As celebrities are coming up with their own audio shows, new themes are being explored. Here’s a look at the trend

Mona

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Known names from the industry are coming up with their own audio shows, as these sure have become the new route for the OTT-bombarded audience. Ekta Kapoor, Vikram Bhatt, Sumeet Vyas, Sanya Malhotra, Varun Sharma, Kubbra Sait, Nakuul Mehta and Rithvik Dhanjani are a few names that have come up with unique themes in their audio shows.

Thrillers in Bhatt’s The Audio Film Project; love, loss and shocking twists in Kapoor’s Darmiyaan; supernatural take in Buri Nazar, starring Sayani Gupta, Rithvik Dhanjani and Supriya Pathak Kapur, to love triangle exploring LGBTQIA themes in Mine and Yours 2; fictional exploration of death row inmates narrated by Kubbra Sait in Aakhri Sawaal; interesting themes have been explored in audio shows.

Exciting zone

So why this sudden spate of audio shows? “What goes around comes around; it’s a circle of life. In the earlier days, when there was no television, All-India Radio used to be the only source of entertainment. There used to be audio shows and audio films, which were narrated by popular radio jockeys of the time. Those radio artistes were big names. It’s very exciting as you don’t have a visual reference. So as a listener, you can create your own. I think that is what is more exciting,” says actor Rithvik Dhanjani, who recently did an audio show titiled Buri Nazar.

Kubbra Sait believes increased time spent on roads and in traffic jams have given a fillip to audio shows. She likes the ease with which these can be made, “No vanity vans involved, I love the comfort of recording a show at my own pace in my own recording space,” says Kubbra, who has recently recorded Mine and Yours 2 and Aakhri Sawaal.

However, the production is actually much more difficult than a normal video, points out Rithvik. “One has to create an entire world with all the details in place,” he says.

While the actors do not just modulate their voices, lots of production efforts go along with it. “Different artistes record at different times while the sound effects are added later, taking the production to another level,” says Kubbra Sait.

Audio route

Not just new shows, even the original regular shows are taking the audio route. Permanent Roommates, which was released in 2014, starring Sumeet Vyas and Nidhi Singh, became part of an audio show as well. “We thoroughly enjoyed making each and every episode of the two

seasons. When the idea first came about, we were really excited because it was like a fresh take on the whole show,” says actor Sumeet Vyas.

“Any show can be converted into an audio show and do wonders. It’s a great medium of storytelling but if you ask me personally I would definitely like some horror show to be made into an audio show because it’s so exciting. I would love to do something like that,” says Rithvik.