After KGF 2, RRR, Pushpa success, Bollywood production house eyes South expansion

Applause Entertainment announced its expansion in the South by setting up an office in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This decision was made after the success of films like KGF 2, RRR and Pushpa.

Aditya Birla Group’s venture, Applause Entertainment, announced its expansion in the southern market. The production house has also set up a dedicated office in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Buoyed by the opportunities that regional OTT space presents, Applause will further develop its South content acquisition and creation strategy. Director-producer Pramod Cheruvalath of Sign of Life Productions has joined Applause Entertainment as the South Content Head to assist the venture to expand the plan along with Vighnesh Menon, who is a Producer at Applause Entertainment.

Pramod Cheruvalath had earlier produced Iru Dhuruvam (Tamil), along with Applause Entertainment for SonyLIV. He will now be responsible to build Applause’s content slate in all 4 Southern Markets to create a diversified slate of premium series and movies across languages. Previously, the content studio also produced series like Humble Politician Nograj (Kannada), Vadham, and Kuruthi Kalam (Tamil), apart from producing the second season of Iru Dhuruvam.

Talking about the expansion, CEO of Applause Entertainment Sameer Nair, said, “The global streamer has created a flat Earth and indeed, a global village. Content from every geography and in every 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 the key Southern markets”.Pramod Cheruvalath also commented on the expansion. He said, “Ever since its inception, Applause Entertainment 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. Happy to take on this new role to work with Sameer and the team at Applause Entertainment to upscale the Applause Slate with genre breaking authentic and relatable South stories for a worldwide audience.”

Applause Entertainment produced and released popular series across genres and languages like Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, Bloody Brothers, Criminal Justice, Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, and Hostages that have gone on to set new benchmarks. Currently in production is a robust slate of theatrical and direct-to-streaming movies including Sharmajee Ki Beti, Iftikhar and more.

Applause’s first feature, The Rapist, directed by Aparna Sen, recently won the prestigious Kim Jiseok Award at the Busan International Film Festival, 2021. The production house has partnered with leading platforms like Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Sony LIV, MX Player, Zee5 and Voot Select for its creative output.