Aha hires seasoned directors as consultants to dish out hit content

If sources are to be believed, Aha, an Indian over-the-top streaming service jointly owned by Geetha Arts and My Home Group, has reportedly hired seasoned directors as 'creative consultants' to dish out content that would strike a chord with Telugu viewers. It has roped in star-filmmaker Vamsi Paidipally, creative director Chandra Siddharth, new-age directors Nandini Reddy and Vi Anand to select refreshing stories for web series and web films using their vast experience in the film industry. They also know pulse of Telugu viewers. "It is a welcome move since these directors tasted success with different kinds of movies and gained expertise to spot novel content from a stack of stories sent by writers and directors. Above all, they know what Telugu viewers want," says a source, close to the production house, who feels that earlier team led by Mumbai guys, were unable to pick content that would suit the taste of Telugu-speaking audience. "Those guys were high on theoretical knowledge but low on spotting refreshing plots and couldn't give the much-needed boost to the newly-launched Ott platform," the source adds.

Probably, Allu Arvind, a seasoned campaigner in Tollywood, realised the need for a vibrant and happening Telugu-centric team who understood the psyche of Telugu audience.

Earlier, Allu Aravind revealed that he was sucked in the digital environment and developed an habit binge watching. Soon he came up with the idea of starting a streaming platform for hosting Telugu content solely. He then discussed the idea with his family, who encouraged and which lead to talks with Rameswar Rao Jupally who joined as partner in the journey. "These popular directors have to spare 12 to 15 hours every week to browse through stories and zero-in on potential winners. Hence, these directors along with their regular work, have to take some time off for this new work, probably for a decent sum," the source adds.

However, another director who pitched his story to the platform, says that cumbersome application process has to be made maker-friendly and also insisting on synopsis, one-line order and even dialogues in English could be avoided. "Now that Telugu directors have come on board, we hope they would seek stories written in Telugu. At the end of the day, we are making content for Telugu digital platform. Very few aspring writers have good command over English," he concludes.