With Dhrubo Banarjee’s debut web-series Tiktiki (2022), the Bengali streaming platform Hoichoi has released its 100th original show.
Starring director-actor Kaushik Ganguly and Anirban Bhattacharya, Tiktiki has been adapted from the late Soumitra Chatterjee’s play of the same title.
Launched in 2017, Hoichoi has become the first regional OTT platform to have 100 originals in its repertoire. As the platform stepped into its fifth year in 2021, it announced a line-up of 25 originals from both India and Bangladesh. In the next two years, Hoichoi plans to release as many as 60 originals.
Elated to reach the century marks, Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta said, “In four and a half years, Hoichoi has released 100 originals. Our journey has been fulfilling and it wouldn’t have been possible without the immense love we have received from Bengalis across the globe.”
According to Mohta, the team could not have predicted that they would get this far so soon. “However, it still feels like we are getting started and have only scratched the surface of what it would take for Hoichoi to be the default entertainment platform for Bengalis globally,” he said.
Soumya Mukherjee, Hoichoi chief operating officer, said, “We have been successful in consistently delivering stories which resonate with our users because from Day 1 we listened to our users and carefully crafted stories they wanted to watch. We have also been able to collaborate with some of the best talents from India and Bangladesh who have helped us create high [talking point] and critically acclaimed content.”
Expressing his gratitude to the partners who enable Hoichoi to reach millions of people worldwide, Mukherjee added, “The years 2022 and 2023 will be huge for Hoichoi as we plan to release at least 60 originals in both Bengali and Hindi.”