The first Azaad Original is titled Meri Doli Mere Angana. The title that evokes immediate curiosity is the first Hindi series produced by renowned producers, Jitendra Gupta and Mahesh Tagde from Tell-A-Tale Media. The show is based in Bithoor, where the entire Singh family, especially her father considers the daughter an apple of their eye. It is a story of today’s rural family which portrays the beauty and complexities of relationships within the family. Due to some circumstances, these relationships change and it drastically affects our heroine’s life. After her marriage, she realizes that the old societal norms where they differentiate between a daughter and daughter-in-law still exists. The show captures Janki’s journey from being an in-experienced and innocent daughter to becoming an experienced daughter-in-law who learns to manage complex situations and relationships with changing dynamics after her marriage. Astha Abhay plays the lead protagonist Janki and Surendra Pal, Rudrakshi Gupta and Ankit Raizada enact key characters in the show.
The second Azaad Original is titled Pavitraa Bharose Ka Safar and is produced by well-known producers, Santosh Singh, Rochelle Singh and Pearl Grey from Parth Production. This family drama, set against the backdrop of Meerut, resonates with the rural mindset as its centered around the themes of encouraging women empowerment, battling societal issues and is also a passionate love story of two diverse personalities. The show touches upon the aspirations and hopes harboured by today’s rural youth as a majority of them want better jobs after higher education and also desire the freedom to decide their life choices. The show captures the journey of a young girl called Pavitraa who is a daughter of an underprivileged taxi driver and aspires to complete her education and become self-reliant. She goes to any lengths to fulfil her goals, fights against all restrictions that impede her growth, gender discrimination and social stigma to eventually become a successful entrepreneur who helps other women become capable to take care of their families and themselves in all respects. The role of Pavitraa is played by Shaily Priya and the ensemble cast includes Neelu Vaghela. Kumaar Raajput and Sheezan Mohammed.
Beginnen Media Pvt Ltd (BMPL) Managing Director, Bharat Kumar Ranga, says, “It’s an industry first with Azaad making the shift from a creative to a consumer-focused business model. Gaining the trust of our viewers is at the heart of our model as our customer experience is based on deep insights. Our Originals have a rural consumer-centric proposition as it is one that places the viewer, rather than the creative at its core. And, we are privileged to have them join us today LIVE from different villages in North India as we have put our viewer at the heart of everything we do and give them the experience they desire. By its sheer size, the rural super mass is clearly emerging as a segment with huge untapped opportunities and with a philosophy of People Centricity, Azaad reflects the Rural DNA that is the Unapologetically Real Indian (U-R-I). We are delighted to present the UnionShip with our content creators, Jitendra Gupta, Mahesh Tagde, Santosh Singh, Rochelle Singh and Pearl Grey who have created our first two originals, Meri Doli Mere Angana and Pavitraa Bharose Ka Safar respectively. The shows are relatable and would inspire the U-R-I Mindset to reconcile with rural traditions and values while ushering a sense of dynamism and growth to meet their aspirations.”
Beginnen Media, General Manager – Product, Doris Dey says, “Azaad is a First on many levels. There has always been a clear cut divide of urban and rural India, with rural inspite of being a majority, unfortunately, has always got a hand-me-down treatment in every sphere of life. And that's what we want to change with our' rural first' approach. Our content has been designed keeping the rural consumer in focus. Through our shows, we will recognise and highlight their challenges; their dreams and aspirations; their traditions and ideologies. And that’s why, we have handpicked a team of creators, who really understand and care about rural India; and are eager to create content for them. At Azaad we truly believe in democratizing the entertainment industry by a) creating content for much-ignored Rural India; b) creating an ecosystem where equal opportunities are provided to existing as well as new makers. We are a 'challenger brand’ determined to create a unique parallel eco-system within the entertainment industry. And I am sure that we will be able to create new-benchmarks with the unwavering support and participation of all our stakeholders.”
The brand proposition, Hamari Mitti Hamara Aasman, developed in partnership with Scarecrow M&C Saatchi Ltd and led by Manish Bhatt, was derived post the extensive consumer study of the Rural Person conducted by Future Brands, spearheaded by Santosh Desai. TAM India’s S Group and LV Krishnan has also particularly helped Azaad in formulating Content and STT strategy. The proposition spells out the rural dreams and aspirations and wears the rural pride. The brand film takes a closer look into a U-R-I’s mindset revealing that they pride themselves on their roots, culture and belief systems. Music Director, Santosh Nair, and talented singer, Divya Kumar, has given the soul to the brand anthem. Art is integral in our culture and the On-Air packaging unveiled on Azaad depicts earthy colours and visual elements that reflects rural aesthetics and stands out as a differentiator in the GEC genre on television. All three aspects, the brand film, the brand anthem and the On-Air packaging, are devised and created by Azaad’s internal On-Air Promotions team.
Starting Tuesday, 14 September, tune into Meri Doli Mere Angana at 9 PM and Pavitraa Bharose ka Safar at 9:30 PM on Azaad. You can also watch the shows on demand for free, exclusively only on MX Player.
