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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 A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under conditions and terms a ...
business in 1979. The company went national after it began content distribution in 1987, became aggregators and bought rights to movies for
home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
. 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. The company's partners for content distribution include
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
,
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
,
Reliance Jio Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, doing business as Jio, is an Indian telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, headquartered in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It operates a national LTE network with coverage across all ...
,
Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...
,
Tata Sky Tata Play (stylised as TΛTΛ PLΛY, formerly TΛTΛ , sky) is an Indian direct broadcast satellite (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A and GSAT-10 satellite. Incorporated in 2005; it ...
,
Dd free dish DD Free Dish (previously known as DD Direct Plus) is an Indian free-to-air satellite television provider. DD Free Dish DTH service is owned and operated by Public Service Broadcaster Prasar Bharati. It was launched in December, 2004. In March 2 ...
, DishTV (through one of its active service channels 'Evergreen Classics Active) etc. Shemaroo has offices in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
and
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.


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. The name of the company is an acronym of the founders’ surnames. The library was located at Warden Road of
South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Anglo-Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahim and Sion neighbour ...
and opened three branches soon after. In 1979, they expanded to include VHS tapes amongst their collection by partnering with affluent business families who had their personal collections of movies. 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. 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.


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 ''Ishqiya'' () is a 2010 Indian black comedy film starring Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Salman Shahid. It was directed by Abhishek Chaubey in his directorial debut, cinematography by Mohana Krishna, and was produced by Raman ...
,
Dedh Ishqiya ''Dedh Ishqiya'' () is a 2014 Indian black comedy film directed by Abhishek Chaubey and starring Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah, Madhuri Dixit, Huma Qureshi and Vijay Raaz. Produced by Raman Maroo of Shemaroo Entertainment and by Vishal Bhara ...
'', ''
Hunterrr ''Hunterrr'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language adult comedy film written and directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni. The film stars Gulshan Devaiah, Radhika Apte and Sai Tamhankar. The film revolves around an unassuming sex addict and his lustful j ...
'' followed by several others in the subsequent years. The company forayed into digital animated films with ''
Bal Ganesh ''Bal Ganesh'' is a 2007 computer-animated musical feature film directed by Pankaj Sharma. The film is about the adventures and hijinks of Lord Ganesh, the Hindu elephant-headed god, when he was a kid. Synopsis Shiva and Parvati live on Moun ...
'' and ''
Ghatothkach ''Ghatothkach'' is a 2008 Indian animated film based on the life of the ''Mahabharata'' character Ghatotkacha, the son of Bhima and Hidimba. The film is written and directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, who also scored the soundtrack. The film w ...
'' as their initial features and became the only company to release one feature every year thereafter. The brand also owns an online retro music channel, Filmi Gaane, which offers classic Bollywood songs from the 1950s to 1990s. In 2012, Shemaroo completed 50 years of operations and in 2018, the company unveiled a new logo and tagline ‘''India Khush Hua’''. In January 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. In 2020, Shemaroo Group announced the launch of a new Hindi GEC Shemaroo TV. A Free to Air channel, Shemaroo TV targets the Hindi speaking markets of India with the tag line 'Badalte Aaj Ke Liye.' ''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. 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 Nanak Dev Ji


Business operations

Shemaroo's content library includes more than 3,700 film and non-film titles, including classic
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
movies such as ''
Anari Anari may refer to: Films * ''Anari'' (1959 film), a Bollywood film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee * ''Anari'' (1975 film), a Bollywood film directed by Asit Sen, starring Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore and Moushumi Chatterjee * ''Anari'' (1 ...
, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Neel Kamal,
Amar Akbar Anthony ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' is a 1977 Indian Hindi-language masala film directed and produced by Manmohan Desai and written by Kader Khan. The film stars an ensemble cast of Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Parveen Babi, ...
,'' '' Dharam Veer,
Roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trini ...
,
Khuda Gawah ''Khuda Gawah'' (, also translated and released as ''God Is My Witness'') is a 1992 Indian epic drama film written and directed by Mukul S. Anand. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, Sridevi, Shilpa Shirodkar, Danny Denzongpa, Kiran Kumar ...
, Dil, Deewana, Beta,
Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke ''Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke'' () is a 1993 Indian romantic comedy-drama film, directed by Mahesh Bhatt and produced by Tahir Hussain, with screenplay written by Aamir Khan and Robin Bhatt, and with a musical score by Nadeem-Shravan. It stars Aamir ...
,
Khakee ''Khakee'' (English translation: The Uniform) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and written by Santoshi and Sridhar Raghavan. The story revolves around an Indian police team on a mi ...
, 3 Deewarein'' and '' Chupke Chupke''; more recent films such as ''
Jab We Met ''Jab We Met'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Dhilin Mehta under his banner Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. The film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in their f ...
,'' ''
Ishqiya ''Ishqiya'' () is a 2010 Indian black comedy film starring Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Salman Shahid. It was directed by Abhishek Chaubey in his directorial debut, cinematography by Mohana Krishna, and was produced by Raman ...
'', ''
Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...
'', ''
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani ''Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani'' () is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. Upon release, it was a critical and commercial success grossing worldwide, bec ...
'', '' Omkara'', ''
Judwaa 2 ''Judwaa 2'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by David Dhawan. A reboot of the 1997 film ''Judwaa'', which itself is a remake of Telugu film '' Hello Brother'' (1994). The film stars Varun Dhawan playing twins Raj ...
'', ''
Padmaavat ''Padmaavat'' is a 2018 Indian period romantic action drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Based on the epic poem of the same name by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, it stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, a Rajput queen known for ...
'', '' Pad Man'', '' 102 Not Out'', '' Ishk Vishk'', and ''
Soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
''; and animated features like ''
Bal Ganesh ''Bal Ganesh'' is a 2007 computer-animated musical feature film directed by Pankaj Sharma. The film is about the adventures and hijinks of Lord Ganesh, the Hindu elephant-headed god, when he was a kid. Synopsis Shiva and Parvati live on Moun ...
'' and ''
Ghatothkach ''Ghatothkach'' is a 2008 Indian animated film based on the life of the ''Mahabharata'' character Ghatotkacha, the son of Bhima and Hidimba. The film is written and directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, who also scored the soundtrack. The film w ...
.'' They also include movies classic nataks in several Indian regional languages like
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
,
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
, Punjabi,
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, etc. such as '' Chhelo Divas, Passport, Gujjubhai Banya Dabang, Thai Jaishe'' and more. 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. 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 Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Current ...
,
Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...
,
Idea In common usage and in philosophy, ideas are the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being ...
, MTN,
Ooredoo Ooredoo QSC ( ar, أريد; formerly ''Qtel'') is a Qatari multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Doha. Ooredoo provides mobile, wireless, wire line, and content services with market share in domestic and international telec ...
and Etisalat to distribute content like videos, music, live streaming, etc. via MVAS. They also have an online presence on YouTube, where their channels receive an estimated 2.2 billion monthly views on average. Their partners include
Airtel digital TV Bharti Telemedia Limited, doing business as Airtel Digital TV, is an Indian direct-broadcast satellite service provider owned and operated by Bharti Airtel. Its satellite service, launched in October 2008, transmits digital satellite televisi ...
,
Tata Sky Tata Play (stylised as TΛTΛ PLΛY, formerly TΛTΛ , sky) is an Indian direct broadcast satellite (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A and GSAT-10 satellite. Incorporated in 2005; it ...
,
Dish TV Dish, dishes or DISH may refer to: Culinary * Dish (food), something prepared to be eaten * Dishware, plates and bowls for eating, cutting boards, silverware Communications * Dish antenna a type of antenna * Dish Network, a satellite televisio ...
and other major DTH platforms and with channels such as Sony, Star India and Colors. The company's subsidiary ''Contentino Media'' provides in-flight entertainment for airlines like
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...
,
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines ( abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in corporat ...
,
Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netwo ...
,
Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the ...
,
Vistara Tata SIA Airlines Limited, operating as Vistara, is an Indian full-service airline, based in Gurugram, with its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The carrier, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, commenced operat ...
,
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
and
Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and ...
. The company's brand ''Yedaz'' is the official Bollywood licensing and merchandising rights holder that sells Bollywood themed products like T-shirts, mugs, etc. They also established the Shemaroo Institute of Film and Technology (SIFT), for students looking to work in the film industry.


ShemarooMe

In February 2019, Shemaroo Entertainment launched its own
video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
service app called ''ShemarooMe,'' which is available for Android and
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
. It is also available on web for viewers. Bollywood actor
Tiger Shroff Jai Hemant "Tiger" Shroff (born 2 March 1990) is an Indian actor and martial artist known for his work in the Indian cinema. He is best known for his Baaghi action franchise, ''Heropanti'' (2014) and ''War'' (''2019''). He has featured in For ...
was present at the launch event of this app in Mumbai. The OTT
video streaming Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
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. 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. 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. It has also been launched in USA in April 2019. In September 2019, ShemarooMe introduced a new property called Shemaroo Bollywood Premiere – Premieres One World Digital Premier every week movies every Friday ShemarooMe announced the launch of its new genre Comedy category. 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.


TV Channels


Awards

In May 2009, they won the "Golden Cursor Awards 2009" for their direct-to-DVD
edutainment Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...
film ''Rhyme Time in Toyland'' and for their mobile game ''Ghatothkach: Eat on Before Dawn.'' 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". 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''. In September 2016, Shemaroo entered
Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorized into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, advent ...
twice for the ‘Longest Digital Antakshri’ and ‘Most Tweets in a Day’ for the campaign ''#FilmiGaaneAntakshari.'' In March 2018, they won the "DIGIXX Awards 2018" for their Filmi Gaane campaign #KuchKisseKuchKahaniyan. In August 2018, they won the "DIGIXX Awards 2018" for sponsorship and partnership marketing between ''Yedaz'' and the social platforms Vigo Video and
TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...
. In December 2018, the company's ''Shemaroo Bhakti App'' won the "Innovative Mobile App Award 2018" at the Drivers of Digital Summit 2018.


Controversy

In May 2020, a video surfaced where a comedian Surleen Kaur appeared to make remarks about
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
, a Hindu deity, which right leaning media houses and political parties protested against. Following the controversy, Shemaroo announced that they have decided to dissociate themselves from any further involvement with comedian Surleen Kaur and Balraj Syal because they ‘failed to meet their standards of public decency’. Subsequently,
ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...
lodged a complaint against Kaur and Shemaroo for insulting the organisation and
Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
. It filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police.


References


External links

*
ShemarooMe
{{Authority control Film distributors of India Hindi cinema Home video distributors Film production companies based in Mumbai Entertainment companies established in 1962