BENGAL BECKONS
EndemolShine India is reviving “Bigg Boss Bangla” for Indian platform JioStar‘s Star Jalsha, marking the reality format’s return to Bengali-language television after a decade. Cricket legend Sourav Ganguly will host the series.
The revival expands Banijay Entertainment’s “Bigg Boss” footprint in India to seven languages, joining existing Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and Hindi-language iterations. The Hindi version’s most recent run was the most-watched streaming non-fiction show in India during its finale week.
“‘Bigg Boss’ has grown into one of the most powerful and enduring entertainment formats in the country,” said Deepak Dhar, founder and group CEO of Banijay Asia and EndemolShine India. “With Star Jalsha as our partner, and Sourav Ganguly leading the show, we are confident ‘Bigg Boss Bangla’ will resonate deeply with viewers.”
“Bigg Boss” is the Indian adaptation of Banijay Entertainment‘s global “Big Brother” format, which launched in 1999 and currently spans 70 adaptations and 600-plus seasons across 27 territories.
SYSTEMIC SILENCE
The South Asian Screen Office of Canada has launched the SASO National Research Project at Toronto Metropolitan University, targeting the systemic underrepresentation of South Asian creators in Canada’s screen industries.
“The issue is not absence – it is structural invisibility,” said project director Sunny Gill. “When data frameworks collapse South Asians into broad classifications, they erase the scale and specificity of a community of more than 2.5 million people.”
The project will generate the first coordinated national evidence of South Asian participation on screen, behind the camera and in leadership roles across Canada’s screen sector.
MALAYSIAN MOMENT
Malaysia will make its SXSW debut with the Made in Malaysia stage on March 15 at Las Perlas in Austin, marking the first time a national Malaysian music showcase has been presented at the festival.
Curated and headlined by rapper, singer-songwriter and producer Zamaera, the showcase features R&B vocalist Murty, indie singer-songwriter Zoe Tan, hyperpop and hip-hop artist Lil Asian Thiccie and electronic producer I-SKY, with Texas-based DJ VÖ.A_2000 opening the night.
“Our music may sound global, but it’s unmistakably Malaysian,” said Zamaera. “We’re not just performing songs – we’re sharing our identity, our creativity, and our voice with the world.”
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