Karan Anshuman (born 1980) is an Indian film writer, director, and producer. He is the creator and director of Emmy-nominated drama film Inside Edge . He is also the director and writer of Bangistan and the creator, director, and writer of Mirzapur . He is the co-founder of two digital initiatives: Dreamscape Media, a web and mobile development agency; and Upperstall.com, an Indian cinema film portal.
54-484: Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. , collectively known as Raj & DK , are an Indian filmmaker duo. They are best known for their work, specifically as creators, directors, writers, and producers of the Amazon Prime Video Hindi-language thriller series The Family Man (2019–present), Farzi (2023–present), Guns and Gulaabs (2023) . They have also directed the films 99 (2009), Shor in
108-663: A European commissioner in charge of digital policy of the European Union urged streaming services including Amazon Prime Video to limit their services. The request came as a result of the prevention of Europe's broadband networks from crashing as tens of millions of people started remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The EU wanted the streaming platforms to offer only standard definition, rather than high-definition, programs and make users responsible for their data consumption. On March 20, 2020, Amazon said that they have already begun
162-517: A career in software engineering. Raj & DK's worked on the short Shaadi.com (2002) before working on the English-language feature film Flavors (2003) about Indian immigrants. Their first Hindi feature film, 99 , was an original crime-comic-thriller-historical-fiction set in Mumbai and Delhi. The New York Times called it "funny, inventive, refreshing"; Box Office magazine (USA) acclaimed that
216-486: A deal with Viacom to add shows from MTV , Nickelodeon , Comedy Central , TV Land , VH1 , CMT , Spike , BET , and Logo TV to Prime Instant Video. On September 4, 2012, Amazon signed a deal with pay-TV channel Epix (now known as MGM+ and since March 2022 owned by Amazon itself) to feature movies on their streaming service, in a move to rival their competitor Netflix . Additionally, in November 2013, Amazon premiered
270-646: A deal with Nigerian studio Anthill Studios. On February 9, 2022, Amazon signed a long-term deal with the Shepperton Studios for exclusive use of new production facilities. On July 31, 2022, it was announced that the service will expand to Southeast Asia, and be offered in Indonesia , Thailand and the Philippines . The offerings will include localized content, as well as localized interface and subtitles for non-local content. In January 2024, they decided to cut
324-478: A film critic with Mumbai Mirror . Anshuman made his directorial debut with Bangistan in 2015, which released across 700 screens in India. The Guardian called it a "sly suicide-bomber comedy" with "always something to chuckle at in" and that Anshuman "approaches his task with smarts and sensitivity". His next project was Amazon Prime 's first Indian web series Inside Edge . Produced by Excel Entertainment ,
378-778: A full Prime subscription to be accessed. In countries such as the United States , United Kingdom , and Germany , the service can be accessed without a full Prime subscription, whereas in Australia , Canada , France , India , Turkey , and Italy , it can only be accessed through a dedicated website. Prime Video additionally offers a content add-on service in the form of channels, called Amazon Channels, or Prime Video Channels, which allow users to subscribe to additional video subscription services from other content providers within Prime Video. Launched on September 7, 2006, as Amazon Unbox in
432-463: A further three years until the 2024–25 season. On March 18, 2021, Prime Video announced that they have renewed their deal to and will be the exclusive broadcaster of Thursday Night Football between the 2022 and 2033 seasons in the United States. Because Prime Video is a subscription service, the NFL will require Amazon to have the games syndicated to over-the-air television stations in the local market of
486-439: A genre-bending film - a stoner/slacker comedy combined with horror and comedy. It became a cult film, especially among the younger audience. In 2021, they started subsidiary of their production company, D2R Indie to produce indie films. The first project produced under the banner was the 2021 Telugu film Cinema Bandi by debutant director Praveen Kandregula . It received positive response from critics and audience. LetsOTT cited
540-749: A la carte subscription services) and streaming services to be offered to Amazon Prime subscribers through the Amazon Video platform. These services are separate from the Amazon Video offering, and must be purchased separately. The original launch in the U.S. included services such as Curiosity Stream , Lifetime Movie Club, AMC 's Shudder , Showtime , Starz , and others. The service subsequently added other partners, such as HBO and Cinemax , Boomerang , Discovery Channel , Fandor , Noggin , PBS Kids , Seeso and Toku . In January 2017, Amazon announced Anime Strike , an anime focused Amazon Channels service. In May 2017, Amazon Channels expanded into Germany and
594-411: A stand-alone service and as part of Amazon's Prime subscription . The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios or licensed to Amazon, as Amazon Originals , with the service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events, and video rental and purchasing services. Operating worldwide, the service may require
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#1732908532456648-750: Is also available, which was initially exclusive to Sony Bravia smart TVs running Android TV, and Nvidia Shield . Amazon had historically withheld support for Apple TV and Google's Chromecast platform. In October 2015, the company banned the sale of these devices on its online marketplace because they do not support the Prime Video ecosystem. This led to critics arguing that Amazon was displaying protectionism against devices that could be competitors to its own Amazon Fire TV products. However, in December 2017, Amazon released an Apple TV app for Prime Video, and announced in April 2019 that it would add Chromecast support to
702-511: Is another breaking-norm film from Ekta Kapoor". Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it three and a half stars and wrote " Shor in the City belongs to one of those rare categories of movies with sensibilities that would not only entice the festival crowd and the cinema literate, but also lure the ardent moviegoer". Aniruddha Guha of the Daily News and Analysis gave it three stars and said " Shor in
756-454: Is available and movies/television shows can be purchased or rented, Prime Video is offered on the local Amazon website (e.g. amazon.com, amazon.de, amazon.co.uk etc.). Although a local Amazon website might be available, the full range of digital content services (e.g. Amazon Music , Amazon Video, Kindle Store ) might not be available in that particular country (e.g. amazon.in, amazon.sg, amazon.com.tr etc.). In other countries where Amazon Video
810-497: Is available worldwide (except for Mainland China , Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Russia, Belarus , Syria and Vietnam ). Initially it was available only to residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and Austria. The service supports online streaming via web player, as well as apps on Amazon Fire -branded devices, and supported third-party mobile devices, digital media players (particularly Roku ), video game consoles , and smart TVs . An Android TV app
864-423: Is easily one of the best written in recent times". Karan Anshuman of Mumbai Mirror gave it a four star rating, saying "Three stories, eleven days, myriad layers, believable characters, fine performances, spirited direction, taut script, momentary explosions of originality". Several years later, they came back with Go Goa Gone , which was a clutter-breaking film that introduced to India the first of its kind of
918-512: Is made for customers in Mexico. As of 2023, some countries (such as France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg, Portugal) have added support for paying Amazon Prime subscription fees with Amazon Gift Card balance; however this does not apply to content add-ons such as Prime Video Channels ( See: Amazon Prime#Availability ). In August 2022, customers living in Indonesia,
972-419: Is unavailable and movies/television shows cannot be purchased or rented, Prime Video is offered as a standalone service on a separate website. Amazon Gift Card balance can be used to buy/rent individual titles on local Amazon websites, but not on primevideo.com. In Brazil, a similar Amazon Video was launched, but under the name Loja Prime Video ("Prime Video Shop"), and for renting of movies only. Depending on
1026-576: The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which it joined on October 1, 2024. The service debuted on September 7, 2006, as Amazon Unbox in the United States. On September 4, 2008, the service was renamed Amazon Video on Demand. As of August 2014 the service is no longer available for downloading purchased instant videos. On February 22, 2011, the service rebranded as Amazon Instant Video and added access to 5,000 movies and TV shows for Amazon Prime members. On February 8, 2012, Amazon signed
1080-671: The Next Generation ATP Finals . In November it was announced that Amazon had acquired the British television rights to the US Open for five years from the 2018 edition, for a reported £30 million. Eurosport who owned the pan European rights extended their deal with the US Open but excluded the UK, which was ironic as Amazon had reached a deal with the broadcaster to stream their channels on their station. The ATP additionally announced that Amazon in
1134-566: The British television rights to the ATP World Tour beginning 2019, replacing Sky Sports . The deal will run until 2023 and will exclusively show all masters 1000 events and 12 500 and 250 series tournaments. Amazon will be the third party pay TV provider for the ATP finals and starting in 2018 for Queens Club and Eastbourne tournaments. The ATP announced a two-year deal in September for Amazon to stream
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#17329085324561188-529: The City (2011), Go Goa Gone (2013), Happy Ending (2014) and A Gentleman (2017), and written the film Stree (2018). Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. were born and brought up in Tirupati and Chittoor , Andhra Pradesh , respectively, into Telugu families. They both graduated from SVU College of Engineering , where they met each other. After graduation, they emigrated to the United States to pursue
1242-406: The City an instant clutter-breaker is its darkly comic treatment. It makes you smile because its humour comes from within. It’s not grafted. And it’s got heart : we feel for the characters". Tushar Joshi of MiD DAY gave it a four star rating and wrote "Loaded with humor, sarcasm and wit. That truly is the beauty of the makers who succeed in arresting you with their tales. The spectacular climax
1296-484: The City is the kind of reassuring film you yearn to watch amid, well, what 'Bollywood' has to offer every week. Also, it articulates something you have only probably thought before – 'Karma IS a bitch.'" Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN awarded three and a half stars saying "A delicious mix of quirky humor, gruesome violence, and surprising sensitivity, Shor in the City works on the strength of its smart script and consistent performances from its ensemble cast". Rediff awarded
1350-723: The Instant Video service on February 26, 2014. In January 2015, Transparent became the first show produced by Amazon Studios to win a major award and the first series from a streaming video service to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy . On July 30, 2015, Amazon announced that they had hired Jeremy Clarkson , Richard Hammond , and James May to produce an untitled motoring show for Amazon Prime Video that would later be named The Grand Tour . Neither Jeff Bezos nor Amazon stated how much Clarkson, Hammond, or May were being paid to produce
1404-515: The Philippines, Thailand can start making payments using digital wallets (such as DANA, ShopeePay, OVO, GoPay, GCash, Maya, Rabbit LINE Pay, TrueMoney). In April 2020, Amazon and Apple formed a deal that allowed Amazon to process in-app payments on the Prime Video app on iOS, without using Apple's official in-app purchase mechanism. Apple's official in-app purchase mechanism is used when a user does not have an existing Prime subscription. This move
1458-474: The Prime Video mobile app and perform a wider release of Prime Video's Android TV app. This was delivered in July 2020 as part of concessions to restore access to YouTube on Fire TV devices after a related feud with Google. In most countries, a Prime Video subscription can be paid for with debit and credit cards. Amazon Gift Card balance generally cannot be used for recurring subscription orders; however, an exemption
1512-483: The Rings , which streams on Prime Video. On May 17, 2021, parent company Amazon entered negotiations to acquire Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). On May 26, 2021, it was officially announced that they would acquire MGM for $ 8.45 billion, subject to regulatory approvals and other routine closing conditions; with the studio continuing to operate as a label alongside Amazon Studios and Amazon Prime Video. The deal
1566-518: The UK; in the UK, the company reached deals to offer channels from Discovery Communications (including Eurosport ), and live/on-demand content from ITV . Recently Amazon inks deal with award winning film director Vipin Agnihotri announcing the all girl reality show Hype Factory. Furthermore, Anime Strike and Heera (a second Channel devoted to Indian films and series) would be discontinued as separate services, and that their content would be merged into
1620-465: The US would screen the tennis channel, Tennis TV from 2018. In June 2018, it was announced that Amazon had secured the UK rights to broadcast 20 live Premier League football matches from the 2019–20 season on a three-year deal. This will be the first time that the league will be shown on a domestic live streaming service, as opposed to being shown exclusively on television. The deal has since been extended for
1674-540: The United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Japan . Among the new territories, the service was included with Prime in Belgium , Brazil , Canada , France , India , Ireland , Italy , Poland , Turkey , and Spain , while for all other countries, it was made available for a monthly promotional price of $ /€2.99 per month for the first six months and $ /€5.99 per month thereafter. Alongside Amazon MGM Studios, Prime Video constitutes one half of Amazon's membership in
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1728-562: The United States, the service grew with an expanding library, and added the Prime Video membership upon the development of the Prime subscription. It was then renamed as Amazon Instant Video on Demand . After acquiring the UK-based streaming and DVD-by-mail service LoveFilm in 2011, Prime Video was added to the Prime subscription in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria in 2014; continuing
1782-466: The comedies Alpha House and Betas , which are original series available exclusively online via the Prime Instant Video service. Amazon offered the first three episodes of both series at once for free, with each subsequent episode released weekly thereafter for Prime members. In February 2014, Amazon announced that the streaming service of its UK subsidiary LoveFilm would be folded into
1836-520: The device, Amazon supports up to 4K (UHD) and high-dynamic-range (HDR) streaming. UHD/HDR rolled out with its original content. Other titles support 1080p (HD) streaming with 5.1 Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus audio, with Dolby Atmos coming soon to certain titles. For titles available for purchase (and not included in a customer's Amazon Prime subscription), the HD option is often offered at an additional price. On March 18, 2020, Thierry Breton ,
1890-432: The effort to reduce streaming bitrates while also maintaining a quality streaming, "We support the need for careful management of telecom services to ensure they can handle the increased internet demand with so many people now at home full-time due to COVID-19 . Prime Video is working with local authorities and Internet Service Providers where needed to help mitigate any network congestion." Karan Anshuman Anshuman
1944-436: The end of January 2024, the service began featuring "limited" advertisements. Avoiding them would cost an additional $ 2.99 per month. With this move, Prime Video joined many other streaming services in featuring ads, which could be more lucrative than non-ad supported options. Currently, the ad-supported tier was available in selected markets, such as United States, Canada, the U.K. and some European territories. Prime Video
1998-454: The film "sets new standards in Hindi cinema!"; and a number of Indian publications gave it four star reviews. Rediff.com gave the film 4 stars and told the viewers that "they will leave the theater laughing and entertained". Indiatimes gave it 3.5 stars. Their next, Shor in the City , was the acclaimed Hindi film of the year. It has received glowing reviews from across media publications. The film
2052-405: The film as "an utterly delectable, charming, that rises a toast to the magic of cinema". Another reviewer writing to NTV , stated " Cinema Bandi toys with themes like hope and redemption. While the premise is heart-warming, the treatment could have been way better". Ramnath Nandini of Scroll.in wrote that "the [film] has a winning set-up, oodles of heart and snarky humour, which compensate for
2106-516: The film four stars and said "Raj-Krishna's Shor in the City robotically registers itself in Indian cinema's history". Anupama Chopra of NDTV gave the movie four stars and wrote " Shor in the City is a terrific film. It’s surprising and disturbing and has a vein of rich, dark humor coursing through it". Shubhra Gupta of the Indian Express gave it a three star rating and commented "What makes Shor in
2160-484: The full Prime Video service would begin a wider international rollout to compete with Netflix . On December 14, 2016, Prime Video expanded into 200 additional territories. In 2020, Prime Video expanded its marketing campaigns and local productions to Latin America with El Presidente ( Chile & Colombia ), La Jauría (Chile), and Súbete a mi moto. Amazon Studios owns global television adaptation rights to The Lord of
2214-448: The kind of energy we rarely witness in mainstream cinema. They have also signed for the Indian segment of Citadel by Russo Brothers whose production is expected to begin in 2022. More recently, they signed a multi-year deal with Netflix . Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video , or simply Prime Video , is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered both as
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2268-451: The main Prime Video library at no additional charge. In April 2017, Amazon began to make sports-related content acquisitions, first acquiring non-exclusive rights to stream portions of the NFL 's Thursday Night Football games during the 2017 NFL season to Prime subscribers in the United States as part of a $ 50 million deal, replacing a previous deal with Twitter . In August, Amazon acquired
2322-535: The original productions for both Southeast Asia and Middle East and North Africa as they shifted on European productions and even licensing. Similar layoffs took place in West and South Africa divisions few months later amidst fierce competition with Showmax . In 2015, Amazon launched the Streaming Partners Program (now known as Amazon Channels), a platform allowing subscription-based third-party channels (
2376-515: The plan of LoveFilm Instant, it is available on a monthly subscription of £/€8.99 per month. The service was previously available in Norway , Denmark , and Sweden in 2012, but was discontinued in 2013. On April 18, 2016, Amazon split Prime Video from Amazon Prime in the US for $ 8.99 per month. On December 14, 2016, Prime Video launched worldwide (except for Mainland China , Cuba , Iran , North Korea , Sudan , and Syria ) expanding its reach beyond
2430-414: The programme via their production company The Grand Tour , but Jeff Bezos stated that the deal was "very expensive, but worth it." The budget for the show has not officially been announced, but Andy Wilman , the former executive producer of Top Gear stated that each episode would have a budget of around £4.5 million, nine times larger than Top Gear's budget. Also in July, Amazon announced plans to expand
2484-503: The service to India. In September 2015, the word "Instant" was dropped from its title in the US, and it was renamed simply Amazon Video . In November 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was pursuing streaming rights to U.S. professional sports leagues to further differentiate the service. Amazon announced in November 2016 that it planned to stream The Grand Tour globally, which led to speculation over whether
2538-528: The show aired its first season in 2017. The series became the most watched show on Amazon Prime and won him the ITA Award for Best Director – Web Series along with Best Show. The show has also been nominated for the 2018 International Emmy Award in the Best Drama category. Firstpost 's review mentioned, "Kudos to Karan Anshuman (the creator and director of the series) for making some of best sequences I've seen on
2592-447: The small screen. Not only are they very well edited (each episode starts and ends with a bang), they are superbly shot too. Teaming up with Excel and Amazon again, Anshuman is the showrunner for Mirzapur , a hinterland gangster drama set in the badlands of eastern Uttar Pradesh, dealing with the illegal arms trade and drug smuggling. Mirzapur released worldwide on November 16, 2018. Anshuman made his literary debut with Kashmirnāmā ,
2646-457: The teams. On July 1, 2022, Amazon announced a deal with UEFA Champions League football. Prime Video will air 17 games for the 2024–25 season in the United Kingdom. On October 20, 2022, Prime Video acquired the rights to broadcast NBA during the 2022–23 season in Brazil. On November 9, 2022, Prime Video launched seven sports talk shows from 8 AM to 8 PM. They air Monday through Friday. At
2700-414: The unstructured and rambling narrative and simplistic approach". Gautaman Bhaskaran of News18 agave a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote that "Cinema Bandi has a very interesting message about how video cameras have afforded splendid opportunities for especially short moviemakers, the film appears rather raw". Hindustan Times ' s Haricharan Pudipeddi said that the film is rooted in reality and it brims with
2754-624: Was closed after receiving all governmental approvals on March 17, 2022. In July 2021, Amazon and Universal Pictures reached a multi-year deal to bring Universal's films to Prime Video, as well as IMDb TV (now Amazon Freevee ). As part of the deal, titles from Universal's library as well as future theatrical releases would become available on Amazon's streaming services following their first pay window and four months after release on Peacock . The deal makes major franchises such as Fast & Furious , Jurassic Park and Bourne eligible to stream on Prime Video. Most recently, Prime Video had signed
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#17329085324562808-537: Was considered notable as most apps on the App Store are not allowed to use their own payment processor; in-app transactions for digital content have to be handled by Apple. However, in May 2022, Amazon removed the ability for iOS and Android users to make in-app purchases on several of Amazon's digital storefronts, including Kindle, Audible and Music apps, due to disputes over transaction fees. In some countries where Amazon Video
2862-399: Was made at a micro-budget, making it profitable even before the film's release. The film was also selected to various high-profile film festivals across the world. Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India awarded it four stars out of five and stated "With a zany screenplay (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), excellent cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray and peppy music by Sachin-Jigar, Shor in the City
2916-468: Was raised in Mumbai , and after finishing his schooling at Jamnabai Narsee School , he went to St Xaviers' College and then to Denison University in the United States to pursue an undergraduate degree in filmmaking. Anshuman co-founded Dreamscape Media in 2004 – a digital agency in the business of creation of web and mobile apps, and online marketing and communication. In 2011, Anshuman began his career as
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