Prime Video’s Kelly Day, Gaurav Gandhi Break Down Asia Growth Plans: ‘India’s Been an Incredible Success for Us’

Producers in Southeast Asia are facing a very different, much quieter landscape to the one in front of them just 12 months ago, as U.S. players rein in their spending to appease shareholders, and neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan and India draw attention.

Naman Ramachandran Indian cinema A-list actor-producer-director Prithviraj Sukumaran is extremely busy, with a hit film in theaters, another due this week and several more in the works. Malayalam-language “Aadujeevitham” (“The Goat Life“), directed by Blessy (“Thanmatra”) is based on Benyamin’s bestselling 2008 novel of the same name and tells the true story of Najeeb, an immigrant laborer from Kerala forced into slavery on a remote goat farm in a Middle Eastern country. Sukumaran plays Najeeb.

With the popularity of women’s basketball on the rise, Prime Video and the WNBA have reached an extension of their current rights deal through the next two seasons.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Women’s pro hoops are coming back to Amazon‘s Prime Video for at least two more years. Prime Video and the WNBA on Friday announced a rights renewal deal under which Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive U.S. streaming partner for a package of 21 games each season, including the Championship Game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Naman Ramachandran Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Indian media conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, is trimming the organization’s workforce by 15%. “In line with his overall strategic approach, the MD and CEO has initiated the process of rationalization of the workforce by 15%, that will prune the staff strength across the company to arrive at a streamlined team that is sharply focused on the set goals for the future,” Zee said in a statement on Friday.

Ellise Shafer U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has backed J.K. Rowling after the “Harry Potter” author spoke out against Scotland’s new hate crime act, daring the police to arrest her for misgendering trans women.

Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle broke down in tears as she shared an Easter memory from her time with the late Sarah Harding.The Irish singer, 38, who is currently in Japan, took to TikTok on Sunday, 31 March to share that the trip "got her thinking" about her "first time in LA".This led to Nadine sharing a heartfelt story about her bandmate and friend, Sarah, who tragically passed away at the age of 39 after a battle with breast cancer. Sitting outside to record the video Nadine explained that her first time in LA happened to be Easter Sunday and she was there with "our beautiful Sarah Harding." She said: "We went there to record like a game for a song which came out recently, which is crazy because it was all of those years ago that we went and I'm going to try and get through this without crying." Nadine composed herself and said she had been "left alone for a minute" and "didn't expect this at all." Before sharing that "Sarah and I were beside ourselves with excitement" when they went to LA.

After over 40 years on our airwaves, radio fans were dealt a heartbreaking blow on Tuesday 13 February, when the BBC announced the death of DJ Steve Wright, who had famously helmed programmes on Radio 1 and Radio 2, as well as fronting tv shows such as Top of the Pops. And now, in an exclusive chat with OK!, Steve's colleague Jo Whiley has opened up on dealing with feelings about her own mortality. However, the one thing she’s not concentrating on and that is slowing down.

Naman Ramachandran Noted actor Pankaj Tripathi faced one of the toughest challenges of his career when he was asked to portray former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in biopic “Main Atal Hoon.” Vajpayee (1924-2018) was a poet and a politician who served three terms as Prime Minister. He belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party, which is currently in power in India. Vajpayee, who presided over India’s nuclear tests, was also known as a diplomat who improved relations with the country’s arch rival Pakistan and introduced multiple reforms.

Manchester Airport has announced the launch of a direct route to Shanghai, the first service to operate to the Chinese city from the north. Juneyao Air has chosen Manchester as its first destination in the UK in a move that’s been hailed as “fantastic news” by regional leaders.

The BAFTA TV Awards nominations are out for 2024 and, while Netflix is winning headlines after strong showings for The Crown and Black Mirror, there were some snubs and surprises.

India has driven more subscribers to Amazon than any other country bar the U.S. over recent years, according Head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios Mike Hopkins.

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video has unveiled a 69-title 2024 slate of new and returning series and original and licensed films. The slate was revealed at a star-studded event in Mumbai on Tuesday hosted by Indian media personality Karan Johar. Amazon executives present at the event included Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, Kelly Day, VP Prime Video International, ⁠James Farrell, VP, international originals, Gaurav Gandhi, VP, APAC and MENA, Sushant Sreeram, country director, India, Aparna Purohit, head of originals, India and Southeast Asia, Manish Menghani, director, content licensing, India, and Nikhil Madhok, head of Hindi-language, India.

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video has revealed a title and the extended cast for the Indian instalment of “Citadel,” the espionage action series created by the Russo brothers. The Indian series within the “Citadel” universe will be called “Citadel: Honey Bunny.” As previously announced, Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu will lead the cast. Prabhu will play Honey and Dhawan portray Bunny.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Paramount Global has sold its 13% ownership stake in TV and streaming company Viacom18 to Reliance Industries for $517 million. Reliance was already the majority owner of Viacom18. The pact comes two weeks after Disney and Reliance Industries announced a blockbuster $8.5 billion deal merging their massive Indian TV and streaming businesses.

Paramount Global has sold its 13% equity interest in Viacom18 Media to Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries for the equivalent $517 million.

If Vladimir Putin was watching the Academy Awards on Sunday night from his dacha on the Black Sea, his mood may have been blackened by the Best Documentary Feature category. As Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast had predicted, the Oscar went to , Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing film about the early days of Russia’s brutal siege of the Ukrainian port city. 

Lily Gladstone officially broke her silence after losing the highly coveted Oscar for Best Actress to “Poor Things” lead Emma Stone.“Feeling the love big time today, especially from Indian Country,” the “Killers of the Flower Moon” star posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. “Kittō”kuniikaakomimmō”po’waw — seriously, I love you all.” The actress — who made history by being the first Native American to be nominated in the Best Actress category — joked that she didn’t walk away totally empty-handed.

Selome Hailu At a festival known for raucous audiences, Dev Patel‘s “Monkey Man” made for the rowdiest screening yet. During the SXSW premiere of the actor’s directorial debut, Austin’s Paramount Theater was filled with cries of “We love you, Dev!” and “India!” that can only be described as guttural. The crowd’s love for Patel only grew more fervent as the film went on, revealing not only a new cinematic voice, but a surprisingly political action thriller that saw Patel’s character take on the Hindu caste system with teeth, knives and blood.Dev Patel receives a standing ovation after a #SXSW screening of his feature directorial debut "Monkey Man." pic.twitter.com/OcpjhByVSu “The action genre has been abused by the system,” Patel said while introducing the film.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Thailand is poised to get serious about its commitment to the film industry, and plans to launch a major new body, the Thailand Creative Culture Agency, with a budget of THB7 billion ($200 million). Long a destination for Hollywood, China and India productions, and currently playing host to the lensing of Season 3 of “The White Lotus,” Thailand has many of the elements that could contribute to building a major film industry. These include diverse locations, skilled crews, studio facilities and a location production, or incentive, scheme.