At the launch of the new devotional music platform, Bhakti Studio, to showcase musical talent, and attract younger audiences to devotional music, Shemaroo Entertainment’s CEO, Hiren Gada, and COO, Kranti Gada spoke about the scope and opportunity in the new-age devotional space, and the recently launched OTT platform, ShemarooMe
Kranti Gada, on the opportunity in the devotional segment
Whether it’s travel for devotion, pilgrimage, or spends on festivals, devotion is a pretty big part of the economy. While 70-80% of the audiovisual consumption is entertainment, there is a sliver that everybody allots to devotion. So, we find it an interesting space. We also find that there aren’t too many organised players in this space. Therefore not a lot of investments have gone into this genre. We identified this almost 8-10 years ago, and since then we’ve actively invested in the devotional sector.
Hiren Gada, on targeting younger audiences for devotion
We popularly call it the ABCD of India - Astrology, Bollywood, Cricket, and Devotion - are the four things that drive people in general. But how the younger audiences are consuming devotion is probably different, and what appeals to them is different from what appealed to their parents. This attempt with Bhakti Studio is from that point of view to try and reach out to that audience and give them the devotional experience in their own sensibility and language.
Kranti Gada, on the opportunity for ShemarooMe
We want to be true to our content, and our brand - we are a hardcore masala brand, and we entertain the masses. And if you see our content, we have divided and categorised our content into genres that are underserved in the mainstream portfolios. Mainstream platforms are largely talking about Bollywood, originals, and even in the Bollywood space they’re looking at new content. But not everybody is just a customer for that. Non-metros are definitely our big markets, and even in the metros, if you just keep aside SECs A and B, the next SECs are our target market.
Kranti Gada, on the opportunity in the devotional segment
Whether it’s travel for devotion, pilgrimage, or spends on festivals, devotion is a pretty big part of the economy. While 70-80% of the audiovisual consumption is entertainment, there is a sliver that everybody allots to devotion. So, we find it an interesting space. We also find that there aren’t too many organised players in this space. Therefore not a lot of investments have gone into this genre. We identified this almost 8-10 years ago, and since then we’ve actively invested in the devotional sector.
Hiren Gada, on targeting younger audiences for devotion
We popularly call it the ABCD of India - Astrology, Bollywood, Cricket, and Devotion - are the four things that drive people in general. But how the younger audiences are consuming devotion is probably different, and what appeals to them is different from what appealed to their parents. This attempt with Bhakti Studio is from that point of view to try and reach out to that audience and give them the devotional experience in their own sensibility and language.
Kranti Gada, on the opportunity for ShemarooMe
We want to be true to our content, and our brand - we are a hardcore masala brand, and we entertain the masses. And if you see our content, we have divided and categorised our content into genres that are underserved in the mainstream portfolios. Mainstream platforms are largely talking about Bollywood, originals, and even in the Bollywood space they’re looking at new content. But not everybody is just a customer for that. Non-metros are definitely our big markets, and even in the metros, if you just keep aside SECs A and B, the next SECs are our target market.
