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Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
From Scam to Sagas: Applause expands slate with Archer titles
As streaming platforms ramp up their demand for scalable IP and cross-market appeal, Indian content studios are increasingly looking beyond domestic formats and entering the global literary market. Applause Entertainment , backed by the Aditya Birla Group , is the latest to make a move, acquiring exclusive screen rights to six novels by British author Jeffrey Archer . The acquisition, which includes The Clifton Chronicles, Fourth Estate, First Among Equals, The Eleventh Commandment, Sons of Fortune, and Heads You Win , marks Applause's first foray into global fiction IP . While notable, the development fits into a broader trend of Indian studios building slates that can travel across languages, territories, and platforms. Applause plans to adapt them as series and films across multiple Indian languages and distribution platforms, including global streaming services. 'We have just closed the deal and now we are getting started in earnest,' said Sameer Nair, managing director of Applause Entertainment. 'We want to move fast. The idea is to identify a showrunner or creative director for each title and begin working on adaptation, deciding the context, setting, and treatment.' Nair added that the studio hopes to have at least one or two properties entering the pre-production phase in the next three to six months. 'Everything we develop will be run past Jeffrey Archer and will go through our own iteration process. We want to make sure we're doing justice to the original material, while also adapting it meaningfully for screen,' he said. From local books to global IP Applause's earlier successes have largely come from Indian non-fiction adaptations like Scam 1992 and Black Warrant and scripted versions of international formats including Criminal Justice, Hostages, Call My Agent . This move into global fiction marks a strategic expansion geared toward meeting a rising demand for high-concept IP that can be localised but is inherently global in theme and structure. 'Jeffrey Archer's stories are sagas, not single-incident plots,' said Nair. 'They lend themselves to both long-form drama and feature films, depending on how we reimagine them.' While Archer's books are widely read in India, Nair acknowledged that a large segment of India's tier II and tier III viewers may not be familiar with them. 'The larger Indian mass has not heard these stories. That's the excitement you can take these stories to them. Once it comes on a streamer or platform, it reaches,' he said. He drew a parallel with Scam 1992, which was based on Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu's book The Scam. 'I don't think many people had read the book before the show came out, but more people saw the show. Hopefully, that encouraged some to go read the book,' Nair said. 'We only used a small part of it but the book itself is far deeper.' Stabilising and expanding Applause's expansion comes at a time when the Indian content market is undergoing a cost correction, following years of aggressive investment between 2020 and 2023. Several production houses were forced to scale back due to unsustainable content spends and shifting platform strategies. However, Applause has avoided major disruption by maintaining cost discipline. 'We've always been frugal,' said Nair. 'When others were spending INR 100-INR 200 crore on a single show, we were building profitable units. All our projects aim to recover cost and make a margin. That allows us to reinvest continuously.' He estimated that the company has already invested and reinvested over INR 2,500–INR 3,000 crore and continues to operate on a reinvestment-led growth model. 'There's no fixed number for how much we will invest in the next two years,' Nair said. 'We just keep doing it.' Applause evaluates all projects on a unit economics basis, aiming for profitability at the project level rather than relying solely on large upfront investments or slate deals. While budgets have come under pressure, Nair said the overall outlook for the industry is positive. 'There was a lot of pressure on content cost in the past couple of years, but now things are levelling out. It's fair, platforms also need to be profitable,' he said. Alongside the literary acquisition, Applause is also diversifying its production slate with a growing focus on theatrical films and digital-first animation . The company has signed filmmakers Kabir Khan and Imtiaz Ali for upcoming Hindi projects and is producing a Tamil feature film Bison with director Mari Selvaraj, targeted for release around Diwali. Nair said the move into theatrical films is a natural extension of the studio's capabilities. 'Hopefully, in the next couple of years, you'll see us as a major movie studio,' he said. In the kids content space, Applause launched a YouTube channel ApplaToon earlier this year, leveraging its animation rights to Amar Chitra Katha 's intellectual property. The channel, aimed at a digital-first audience, focuses on mythological and historical narratives. 'YouTube turned out to be the most effective distribution channel for children's content,' Nair said. 'Many streamers and broadcasters are currently re-evaluating their kids' programming slates, but YouTube remains consistent. We've made a strong start and we plan to build aggressively in that direction.' For Applause, the Archer collaboration is not a one-off prestige play, but part of a deliberate expansion into IP-driven content development. 'This is a milestone moment for us,' Nair added. 'To reimagine these stories with scale and style, and position them for audiences across the globe, that's the creative opportunity we're excited about.'
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
English author Jeffrey Archer's stories to be on screen! Now read... No, watch it on OTT, films worldwide
It's a boundary shot for fans of gripping storytelling — six iconic novels by bestselling author Jeffrey Archer are set to be adapted for screen by an Indian content and IP creation studio, Applause Entertainment. Author Jeffrey Archer's stories will soon be adapted for the screen.(Photo: X) The titles being adapted include The Clifton Chronicles, Fourth Estate, First Among Equals, The Eleventh Commandment, Sons of Fortune and Heads You Win — each spanning genres from political drama and espionage to media wars and sweeping family sagas. Known for his pacy narratives, intricate plots and memorable characters, Archer's stories offer a cinematic canvas that's ripe for adaptation across languages and platforms. Speaking about the development, Archer said, 'I've always had a deep fondness for India, a nation that has embraced my stories like its own. As an ardent cricket lover, it's a country I feel incredibly connected to. I'm thrilled to see my characters and stories take on a new life, across India, and far beyond.' The adaptations will take shape as premium series and feature films, reimagining Archer's works for a new generation of viewers. For more, follow HT City Delhi Junction
News18
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Applause Entertainment acquires rights to 6 Jeffrey Archer novels
Agency: PTI Last Updated: Mumbai, Aug 4 (PTI) Applause Entertainment has acquired the exclusive screen rights to six of Jeffrey Archer's most famous novels, including 'The Clifton Chronicles", 'Fourth Estate" and 'The Eleventh Commandment". Spanning political drama, espionage, media power struggles, and multi-generational family sagas, these six titles offer a vast and versatile narrative canvas, rooted in Archer's signature style of pace, plot twists, and character-driven storytelling, a release said here. Applause will reimagine and develop these stories into premium series and feature films across languages and platforms, bringing Archer's world to screen. Sameer Nair, Managing Director, Applause Entertainment, said, 'This is a milestone moment for us. We've told stories reimagined from Indian books, formats, and real events and now we step into the world of global fiction. 'Jeffrey Archer's novels are compelling, character-rich, and built for screen. To reimagine these stories with scale and style, and to position them for audiences across the globe, that's the creative opportunity we're excited about." Archer said it was an absolute pleasure to collaborate with Nair and the team at Applause Entertainment. 'Their passion for storytelling, their body of work, and their global outlook make them the perfect partners to bring my books to screen. 'I've always had a deep fondness for India, a nation that has embraced my stories like its own and as an ardent cricket lover, it's a country I feel incredibly connected to. I'm thrilled to see my characters and stories take on a new life, across India, and far beyond," he added. The other three books that Applause has acquired are 'First Among Equals", 'Sons of Fortune" and 'Heads You Win". PTI BK SKY view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
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Business Standard
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Applause Entertainment acquires rights to six novels of Jeffrey Archer
Applause Entertainment, a content and intellectual property (IP) creation studio from the Aditya Birla Group, has acquired the rights to six novels by author Jeffrey Archer to adapt the books into series and films for an undisclosed amount. The six novels include The Clifton Chronicles, Fourth Estate, First Among Equals, The Eleventh Commandment, Sons of Fortune, and Heads You Win, the company announced in a press conference on Monday. This marks Applause Entertainment's first global fiction book acquisition. The company, which focuses on premium drama series, movies, documentaries, and animation content, will expand its genres with the adaptation of these six books, covering political drama, espionage, media power struggles, and multi-generational family sagas, according to its release. Sameer Nair, Managing Director of Applause Entertainment, which has produced shows like The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case, Black Warrant, the Criminal Justice franchise, and the Scam franchise, told Business Standard that work on the six books will begin immediately and simultaneously. Depending on the director and their vision, the books could be adapted into series or films across platforms or other languages, he added. While Nair did not disclose the financial details of the rights for the six books, he noted that they were comparable to international standards. 'It's an absolute pleasure to collaborate with Sameer Nair and the team at Applause Entertainment. Their passion for storytelling, their body of work, and their global outlook make them the perfect partners to bring my books to screen,' Archer said in a statement. 'I've always had a deep fondness for India, a nation that has embraced my stories like its own, and as an ardent cricket lover, it's a country I feel incredibly connected to. I'm thrilled to see my characters and stories take on a new life, across India, and far beyond.' In the press conference, Nair highlighted that the availability of a vast range of content and the streaming boom in India were among the major factors that helped the company collaborate with Archer and adapt his books for audiences across the globe. 'Whatever we create, he (Archer) will see some sort of return on that, and he is very interested in how it all plays out (adaptation of Archer's books). I am hoping that this becomes a long-term deal, and I am hoping that we get to work on his other books as well,' said Nair.
Indian Express
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Sameer Nair-led Applause Entertainment to adapt six Jeffery Archer novels into films and shows; author says, ‘They have promised to stick to the original'
Sameer Nair-led Applause Entertainment announced on Monday that they are associating with celebrated author Jeffery Archer for a significant step in storytelling. The company has brought the rights for six of Jeffrey's novels, namely, The Clifton Chronicles, Fourth Estate, First Among Equals, The Eleventh Commandment, Sons of Fortune, and Heads You Win. Talking about this association, Sameer Nair said, 'I have grown up being an Archer fan. He has a style of writing, every book of his is like a cinematic saga. Of course, some of them have been ripped off in India in the past, but we want to tell those stories legitimately, and that is what we are doing. It took us a year to get this deal done. We have got six of his books, so the opportunities are immense.' Author Jeffery Archer, who joined the conference virtually, spoke about the association and said, 'I look at it as a privilege working with Applause Entertainment, but I must warn you that I will be sitting here and watching it for the results.' He also explained that a reason why he chose to collaborate with Sameer Nair and team was because they promised to stick to the original. 'I was delighted to hear Applause saying that they will stick to the original story. When I read someone else's work, and I see it translated on screen, and some moron tries to change the story because they think they are better than the original writer, I often get upset. They have already promised to stick to the original story. I want my stories as it is and that's why I am delighted to join Applause. They are serious about a writers' work, that's important to me.' Sameer Nair also explained the future roadmap of this association and shared that all plans to execute this in the best way are underway. He shared, 'All of Jeffrey's stories are timeless. They can be retold and reimagined in different ways. I want to put these stories out as a challenge to our creative friends. As to which book they pick, how they reimagine it. I believe that if you buy the rights for something, you don't unnecessarily meddle with the original. If you want to change the story, you are not welcome.' Sameer added, 'Some things we are approaching directly as series, and we are looking at doing a film version and language version with some. We also want to see what ideas people have. We are going to tell these global stories as local, and it will end up on one of the major streaming platforms. In the next 3-6 months, you will hear announcements of progress, activities. Like he said, you have to write a great screenplay, and once you get that, everything else is pretty straightforward.' Nawaz Kochra is an enthusiastic entertainment journalistic for the last 9 years, he has been a known face and successfully worked with some big publications. At Nawaz majorly covers TV and OTT and also does video interviews. Having the best conversations with celebrities is what Nawaz loves. ... Read More
