Shemaroo Entertainment

Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. is an Indian content creator, aggregator and distributor, specifically in the media and entertainment industry. It was founded by Buddhichand Maroo in 1962 as a book circulating library under the name Shemaroo and set up India’s first video rental business in 1979.[1][2] The company went national after it began content distribution in 1987, became aggregators and bought rights to movies for home video.[2][3]

Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd.
IndustryEntertainment
Founded29 October 1962 (1962-10-29),
FounderBudhichand Maroo
Headquarters
Mumbai
,
India
ProductsMovies, music, home video, merchandise
ServicesContent creation, aggregation, and distribution
Video-on-demand (ShemarooMe)
Websiteshemarooent.com

Currently, the brand has a collection of more than 3700 movie titles in multiple Indian languages and offers services to customers in more than 30 countries, including US, UK, Singapore, UAE and Australia.[4]

The company's partners for content distribution include Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, iTunes, Reliance Jio, Vodafone, Tata Sky, Hotstar, etc.[4] Shemaroo has offices in Mumbai, New Delhi and New Jersey.

History

Early years

Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. was founded on 29 October 1962 as a book circulating library by the Maroo brothers (Buddhichand, Atul and Raman) in collaboration with Gangajibhai Shethias.[4] The name of the company is an acronym of the founders’ surnames. The library was located at Warden Road of South Mumbai and opened three branches soon after.[5]

In 1979, they expanded to include VHS tapes amongst their collection by partnering with affluent business families who had their personal collections of movies.[4]

In 1987, the company forayed into distribution of content via the video home system (VHS) format, which was labeled Shemaroo Video Private Ltd. They also bought rights to several movies for home video and were one of the first brands involved in distribution of video rights in India.[6]

Shemaroo started buying cable and pay television rights in the 1990s and in 1995, while negotiating a deal to buy films of Sony's Columbia Tristar, the company bought an equity stake in Sony's Indian TV channel.[4][5]

2000s to present

Shemaroo became an integrated content media house with the commencement of Digital Post Production Facilities. The company ventured into film production with movies like Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye, Omkara, Ishqiya, Dedh Ishqiya, Hunterrr followed by several others in the subsequent years.[1]

The company forayed into digital animated films with Bal Ganesh and Ghatothkach as their initial features and became the only company to release one feature every year thereafter.[7]

The brand also owns an online retro music channel, Filmi Gaane, which offers classic Bollywood songs from the 1950s to 1990s.[8][9]

In 2012, Shemaroo completed 50 years of operations and in 2018, the company unveiled a new logo and tagline ‘India Khush Hua’.[1]

In February 2020 Shemaroo Group launched its first TV channel named as Shemaroo Marathibana which is 24 hours FTA Marathi movie channel with tagline Assal filmi (transl- made for entertainment).This channel receives well TRP. Swapnil Joshi is brand Ambassador of this channel. It air Marathi superhit Movies like Aapla Manus, Thackeray, Bhai vyakti ki valli, Judgement, Cycle , Ani Dr.Kashinath Ghanekar etc. The free-to-air channel will entirely focus on Marathi audiences across Maharashtra and Goa and will serve their preferences through its catalog of over 200 titles.[10]

In 2020, Shemaroo Group announced the launch of a new Hindi GEC Shemaroo Marathibana. A Free to Air channel, Shemaroo TV targets the Hindi speaking markets of India with the tag line 'Badalte Aaj Ke Liye.'[11]

Shemaroo Pre-loaded audio speakers

In 2019, The company ventured in the pre-loaded audio speaker market and introduced Bluetooth speakers loaded with devotional content. The pricing for all three existing products in store (online & offline) – Bhagavad Gita, Bhajan Vaani and Quran Majeed And is available in the market currently with leading offline and online retailers.[12]

Shemaroo launched 'Shemaroo Bhakti Shri Ganesha Bhajan Vaani' during Ganesh Chaturthi in the year 2019 along with 'Shemaroo Amritbani' during 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji [13]

Business operations

Shemaroo's content library includes more than 3,700 film and non-film titles, including classic Bollywood movies such as like Anari, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Neel Kamal, Amar Akbar Anthony, Dharam Veer, Roti, Khuda Gawah, Dil, Beta, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Khakee, 3 Deewarein and Chupke Chupke, latest ones like Jab We Met, Ishqiya, Slumdog Millionaire, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, Omkara, Judwaa 2, Padmaavat, Pad Man, 102 Not Out, Ishk Vishk, Soldier and animated features like Bal Ganesh and Ghatothkach.[1][14][15]

They also include movies classic nataks in several Indian regional languages like Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, etc. such as Chhelo Divas, Passport, Gujjubhai Banya Dabang, Thai Jaishe and more.[14]

They also have a large plethora of content in the devotional spectrum with devotional videos, live streaming of shrines, temples and more in categories such as Bhakti, Ibaadat, and Gurbani via their apps Ibaadat and Hari Om.[16][17][18]

Their distribution network includes an in-house television syndication team, a new media technology team for mobile value added services (MVAS), internet, DTH and a nationwide home entertainment distribution network. The company has partnered with Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, MTN, Ooredoo and Etisalat to distribute content like videos, music, live streaming, etc. via MVAS.[14] They also have an online presence on YouTube, where their channels receive an estimated 2.2 billion monthly views on average.[19]

Their partners include Airtel digital TV, Tata Sky, Dish TV and other major DTH platforms and with channels such as Sony, Star India and Colors.[14] The company's subsidiary Contentino Media provides in-flight entertainment for airlines like Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air India, Vistara, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic.[20]

The company's brand Yedaz is the official Bollywood licensing and merchandising rights holder that sells Bollywood themed products like T-shirts, mugs, etc.[21][22] They also established the Shemaroo Institute of Film and Technology (SIFT), for students looking to work in the film industry.[23]

ShemarooMe
Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff was present at the launch event of the ShemarooMe app in Mumbai.

In February 2019, Shemaroo Entertainment launched its own video-on-demand service app called ShemarooMe, which is available for Android and iOS.[24] It is also available on web for viewers. Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff was present at the launch event of this app in Mumbai.[25]

The OTT video streaming service primarily consists of content from the company's content library including movies, TV shows and songs pertaining to Bollywood classics, contemporary Bollywood, premium Gujarati, kids category, etc.[26][27] The content is available in languages like Gujarati, Marathi and Punjabi, with more such vernacular languages expected to be added in the future versions of the app.[27]

The service follows a freemium business model. Some of the content will be available for users to stream for free and the rest shall require a subscription to be accessed.[27]

It has also been launched in USA in April 2019.[28][2]

In September 2019, ShemarooMe introduced a new property called Shemaroo Bollywood Premiere – Premieres One World Digital Premier every week movies every Friday [29]

ShemarooMe announced the launch of its new genre Comedy category.[30]

ShemarooMe went global with presence in 150 markets along with the US, UK, Middle East and South Asian Markets

In July 2020, ShemarooMe announced the launch of its new on-demand movie platform called 'ShemarooMe Box Office.' ShemarooMe has also inked a strategic partnership with BookMyShow, India’s leading entertainment destination to ensure more cine-goers have access to the content.[31][32][33]

TV Channels
  • Shemaroo TV - Hindi general entertainment channel
  • Shemaroo Marathibana - Marathi Movies channel

Awards

In May 2009, they won the "Golden Cursor Awards 2009" for their direct-to-dvd edutainment film Rhyme Time in Toyland and for their mobile game Ghatothkach: Eat on Before Dawn.[34]

In June 2011, they won 13 awards for their DVDs, out of the total 20 awards at the "DVD Awards for Indian Home Video DVD releases 2011".[35]

In April 2016, they won the "National Awards for Excellence in Digital and Social Media Marketing 2016" for their online campaign for a cricket tournament, Comedy Premier League.[36][37][38] In September 2016, Shemaroo entered Limca Book of Records twice for the ‘Longest Digital Antakshri’ and ‘Most Tweets in a Day’ for the campaign #FilmiGaaneAntakshari.[39][40]

In March 2018, they won the "DIGIXX Awards 2018" for their Filmi Gaane campaign #KuchKisseKuchKahaniyan.[41] In August 2018, they won the "DIGIXX Awards 2018" for sponsorship and partnership marketing between Yedaz and the social platforms Vigo Video and TikTok. In December 2018, the company's Shemaroo Bhakti App won the "Innovative Mobile App Award 2018" at the Drivers of Digital Summit 2018.[42]

Alleged Controversy

In May 2020 a video surfaced where a comedian Surleen Kaur appeared to make remarks about Krishna, a Hindu God, which right leaning media houses and political parties protested against.[43]

Following the controversy, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd announced that they have decided to dissociate themselves from any further involvement with comedian Surleen Kaur and Balraj Syal.[43]

Claiming that Ms Surleen Kaur and Mr Balraj Syal ‘failed to meet their standards of public decency’, the organisation posted tweets saying that that they will not be associated with the individuals.[43]

Subsequently, ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) lodged a complaint against stand-up comic Surleen Kaur and entertainment company Shemaroo for insulting the organisation and Hindus. The organisation filed a complaint with the Mumbai police, which was published by Shemaroo on various platforms.[43]

References
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  2. Choudhury, Bedatri. "Shemaroo Streams Bollywood into The US". Forbes. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  3. "Shemaroo Entertainment's Founder Buddhichand Maroo Felicitated with GIFA Golden Award". Indian Television Dot Com. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  4. indiainfoline.com. "Shemaroo Entertainment: The Content Connoisseurs". Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  5. Raghavendra, Nandini (24 August 2011). "How family-run enterprise Shemaroo grew from local to a national brand". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. "Shemaroo Entertainment History | Shemaroo Entertainment Information – The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  7. Sapre, Omkar (22 November 2007). "Big budget animation from Bollywood in '08". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  8. "Shemaroo Filmi Gaane brought music lovers across the world closer". radioandmusic.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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  11. from=mdr "Shemaroo launches Hindi entertainment channel -Shemaroo TV" Check |url= value (help). ETBrandEquity. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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  13. from=mdr "Shemaroo Entertainment enters pre-loaded audio speaker market" Check |url= value (help). Business World. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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  28. Limited, Shemaroo Entertainment. "Leading Indian Entertainment Company Shemaroo Enters the US Market with the Launch of its Direct-To-Consumer OTT Platform "ShemarooMe"". PR Newswire. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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  38. Luna, Emilio. "Techphlie". TECHPHLIE (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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  40. "Shemaroo's digital campaign bags CMO Asia Award for best use of Twitter – TelevisionPost: Latest News, India's Television, Cable, DTH, TRAI". TelevisionPost: Latest News, India’s Television, Cable, DTH, TRAI. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  41. "DIGIXX AWARDS 2018 – Real Awards for Real Achiever's". digixx-awards-2018.adgully.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  42. "Shemaroo Entertainment's Bhakti App Bags the Innovative Mobile App Award". Indian Television Dot Com. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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