Discovery gets into OTT content creation in India

Mumbai: After its India launch in March this year, Discovery has announced its foray into creating original content for its streaming service in India, and have roped in Bollywood celebrities Manoj Bajpayee, Rana Daggubati, Neeraj Pandey and Randeep Hooda to take forward their plans.

The launch of a slew of originals starting from December 9 has been planned. The line-up includes shows such as "Mission Frontline" featuring Rana Daggubati, "Ladakh Warriors: The Sons Of The Soil" narrated in Hindi by Randeep Hooda, and "Secrets Of Sinauli: Discovery Of The Century" that is presented by filmmaker Neeraj Pandey with Manoj Bajpayee as the host.

"Ladakh Warriors: The Sons Of The Soil" showcases the gruelling training of the warriors. It will start streaming from December 9.

Talking about the show, Randeep said: "With 'Ladakh Warriors: The Sons of the Soil', we celebrate the snow warriors of India and I couldn't be happier to be associated with a project like this. To be able to lend my voice to take the story of these heroes to the masses is an honour."

"Mission Frontline" highlights the life of Military Forces, fighting at the border to keep the country safe. The special episode features actor and producer Rana Daggubati, who will experience the difficult life of a soldier and live with the border men at the Border Security Force, Jaisalmer.

"It gives me immense pleasure to have an opportunity to live a day in the life of BSF Jawans. Having played a role of a soldier before, I can say that real life of a soldier is very different from reel life. They are our real heroes and what they do for this country is unimaginable," Rana said.

Meanwhile, "Secrets Of Sinauli: Discovery Of The Century" uncovers the mysteries behind the excavations of Sinauli (a village in UP). The show will cover the timeline of the finds, the artefacts and the people involved across each stage of the discovery.

"Discovery of this ancient and parallel civilisation at Sinauli is not just a fascinating story screaming to be told but has also led to more questions than answers, and this story is far from conclusion," said Pandey, who is presenter of the show.

To this, Manoj added: "Being a part of 'Secrets Of Sinauli: Discovery Of The Century' was enriching in many ways because I got to learn so much more about ancient India. I have been able to see ancient Indian history from a new perspective and to know that this excavation is just the tip of the iceberg, and there is lots more to be discovered in the timeline of Indian history with regards to the Sinauli excavation is certainly exciting."

In the first half of 2021, the streaming service has planned more than 200 new local and global titles. Along with India-produced originals, it will also launch other Indian titles including shows such as "Amma & Appa", "The Indian Dream Hotel", "The Ganges With Sue Perkins", "Aerial India" as well as exclusive launches like "A Perfect Planet" featuring David Attenborough,"The End Of The Storm", "The Impossible Row" and the latest seasons of "Top Gear" and "Gold Rush".

"The traction that the product has seen demonstrates the immense appetite Indian consumers have for real-life entertainment and learning space. With the streaming service, we are seizing a global opportunity with a single aggregated product. No other media company is better positioned to do this," said Megha Tata, managing director, South Asia, Discovery.