The Indian Express, Arré join hands for investigative films

Commenting on the initiative, Ronnie Screwvala, Co-Founder UDigital said, “This collaboration represents a new generation of partnerships that bring together complementary strengths in the digital era.”

The Indian Express and Arré, the digital media brand from UDigital, have entered into a strategic partnership to produce investigative documentaries for a world audience.

“This unique collaboration will see a pioneering print media brand come together with a new-age digital brand, to create a fresh idiom for journalism and documentary film making and storytelling,” said an official release.

As part of the initiative, Arré will bring its creative and video expertise in storytelling across digital multimedia platforms.

Commenting on the initiative, Ronnie Screwvala, Co-Founder UDigital said, “This collaboration represents a new generation of partnerships that bring together complementary strengths in the digital era.”

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Noting that some of the journalism by the newspaper has the potential to reach an even wider audience, Anant Goenka, Wholetime Director and Head — New Media, The Indian Express Group, said, “Arré is an ambitious and exciting project championed by a visionary leadership that understands the need for high-quality, original content produced in a made-for-digital format. Not digital-first, or digital-friendly, but digital-only … With Arré, there’s a meeting of minds in terms of commitment to quality storytelling and the need for a different and disruptive tonality. We’re excited by the potential of this powerful combination.”

The documentaries produced as part of the collaboration will cover a wide range of subjects — human interest, geopolitics, socio-cultural issues, crime and emerging youth culture. These documentaries will use fact-based reportage for not only the domestic audience but for global viewers interested in the Indian sub-continent as well.

B Sai Kumar, UDigital’s Co-Founder and Managing Director said, “Arré is excited and honoured to partner with India’s foremost news organisation that has consistently set the bar for journalism … The raison d’étre of the partnership is to make documentaries that appeal to the mainstream and resonate with the youth.”

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Raj Kamal Jha, Chief Editor, The Indian Express, said the partnership would provide a new dimension to the newspaper’s investigative and explanatory journalism. “Arré’s team has a formidable record of excellence in TV and cinema. Together, we shall work to translate our journalism — done first for print to the highest standards of fairness and accuracy — into the evocative language of a documentary. And ensure that the story always gains in translation.”