Vikram Bhatt, Kranti Shanbhag open up about launching vertical OTT platform 'Rocket Reels'

Spearheaded by filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and producer Kranti Shanbhag, the platform promises short-format, fast-paced entertainment that is accessible on mobile phones and aimed at younger audiences.

While speaking to ANI, Vikram Bhatt shared how he got involved with the project. He recalled being interested in vertical content for a while and saw it as the future. He explained that when he saw the shows Kranti was working on for Rocket Reels, he felt they could be improved and decided to get involved creatively.

"So, this is how it happened. I used to look at verticals, and I thought this is the future... Kranti and I got connected for some other work, and he told me that he was doing Rocket Reels," he said.

"He has a partner too, so I asked him, 'What are you making? Show me the serials.' When I saw it, I thought, 'This isn't as good as it should be.' So, I went and told Kranti, 'You're wasting your money...' and told him that I'd manage it creatively. I'll make premium shows for you," Bhatt said.

Rocket Reels aims to bring cinematic stories to mobile phones, with all content created in a vertical format. The stories will be short and quick to watch, and the platform hopes to provide full-on entertainment across genres like drama, romance, action, and thriller.

To make the content accessible across India, the shows will be dubbed in five languages: Hindi, Gujarati, Bangla, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Talking about why he started Rocket Reels, Kranti Shanbhag said that he felt Indian storytelling needed a stronger presence among today's younger viewers, who are often drawn to Korean and Chinese content.

"Look at Gen Z, look at the millennials, look at the Gen Alpha crowd, everyone is watching Korean and Chinese content," Kranti said.

"So, what's happening is that these people are indirectly getting influenced by all of that. And storytelling in our country is... we have our own culture. We still have family values here. So, today, I mean, that was a huge reason why we didn't want our people to get inspired by them and keep watching only their content," he added.

Rocket Reels will be available worldwide, including in the US, UK, UAE, Canada, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and South Africa. (ANI)