India also has stringent cigarette pack warning rules.

HEALTH VS WARNINGS “HARASSMENT”

Truth Initiative, a public health nonprofit group, in March, said 60 percent of the 15 most popular streaming shows among 15- to 24-year-olds it analyzed contained depictions of tobacco, “effectively exposing 25 million young people to tobacco imagery” in 2021. But in India, companies from Netflix to Amazon to Disney, also have popular Hindi content which often shows Bollywood actors smoking, something activists say encourages tobacco use.

India is a hot market for streaming giants, and executives fear business impact and higher costs. Ambani’s JioCinema has just in recent weeks signed multiple content deals with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros, bringing popular shows like ‘Succession’ and ‘The Office’ to its platform. Together, the companies have millions of hours of content. 

“New content being created needs to be changed and old content needs to be modified. It could require insertion of ad-type warning in between,” said Kaushik Moitra, partner at Bharucha & Partners who advises streaming firms and production houses. During the Friday meeting, Amazon and other companies made the point there was no way films can be edited in three months, said the second source, adding the industry decided to consult lawyers and write letters in protest.

Dylan Mohan Gray, a filmmaker who directed documentaries such as ‘Fire in the Blood’, said the new Indian rules amount to ‘harassment’, saying that murder, war, and extremely violent crime scenes were not regulated in the same way. “Smoking, which though certainly a serious public health problem, is both legal and a massive source of government revenue in this country,” he said. 

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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IPL 2023 Begins on March 31 in India: All You Need to Know

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 begins on March 31 in India, with the BCCI-run tournament returning to its traditional home-away stadium format this year after modifications and venue changes were implemented in its previous editions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The popular league cricket tournament, which includes 10 teams fighting to become champions, is currently in its 16th edition and sees Gujarat Titans return as defending champions. Notably for viewers, there are major changes to the streaming experience, with JioCinema taking over as the streaming platform for IPL from 2023 onwards.

IPL 2023: Tournament format, dates, and timings

IPL 2023 will follow the traditional league format for much of the tournament, with each team playing every other team once at home, and once away. The four top teams after the league stage will progress to the playoffs, where the first and second-placed teams have a distinct advantage over the third and fourth-placed teams.

The IPL 2023 will take place from March 31 to May 28, with the final set to take place in Ahmedabad, Gujarat — the home venue of the defending champions Gujarat Titans. During the league stage, teams will play primarily at their traditional home venues, although some matches are scheduled to take place in Guwahati, Assam and Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh as denoted home venues for Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings respectively.

League stage matches will take place every day (at least one match per day) from March 31 to May 21, with most matches starting at 7:30pm. However, some matches will start at 3:30pm, so keep a look out for the specific schedule of your favourite team.

IPL 2023: How to watch

There is a big change to how IPL 2023 can be watched, as compared to previous editions of the tournament. With streaming rights changing hands and Viacom18 securing the rights, matches in 2023 will be broadcast on JioCinema, which is available on multiple platforms including smartphones, tablets, smart televisions, and streaming devices, as well as the low-cost JioPhone feature phones.

Interestingly, JioCinema is streaming the entire IPL 2023 tournament at up to Ultra-HD resolution, with numerous other improvements to the viewing experience, such as the ability to change camera angles and languages, being implemented. The app will also provide access to statistics and virtual reality implementations on supported devices.

Viewers will be happy to note that JioCinema is currently accessible free of charge to all, with no subscription plan required and the app free to download on all platforms. JioCinema was the streaming platform for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and drew criticism for poor performance and technical issues then, but it’s possible that these issues will be ironed out ahead of IPL 2023 to ensure proper viewing.

Television viewers also have an option to watch IPL 2023 on traditional cable and DTH connections, with the Star Sports network retaining the TV broadcast rights for IPL going into 2023. However, viewers with access to smart TVs and reliable Internet connections are promised a better experience with JioCinema, particularly the higher resolution and app-based features such as camera angles and 12 Indian languages for commentary and on-screen graphics.

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