Guneet Monga: OTT unified everyone with different content and democratised the creative space As the Oscar-winning film producer Guneet Monga and Karan Johar partnered to produce their upcoming sci-fi web series Gyaarah Gyaarah, which is releasing on ZEE5 on August 9, the makers of the show opened up about the market and content acquisition opportunities on the OTT platform and more

After the successful theatrical project Kill, which is still running in the theatre, Oscar-winning film producer duo Guneet Monga and Achint Jain are coming together again with Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta for their first web series titled Gyaarah Gyaarah, which is all set to release on Zee5. The show is produced under their banners, Sikhya Entertainment and Dharmatic Entertainment. The makers came together on Wednesday to unveil the trailer for the web series, which features Kritika Kamra, Raghav Juyal, and Dhairya Karwa.

The event was graced by the cast and crew of the show, including director Umesh Bisht and Manish Kalra, the Chief Business Officer of Zee5.

As the OTT platform in the recent past has generated a lot of content not only in Hindi but also in the regional sections and acquired several successful film titles like Sam Bahadur, Gadar2, and many more, during an interactive session, Manish was asked about the parameters for acquiring content and producing original titles under Zee5.

Manish Kalra, the Chief Business Officer, said, "The core is good content, whether we are acquiring the right for any film that has already been released or we are greenlighting a project. At the end of the day, even if we are taking a leap of faith, it is the audience that decides, and we understand the pulse of the audience. Of course, when we are producing, based on the content, we do the casting of the project, but without content that has a potential audience, creative energy doesn't get invested. So, as we say, content is the king and audience is the best judge."

Interestingly, Guneet, on the other hand, has been exploring every medium, be it content-driven independent films that won many accolades at international film festivals, commercial potboilers in Bollywood, and now a web series on the OTT platform. Talking about the positive impact of OTT platforms in the business of entertainment, she shared her observations and the changing nature of the business.

Guneet said, "I think OTT came to the business and unified people with different content. It is because of the OTT platforms that content and stories from different regions, like Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, have a high level of penetration into the audience across the country. The consumption pattern changed, and how? When we say that our country is big, the diversity of our content is proof of that. So I look at the boom of OTT as something that united us in the space of entertainment. I also feel that such exchanges democratised the storytelling space. I think OTT platforms empowered talents from everywhere to do more and tell more stories because, as we know, every story has an audience, and the number is only increasing. It has democratised and expanded the market, especially for outsiders and those who did not have access to the market. Those who are coming to this industry with dreams have a chance to create visibility, shine, and if you have talent, you will conquer."

Manish further added, "When it comes to choosing the content, I strongly believe that whenever your product is consumer-based, we do a lot of market research and gather data on patterns of content consumption to get an understanding of what genre of films and shows they love watching. Also, we have to understand that whatever is happening today, based on that, we have to create content that has to be relevant even when it is released. You see, when we start making a film, for example, it will release at least after a year because of the time it takes to make it. Understanding the pulse of the audience is important because by the time it is released, it shouldn't be outdated."

He also admits that there is a lot of research work, data gathering, and consumer behaviour behind it.

"Practically speaking, at times we make mistakes too, but we learn from them. In short, we are in a business that involves science, research, but at the same time gut feeling and intuition," he concluded.

As this is the first time Guneet is producing a web series, which is a big-budget 8-episode show, she expressed her excitement regarding the project.

"This is my first big web series so far, and I always wanted to do it. I am in my most excited self when I am telling a story; I am born to tell story. If and when I hear a story, one can see me physically excited, like I am jumping with joy and be like, 'haan isko aise banayenge...aise shoot karenge'! I am still that excited about each project, like my debut! I am still that passionate storyteller," shared the Oscar winner.

The web series Gyaarah Gyaarah will stream on Zee5.