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<ul><li><keyword id="106741" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Saregama">Saregama</keyword> recently announced its result. Its PAT for Q4 stood at Rs 372 million, which was a 151% growth compared to the same quarter last year.</li><li>Over the years, the company has transitioned from being a music label to today creating IPs in the form of music, films and TV series, along with manufacturing and innovating on its portable music player, <keyword id="4504073" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="carvaan">Carvaan</keyword>.</li><li><keyword id="160511" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vikram-Mehra">Vikram Mehra</keyword>, Managing Director, Saregama India tells us how the company has managed to stay relevant even after being in existence for close to 120 years, and all that it is doing to make sure it stays relevant for the next few decades too.</li></ul>Four years ago, Saregama realized a need gap in the 40+ age group when it came to consuming music. People who wanted to listen to retro music were not able to access them easily. Many missed the good old days of Radio. That was the insight that gave birth to Carvaan, Saregama’s popular portable retro music player. Since then, Saregama has kept innovating on not just Carvaan but also on its other offerings. The company which started as a music label company in 1902 has today gone much beyond that. Today, its portfolio includes intellectual property rights of over 4000 hours of TV content produced for channels in languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali. Over the last few decades, the company has forayed into retailing music through physical and digital mediums. The company now also has a film production unit, Yoodlee Films and it is this diversification of its offering that has helped it not just weather the storm of 2020, but also be ready for the future. In its recently released results, the company said that its Profit after Tax (PAT) for Q4 stood at Rs 372 million, which was a 151% growth compared to the same quarter last year. Its <keyword id="1159047" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Music-Licensing">music licensing</keyword> revenue in FY21 went up by 20%. While it has been a difficult year for many businesses, Saregama’s efforts at expanding its portfolio over the last few years is now paying off. “The biggest transition that has happened for Saregama is that from an old-world company that used to be the custodian of music, we are today a new-age company, which is riding on the digital wave, in India and globally. Proliferation of smartphones and cheap data has led to a huge increase in the consumption of content and digital is pushing this explosion. And as Saregama, we are now sitting at the heart of all the action, be it with our music, our films or TV series,” said Vikram Mehra, MD, Saregama India. Right now, the company is primarily focusing on two things, the creation of IPs, be it as music, films or TV series, and monetizing them. The second is to create a platform on the back of Carvaan to talk to the 35+ age group. While the original Carvaan was aimed at an older age group, the company is now innovating to make it attractive to a younger audience too. Last year, it had launched a Karaoke variant to appeal to the 35+ age group. Its Carvaan 2.0 version, which comes with thousands of pre-loaded songs, also supports podcasts now. On how it has been able to stay relevant, despite being an almost 120-year-old company, Mehra said, “How you think as a company makes a lot of difference. In recent times, the average age of the company has gone down steeply. We are getting younger people on board who understand the new world better and asking them to guide us.” The company is also working on the acquisition of new content aggressively. It recently announced that it has acquired the music of a series of big-ticket movies which include <keyword id="6358308" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjay-Leela-Bhansali">Sanjay Leela Bhansali</keyword>’s upcoming movie, Gangubai Kathiawadi along with his next movie, Akshay Kumar starrer Bell Bottom and Ajay Devgn’s Maidaan. Saregama has also acquired the rights of the yet unnamed official adaptation of the cult blockbuster, Anniyan, which will be directed by Shankar and will feature actor Ranveer Singh. Last year, Saregama also struck licensing deals with Facebook, Spotify and Triller. Its music is now also available on various short video platforms like Moj and Josh where people can use them to create their content. Saregama is also heavily investing on regional music. “Saregama is one of the oldest music labels in the country and we have relationships in every music and film market in the country. Because of our legacy, we are harnessing those relationships and entering into Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi music. Our aim is to create enough content so that the kids of today who are going to consume content will keep on listening to this content for another 50 years,” he explained. Last year, the lockdown also meant people were stuck at home. So while the sale of Carvaan, which is a product people want to experience before buying, saw a hit, its kids variant Carvaan Mini Kids saw impressive growth. “This is a product we have never marketed and yet it is the fastest selling Mini for us,” he added. Overall, Carvaan sold 1,10,000 units in Q4 FY21, despite retail sale having been massively impacted by the pandemic. With the addition of a podcast feature on Carvaan 2.0, Mehra is confident of the monetization opportunities it opens up for them. “For us, till now, Carvaan was a one-time margin product, similar to say a refrigerator that you sell once and make money out of it and that’s it. Now with podcasts coming in, it creates a huge opportunity for us as a platform to start generating advertising or subscription revenue,” he explained. Mehra is also not stuck on getting Carvaan-only exclusive podcasts. “Our model is a little different. As a company, we are telling podcasters to bring their podcasts to us on a non-exclusive basis. And if ever we make revenue off of it, we plan to share 40% of it with the content partner,” he added. If things go as planned, Saregama plans to start monetizing its podcasts in the next 2-3 years.

The almost 120-year-old Saregama is ready for the future; here is how it is transitioning to stay relevant for the next few decades

Once again, <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> has gone into overdrive and a fivesome was released on Friday the 13th. The big release was <keyword id="184700" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fugly">Fugly</keyword>, of course, a <keyword id="556777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="comedy-drama">comedy drama</keyword> directed by <keyword id="29915" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="actor-director">actor-director</keyword> <keyword id="121984" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kabir-Sadanand">Kabir Sadanand</keyword> and co-produced by none other than Akki (<keyword id="2823" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Akshay-Kumar">Akshay Kumar</keyword>). However, this one has seen limited success at the <keyword id="827271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Domestic-Box-Office">domestic box office</keyword>. The other four flicks of the week include Md. Mohibul Haque-directed <keyword id="582722" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="action-thriller">action thriller</keyword> <keyword id="2343872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="18-11-A-code-of-secrecy">18.11… A code of secrecy</keyword>; <keyword id="1403873" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Prakash-Saini">Prakash Saini</keyword>’s <keyword id="2249858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chal-Bhaag">Chal Bhaag</keyword>, a crime comedy; <keyword id="934838" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Debaloy-Dey">Debaloy Dey</keyword>’s <keyword id="30679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="horror-flick">horror flick</keyword> <keyword id="1092690" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Machhli-Jal-Ki-Rani-Hai">Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai</keyword> and finally, <keyword id="824801" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="unforgettable">Unforgettable</keyword>, a romantic flick directed by <keyword id="1050162" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arshad-Yusuf-Pathan">Arshad Yusuf Pathan</keyword>. Although the plots and the genres widely vary, there is one thing in common – all these four movies have turned out to be <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="box-office">box office</keyword> disasters. 
 
Fugly hit 1,100-plus screens in India and managed to collect Rs 2.95 crore on the opening day in spite of mixed reviews. <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Director">Director</keyword> Kabir Sadanand was happy, though. “Good 1st day for @FuglyTheFilm, domestic box office collection of 2.95 cr. So guys go out there and watch the film, fight against the Ugly,” Sadanand tweeted on Saturday. The movie netted around Rs 9.5 crore after the first three days (Rs 7.23 crore as per trade figure). Although it had a big release, the movie’s budget is quite low (around Rs 16 crore) and Fugly just might avoid ending up in the red. 
 
But even then, Sadanand’s third outing as a director takes him nowhere near his earlier release <keyword id="30111" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Tum-Milo-Toh-Sahi">Tum Milo Toh Sahi</keyword> (2010). Fugly is all about four close <keyword id="343" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Friends">friends</keyword> – <keyword id="330" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dev">Dev</keyword> (<keyword id="1466941" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mohit-Marwah">Mohit Marwah</keyword>), <keyword id="6815" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Devi">Devi</keyword> (<keyword id="1788525" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kiara-Advani">Kiara Advani</keyword>), <keyword id="1438" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gaurav">Gaurav</keyword> (<keyword id="132330" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="boxer-Vijender-Singh">boxer Vijender Singh</keyword>) and <keyword id="967" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aditya">Aditya</keyword> (<keyword id="1664323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arfi-Lamba">Arfi Lamba</keyword>) – living a fast-track life in and around <keyword id="66" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Delhi">Delhi</keyword>. But when the corrupt cop <keyword id="2343896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="R-S-Chautala">R.S. Chautala</keyword> (<keyword id="4666" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jimmy-Shergill">Jimmy Shergill</keyword>) takes control of their life, the foursome gets entangled in social issues and tries to find solutions, Bollywood ishtyle. The outcome is a wobbly plot that fails to delve into the myriad layers of reality or string together a robust, coherent human drama. At the end, the movie with a mission and a message (it is bound to remind you of <keyword id="3735" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rang-de-basanti">Rang de Basanti</keyword>) simply ends up in a meaningless mess. 
 
The other four flicks look like box office bombs although 18.11… A code of secrecy endeavours to decode terrorism. And this time, a <keyword id="49316" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Software-engineer">software engineer</keyword> (<keyword id="2343901" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rehal-Khan">Rehal Khan</keyword>) comes to the rescue with a hi-tech alert system and fights off all the baddies. The opening day collection of 18.11 stood at an approx. Rs 15 lakh, but the weekend numbers are not in yet. 
 
 
 
Prakash Saini’s Chal Bhaag tells the tale of three crooks – <keyword id="2333769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Munna-Supari">Munna Supari</keyword> (<keyword id="109372" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Deepak-Dobriyal">Deepak Dobriyal</keyword>), <keyword id="320578" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Daler-Singh">Daler Singh</keyword> (<keyword id="2249438" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Varun-Mehra">Varun Mehra</keyword>) and <keyword id="6412911" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="bunty">Bunty</keyword> (<keyword id="947916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tarun-Bajaj">Tarun Bajaj</keyword>). A deadly game of hide and seek with the police begins after they are charged with a political murder and in the process, you get a chilling glimpse of fake encounters and other atrocities. But the movie fails to retain the momentum or the irreverent, light-hearted tone that would have made it a well-rounded <keyword id="530399" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Black-Comedy">black comedy</keyword>. Official numbers are not in yet, but according to industry insiders, nett collection of the first three days has fallen well below Rs 1 crore. 
 
And the same holds true for the other two movies – Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai and Unforgettable. Both are box office washouts although Machhli may hook the horror movie fans. As expected, the plot is a cliché where <keyword id="173" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ayesha">Ayesha</keyword> and Uday (<keyword id="437076" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Swara-Bhaskar">Swara Bhaskar</keyword> and <keyword id="344170" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bhanu-Uday">Bhanu Uday</keyword>), a happy couple, fall prey to <keyword id="589050" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Paranormal-Activities">paranormal activities</keyword>. It has all the usual trappings to get you <keyword id="843642" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="spooked">spooked</keyword>, including an act of exorcism for a climax. On the other hand, Unforgettable features the eternal love triangle, with <keyword id="23365" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Iqbal-Khan">Iqbal Khan</keyword>, <keyword id="551555" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Alka-Verma">Alka Verma</keyword> and <keyword id="276456" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hazel-Crowney">Hazel Crowney</keyword> in the lead roles. This is another <keyword id="2076872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Box-office-bomb">box office bomb</keyword> that could not garner more than Rs 20 lakh on Day I and then sank into oblivion. As it is a high-budget movie and shot at the UAE, it is quite likely that Unforgettable would not be able to cover the costs. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

Box Office: Fugly Is Messy In Spite Of Limited Success; For The Rest,
It’s A Flop Show

Indian television always brings to its viewers some promising stories, some of which manage to strike a chord while others get lost in the heap of similar looking plots. 
 
In the coming weeks, you would be presented three different stories on three different channels. All the soaps have promising trailers and different storylines. What remains to be watched is what would be the factor that would determine the success of these serials. Also, it would be interesting to know if these shows would be able to break the magic spell that Zindagi has cast over the Indian audience. 
Here are some insider details about these upcoming shows: 
 
Laut Aao Trisha This <keyword id="3366456" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Life-OK">Life OK</keyword> show is produced by Nandita Mehra and Bhairavi Raichuda’s production house that goes by the name of 24 Frames and had earlier produced Chhal — Sheh Aur Maat. This serial is set to break some norms of Indian television. The show would be a social thriller woven around a mother’s quest to find her teenage daughter who goes missing. The show would, for the first time on Indian television, focus on incest, or in-family crimes as we call it. The plot is woven around a Spanish telenovela Dónde está Elisa. The show also marks the comeback of Maine Pyar Kiya fame Bhagyashree, and has Rajeshwari Sachdev Badola, <keyword id="806844" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Jai-Kalra">Jai Kalra</keyword> (last seen in Bade Achhe Lagte Hain) and Eijaz Khan in other roles. The serial would be aired from 21st July at 10 PM. 
 
Now coming to the inside details, we have heard that Laut Aao Trisha was first titled 'Missing' and was supposed to air on Star Plus. However, the recent success of Life Ok, and that too without any typical family drama, proved to be the decision maker for the fate of this show. 
 
Jamai Raja The <keyword id="6462633" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Zee-Tv">Zee Tv</keyword> show is different in terms of role reversal. Yes, you read it right. Up till today, we were shown various daughters-in-law taking it upon themselves to unite and hold together their new homes. However, in this show, we would be seeing <keyword id="146031" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ravi-Dubey">Ravi Dubey</keyword> playing a dutiful son-in-law who would work his way into strengthening the ties between his wife and his in-laws. Different concept, experienced cast like Ravi Dubey, Nia Sharma, Achint Kaur and Delnaz Irani, and a prime slot, this all would make Jamai Raja a must watch. The show will begin from 4th August at 8:30 PM. 
 Now coming to the inside details, this show is the first television production venture of <keyword id="2823" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Akshay-Kumar">Akshay Kumar</keyword>, who has hit gold with producing movies under his banner Hari Om Productions. He would be producing Jamai Raja under Grazing Goat productions, in collaboration with <keyword id="193280" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ashwini-Yardi">Ashwini Yardi</keyword>. 
 
Shastri Sisters The <keyword id="35780" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="colors">Colors</keyword> drama would be focusing on the relationship of four sisters as they move from Kanpur to Delhi. Although it has not been made yet, but still the storyline is not fresh, as we have seen some shows before as well, like Amanat, Radha Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi, Shubh Vivah and Kasamh Se, that focused on 3-4 sisters and sometimes a single parent, and the closeness they share with each other. However, the fact that the show is based in Delhi can be a welcome change for the audience. The show is produced by Shakuntalam Telefilms, and stars Neha Pednekar, Ishita Ganguly, <keyword id="2226694" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sonal-Vengurlekar">Sonal Vengurlekar</keyword> and Pragati Chourasiya in the lead roles. The male leads are yet to be announced. The show will begin from 21st July at 7 PM. 
 
Now coming to the inside details, it seems like the recent success of Life Ok in terms of the number one channel has stirred something inside the Colors’ office. The channel is reported to have undertaken a 360-degree integrated marketing campaign to promote Shastri Sisters across various media like cable, radio, OOH, in-train branding, print and television. Also, the channel has designed a special digital campaign which is being implemented on social media in form of quizzes. 
 
Image courtesy: Facebook fan pages

Three New Shows on Indian Television, Which One Would Rule the TRPs?

<keyword id="3148257" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pocketin">Pocketin</keyword>, a four-month old startup has raised its seed round of 150,000 USD from Hong Kong based <keyword id="3148365" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Swastika-Company">Swastika Company</keyword> Ltd and aims to consolidate the eating-out space in the national capital. 
 
Pocketin provides a technology platform for diners to discover, compare, and choose where they want to head out next based on real time deals offered, events happening around the diner, or pertaining to specific activity the diner might have in mind (group packages, buffets, etc.). 
 
It is the first ever platform in India which has given the restaurants the power to incentivize each diner differently depending upon the diner’s specifics and also the current business situation. Its revolutionary Autopilot technology, helps push curated deals to respective diners in the absence of the merchant on the platform. This way Pocketin ensures that the user gets the real time sourced deal from all the merchants within five minutes as a guarantee. 
 
This seed round will be utilized to expand across Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon. It will also help in building the core team and strengthen the core product offering. 
 
Pocketin was launched in September 2015 by Kshitij Mehra (DCE Alumnus), Anirudh Mondal (Thapar Alumnus, ex-Practo), Rahul Arora (DCE Alumnus), Siddharth Sharma (SIMC Alumnus, ex- Foxymoron) and Akshay Utreja. The venture was born out of weekly discussions on where to head next and the pain point of discovering better deals around them. 
 
“We aim to create a platform which not only helps people discover new restaurants but also make their experience pocket friendly by offering them the best possible deals/discounts through our unique Real Time deal discovery and comparison engine. We also understand that for a diner, along with the price, convenience matters a lot which is why we have a dedicated operations workforce which ensures that every customer has a delightful and hassle free table reservation and deal redemption experience at the restaurant” says Kshitij Mehra, CEO at Pocketin. 
 According to Vaibhav Jain, Director at Swastika Company Limited, “Investing in Pocketin was an interesting proposition for us as we look to fund <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> with a strong technical backbone. With the use of Real Time deal technology, they have empowered the restaurants to maximize their table occupancy and optimize profits. It’s a complete win-win situation for both the merchants and diners. This has been the reason that the platform has seen more than 75% repeat users at such an early stage” 
 “Our aim right now is to create a more intuitive experience for the user. The data points we are capturing on the platform is much more than what similar <keyword id="6354741" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Apps">apps</keyword> in the food-tech domain are able to capture because of the detailed interaction our app has with the user. This will help us to suggest the user more relevant restaurants and deals when he is looking for them without him having to make all that effort” says Anirudh Mondal, COO Pocketin. 
 
Pocketin has grown organically in the last four months and mostly the growth has been driven by word-of-mouth referrals. With a very limited spend on marketing, the company has been able to drive more than 8000 downloads and seated more than 6500 diners. Pocketin aims to partner with more than 1200 restaurants in Delhi NCR in the next six months and seat more than 1 lakh diners. It has plans to expand operations to Mumbai, Bangalore and Dubai in the next phase. With a current team size of 15, Pocketin looks to double its team in the coming months.

Four month old startup Pocketin raises seed round funding of $150,000

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The almost 120-year-old Saregama is ready for the future; here is how it is transitioning to stay relevant for the next few decades

Samarpita Banerjee

Box Office: Fugly Is Messy In Spite Of Limited Success; For The Rest, It’s A Flop Show

Sanghamitra Mandal

Three New Shows on Indian Television, Which One Would Rule the TRPs?

Nandini Sharma

Four month old startup Pocketin raises seed round funding of $150,000

BI India Bureau

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