MUMBAI: After partnering with Tata Sky for its ad-free Tata Sky Theatre service, Zee Theatre, a part of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has launched Spotlight channel on another DTH operator Airtel Digital TV. It will air Indian plays by popular theatre groups from across the country.

Spotlight – Asli Manch, Asli Kahaniya will air on channel no 191 as a subscription-based video on demand (SVOD) service and will be available to customers for free for the first 10 days. Post the trial period, customers will have to pay Rs 75 per month for the channel. The channel is similarly priced on Tata Sky.

Bharti Airtel DTH product manager Richa Kalra said, “At Airtel, we are always innovating for newer ways to delight our customers. Today, we are excited to add theatre to our video-on-demand content portfolio and offer a wider genre of entertainment to our customers. With this partnership with Zee, we aim to offer a wider reach for the rich culture of Indian theatre.”

Viewers can watch over 100 plays in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and English, across a wide variety of genre, ranging from classic to thriller to comedy which will be brought to life by renowned artists such as Varun Badola, Sonali Kulkarni, Ira Dubey and Vikram Gokhale. Some of the popular plays that will be available to customers on the new channel are Choker Bali, Ma Retire Hoti Hai, Vaastav, Sakubai and Janpath Kiss.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd chief creative officer Shailja Kejriwal said, “Theatre is our national heritage that is cherished across the country; however, some of our finest and most pertinent plays seldom reach beyond a few cities. At Zee Theatre we aim to bring the most revered and relevant plays to every Indian household. The partnership with Airtel Digital TV further reinforces this desire to celebrate the heritage of Indian theatre.