Submit Might ban, Zee 5`s Pakistani exhibits get acquired by a brand new platform
In Might, after Operation Sindoor, the Ministry of Data & Broadcasting had issued an advisory directing Indian OTT platforms to take away all streaming content material originating from Pakistan (This hyperlink is damaged, Might 9). Because of this, Zee5 had pulled the plug on its Pakistani exhibits and Indo-Pak collaborative productions. 5 months on, a few of these acclaimed exhibits have discovered a brand new residence within the Center East. Executives primarily based in Dubai inform mid-day that a number of Indo-Pak joint productions, which have been previously housed beneath Zee Leisure’s cross-border leisure vertical Zindagi, have now been acquired by Start. Watch.
Launched in 2022, Start.Watch is a Pakistan-based streaming platform. In current months, it not solely expanded its presence within the Center East, but in addition secured rights to a number of exhibits caught within the crossfire of the Might ban.
Sajal Ali in ‘The Pink Shirt’
A distinguished instance is The Pink Shirt, starring Mother (2017) actor Sajal Ali and Wahaj Ali. The romantic drama was initially developed beneath Zindagi together with Indian content material studio Applause Leisure. An business insider reveals, “Whereas The Pink Shirt did the competition rounds, its 2023 launch saved getting pushed. Within the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, it by no means hit Indian screens. In such Indo-Pak collaborations, there was ambiguity about who owned the present anymore. Start. Watch negotiated immediately with the Pakistani producers.”
After it turned clear that Zee5’s Zindagi vertical had been shut down in India, Start. Watch acquired a number of cross-border collaborations resembling Churails and Qatil Haseenaon Ke Naam. But conspicuously lacking from its catalogue is Barzakh (2024), director Asim Abbasi’s fantasy drama starring Fawad Khan. The present had streamed on Zee5 in India. The supply explains, “For the reason that present was produced for Zindagi, which was a part of an Indian platform, it’s tangled in a rights dispute. The now-
defunct Zindagi slate has led to a state of affairs the place many creators can’t entry their very own work. These collaborations have been made with Indian cash and Pakistani expertise, and at the moment are in a gray zone.”
