After Launching 23 Originals In 2019, Altbalaji Is All Geared Up For Bigger Offerings In 2020!

Jyothi Venkatesh

ALT Balaji has once again proved its mettle, with content and innovation being the two main pillars this year. 2019 witnessed some great work with the homegrown platform having launched 23 originals this year alone. With mass engaging content to the most riveting shows, the platform has emerged as the fastest growing and most talked-about OTT platform in India. ALTBalaji currently has a strong content library with 53 originals.   While its content alliance to co-create original content with ZEE5 remained the talk of the town this year, ALTBalaji also launched some interesting and innovative initiatives like ‘Breast Buffer’ to create awareness against Breast Cancer and give a reminder to the viewers that regular self-examinations can help save lives. This was well received by the subscribers and was also applauded by media, influencers, critics and celebrities. The campaign went on to win multiple awards globally as well as in India for it innovation and creativity like Spikes Asia Award, DMA Asia Echo Awards, DIGIPUB Awards among others.  ALTBalaji’s association with payment gateways like Amazon Pay, Mobikwik, Grabon and Paypal helped reach out to a wider set of audience and enabled a slew of payment options to choose from. Through these partnerships, the OTT platform offered a one-click purchase of its services. The OTT platform also brought its most acclaimed series Apharan to Alexa enabling users to now listen to dialogues, the trailer and other exclusive content from this successful show. Fans of the show can enjoy and soak in the immersive and gripping experience provided by the suspense thriller, with just a simple voice command to their favourite Echo device.

The awards and recognition are the biggest testaments of the work ALTBalaji has consistently showcased throughout the year. From Ekta Kapoor, the content czarina herself winning IWM’s OTT Disruptor of the year to ALTBalaji winning the best OTT platform of the year at DIGIPUB Awards and Best Content on an OTT Platform at DigitalCrest Awards 2019, the year has been tremendous. When it comes to its content and the pool of talent, the awards list is even bigger. Web-series Apharan broke records by winning multiple awards across categories, be it DIGIES, MOBBYS Awards, Campaign PR India Awards, DIGIPUB Awards  or SCREENXX Awards whereas Vikrant Massey won the best actor award in Romance at CCSSA for Broken But Beautiful while the web-series itself received award and accolades at SCREENXX Awards, MOBBYS Awards among others.ALTBalaji has built a legacy of creating iconic shows and equally powerful sequels like Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain 2, Karle Tu Bhe Mohabbat 3, M-O-M: Mission Over Mars, Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala, The Verdict - State vs Nanavati, Broken…But Beautiful 2, Ragini MMS Returns 2 etc which have been lauded by the audience.  Taking innovation a notch higher, the makers of Ragini MMS Returns 2 introduced an industry-first Stereoscopic 3D 360 Virtual Reality narrative film. The specially curated 3D VR narrative from the series presented a surreal and truly immersive experience for its viewers enabling them to virtually step into the world of Ragini.When it comes to ratings, some of its popular shows like Broken…But Beautiful Season 2 is rated 9.2 on IMDb, Mission Over Mars (M-O-M) and Fittrat’s IMDb rating are 9.0 each while Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain Season 2 and Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala, both enjoy the IMDb rating of 8.9. Gandii Baat still secures its place in the TOP 10  Indian Web Series Popular Worldwide on IMDb.

ALTBalaji has been introducing new talent through its platform and creating numerous opportunities to prove themselves, the most recent example being Divya Agarwal and Varun Sood who made a grand debut with Ragini MMS franchise. Earlier this year, Priyank Sharma, Sidharth Sharma and Khushi Joshi made their debut with one of the most loved series of ALTBalaji- PuncchBeat and are making a name for themselves in the industry. Along with showcasing progressive and path-breaking content, the platform is also associated with a wide talent pool of top-notch actors, writers and directors, who are expanding the boundaries of entertainment as we have known it so far. With OTT platforms changing the showbiz game, established actors from Bollywood and TV industry like Sharman Joshi, Tusshar Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Isha Koppikar, Sagarika Ghatge, Rajeev Khandelwal, Divyanka Tripathi, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Karan Singh Grover among others turned made their grand debut in web series through ALTBalaji Originals.Along with showcasing progressive and path-breaking content, the platform is also associated with a wide talent pool of top-notch actors, writers and directors, who are expanding the boundaries of entertainment as we have known it so far.

THE LIST OF CLUTTER-BREAKING ORIGINALS FROM ALTBALAJI LAUNCHED IN 2019

Hero Varrdivala

In times, when the terrorist institution Blackstar is controlling business, politics and even the police, IPS officer Tejasvi Pratap played by Dinesh Lal Yadav wants to restore order in the lawless state of Uttar Pradesh. Watch his story as he fights his way through the twists & turns which will lead to an unpredictable ending. Not just that, turns out his fearless approach is a cover to his personal agenda.

Cast: Dinesh Lal Yadav, Amrapali Dubey, Sambhavna Sheth

Gandii Baat 2

Demanding and forthright are not the traits one expects from women, especially from the rural parts of our country. Season 02 of Gandii Baat is an all-new collection of stories, which reveals the sexually bold and unapologetic side of women from the villages of India. This time, women are willing to explore and embrace their darkest desires, as they get deeply involved in unspeakable dirty deeds. The things they are willing to do to turn every situation in their favour will leave you shocked ! Gandii Baat still secures its place in the TOP 10 Indian Web Series Popular Worldwide on IMDb.

Cast: Flora Saini, Anveshi Jain, Aman Maheshwari, Rahul Jaittly, Kamla Devi

Dil Hi Toh Hai Season 2

Dil Hi Toh Hai’s highly anticipated Season 2 was released in February. After the success of the first season, ALTBalaji embarked on a journey to bring us the next chapter in Palak and Ritwik’s life. While the first season ended with Palak and Ritwik’s separation, the second season finally gave fans and viewers the answers to the burning questions that they were left with.

Cast: Yogita Bihani, Karan Kundrra, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Bijay Anand

Puncchbeat

The story of PuncchBeat is a riveting take on high-school drama based on the students of Rosewood High Academy. Teen sensation Priyank Sharma and the charming Harshita Gaur, play the leads, along with debutants Siddharth Sharma and Khushi Joshi. The youth drama also sees industry veterans Sameer Soni and Niki Walia playing pivotal roles along with newcomers like Nikhil Bhambri, Sindhuja Turlapati, Krishna Kaul and Kajol Tyagi.

Cast: Priyank Sharma, Siddharth Sharma, Harshita Gaur, Khushi Joshi, Samir Soni, Niki Walia, Nikhil Bhambri, Krishna Kaul, Kajol Tyagi, Sindhuja Turlapati

Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain 2

After a super hit first season that delighted audiences, stalwarts of the Indian television industry, Ronit Roy, Mona Singh, Gurdeep Kohli, Apurva Agnihotri along with Pooja Banerjee and Palak Jain returned to the screens reprising their roles and also featuring a short cameo by Parth Samthaan. The audiences find the three protagonists (Mona, Gurdip, and Ronit) standing at different crossroads in their lives. Ananya (Mona) will be seen chasing her dreams and ambitions, while her heart still yearns for Rohit’s love; Rohit (Ronit) being shattered and angry with his love never being enough for Ananya, explores how to navigate the twists and turns in his life; and Poonam (Gurdip) sets out on her own journey to find herself and love once again.

Cast: Ronit Bose Roy, Gurdeep Kohli, Mona Singh, Apurva Agnihotri

Karrle Tu bhi Mohabbat Hai 3

After two massively successful seasons, the Ram Kapoor and Sakshi Tanwar starrer got back and this time it saw some of television’s most popular stars Hiten Tejwani and Karishma Tanna as part of the ensemble cast. With the dilemma in the lives of Mr. Khanna (Ram Kapoor) and Tipsy (Sakshi Tanwar) far from over, the third season is about love turned sour, separation and angst and how this estranged couple deals with their distance and animosity.  The story unfolded a few questions like will Karan shun his responsibilities, let go of his ego and bitterness so he can be with Tipsy? Can Tipsy get over her emotional scars to trust and love again?  Will Palash be able to make his second chance work?  To find out, watch this high-decibel drama packed with powerful performances.

Cast: Ram Kapoor, Sakshi Tanwar, Hiten Tejwani, Karishma Tanna, Arshia Verma, Vatsal Seth, Sandeep Baswana, Shweta Kwatra, Iris Maity, Sunayna Fouzdar, Punit Tejwani, Tanvi Vyas, Sanyukta Timsina

Baarish

Baarish showcases the hardships of maintaining relationships and how the imperfect love story of Anuj (Sharman) and Gauravi (Asha) is defined by their responsibilities towards their respective families. The narrative showcasing the relationship between a Gujarati diamond merchant and a simple Marathi mulgi entails the challenging journey of love and respect.

Cast: Sharman Joshi, Asha Negi, Saahil Shroff, Priya Banerjee, Vikram Chauhan

Bekaaboo

Adapted from Novoneel Chakraborty’s bestseller, “Black Suits You”, Bekaaboo is a thriller about a famous erotic novelist Kiyan Roy, who seems like the perfect boyfriend material for his lover Kashti. As his debut novel becomes a raging hit across India, he gets stalked by his fan who seduces him into sexual submission, leading to one misadventure after another

Cast: Priya Banerjee, Rajeev Siddhartha, Madhussneha, Jitendra Hirawat, Ananditaa Singh, Trishna Mukherjee

Medically Yourrs

Medically Yourrs revives crazy college-time nostalgia with its quirky narrative, which is spun around the struggles of MBBS students! Abir Basu, the protagonist, is born in a family of doctors and lives under the pressure of his father’s image of the best surgeon in Kolkata. He faces competition from his childhood friend Nibedita, who is Dr. Basu’s prodigy and everything that Abir is not! His friends—Vishesh, Lolly, and Pallav—are fighting their own personal battles, while trying to pass in their final year. Stuck between their dreams and a degree, these students desperately seek balance amidst the educational and emotional rollercoaster ride at KIMS.

Cast: Shantanu Maheshwari, Nityaami Shirke, Kewal Dasani, Manas Adhiya, Bijay Anand, Shubhavi Harshal Choksey

Booo…Sabki Phategi

Manav and his childhood friends reunite at his resort for a fun-cation. They are a bunch of pranksters and a newly-wed couple, excited to put their plans into action. However, all their romantic plans take a hilariously dangerous turn, when they realize that their holiday destination is haunted. Thus begins an experience of a horror-comedy among friends, which is rib-tickling but also spine-chilling… Ab shuru hogi bhootiyagiri! This series also a marked the digital debut of Tusshar Kapoor.

Cast: Tusshar Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Sanjay Mishra, Krishna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Vipul Roy, Shweta Gulati, Shefali Jariwala, Anil Charenjeet, Sakshi Pradhan, Saba Saudagar

Gandii Baat 3

Gandii Baat created a lot of buzz for its bold content and storytelling. The franchise sure caught everyone’s attention owing to its bold and risqué themes in its previous two seasons, and is once again set to satiate one’s desires and leave fans asking for more. The 3^rd season features Lalit Bisht, Rushali Arora, Bhawsheel Sahni, Rishikesh Ingley, Shiny Dixit, Sheeva Rana, among others. The four-episode erotica series is was also highly wathed.

Cast: Neetu Wadhwa, Jatin Bhatia, Pallavi Mukherjee, Lalit Bist, Sheeva Rana, Shiny Dixit, Sunny Sachdeva, Rushali Arora, Aasma Sayed, Yajuvender Singh, Priom Gujjar, Akansha Sharma, Rishikesh Ingle, Kunwar Vikram Soni, Palak Singh 

Boss – Baap of Special Services

The show unravels the story of a con artist operating in the northern belt of India, who crosses paths with a cop under unusual circumstances. The con artist is in search of his daughter, who has been kidnapped by the antagonist called – The Balloon man. He takes on the identity of an honorable police officer. Each episode has its turns and twists as he is covering his tracks at every step to keep his identity intact and yet each case he solves gets him a step closer to his daughter

Cast: Karan Singh Grover, Sagarika Ghatge, Ayaz Khan,Gaurav Gera, Anveshi Jain

F..U,OK?  

The series explores the elements of modern love and stories of all sorts of couples. The show is based on true events, where four college kids decide to start a midnight contraception delivery service. While the show deals with a unique concept, it will focus on love, life, and relationships, thereby talking about safe sex and contraception.

Cast: Pooja Kiran, Mehak Mehra, Krishna Sharma, Keshav Uppal

Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala 

Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala is a romantic drama celebrating tv queen Divyanka Tripathi and Rajeev Khandelwal’s jodi. The story revolves around the hatred between ex-lovers who come together after 8 years, remembering the bitter memories of their past. Both play young aspiring Chefs coming from very different backgrounds. Nithya is Indie Spice’s head chef, and Vikram is a Michelin Star chef. While Nitya has struggled and worked her way up in life against all odds, Vikram has had a protective carefree upbringing. Directed by Pradeep Sarkar this show was loved by one and all.

Cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Divyanka Tripathi, Priyanshu Chaterjee, Manini Mishra, Barkha Bisht, Madhussneha

M-O-M: Mission Over Mars

This is an inspiring story of three women scientists who helped ISA (Indian Space Agency)  overcome insurmountable technical difficulties and deadline pressures to mount the successful Mars Orbiter Mission (M.O.M). This series is certain to inspire not just women but people across the globe to pursue their dreams with utmost honesty and dedication and that ‘nothing is impossible.’

Cast:  Sakshi Tanwar, Mona Singh,  Palomi Ghosh, Nidhi Singh, Ashish Vidyarthi 

The Verdict: State vs Nanavati 

The infamous story of K.M. Nanavati vs State of Maharashtra is still one of the most sensational criminal cases in India. It has been decades since the event occurred, yet the story seems to excite every time one reads about it. On 27th April 1959, a dashing Parsi Naval Officer pumped three bullets from his .38 Smith and Wesson revolver into a rich Sindhi businessman and then confessed his crime. Based on true story, This 10 episodic web-series is based on true events.

Cast: Elli AvrRam, Angad Bedi, Manav Kaul, Sumeet Vyas, Kubbra Sait, Makarand Deshpande, Saurabh Shukla, Swanand Kirikire, Viraf Ashish Patel  

Fixerr

It is a thrilling story of a tainted ATS officer from Delhi, drawn into the murky underbelly of the Mumbai movie mafia and industrialists, who ends up becoming a fixer. The show, starring some of the most famous names in the Indian television industry and backed by an enthralling plot , is sure to keep audiences at the edge of their seats and keeps them immersed in a series of thrilling adventures.

Cast: Shabir Ahluwalia, Isha Koppikar, Mahie Gill, Karishma Sharma, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Varun Badola, Mukesh Chhabra, Rajat Rawail 

Fittrat

The story revolves around Tarini Bisht a gold-digger who isn't ashamed of it! She grew up wanting to live the luxe life and own everything that shines. She moves from Dehradun to Delhi, hunting for a ‘honey with money’ with her rich BFF, Amy. But fate is funny… Amy’s fiancée Veer Shergill gets obsessed with Tarini, and he decides to win her by hook or by crook. When Amy demands proof of love and friendship, all the blame falls upon Tarini. Hearts & relationships are broken, and drama ensues when she tries to reveal Veer’s true intentions. The audiences not only loved the series but also the music of the series was the talk of the town.

Cast: Krystle D’Souza, Anushka Ranjan, Aditya Seal 

Gandii Baat Special episode

With its depiction of some real-life incidents and topics which are often brushed under the carpet, ALTBalaji’s Gandii Baat regaled the audience through three seasons. The latest season of Gandii Baat was the talk of the town, so much so that it went on to top the IMDB charts. Adding to its successful legacy, ALTBalaji offers viewers an all-new exciting episode of the show titled ‘Meetha Meetha…Pyara Pyara’. The special episode highlights how a lack of sex education combined with the social stigma of discussing sex, results in a phobia about consummating her marriage, in the mind of the protagonist, Kusum.

Cast: Aditya Singh Rajput, Sneha Mishra, Mridula Mahajan

Virgin Bhasskar

The story revolves around 26-year old Bhasskar Tripathi who is an adult novelist, but the biggest irony of his life is that he is still a virgin. Virgin Bhaskar is a comedy of errors featuring a porn novelist who wants to lose his virginity with the girl he loves, and cannot help but write about it.

Cast: Anant V Joshi, Rutpanna Aishwarya, Himanshu Kohli, Himanshu Arora 

Broken…But Beautiful 2

After all the success of Broken But Beautiful Season 1, the second season witnessed Veer and Sameera played by Vikrant Massey and Harleen Sethi respectively sailing through thecourse of their own lives after deciding to stay away from each other and focus on themselves. In this quest of moving on and starting a new chapter of their lives separately, they had forgotten the fact that they are like two opposite poles of a magnet who are always attracted to each other. Just when Veer and Sameera think that they are in a blissful phase of their lives, having moved on with Debbie (played by Anuja Joshi) and Ahan (played by Gaurav Arora) respectively, life brings them face to face.

Cast: Vikrant Massey, Harleen Sethi, Gaurav Arora, Anuja Joshi, Pooja Bahmrah,Jatin Gulati 

Hum Tum and Them

This drama revolves around two single parents Shiva and Yudi. Shiva is divorced and has a 13-year-old daughter and Yudi, a widower, is a father of three children. Shiva is trying to live her life independently while raising her teenage daughter. Yudi who has always been living on his own terms now has to cope with bringing up his teenage children. Both the protagonists meet and find love again, but it is a difficult proposition considering that both their sets of children are young adults

Cast: Shweta Tiwari, Akshay Oberoi, Aashika Bhatia, Bhavin Bhanushali

Release Date: 6th December 2019

Ragini MMS Returns Season 2

Recognized as the most popular Indian horrex franchise, Ragini MMS gained immense popularity in the country with its two feature films, and one adapted web-series – Ragini MMS Returns. The latest season is the last launch of the year and an exciting addition to the franchise. After the stupendous success of the web-series, ALTBalaji launched the second season with youth sensations and real-life couple Divya Agarwal and Varun Sood along with the other popular actors. Sunny Leone who headlined Ragini MMS 2 is seen lighting up the screen in the second season as well. Also ending the year on a high note, the item number Hello Ji! from Ragini MMS Returns Season 2, featuring the gorgeous Sunny Leone has become the biggest party anthem of the year.

Cast: Sunny Leone, Divya Agarwal, Varun Sood, Sneha Namanandi, Navneet Kaur, Thea D’suza, Sakshi Gupta, Rishika Nag, Aarti Khetarpal, Antara Banerjee, Archana Vadnerkar, Gaurav Alugh, Vicky Rathod, Mohit Duseja, Diljaan Sayyed and Subir Rana Gupte.

ALTBalaji is all geared up for 2020 with its line of clutter-breaking content offering. Some interesting shows are already in the pipeline like Gandii Baat 4, Code M, Mentalhood, It happened in Calcutta, Dil Hi Toh Hai S3, Class of 2020, Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain Season 3, and Mumbhai among others. Along with pure content offerings, innovative ways of storytelling are also being explored to build stronger and deeper connections with our audiences. Whether its interactive episodes or series where audience can write in and debate and decide on the ending of the season may also gain popularity as digital is a two way street for segmented audience.

ALTBalaji is also working towards strengthening its UI/UX for a seamless experience by focusing on aspects like targeted retention strategies, tailored recommendations, quick onboarding and convenient payment gateways.  ALTBalaji’s association with payment gateways like Amazon Pay, Mobikwik, Grabon and Paypal helped reach out to a wider set of audiences and enabled a plethora of payment options to choose from. Through these partnerships, the OTT platform offered a one –click purchase of its services making it a seamless experience for the consumers.

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