Bengal’s beckoning
EndemolShine India is bringing back ‘Bigg Boss Bangla’ for Indian platform JioStar’s Star Jalsha, marking the reality format’s return to Bengali television after 10 years. Cricket legend Sourav Ganguly will host the series.
This revival expands Banijay Entertainment’s Bigg Boss footprint in India to seven languages, joining the existing Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and Hindi iterations. The latest Hindi version became the most-watched streaming non-fiction show in India in its final week.
“Bigg Boss has grown to become one of the most powerful and enduring entertainment formats in the country,” said Deepak Dhar, Founder and Group CEO, Banijay Asia and EndemolShine India. “With Star Jalsha as our partner and Sourav Ganguly leading the show, we are confident that Bigg Boss Bangla will resonate deeply with the viewers.”
‘Bigg Boss’ is the Indian version of Banijay Entertainment’s global ‘Big Brother’ format, launched in 1999 and currently spanning 70 adaptations and over 600 seasons in 27 territories.
general silence
Canada’s South Asian Film Board has launched the SASO National Research Project at Toronto Metropolitan University to target the systemic underrepresentation of South Asian creators in the Canadian film industry.
“The problem is not absence, but structural invisibility,” said project director Sunny Gill. “When data frameworks categorize South Asians into broad categories, they erase the size and specificity of a community of more than 2.5 million people.”
This project will produce the first nationally coordinated evidence of South Asian representation on screen, behind the camera and in leadership roles across Canada’s film sector.
malaysia moment
Malaysia will make its SXSW debut on March 15th with the Made in Malaysia stage at Austin’s Las Perlas, marking the first time the festival will feature a national showcase of Malaysian music.
Curated and headlined by rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer Zamaela, the showcase features R&B vocalist Marty, indie singer-songwriter Zoe Tan, hyperpop and hip-hop artist Lil Asian Tissy, electronic producer I-SKY, and opens with Texas-based DJ VÖ.A_2000.
“Our music may sound global, but it is unmistakably Malaysian,” says Zamaela. “We’re not just playing songs. We’re sharing our identity, our creativity, and our voices with the world.”
