R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, APRIL 15
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin launched Aha’s new OTT service, Tamil Slate, to mark Puthandu here on Thursday. The platform, would have 100% Tamil content and has a slew of original films, web series, and reality shows in the pipeline to be released in the coming months.
Tamil cinema legends such – SP Muthuraman, Iyakkunar Imayam Bharthiraja, Late AV Meiyyappan, Late MS Vishwanathan, Late K Balachander, Late SP Balasubramaniam and Late actress Sridevi were given the “Kalaignar Hhonour” by Chief Minister and aha at the event for their rich contribution to Tamil Entertainment industry over the years.
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aha OTT team has set up a Writers’ Desk in Trichy to bring out the unsung writers with good story line up
MK Stalin emphasized the importance of entertainment platforms providing local content in order to connect with local audiences.
Semma mass entry.. Presenting Namma brand Ambassadors!😎@SilambarasanTR_ and @anirudhofficial. Thattidalaama?🔥#ahaTamilConnects #ahaTamilCelebration #aha100PercentTamil pic.twitter.com/CdtAOj5xin
— aha Tamil (@ahatamil) April 14, 2022
Actor Silambarasan aka Simbu and music composer Anirudh Ravichander, were announced as the brand ambassadors for aha Tamil.
During the launch event, aha announced its new commercial film ‘Thattina Tamil Mattume’, which stars the brand ambassadors and showcases how entertainment in one’s mother tongue brings people together.
Following the address, the organisers paid tribute to the former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, by highlighting his contributions to Tamil literature and acknowledging his successful career as a screenwriter in the Tamil film industry. Some of the most notable personalities of the Tamil entertainment industry were in attendance, including renowned directors, screenwriters, and producers.
Talking about the announcement of the Tamil launch, Ram Jupally, Promoter, aha said, “We at aha are constantly working towards catering to all demographics through our diverse and relatable content offerings. The reveal of our Tamil slate today on the occasion of Tamil New Year is a reflection of the belief that entertainment and stories are best told and enjoyed in one’s local language. Silambarasan and Anirudh are not only brand ambassadors for us, but they are our brand partners whose presence will promote a sense of familiarity among the public and will help them gain the following and respect of the audience.”
“After its success in Telugu, aha is aiming to provide quality content with diverse genres to fulfill the interest and demands of different age groups in Tamil. A majority of our slate is original content and I believe it is only prudent for the platform to associate with content creators who can complement us in meeting our vision”.
Commenting on the announcement of the Tamil Slate, Allu Arvind, Chairman, aha, said, “We are excited to present our slate that had been developed locally with creators from Tamilnadu. It is a collection of diverse stories and genres, told through web series and movies. Our upcoming Tamil content slate includes director Vetrimaaran’s ‘Pettakaalai’ along with a host of originals such as ‘Bhamakalaapam’ featuring Priyamani, Ammuchi 2, Ramany vs Ramany 3. We also have theatrical films such as ‘Selfie’ featuring GV Prakash Kumar and Gautam Menon, Sardaar featuring Karthi, Venkat Prabhu’s ‘Manmadha Leelai’ starring Ashok Selvan. Today, aha will disrupt the Tamil industry with phenomenal content, bringing the best Tamil global talent to the fore to showcase their artistry”.
As part of this, the aha OTT team has set up a Writers’ Desk in Trichy to bring out the unsung writers with good story line up. This concept of Writers Desk will be established in Tier II and Tier III cities to bring out the good and talented story writers, Allu Aravind said.
Ajit Thakur, CEO, aha agreed, “We are overwhelmed with the response and love we have received for aha, both in India as well as from the Indian diaspora spread across the world. We have been successful in consistently delivering stories which resonate with our users. Since day one we listened to our users and carefully crafted stories they wanted to watch. However, it still feels we are just getting started and have only scratched the surface of all that it would take for aha to be the default entertainment platform for the Tamil language globally.”
