Sony LIV rolls out show with Vikram Bhatt

Stories are more than just entertainment – they are a reflection of the cultures they come from,they can impact and alter the very way societies operate.It is to showcase the power these new-age stories through a video-based format that SonyLIV, the complete digital entertainment platform with content for audiences across genres,has partnered with acclaimed storyteller and director Vikram Bhatt for its latest offering, ‘Once Upon A Time with Vikram Bhatt’. Scheduled to go live on September 8, the 104-part web series will seeVikram Bhatt narrate some of his most popular self-written short stories on camera. Through this initiative, Vikram Bhattwill be able to create relevant short-format content and strike the right chord with the millennials.

Vikram Bhatt is an Indian film director and producer with movies like Ghulam, Raaz, 1920 and latest up-coming movie Raaz Reboot to his credit. He introduced the concept of stereoscopic 3D in India in 2011 with one of his movies, Haunted – 3D, which also set the record for the highest grossing Hindi horror film of all time. He has alsobeen involved in scriptwriting, having written the script for the hit horror movie, 1920: Evil Returns, and other critically-acclaimed movies such as the Hate Story series.

Also known for writing and sharing short storiestackling themes as diverse as mythology, horror, detective fiction, social issues, interpersonal relationships, and wisdom on a daily basis, Vikram has received impressive response from social media users for his creations.

SonyLIV’s ‘Once Upon A Time with Vikram Bhatt’ will curate and present the best of these short stories over 104 episodes which will be an ongoing property on SonyLIVand will be released on SonyLIV’s web and mobile platforms every Monday and Thursday.

Uday Sodhi, EVP and Head – Digital Business, SonyLIV said, “We, at SonyLIV, have always endeavoured to curate and present the best and most relevant video entertainment options for our diverse viewer base. The launch of ‘Once Upon A Time with Vikram Bhatt’ underlines this approach. With Vikram’s stories gaining major traction on social media platforms owing to their novelty and relevance, we decided to present them in a video-based format in order to add to the entertainment options available to our viewers as well as introduce a new form of storytelling to the new age millennial audiences. We are confident that SonyLIV users across the country will appreciate the addition, and will enjoy these moving, thought-provoking stories being narrated by Vikram himself.”

Vikram Bhatt, Director and Storyteller added, "SonyLIV has emerged as one of the most popular and powerful platforms for media consumption for a large number of young, tech-savvy audiences. Besides the flexibility and intimacy in viewing that the digital destination offers, it has also become a robust hub for alternative, engaging and socially-eloquent entertainment. I’m pleased to take my stories, which have so far been a medium of personal expression, to a larger viewer base with SonyLIV."  It has given me immense freedom to tell my new age and contemporary stories to a larger set of audiences.”