Zee Gears Up for MIPCOM with Scripted & Unscripted Formats

MUMBAI/LOS ANGELES: Zee Entertainment Enterprises is heading to Cannes with a slate of six new and current formats available for licensing and development, including Dance India Dance, and will hold screening sessions in the Zee Bollyworld Preview Theatre for the first time at MIPCOM.

“We have researched and reviewed our bank of format concepts and existing Zee scripted programs to see which would fit best as formats,” says Sunita Uchil, the company’s chief business officer for international ad sales, global syndication and production. “Also, we have received great interest from our global partners for these formats.”

Dance India Dance is an unscripted competition series that has had versions in Singapore and Thailand. Zee is presenting Dance India Dance at MIPCOM, alongside Moksha, a brand-new game show requiring strategy, luck and skill.

In the realm of scripted formats, Zee is offering Phantasmagoria, a series of 12 twisted short stories. Phantasmagoria centers on an inconspicuous pawnshop in the corner of a decrepit by lane. Each tale brings about a series of illusions, apparitions and deception based on elements that are uniquely characteristic of each zodiac sign. The Eclipse Harvest, meanwhile, is a high-octane crime series about the NYPD Organized Crime Control Bureau. The son of a decorated officer in the narcotics division and the son of a drug lord each set out to eclipse their own fathers of their glory.

Two additional scripted formats are the family sitcoms Hum Paanch (Five Is a Crowd) and Kareena Kareena.

For the first time at MIPCOM, Zee will hold screening sessions in the Zee Bollyworld Preview Theatre located at the company’s booth.

Uchil says: “Zee has a rich history of developing and producing programs with universal themes that are adaptable to all regions of the world. We are looking forward to hosting buyers and showcasing our new formats, as well as the popular dance-based reality show Dance India Dance, at our Zee Bollyworld Preview Theatre. In other words, Zee Bollyworld promises a truly edge-of-the-seat experience at MIPCOM 2016.”

She adds: “We continue to live and deliver on our mission statement: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—The World is My Family.”