Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

Film producer <keyword id="6356243" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ramesh-Taurani">Ramesh Taurani</keyword> has tested <keyword id="6439681" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="positive">positive</keyword> for Covid-19. The <keyword id="3635" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Filmmaker">filmmaker</keyword> shared the news on Instagram on Wednesday, informing that he has tested positive after taking the first dose of the vaccine. "I have tested positive for <keyword id="8764262" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> and have informed BMC. I have been following all the precautions and taking medications to get better. If you have interacted with me in the past 2 weeks please do get tested. I have taken my 1st vaccine dose and hope to recover from this soon. Please wear a mask and stay safe!" Ramesh Taurani shared in an Instagram post. Several Bollywood celebrities have tested positive for the virus recently. On Wednesday, Bollywood superstar <keyword id="6355923" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aamir-Khan">Aamir Khan</keyword>'s team announced that the actor has tested positive for Covid-19 and is living under home quarantine. On Monday, actor Kartik Aaryan had tweeted to inform that he has tested positive. Other Bollywood personalities who recently tested positive include actor Ranbir Kapoor, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, actors Manoj Bajpayee, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Tara Sutaria, and actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/peter-thiel-backed-vc-firm-valar-ventures-invests-in-indian-fintech-startup-velocity/articleshow/81663073.cms">Peter Thiel-backed VC firm Valar Ventures invests in Indian fintech startup Velocity</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/anupam-rasayan-ipo-lists-at-520-per-share-on-the-india-stock-exchange/articleshow/81663145.cms">Anupam Rasayan fails to dazzle on its stock market debut – shares down by nearly 8% below the issue price</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/inshorts-backed-social-networking-app-public-raises-300-crore-in-latest-funding/articleshow/81663873.cms">Inshorts-backed social networking app Public raises ₹300 crore in latest funding</a>

Film producer Ramesh Taurani tests COVID-19 positive after first dose of vaccine

<ul><li>Streaming services grew at 50-60% during the pandemic, now it’s fallen to around 13%.</li><li>Ad supported models and new regional players are disrupting the market.</li><li>Higher acquisition and production costs and churn are troubling players who are seeing effects of slowdown.</li><li>The original content that’s streaming on OTTs is also falling into a rote, say consumers and film-makers. </li></ul>The year 2020 was a watershed year for many industries, as lockdowns put enormous restrictions on people. Ramesh Bharadwaj was stuck at home waiting for the pandemic to end. To pass time and keep his mind off crazy thoughts, the 27-year-old script writer started watching web series. And he subscribed to more and more OTT platforms to keep himself occupied. “Last year (2022), I realized that I had the big three — Prime, <keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword> and <keyword id="2739840" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hotstar" source="Orion">Hotstar</keyword>, and one more Telugu OTT. I was spending over ₹5,000 a year on these services. When I came to senses, I retained two and cancelled the rest,” he told Business Insider India. Bharadwaj joins the list of many people who are cutting down on the number of OTT subscriptions. Apart from costs, the screen-time has drastically reduced after they started stepping out after the pandemic. Binge watching is no more in vogue — which is taking the shine off the growth rates of OTT players compared to the pandemic. The ‘cool factor’ goes poof The dullness that’s seeped into the OTTs is not just because of screen fatigue and too many options. The ‘alternate’ content that’s made streaming cooler than TV, is also fast waning. Akshay Bardapurkar, CEO and Founder, Planet Marathi too says that people are moving away because there is nothing exciting to watch. “People want to devote their free time to watching OTTs but the quality of content post-Covid is not up to its mark. You don’t subscribe to OTTs for one series or a movie, you need continuity and that’s seen a downfall post-Covid,” he adds. Bharadwaj too tells that he is watching a lot less of streaming services because there’s nothing exciting to watch. “The last time I enjoyed a series was Khakee and Panchayat Season 2,” he sighs. Experts also say that all the web series are sounding and looking the same too. “The thriller genre is overdone on OTT and they’re falling into a rote. In order to make people watch the next episode, they’re having to invent ‘kicks’ in each episode and extend a story that can be told in 1.5 hours to 4-4.5 hours across eight episodes,” Indrani, a documentary filmmaker tells Business Insider India. “They’re nothing more than sophisticated soaps,” she opines. The growth curve has flattened In 2023, the number of people using OTT platforms increased by 13.5%. While it’s still double-digit growth, it’s nowhere close to the 50-60% seen during the pandemic. OTT players call these reduced growth numbers as signs of stabilization and maturity. “The curve has flattened over time. This had to happen. But we at Hoichoi are seeing some pockets of high growth,” Soumya Mukherjee, COO of regional language OTT player Hoichoi tells Business Insider India. The business is moving but at a much slower pace. “Now, the (OTT) growth is more organic, influenced by factors like cheaper data, content variety and the widespread availability of digital platforms. The fervour witnessed during the pandemic-induced surge has mellowed down to a more gradual pace,” said Sameer Jain, managing director of Primus Partners. Bharat binges but on AVOD model All in all, 423.8 million Indians watch content on an OTT platform. An average user holds 2.8 subscriptions each. And India has over 100 million paid subscriptions in India. Most of the new subscribers are coming from non-metroes. “Metropolitan areas and some smaller urban centers are showing signs of saturation, experiencing minimal growth. Notably, smaller towns and rural areas, where only 23% of the population is engaged compared to the national average of 34%, are driving this growth,” Jain tells Business Insider India. This new-growth patch for OTT is coming at a new business model – AVOD or advertising-based Video on Demand. Popularized by Jio Cinema which offered Indian Cricket World Cup for free with ads, the model involves some ‘free content’ and some ‘premium’ offerings behind a paywall. The large OTTs, which disrupted linear TV, are now being disrupted. “A clear structural disruption for the India content/telecom ecosystem may lead to early consolidation signs for India OTT, strain on global OTT giants (behind the paywall), and India OTT shifting to free offerings,” says Karan Taurani, media sector analyst at Elara Capital, says in a note. Mushrooming and churn During its high-growth phase, many new and regional players have mushroomed thanks to low-entry barriers. India now has over 47 OTT platforms across languages like Haryanvi etc in addition to multiple options in South languages. “The acquisition cost of new customers is very high, and their churn is also very high,” Archana Anand, chief business officer of ZEE5 Global said at an event in November. The average cost of customer acquisition for an OTT platform currently ranges from ₹250 to ₹650, as per Jain. “The growth rate of paid subscriptions decreased by about 20% in 2022 from its peak during the pandemic. Moreover, users are now frequently activating and deactivating subscriptions,” he sums up. Mukherjee too says that there would be consolidation in the sector. “A lot of newer and smaller players will survive only on the aggregator model. And large players and established language players will be able to go on independently,” he believes. Even when it’s becoming difficult to acquire customers, OTT players are having to spend heavily on new shows. In 2022, where spending on original shows alone ranged from $600-700 million, which does include the cost of acquiring movies etc. Most OTT players are now stuck between a rock and a hard place — having to keep churning out new and interesting content for viewers who are not swelling as fast. (This is an article in the ‘Boom to Bust’ series which will discuss post-pandemic trends.)

Boom2Bust: Streaming services slip after their pandemic-highs

When the name of the movie itself is “Entertainment”, then there are high expectations that the movie will do just that. The movie is named after a Golden Retriever, who plays a pivotal character in the movie and it comes as no surprise that the movie is getting a warm response from the Indian cinema viewers. 
 Girish Johar, Film Business expert says, “In the opening weekend <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword> has managed to rake in 32 crores and seems to be getting a good response even on Monday”. 
 
In addition, Entertainment has also earned the title of being Akshay Kumar’s sixth highest grossing film by collecting approximately Rs 11.57 crores on the first day. In the past, Once Upon At Time In Mumbai Dobaara had managed to garner Rs. 11.25 crores on opening day while Khiladi 786 had managed to collect Rs. 10.40 crores. Nevertheless, the title for the highest grossing Akshay Kumar is still secure with Rowdy Rathore that had collected Rs. 48.30 crore in its first weekend. 
 
Coming back to Entertainment, this movie has been declared this year’s eighth highest opening weekend grosser. The movie is currently trailing <keyword id="6354583" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Salman-Khan">Salman Khan</keyword>'s <keyword id="6362088" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="kick">Kick</keyword>, Jai Ho (Rs 60.68 crore), Ek Villain (Rs 50.70 crore), Gunday (Rs 43.93 crore), Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (Rs 41.32 crore), Humshakals (Rs 40.13) and 2 States (Rs 38.06 crore). 
 
Entertainment is directed by debutant duo Sajid-Farhad and is co-produced by Ramesh S. Taurani of Tips Industries Ltd and Jayantilal Gada. The movie that has been made on a budget of 80 crores also stars Tamannaah Bhatia, Sonu Sood and Johnny Lever. 
 
Though Entertainment is enjoying its stint at the Box Office, things might not be as rosy for the movie going forward. On one hand, Salman Khan starer Kick continues to be strong, on the other hand there is <keyword id="2230269" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Singham-Returns">Singham Returns</keyword> releasing on August 15, 2014 . 
 
Kick, starring Salman Khan and <keyword id="6354417" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jacqueline-Fernandez">Jacqueline Fernandez</keyword>, is currently in its third week and continues to be strong. “The movie has not just entered the Rs. 300 crore club but has also surpassed Chennai Express to become the second highest grosser movie,” observes Johar. 
 
So it will be interesting to see if Kick continues to rule at the Box office in its fourth weekend and whether or not Entertainment manages to break even as Ajay Devgan’s next big movie hits cinema screen in a few days.

Box Office: Entertainment Delivers A Good Opening, Kick Continues To Grow Strong

You Searched For "Ramesh Taurani" and got 3 results

Film producer Ramesh Taurani tests COVID-19 positive after first dose of vaccine

IANS

Boom2Bust: Streaming services slip after their pandemic-highs

Katya Naidu

Box Office: Entertainment Delivers A Good Opening, Kick Continues To Grow Strong

Surbhi Chawla

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides