— by Chaitanya  Padukone

It’s Time for a collective High-Five ! With a super-galaxy of dazzling showbiz celebs taare zameen par and for most of them also a nostalgic sentimental re-union ( post-corona pandemic) it was a glamorous, colourful yet classy memorable event of ZEE5  ( ‘puray Paanch Saal—sunaa tumney ?) celebrations. That had an amazing hookline  “Hooked to 5” !  Besides so many eminent directors, the turn-out of popular  Film and TV stars included  Manoj Bajpayee,  Sonal Bendre, Huma Qureshi, Sunil Grover, Mona Singh, Sunny Leone, Shruti Seth, Aahna Kumra, Shraddha Arya ( who attended the event despite a recent fracture, holding a crutch ) “Jiyo 500 years –saal kay din ho “, exclaimed Sunil Grover. who has excited ZEE5 shows lined up, including ‘United Kachhe”  where he plays ‘Tango and the anticipated next season of “Sunflower”.

Celebrating five glorious years of creating exclusive entertaining OTT content, ZEE5 at the star-studded event, revealed an expansive, exciting line-up of tantalizing terrific titles featuring originals in Hindi and regional languages, sequels of cult-favourite series, big-ticket direct to digital releases, blockbuster post-theatrical launches and intriguing docu-series etc.

For the slate, ZEE5 has partnered with prominent  iconic creators like Dharma Productions, Salman Khan Films, Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment, Bhanushali Studios, The Viral Fever (TVF), Goldie Behl’s Rose Audio Visuals, Applause Entertainment, Sudhir Mishra, Vikas Bahl, Vivek Agnihotri, and Nagraj Manjule, to narrate stories featuring powerhouse performers like Salman Khan, Sunil Grover, Aashim Gulati, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Sonali Bendre, Arya, Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, and many more ~

India’s largest home-grown video streaming platform and multilingual storyteller for millions of entertainment seekers, today unveiled a highly anticipated, blockbuster content slate with a line-up 111 plus titles spanning across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla, Punjabi and Marathi. Keeping audiences ‘Hooked to 5’ celebrated the milestone of five successful years of catering to the entertainment needs of Indians and the South Asian diaspora across the globe in the presence of Bollywood celebrities and industry stalwarts. Staying true to its promise of consistently delivering compelling entertainment content, the slate features an extensive array of genres, from avant-garde thrillers and adrenaline-pumping action to captivating dramas, light-hearted comedies, and fantasy adventures.

The new slate is designed to elevate the content viewing experience with enhanced choices across formats, genres and languages. The lineup also showcases ZEE5’s significant focus on regional content with titles in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla, Punjabi and Marathi. Pushing the boundaries of creative storytelling to democratize access to quality entertainment, ZEE5 has expanded its ecosystem through partnerships with prominent content creators and cinematic maestros such as Dharma Productions, Salman Khan Films, Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment, Bhanushali Studios, The Viral Fever (TVF), Applause Entertainment, Goldie Behl’s Rose Audio Visuals, Vikas Bahl, Vivek Agnihotri, Nagraj Manjule, and Sudhir Mishra, along with powerhouse performers like Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Arya, Parambrata Chatterjee, Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Radhika Apte amongst others. The platform’s content portfolio builds a high level of excitement as it brings the world of entertainment to consumers’ screens across the globe, in multiple languages, with diverse emotions and endless experiences to get hooked on to.

Talking about the slate, Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India said, “2023 holds a significant meaning for us, as we mark the fifth anniversary by presenting a carefully curated line-up featuring the best of superior talents from the entertainment industry across languages. ZEE5 clocked 100 bn+ streaming minutes in FY’23. This is a testimony to the fact that we have grown exponentially by investing in creativity and innovation, enhancing viewing experiences and offering increased value to the viewers. Following the consumer-first philosophy, we are broadening the spectrum of content offerings with a diverse array of genres, formats, languages, and stories. As the platform of choice catering to a wide audience base, we will continue to focus on quality storytelling, & making it accessible across multiple touch-points. The year 2023 has started on an encouraging note, and we are looking forward to audience response to the exciting slate of 111 new titles.”

Punit Misra, President – Content & International Markets, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. said, “As we celebrate ZEE5 crosses 5 and reflect upon why and who we exist for, we realize that today’s youth celebrates life for its variables as opposed to its constants. They seek not to be bracketed with singular identities set in stone, but to be multi-dimensional and ever evolving. At ZEE5, it is our unwavering mission to stand shoulder to shoulder with our viewers on this path, celebrating their multi-dimensionality through stories that ignite their imagination, stoke their dreams, shape their beliefs and inspire their very being.”

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Commenting on the new slate, Nimisha Pandey, Chief Content Officer – Hindi Originals, ZEE5 said, “As ZEE5 reaches its 5-year milestone, we are creating ourselves, one story at a time. It is our endeavour to take our viewers on a journey where they explore multiple dimensions within themselves. It gives us immense joy in bringing stories and characters that take our audiences to new worlds and emotions, that they can sometimes relate to and sometimes escape with. The new slate that we’ve curated brings forth fresh seasons of our most loved series and some new titles that we hope audiences will enjoy. We’re working with some brilliant creators who share our vision and passion of broadening the horizons of storytelling.”

Since its inception, ZEE5’s content strategy has pushed the boundaries of creativity and diversified its slate with real, relatable, and authentic storytelling to strengthen its position as the go-to multilingual entertainment platform for entertainment seekers everywhere. Bringing a bouquet of genres, the much-awaited line-up features sequels of prominent original series like Sunflower S2, Taj: Reign of Revenge, TVF’s Humorously Yours S3 and Aam Aadmi Family S4, The Kashmir Files Unreported, Duranga S2, Mithya S2, The Broken News S2, Guneet Monga’s Gyarah Gyarah (11:11), Sudhir Mishra’s Crime Beat, Direct to digital movies Manoj Bajpayee’s Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and Silence 2, Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Haddi and Love is Blind, Pankaj Tripathi’s Kadak Singh, Huma Qureshi’s Tarla, Sunny Deol’s post-theatrical Gadar 2; and power-packed regional titles like Vetrimaaran and Vijay Sethupathi’s Viduthalai – Part 1, Arya’s Kathar Basha Endra Muthuramalingam, Nagraj Manjule’s Ghar Banduk Biryani, and more. ZEE5 has bolstered its library with marquee content across languages to solidify its presence across markets and establish a stronger connect with audiences across age groups.

Currently the highest-growing OTT platform in India as per latest industry reports, ZEE5 is known for its diversified content across 100+ taste clusters and its focus on real, relevant, and resonant storytelling. Today, ZEE5 is home to over 5 lakhs+ hours of on-demand content and 160+ live TV channels. With a rich library of over 3500 films, 1750 TV shows, 700 originals, ZEE5 offers content in 12 Indian languages: English, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, and Punjabi. The platform has an exciting line-up for 2023 that will add to its extensive library of content, offering a wider array of catalogue to entertainment seekers.