Actor Swwapnil Joshi and film producer-businessman Narendra Firodia have named their upcoming over-the-top (OTT) platform 1 OTT. This digital platform will only be available on mobile phones.
The logo of the platform was launched on Wednesday by Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at an event at the Raj Bhavan.
A statement from 1 OTT said, “The platform will cater to regional content covering all major Indian languages to become truly ‘Apne Bharat Ka Apna Mobile TV’ [India’s own mobile TV]. The platform will prove [to be] the OTT of India by telecasting films and series in regional languages, including Hindi, Marathi and Bengali.”
Firodia was about to launch his own OTT platform when he learnt that Joshi was planning to do likewise. That's when they decided to join hands.
Joshi said in a statement, “I was thinking of starting an OTT [platform] for the last two years as I was looking to do something different to grow as an artiste. We wanted to give a good platform to the people. In the meantime, I discussed the venture with Narendra Firodia with whom I share very good relations. When we learnt about his plan to launch OTT for regional content, we decided to merge both ventures.”
About the type of content that will be featured on 1 OTT, he said, “Not only the regional languages in India, but even foreign-language content can be added in future. We have a good team of leading people from this field intending to form a global entity. We are happy to launch it today. We are looking forward to out-of-the-box entertainment for people across demographics.”
Firodia, who has produced Marathi films like Aga Bai Arechya 2 (2015) and Triple Seat (2019), added, “The lockdown saw the launch of many OTT platforms catering to various genres of content. India is a huge market for OTT content and it has been proved in the last two years. Since regional languages were not getting due participation on these platforms, we decided to launch 1 OTT for content in Indian languages. The platform will benefit content from all [major] Indian languages. We are aiming to give quality content in Indian languages to our viewers and that way it will be India’s OTT.”
Governor Koshyari said, “I congratulate Shri Swwapnil Joshiji, Narendra Firodiaji and their team members on the occasion of the launch of the unique platform. I wish them and the venture every success.”