Hasta La Motion!

With the extended lockdown, everybody is stuck at home for another fortnight at least. Wondering how to keep yourself occupied, many streaming platforms are providing huge content for the viewers to binge on. Old comics are being shared across WhatsApp, giving us a ride through the good old times. Adding to the lot, Abhijeet Kini Studios is making few comics available for the readers at minimum rates.

The very popular Angry Maushi will make your lockdown time fun, with her antics. Indie artist Abhijeet Kini, is giving all the single issues in e-comics format, including the newest Citizen Pain at minimal rates on the official website of Kini Studios.

Angry Maushi is a socio-political satire, with dark humour. It is not a kid’s comic and has some graphic cartoon violence and crude language. Each comic in the series has a loose central plot and all the other subplots are spoofs of current affairs or personalities. Although the series is quintessentially a Mumbai setting, the humour is pretty generic.

Kini shared, “I created Angry Maushi as just a face when I was designing my merchandise for the Mumbai Comic Con. I wanted to come up with a character, who is quintessentially Mumbai.”

Kini suggests readers to read comics during the lockdown, since it’s a great way to transport yourselves to other worlds and feel good. “In these times gadgets are what people are using the most to keep themselves busy, occupied or entertained. So, I am trying to target readers who can download the PDFs and read.”

Angry Maushi is Kini’s first self published comic book. “This comic is an uncensored mirror of times and I feel this kind of humor is hard to find in our hypocritical society,” said he.

The e-comics will be available for the readers till the lockdown lasts, but the offer price is available only for a certain period. Grab this opportunity and let your anger vent out through this very Angry Maushi.

Apart from Angry Maushi, Kini Studios’ Rhyme Fighters is also one unique series which gives an ode to unsung heroes of our daily lives, a (comical) toast to the likes of traffic cops, Mumbai dabbawalas, the auto drivers and many more.

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Sudhanshu Vats has stepped down from his position as the Viacom18 Group CEO and MD, after serving eight years at the helm.

At Viacom18, subsidiary of Network18, Vats expanded the media network’s footprint into new business lines of digital, experiential entertainment and consumer products. He also strengthened Viacom18’s position in Hindi mass entertainment, regional, kids, music and english entertainment and also made a mark by backing filmed entertainment business with content led cinema.

Sudhanshu Vats

Under his leadership, Viacom18 has grown from a six to a 54-channel network with its video-on-demand platform, Voot, helping it establish a strong digital presence. Recently, Viacom18 also launched VOOT Select, a SVOD model for Voot.

As a part of the Network18 (RIL’s flagship in Media and Entertainment group), Viacom18 has grown as a prominent entertainment broadcaster excluding sports, with an 11.1 per cent viewership share, seeing a significant growth in broadcasting, film studio and OTT offerings.

Commenting on Vats’ retirement from the company, Network18 chairman of the Board Adil Zainulbhai said, “Vats is a dynamic and admired leader in corporate India today. Not only has he led from the front in shaping up Viacom18’s growth story, he has also championed the cause of the sector at the various industry bodies that he has captained. While we are sad to lose him, it is equally reassuring to know that we have a strong second line that’s raring to go. I’d like to wish him all the very best for his future endeavours.”

Vats leaves behind a strong leadership team which has grown the different verticals of the company into large businesses. Few reports suggest that post Vats’ farewell from the company on 15 April 2020,  Network18 Group managing director Rahul Joshi will overlook and manage the respective verticals.

Speaking about his journey at Viacom18, Sudhanshu Vats added, “It has been an extremely challenging and satisfying eight years at the helm of Viacom18. I have had the privilege of working with some of the best minds in M&E industry to chart the growth story of Viacom18. We have together built one of the most admired media companies of brilliant storytellers with diversified presence across screens and platforms. As I look forward to taking up newer challenges, I shall always cherish the learnings in leading India’s youngest and fastest-growing media and entertainment company.”

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The nation is grappling with COVID-19 showing no signs of slowing down its accelerated growth. The lockdowns across the country have been extended till 3 May, which means people will have to restrict themselves at home for another 19 days! Which in return means that content consumption on TV or online will continue to increase.

Looking at the current scenario, KPMG has released a report titled COVID-19: The Many Shades Of A Crisis- A Media And Entertainment Sector Perspective, highlighting the impact of COVID-19 in the media and entertainment industry. The report states that the current environment could result in a dip in media consumption in the near term.

The COVID-19 pandemic has punched various industries and sectors hard and the media and entertainment industry is no exception. It’s sure to witness and deal with the after-effects of the pandemic which has turned out to be catastrophic for films, entertainment events and theme parks. However, due to lockdowns across the globe and bleak signs of outdoor entertainment, OTT or VOD consumption has seen a major boost in India.

According to the KPMG report, Digital consumption will continue to see a rapid incremental growth with India’s digital billion trajectories likely to accelerate materially.

Key points or takeaways (on the OTT landscape) from the report are:

> At-home entertainment options like digital, TV, gaming will find an upswing as ‘lockdown behaviour’ results in habit formation

> From the consumption point of view, particularly OTT/VOD will continue to have accelerated growth.

> Secular rise in the OTT consumption in duration across demographics and devices.

> In the monetisation front, penetration of subscription-based digital models will see a rise. OTT players are offering extended free periods to drive subscription pick up through habit formation.

> Digital subscription revenues could see an upswing post-COVID-19 as habit formation in terms of OTT video consumption sets in.

> Content pipeline has dried up with almost negligible fresh content as productions and shootings are temporarily shut. However, writers and creators have ample time to explore various ideas and experiment with them. Once lockdown lifts, we might see a burst of fresh, innovative content coming in on OTT platforms.

> OTT players with large, varied libraries with a legacy have an advantage.

Speaking on the current situation, KPMG India partner and Markets Enablement, Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) leader Satya Easwaran said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a drastic cut in advertising expenditure across all media. However, with people being homebound, consumption of media and entertainment – and digital media in particular – has seen considerable growth. Post-crisis, we anticipate an even greater integration of technology into our everyday lives with a marked digital progression of Indians across socio-economic classes. Monetisation, however, might remain a challenge in the near term.”

KPMG India partner and Media and Entertainment leader Girish Menon further added, “The COVID-19 experience is likely to result in a long-term upward shift in the integration of digital technologies into our everyday lives, with India’s ‘digital billion’ trajectory likely to accelerate materially. We expect greater affinity to be seen for at-home entertainment with subscription models, cord-shaving and streaming to larger screens seeing an exponential pick-up in the near to medium term.”

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According to various sources, the cinematic Marvel universe may be ready to expand with The Young Avengers. Geeks WorldWide senior editor Thomas Polito brings word on Twitter that Marvel Studios is preparing to hear pitches from writers about adapting the property.

The Young Avengers have always been a fan favorite in for many years, with rumors of them being adapted into the MCU frequently drawing excitement from social media.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has openly spoken about the possibility that the characters could be used in the future, saying last year “anything from the books that we haven’t yet done in film is always on the table.”

Feige added that they are constantly planning out the MCU and that new characters are the driving force behind future developments. There is no telling which Young Avengers story Marvel will bring to the big screens, but we do have a good idea which characters might appear in the film.

In Endgame, fans met an older version of Scott Lang’s (Paul Rudd) daughter, Cassie Lang, who will reportedly join the project. The studio’s upcoming television series, Hawkeye, will reportedly feature Clint’s (Jeremy Renner) daughter, Kate Bishop, who will take over her father’s mantle. a casting call for She-Hulk seemingly confirmed the first official member, few months ago. All these three characters may appear in Young Avengers.

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