Chiranjib Sahoo

· As a Senior Screenplay Writer, I adapted one of Pocket FM’s hit audio series Secret Ameerzaada, which is more than 200 hours long, to two feature-length films of 120-minutes duration.

· Developed and wrote two story outlines (beat sheets) for the above films as per the requirement of Pocket FM’s new video OTT app called Pocket Shorts, which was modelled on the popular reel-feature app Reel Shorts.

· The films would be shown in the form of 50 to 60 continuous reels, each reel approximately 2 minutes long. Hence, every beat had to be dramatic, engaging, and end with a cliffhanger.

· As a creative lead, I supervised writers in my team to identify and develop new storylines of Secret Ameerzaada for future screenplays that would eventually be a part of the catalog of Poccket Shorts.

• Conducted data analysis as well as reached out to listeners on the app to identify their interests and emerging patterns in content consumption to develop targeted non-fiction shows with relevant creative direction.

Result - Achieved substantial increase in listenership, with several shows crossing the 100K mark.

• Pitched and developed completely new ideas in new genres that were not tried out before on the app to provide an immersive sonic experience of popular heritage tours and pivotal historical events. The idea was to gauge the response of the listeners to this niche segment.

Result - After a slow start, the interest picked up and the demand for such shows increased. Two shows - Operation Osama and Sunkar Dekho: Jagannath Mandir remained in the list of Top 10 shows on the app for 4 consecutive weeks.

• Combining data analysis with creative storytelling, collaborated with screenwriters and studio creative heads to develop engaging mini-series, episodes, and telefeatures for many popular animated kids' shows such as Chhota Bheem, Super Bheem, Roll No. 21, Titoo, Simmba.
• Provided creative supervision and co-ordination at all stages of development, pre-production, and post-production.
• Supported internal departments such as Programming, Marketing, On Air Promotions, and Communications with creative solutions to realize the company's strategic vision.

Key Achievement - As the lead creative producer on a rather ambitious project that brought fan-favorites Chhota Bheem and Little Singham in a single telefeature, the movie Aag aur Paani Ki Takkar broke all TRP records for the year 2023 and ended up as the No.1 Movie of the Year.

• Mentored students of first year of filmmaking as a visiting faculty to help them write a 3-minute screenplay as part of their specialization project.
• Assisted 40 students in choosing and improving their ideas, bettering their premises and characters, and finally producing a properly formatted screenplay.

• Worked as a dialogue writer for a short film titled 500 Rupay, which won the Best Short Film Award at India International Film Festival of Boston, and also got a nomination in Jio Filmfare Best Short Films of 2017.

• Wrote three plays during this period. One of them - The Suicide - won the First Runners-up for the Best Play in the Pune Theatre Festival in 2015.