Applause Entertainment sets eyes on South Indian content

The content studio has set up an office in Chennai and announced Pramod Cheruvalath as South – content head.

As OTT platforms look to create more content in South Indian languages, Applause Entertainment, an Aditya Birla Group venture, today announced a dedicated office in Chennai.

Pramod Cheruvalath, director/producer of Sign of Life Productions, has joined Applause as South – content head. Vighnesh Menon, producer at Applause, will be working with Cheruvalath.

Applause has created shows like Iru Dhuruvam (Tamil), Humble Politician Nograj (Kannada), Vadham and Kuruthi Kalam (Tamil) for the South Indian market.

The platform’s expansion plans in the region are well timed, as OTT platforms are increasingly looking to expand their content slate in South Indian languages.

While announcing its content slate for this year, SonyLIV mentioned that it will soon foray into Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam originals.

Recently, ZEE5 announced 20 titles in Tamil and 11 titles in Telugu. Disney Hotstar also launched its first-ever Telugu Special (Original) Parampara in December last year.

Cheruvalath produced Iru Dhuruvam, along with Applause, for SonyLIV. He will now be responsible to build Applause’s content slate in all four southern markets to create a diversified slate of premium series and movies across languages.

Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause, says, “The global streamer has created a flat Earth and, indeed, a global village. Content from every geography and language has the opportunity to reach audiences everywhere. After our successes in the Hindi/Hinglish category, we are really keen to work with the amazing talent in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada to tell rooted authentic stories for a domestic and international stage.”

“On-boarding Pramod to oversee the expansion, is our first step in that direction. His extensive network, market knowledge and creative expertise will help build our unique hub and spoke business model in key southern markets.”

Adds Cheruvalath, “Ever since its inception, Applause has backed and produced clutter-breaking content across genres. Regional content has unexplored potential, and the ability to establish a strong connect with a local, national and international audience.”

“I am happy to take on this new role to work with Sameer and the team at Applause to upscale its slate with genre-breaking authentic and relatable stories from the south for a worldwide audience.”