Hugely popular Indian family sitcoms Hum Paanch and Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain are set to get a British and an Anglo-Spanish adaptation respectively, according to an announcement made by the Indian entertainment conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises on Thursday. The entertainment giants have set up ZEE Studios International in Canada to produce global content for audiences across the world.
A few of the initial productions that are in the pipeline include adaptations of Hum Paanch, which is being produced in its British version as Lala's Ladiez, and an Anglo-Spanish sitcom adapted from Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain. Its working title is Love Thy Neighbour, read a statement.
Based in Vancouver, the studio will create global content and formats for international markets in their local languages, many of which will be based on successful Indian ideas and concepts. It will initially focus on developing content for television and digital platforms as well as original formats and homegrown remakes, with a plan to venture into film production at a later stage.
The content developed will have scripted and unscripted formats across an array of genres, ranging from reality, game and dance shows to shows in the fictional crime drama, sitcom, sci-fi, horror and paranormal space.
Commenting on the new initiative, Amit Goenka, CEO at International Broadcast Business, ZEEL, said:
Canada is known as a large production hub for various Hollywood companies, as the country offers the requisite infrastructure, talent pool, scenic locales as well as a favourable government incentive scheme. After a series of discussions with the government of British Columbia, Canada, we were invited to set up a production company in Vancouver. Our endeavour through this venture is to produce global content for mainstream audiences across various international markets, as well as take care of our domestic requirements.Amit Goenka, CEO at International Broadcast Business, ZEEL
The studio will be led by Subhadarshi Tripathy.
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