The motive of any storyteller is to spearhead conversations that lie unattended under the carpet or at the back of our closets. All set to launch the first Indian Original in a grand way, Lionsgate Play, a Premium over-the-top (OTT) platform, is tapping into artists, writers, creators and storytellers to create a diverse platform that goes against the tide. The suits at the platform were clear from the start that their content must reflect diversity and break barriers to focus on shows that are progressive and edgy. While their maiden slate comprising of Indian originals can be deemed young from the face of it, novelty continues to remain the biggest draw for the platform as the filmmakers gear up with unheard stories. The line up has shows like Feels like Home that has a vibrant ensemble cast which includes millennial stars Vishnu Kaushal, Prit Kamani, Anshuman Malhotra, and Mihir Ahuja amongst others and Akarsh and Adhaar Khurana helmed college drama U-Special. The ensemble cast includes Sumeet Vyas, Arjun Mathur, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rukshar Dhillon, Taaruk Raina, Gopal Datt and Ahsaas Channa, among others.
Mindful of the larger ramifications of their content and the context in which it is placed, Lionsgate’s slate kicks with a Kunal Kohli directorial series headlined by Lara Dutta & Prateik Babbar. The series showcases each character dealing with their own challenges and baggage, takes the audience through multiple themes – finding love after the acceptable age for marriage, life post-separation, being a teenager in modern day India, and dating at 40 amongst other things. The writing, while cool and fresh, is equally deep and intuitive making the series easy to get hooked to.
While the first show is out soon, Lionsgate Play is ready with a string of releases – each idea different from the other but the common thread tying them up is the inventiveness of thought. The shows that they have in store have a wide range of topics that they touch upon. The stories intend to break boundaries, trigger social conversations about subjects which remain undiscussed, narrate coming-of-age tales of youngsters who step out of the confines of their homes to embark on their professional journeys and focus on the lives of college going students and what they encounter. From casting to writing, every series is diverse and has cast actors from all walks of life in stories that remain untold in times of a content boom. At a time when artistes in the West are talking of inclusivity and diversity in themes, casting, writers’ rooms, Lionsgate Play in India gears up to walk the talk in the Indian market by launching storytellers who are brimming with bright ideas.
