<ul><li>Today's parents are concerned about their children's disconnectedness from their culture and heritage.</li><li>However, technology is making it possible to bring stories related to our past and history to children in an engaging way.</li><li>Dr <keyword id="4755913" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rishi-mohan-bhatnagar" source="Orion">Rishi Mohan Bhatnagar</keyword>, President at <keyword id="4123476" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aeris-communications" source="Orion">Aeris Communications</keyword> writes about the potential that technology has to keep the next generation connected to our rich history.</li></ul>There is widespread concern among Indian parents today about the risk that our children might lose their rootedness to our culture. With busy lifestyles, parents are finding it hard to devote the time to impart these cultural values themselves. This gap is often filled by <keyword id="12806323" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="audio-visual-content" source="Orion">audio-visual content</keyword> on various electronic devices. Children can access global content on these devices; given their large budgets and extensive creative teams, it is inevitable that children will be drawn to games and videos from content studios in the West. This leads to a homogenization of cultural signals that children are receiving - they will be more aware of the food, culture, and norms of the West than of their own country. Some children are lucky to have their grandparents living with them, and sharing with these kids the rich stories from our itihasas and puranas. But even with grandparents around, children might prefer the sleekly designed, action-packed games and video content on their tablets! Thus, there is a very real risk that our next generation will grow up without much awareness of our rich and ancient culture. As a parent of young children, this is a very personal question for me. While technology could be blamed for some of these problems, I look at it differently. I believe technology can be the greatest tool to take our culture, tradition, and values to the next generation. Provided of course, that we use technology in bold and innovative ways. Here are some thoughts on how we can leverage tech to take Bharat’s treasures to our children: Powerful audio-visual storytelling India is full of great stories and storytellers. Our classical and folk music also have been vehicles to communicate stories from our itihasas and puranas. For urban children of the previous generations who did not have access to folk storytellers, the <keyword id="173109" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amar-chitra-katha" source="Orion">Amar Chitra Katha</keyword> comics were an excellent gateway to the magical world of our gods and culture. What if we upgraded our comic books for tablet-based consumption? What if one could tap onto the page and listen to the sounds of the war from the <keyword id="49038" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mahabharata" source="Orion">Mahabharata</keyword>? If we make digital comics that are really compelling, we can out-compete the alternate options out there. VR-tours of Indian temples and monuments India is a land of architectural marvels. Imagine if our children can put on a <keyword id="2409754" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vr-headset" source="Orion">VR headset</keyword> and go on a virtual tour through the Rajput palaces, or up to the icy slopes of Mount Kailash? The VR experience can include powerful storytelling that educates and excites the children, so that they will want to seek out these monuments by themselves. We can even incorporate games into the VR experience. When games like <keyword id="1011585" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Temple-Run" source="Orion">Temple Run</keyword> are popular, these virtual reality games in real ancient temples can become even more attractive among our children. Holograms of historical figures What if we could bring home some of the figures of our history, in 3-D holographic form? Imagine a birthday party with holograms of little Krishna or Shivaji the great. The personalities from our past will leap out of the pages of our kids’ history books and into their drawing rooms. Will this not plant the desire in them to learn more about these legends? Compelling digital (and physical) games India has a $1.5B market for physical games and toys. Game creators are pushing the boundaries in creativity, and there are games these days that do not just engage children but also educate. But these learning-centric games typically focus on mathematics, general knowledge, and logic. I believe that for our children to be successful, it is equally important for them to have a grounding in Indian value systems. This is not a ‘nice to have’, but a ‘must have’. I have observed many successful people, and their rootedness gives them the strength and clarity to push toward success. The need of the hour is for well-crafted digital and digital-cum-physical games that are built around Indic stories and values. We should embrace tech and use it creatively to our advantage. That is the way forward.

Technology: Helping take culture and heritage to the next generation

<ul><li>It is no secret that the Indian OTT space is booming and audiences are spoilt for choice in terms of the content available to them.</li><li><keyword id="840501" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="applause" source="Orion">Applause</keyword> Entertainment, the content studio responsible for bringing series like <keyword id="441366" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="criminal-justice" source="Orion">Criminal Justice</keyword> and <keyword id="10079277" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="scam-1992" source="Orion">Scam 1992</keyword> has been focusing on creating impactful content that stands out in the clutter.</li><li>We speak to <keyword id="4885" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sameer-nair" source="Orion">Sameer Nair</keyword>, CEO, Applause Entertainment on all that is happening at the content studio and what more they have in store for us.</li></ul>The last few years have given content studios in India a brilliant opportunity to put their best foot forward. Indians are hungry for good content and OTT platforms have been constantly trying to up their games because it is only strong content that will help them break the clutter and make consumers choose one platform over the other. The 4-year-old Applause Entertainment, a content studio that is part of the <keyword id="44373" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aditya-birla-group" source="Orion">Aditya Birla Group</keyword>, has been a frontrunner for coming up with content that has been noticed and appreciated. Be it shows like Criminal Justice or Scam 1992, Applause has come up with content that has stood out. While so far, the studio’s focus has been original series, popular book and international format adaptations like Criminal Justice, <keyword id="57659" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hostages" source="Orion">Hostages</keyword>, it has recently partnered with <keyword id="173109" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amar-chitra-katha" source="Orion">Amar Chitra Katha</keyword>, a publisher that has been our primary gateway to Indian mythological stories. And with this partnership, Applause Entertainment will mark its foray into animation. Meanwhile, the company is also looking at further expanding its offering with documentaries and small to mid budget films. Industry veteran Sameer Nair, who was the man responsible for giving us Kaun Banega Crorepati , is at the helm of affairs at Applause Entertainment, and he has his plate full at the moment. He is currently focusing on bringing bigger, more impactful content to your screens. In a recent chat, he told us more about the Amar Chitra Katha partnership, his expectations from the Indian content space and his plans for Applause Entertainment. Excerpts: Q)Your partnership with Amar Chitra Katha marks your foray into animation. What will this partnership entail? ACK is a treasured Indian brand that boasts 400+ stories and comics. Generations of Indians have grown up reading these stories. Now with this partnership, we want to both bring alive these characters in high quality animated episodes for the local audience, as well as take our proud Indian culture to global audiences. We plan to work with quality animation partners and storytellers to help us reimagine these iconic tales for the 21st century. Q)Applause has had a lot of success in terms of the content you have been produced in the past few years. Why was this a good time to explore animation? Applause is a Content and IP Creation Studio. We are storytellers, and we want to tell stories for every kind of audience. Different stories work best in different formats so as a studio, we have ensured that we produce content in the format that best suits the idea, whether drama, documentary, unscripted, film, animation or gaming. Q)Applause is 4 years old but 1.5 years out of that, we have lived/living through a pandemic. What kind of impact did it have on your business? The pandemic affected us like it did everyone else. Productions were stalled, theatres were shut, work from home became the norm. But consumption of content online exploded exponentially. Audiences adopted the OTT services and began to consume content across languages and borders. They accepted new forms of storytelling and created a host of new stars. The script became the hero supported by an ensemble of fine actors and directors. We had a pretty fortunate 2020, and 2021 so far, having released over 15 drama series across platforms, including the award winning Scam 1992 and Criminal Justice S2, to name a few. Q)What have some of your key learnings from these last 1.5 years been? Our key learning has been in a way a validation of our original premise; that we should obsessively focus on quality storytelling and carefully listen to what our consumers are saying, feeling, doing. That way we will be able to anticipate and create for the gigantic streaming market that is exploding in India and all over the world. Q)India's OTT industry is booming. People are hungry for bigger and better content. How are you as a production house equipped to meet that demand, and what makes Applause different from other content production houses? We continue to aggressively invest in incubation and development from an early stage. The audience appetite for quality content will only increase; that’s the key word – quality – and variety and diversity. Our learnings from the past 4 years have also helped us improve on our creative and commercial algorithms, and now allows us to place bigger bets with talent and scale. Our key differentiator from other studios remains our ‘risk-reward’ philosophy that sees us invest upfront in content creation, to be licensed to platform partners later. Q)Having your content on global OTT platforms also means the world is opening up for the content. From a quality perspective, where does India stand in the global scheme of things? Can we have content that goes beyond geographies and finds relevance across the world, something on the lines of Money Heist/Game of Thrones? I think the quality of Indian Content is constantly improving. That being said, as the market expands, streaming content will be distinctively divided into a massy AVOD offering and more premium SVOD fare. All content is created for a primary audience; sometimes, some of that content transcends languages and geographies to resonate with a global audience. Obviously, over the years, Hollywood has built this powerful franchise of content that is designed for worldwide audiences, but I think content from other countries will also gradually gain universal acceptance. For example, there was a phase when Chinese and Hong Kong Kungfu movies had become quite the rage. Now Korean drama series and KPop have broken out. It will be no different for India. Q)Going forward, what will your key areas of focus be? Where will your next phase of growth come from? Our next phase of growth will come from bigger series, movies, language expansion, global collaborations and animation. Q)How important is regional content for Applause? We don’t quite call it ‘regional’ content; for us it remains telling high quality stories in languages beyond our present Hindi/Hinglish slate. The streaming world is increasingly becoming a world without borders and there is growing acceptance for content without borders. This unfolding scenario is also setting the stage for content from India to resonate with audiences all over the world, and not just Indians.

Our key differentiator is our ‘risk-reward’ philosophy that sees us invest upfront in content creation, to be licensed to platform partners later: Sameer Nair, Applause Entertainment

<ul><li><keyword id="84792" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rana-Daggubati">Rana Daggubati</keyword> spoke to Business Insider about his latest venture, one that comes straight from the heart. </li><li>Daggubati has partnered with Future Group and <keyword id="173109" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amar-Chitra-Katha">Amar Chitra Katha</keyword> to bring about <keyword id="7482072" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ack-alive">ACK Alive</keyword> - a learning centre in Hyderabad. </li><li>The centre offers 64 courses from Vedic Mathematics to Robotics. </li></ul>Growing up, Amar Chitra Katha has been a part of every Indian’s life for colourful storytelling of India’s mythology. Nestled in the city of Hyderabad, is a mythological learning centre that takes one back to those memories. And at the helm of it is South Indian superstar Rana Daggubati. Daggubati, who brought the world to his notice with his role as the villain in SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus <keyword id="6354370" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="baahubali">Baahubali</keyword>, has partnered with Future Group and Amar Chitra Katha to bring about Amar Chitra Katha Alive - a state-of-the-art learning centre spread over 10,000 square feet for art and design, life skills, performing arts and vedic science and ethics. Daggubati claims it's not just another summer school. The ACK Alive centre offers over 64 courses – a modern take on Indian Gods Krishna and Balarama who studied life skills in just 64 days, he said. The courses range from simple courses like Photography, Creative Writing and Theatre to ones like Vedic Mathematics, Tarot reading and even Kalaripayattu – an Indian martial art that originated in Kerala. “The centre offers an all age group learning. You can come at any age or any time of your convenience and pick up a program that you like,” Rana Daggubati told Business Insider. Daggubati who has been involved in mythological movies like Baahubali, realised that there was no brand holding together all the stories that India’s mythology together like Amar Chitra Katha did. Talking about how the partnership happened, he said, “I was actually working on a different project with the Future Group and was then introduced to the idea of the Amar Chitra Katha learning centre.” While the centre was initially supposed to be built in Mumbai, Daggubati, who is now a director at Amar Chitra Katha, brought it to Hyderabad. Why? Better real estate options, of course! “Mumbai was the first option but we wanted to build something of scale. A centre which can have at least 250 people learning at the same time – in Mumbai it would be too expensive. Meanwhile, Hyderabad has an audience which still has great respect for ACK and still has a large readership too,” said Daggubati. The bringing about of ACK Alive also had a personal connection with Daggubati. The centre is today built on Daggubati’s previous office space. “Converting my previous office into a learning centre was quite emotional as this is where I learnt everything I know,” he said. At ACK Alive, Daggubati himself will be enrolling for a Vedic Mathematics course. The curated courses have seen a great response too, with over 200 families coming over in the first few days of its launch. While there are free classes going on until April 15th, many have already registered. Daggubati, who is busy with movies in <keyword id="6354765" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tollywood">Tollywood</keyword> and <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> also has a media and entertainment company KWAN and is also a partner at Anthill Studios – an accelerator programme for M&amp;E startups. But through all of his work, there’s one common theme – storytelling. “ACK is a storytelling company that holds a legacy of over 53 years now. There’s nothing that summarises Indian storytelling better than Amar Chitra Katha does,” said Daggubati. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/gully-boy-star-ranveer-singh-launches-incink-a-record-label-for-independent-indian-musicians/articleshow/68627830.cms">Bollywood star Ranveer Singh launches an independent record label amid India’s new love for hip-hop</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/netflix-amazon-prime-and-hotstar-are-making-sure-box-office-registers-dont-ring/articleshow/68107585.cms">Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar are making sure box office registers don’t ring</a>

This Baahubali star has a 10,000 square feet space to experience robotics, maths, and mythology

<ul><li>Parks, schools, and playgrounds have been shut all over India to prevent the spread of coronavirus. </li><li>Amar Chitra Katha Studio is offering a free one-month subscription to Tinkle and other comic apps to help battle the boredom.</li><li>Celebrities like Katrina Kaif and Shilpa Shetty are sharing workouts on social media to help burn off excess energy from being stuck at home and build up immunity.</li></ul>It’s not easy being a kid during the coronavirus outbreak. Parents, while at home, still have to work. Going off to school or hanging out with friends, on the other hand, is no more an option. To help manage the crisis, a few companies are coming to the rescue. You can kick things off by diving into the comical universe of <keyword id="1932114" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalia-the-Crow">Kalia the crow</keyword>, Shikari Sambu, and <keyword id="774990" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Suppandi">Suppandi</keyword>. The Amar Chitra Katha Studio — the birthplace of India’s first English-language comics — is offering a free one-month subscription to its comic apps. 
 
 
 
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 The other option for moms and dads looking to burn some calories and some of that excess energy that builds up from being stuck at home. Follow along with celebrities like Katrina Kaif and Shilpa Shetty who are sharing workout tutorials on their social media platforms to keep fit and make sure that your kids are tuckered out by the end of the day. 
	
	
	<div type="INSTAGRAMURL" thumbUrl="https://instagram.fdel1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t51.2885-15/e35/p612x612/90094154_2643354695921257_119251700728265149_n.jpg?_nc_ht=instagram.fdel1-2.fna.fbcdn.net&amp;_nc_cat=1&amp;_nc_ohc=lHri1IOWG00AX_DTBCc&amp;oh=14d9358757fc5860a562e0ed1f8fbcc5&amp;oe=5E748A90" caption="#WorkoutFromHome Can't go to the gym so sharing the workout that Yas and I did at home. Stay safe and be active if u can 😊 1⃣ Squat &amp; Side Leg Lifts - 3 sets x 20 reps 2⃣ Reverse Lunge - 3 sets x 15 reps 3⃣ Situp - 3 sets x 20 reps 4⃣ Pushup - 3 sets x 15 reps (you can substitute with incline pushups or knee pushups) 5⃣ Plank to 'T' - 3 sets x 15 reps 6⃣ Mountain Climbers - 4 slow and 15 tempo x 3 sets @reebokindia #reebok" user="katrinakaif" cmsId="1584517246814"><url><![CDATA[https://www.instagram.com/p/B9zMwQJBoz_/]]></url><permalink><![CDATA[https://www.instagram.com/p/B9zMwQJBoz_/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;amp;utm_campaign=loading]]></permalink><payload><![CDATA[]]></payload></div>



 The legacy of Tinkle In a time when the comicverse is dominated with Marvel’s Avengers and DC’s Batman chronicles, it’s easy to overlook the simpler times like <keyword id="54080" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tinkle-Comics">Tinkle Comics</keyword> were the only option on the market. 
	
 
 
 <div type="image" title="tinkle2" msid="74688314" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Amar Chitra Katha Studio characters&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>







 However, the dawn of technology means that you can now dive into the Tinkle universe using your phone. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the adventures of the comic’s iconic characters, the first thing you need to know is that they’re not superheroes — but they’re not without their powers. Kalia the crow is a clever bird that roams the forest with his animal friends to bail them out of trouble. He was the first character created for the Tinkle series when the comic books launched on 14 November 1980 — Children’s Day. His power is that he can outsmart nearly anyone who crosses his path. 
	
 
 
 <div type="image" title="TINKLE5_edited" msid="74688302" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Kalia the crow&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>







 A few issues later, Suppandi was introduced in January 1983. Adapted from Chapando — a folk Tamil character — his stories have been written by countless different writers. His power is that despite different voices telling his story, his goofy essence and simpleton nature remain through every adventure. 
	

	
 
 
 <div type="image" title="tinkle1_edited" msid="74688371" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Suppandi&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>







 Shikari Shambu is different from Kalia and Suppandi. Even though he was introduced early on — 10 issues after Suppandi — Shambu was initially a cowardly, but famous, hunter. However, over the years the character gave up his hunting ways and transformed into an animal conservationist. His power is the ability to adapt and be an example of how change is possible. 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="TINKLE4_edited" msid="74688330" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Shikari Shambu&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>






 Work up a sweat While comics may work to keep kids entertained indoors, it doesn’t involve a lot of movement. Even the parks and playgrounds are shut leaving kids with no way to burn off that excess energy that was normally used during classes. Kaif claims that her 20-minute workout is a good go-to to keep endorphins up at a time when anxiety is high and it builds up immunity. The audio on the stream isn’t the best, so you should probably sync up your own playlist to make sure you and your kid stay pumped. Shetty, known for her workout videos and emphasis on yoga, has also released a work out video for those stuck in self-isolation. She encourages people to work out at least four times a week to keep up their immunity. Aside from working out and reading comics, a bunch of education apps like BYJU’S, Vedantu, Toppr and Lido Learning are offering select online courses for free. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/what-continues-to-make-shilpa-shetty-kundra-relevant-for-brands/articleshow/74165546.cms">What continues to make Shilpa Shetty Kundra relevant for brands</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/videos/advertising/exclusive-interview-katrina-kaif-on-how-kay-is-going-to-stand-out-in-the-clutter-and-her-vision-for-the-brand/videoshow/71722472.cms">Exclusive Interview: Katrina Kaif on how Kay is going to stand out in the clutter and her vision for the brand</a>

Tinkle, Katrina Kaif and Shilpa Shetty are pushing comics and workouts to keep coronavirus from driving people crazy

<ul><li>As COVID-19 forces thousands of people to stay home, Eros Now is offering a 2-month free subscription to Indian customers. </li><li>This comes after several state governments have urged people to avoid all non-essential travel and work from home to contain the outbreak. </li><li>According to an online app Annie, its daily active user rose by 78% between 27 February and 7 March. </li></ul>As COVID-19 is forcing lakhs of people to stay home, streaming player Eros Now is offering a 2-month free access to its Indian customers. “We are opening the gates of Eros Now to watch the product, which otherwise would cost ₹49 a month. So we are allowing 2 month free access until the end of March. There might be a little bit of flow bound on the new content that comes in but we have at least 10,000 <keyword id="6369154" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="films">films</keyword> across languages for our audiences,” Ali Hussein, CEO told Business Insider India. This comes after several state governments urged people to avoid all non-essential travel and work from home to contain the novel <keyword id="8595403" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coronavirus-outbreak">coronavirus outbreak</keyword>. So far, the virus has infected 151, and killed 3 in India. 
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="ErosNow" handlename="Eros Now" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1236991142383632384/C4T52R23_normal.jpg" favoritecount="67" retweetcount="19" status="Your stay at home just got a lot more interesting! To help you get through your #quarantinetime, Eros Now brings… https://t.co/10oEGNkesC" createdat="1584546439000" id="1240303778005475328"></div>





 People have been binge watching more due to social isolation and closure of malls and cinema halls. Eros Now is among the many platforms in India that have witnessed a peak in its unique viewers. According to an online app Annie, its daily active user rose by 78% between 27 February and 7 March. According to a Business Standard report, most Zee5 and Voot witnessed u<a href="https://theprint.in/india/ficci-launches-online-course-on-coronavirus-management-to-help-if-situation-gets-worse/383525/">pto 20% rise in usage the past few days</a>. Eros Now is now looking to cash in on the renewed interest in streaming shows and movies. It claims to have 137 million registered users and 26 million paid subscribers. “It is still early to say how much. But yes, there is an opportunity for us. If there is free time available then entertainment tends to be a free choice for a lot of customers in India. That’s the reason why we are not charging our customer but providing them the window to indulge with entertainment on our platform,” Hussein added. Eros Now had planned to add at least one original series in a month and 40 theatrical releases in its content library. It aims to spend between $50-70 million on original content in the next 12-18 months. However, some of its releases like Haathi Mere Sathi have also been postponed due to <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword>. Apart from education apps like Byju’s and Unacademy, Amar Chitra Katha also offered free access to all its comics online See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/dolphins-return-to-italy-venice-canal-shines-chinas-air-clears-up-the-impact-of-coronavirus-isolation-says-we-need-to-rethink-our-ways/articleshow/74705435.cms">Dolphins return to Italy, Venice canal shines, China’s air clears up – the impact of Coronavirus isolation says we need to rethink our ways</a>

Eros Now offers 2-month free subscription after its unique users peak to a new high

<keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>’s mobile wallet Amazon Pay is offering many offers to its Indian customers. For starters, <keyword id="4540939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Pay-India">Amazon Pay India</keyword> is offering a 10% cash-back even on items returned. "Amazon is encouraging returns at sellers' cost and investment. Amazon should give equal incentive to the seller whose stock is being returned,” a spokesperson for the All India Online Vendors' Association (AIOVA) told ET. Amazon Pay India wants to have a share of the Indian digital wallet market and is offering cash-backs for users. For instance, a first-time user shopping for more than Rs 700 gets Rs 100 cashback as Amazon Pay balance. Sriram Jagannathan, Vice President Payments, <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword>, told ET, “Our aim is to improve the digital payment experiences for customers buying on our marketplace...We provide offers to customers to try this experience.” The Amazon Pay offers are applicable not only for transactions on Amazon's own platform, but also on third-party Web sites such as abhibus. com. It also has tie-ups with vendors such as Café Coffee Day, Amar Chitra Katha, Innerchef, Fasoos, and Housejoy.

Here’s how Amazon Pay is wooing its Indian customers

For a lot of us, the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> lockdown means looking for ways to pass time, which include binge-watching. But you dont always need to pay up for a subscription to satiate your entertainment cravings. There are plenty of free options waiting to be streamed. Here are a few: * Aani Kay Hava You can watch "Aani Kay Hava" season one and two. It is the story of a couple Jui (Priya Bapat) and Saket (Umesh Kamat), who connect while celebrating their first together, from the first time they cook together, the first festival they celebrate as a couple, first major fight to the down payment for your first car. The second season of the lighthearted series is about how the couple's bond strengthens over time. It streams on MX Player, which provides over 1,50,000 hours of content across genres, formats, languages and 40 plus originals for free. * Queen The show stars <keyword id="23606" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ramya-Krishnan">Ramya Krishnan</keyword>, Anikha Surendran, Anjana Jayaprakash and Indrajith Sukumaran amongst others. Inspired by true events, it is the story of Shakthi Sheshadri -- a woman who was pushed to embrace life choices which weren't her own, and yet she excelled in life. * Bhaukaal Inspired by The Life Of IPS Officer Navniet Sekera, "Bhaukaal" is set in Muzaffarnagar in 2003. The series tells the tale of how one courageous officer goes on a clean-up drive to punish criminals, battles local influential personalities and re-establishes the faith of the common man in the law. The crime drama stars Mohit Raina, Abhimanyu Singh, Siddhanth Kapoor, Bidita Bag, Sunny Hinduja, Rashmi Rajput, Pradeep Nagar and Gulki Joshi. It streams on MX Player. * Samantar Starring Swwapnil Joshi and Tejaswini Pandit, the thriller traces the journey of Kumar Mahajan, whose life changes when he hears that a man called Sudarshan Chakrapani's past will be his future. The nine episodic Marathi series is directed by Satish Rajwade and it has also been dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. It streams on MX Player. * Pawan and Pooja The relationship drama explores the lives of 3 couples - all coincidentally named Pawan and Pooja, who, at different stages of their lives discover that their love is indeed conditional, breakable and questionable. The MX Player series stars Deepti Naval, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sharman Joshi, Gul Panag, Taaruk Raina and Natasha Bharadwaj. * Baarish The romantic series, starring Sharman Joshi, Asha Negi, Saahil Shroff, Priya Banerjee, and Vikram Chauhan, is about Anuj and Gauravi. It is about the bond they form when their families arrange their marriage unexpectedly. It streams on ZEE5, which is giving free access to people during the corona phase. * Kehne Ko Humsafar Hai The show, featuring Ronit Bose Roy, Mona Singh and Gurdeep Kohli, is about a middle-aged man, who has a caring wife and loving family but he falls in love with Ananya. It is available on ZEE5. * Ishq Aaj Kal A spin-off of the popular television show "Ishq Subhan Allah", "Ishq Aaj Kal", a Zee5 Original series, revolves around 24-year-old Alia Jaffri who is on a mission to find her father. * Karle Tu Bhi Mohabbat It stars Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar. The show is about Karan Khanna, who is recovering from his alcohol addiction, and takes a detoxification trip to Mahabaleshwar with his counsellor Tripurasundari. It streams on ZEE5, which has also made films such as "Babumoshai Bandookbaaz", "Paltan", "Batti Gul Meter Chalu", "<keyword id="2860682" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Great-Grand-Masti">Great Grand Masti</keyword>" along with Korean web-series "Hypochondriac", "The Girl", "Relationship Status - It's complicated", "Men Cry Too" and "Bread Love and Dreams" available for free. * Live From HQ The series, curated and produced by Big Bad Wolf Entertainment, is available live for audiences starting March 25 until April 1 with performances by popular independent music, comedy and other performing artists through Instagram and Facebook. One can register to watch 'Live from HQ' through the BookMyShow website and app. The series features acts by Prateek Kuhad, Indian Ocean, <keyword id="671" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vir-das">Vir Das</keyword>, Karsh Kale, Kamakshi Khanna, Karan Singh Magic and Aisi Taisi Democracy. People can also opt for Hotstar to watch shows like "Maharaj Ki Jai Ho", "<keyword id="1104556" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Savdhaan-India">Savdhaan India</keyword> FIR", "Dance + ", "May I Come in Madam" and Hotstar original "Shockers". There are movies such as "Housefull 4", "Chhichhore", "Mission Mangal", "De De Pyaar De" and "Super 30". If you have Voot, you can binge-watch "Choti Sarrdaarni", "Bigg Boss" Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, "MTV Roadies" and "Naagin". With an aim to raise awareness around staying fit, healthy and safe at home amid COVID-19 outbreak, Tata Sky is providing free access to <keyword id="8965493" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-sky-fitness">Tata Sky Fitness</keyword>. As millions of kids stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon Prime Video has also opened up free streaming access to more than 40 children's shows, including its original series. Along with streaming services, Audible Stories is also offering children some entertainment options. "For as long as schools are closed, we're open. Kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids," read a statement from Audible. Actor Rana Daggubati has also made the content in ACK (Amar Chitra Katha) and Tinkle apps available for free for a month. He feels it will help people stay busy while they are under lockdown. The actor is a partner at ACK. There's entertainment avenue for sports lover as well. With an aim to keep the momentum going and fans engaged, NBA and Turner Sports are providing all fans with a free preview of NBA League Pass, the league's premium subscription-based product, until April 22.

Here are all the free streaming options for lockdown binge watchers

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/47655484.cms" /> 
The gory discovery of the charred body of a 44 year-old engineer’s father (77), who burnt himself to death and several notes found scattered all over the bunglow, has opened a can full of controversies surrounding a complex relationship among his family members. The police also found that Partha had been living with the skeleton of his sister and carcasses of his two pet dogs. 
 
The notes were full of sexual overtones, often containing explicit physical descriptions. Psychiatrists, however, advise caution and say that Partha may have written the notes in a state of delusion. They don’t rule out other possibilities but they would rather wait a few weeks to assess his mental state to sift truth from hallucination. 
 
In some of the jottings, it is clear that Partha had sensed his mother's growing concern over his physical closeness with his elder sister and expressed his dislike for his mother, the police said. 
 <keyword id="33876" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="psychiatrist">Psychiatrist</keyword> Sabyasachi Mitra who examined Partha at Pavlov Mental Hospital on Friday said he may have <keyword id="96636" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Necrophilia">necrophilia</keyword> — a condition that triggers sexual attraction towards corpses. "Rather than what he has mentioned in his diaries, Partha De might have been in a physical relationship with the dead bodies he has been living with. It is not yet established, but such behaviour is not unusual on the part of psychosis patients," he told TOI. Investigators have decided to take the help of a psychiatrist when they question Partha in hospital on Saturday. 
 
Among the bizarre things police have noticed is that Partha, his father Arabindo De and sister Debjani conversed with each other through handwritten notes. There are just so many of them that the police are confused who wrote what to whom. Experts are being roped in to sort the writings and establish lines of 'conversation'. 
 
 
 
The ones accepted as Partha's writings are a mixed pack of conflicting comments about his mother and mysterious references to a maid. Sometimes Partha mixes up his mother with his grandmother and he talks endearingly of both on these occasions. He narrates how his mother fought against breast cancer till her death in 2007 and claims he could not attend his mother's last rites. 
 
Investigators have also found several drawing books with "Partha De" inscribed on the cover. "It's as if a Class 1 kid has drawn them. We have found hundreds of CDs relating to spiritual gurus from Bengal, Europe and US. We also found several comics — from Archies to Amar Chitra Katha and Mahabharat. Many of them had fresh labels of a bookstore on Lord Sinha Road," said an officer. 
 
(image credits: peaceofhumanitarian-brotherhood.blogspot)

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