Alchemist launches Alchemist Live; appoints Prabhu Tony as COO

In a recent development, Manish Porwal-led Alchemist group has announced the launch of Alchemist Live which will focus on creating IPs and live content in the space of entertainment. Alchemist further announced the appointment of Prabhu Tony as chief operating officer to lead the new vertical, a dual responsibility along with continuing to be the head of Alchemist Delhi.

The new vertical will produce live entertainment events in India with a focus on creating niche platforms with high audience engagement. Alchemist Live will fill the obvious gap of such ticketed shows in the country, providing audiences with an opportunity to immerse themselves in various genres of performing arts. The first production of Alchemist Live was the Delhi Theatre Festival last month which has become the biggest intellectual property for NCR in the genre of theatre attracting a mega audience of more than 12,000 from various parts of the country.

Alchemist Live managed to get artists like Pankaj Kapur, Paresh Rawal, Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rakesh Bedi, Ananth Mahadevan and others on the same platform and was able to garner support from brands like American Express, Vistara Airlines, Hindustan Times and Fever 104 FM for Season 2 of DTF. What started with three plays at one venue in Delhi last year has grown to five plays and eight shows across two venues.

Further catering to the theatre audience in Delhi, Alchemist Live is all set to launch 'Spotlight by DTF'. Beginning this May with 'Broken Images', starring Shabana Azmi, Spotlight will be a bi-monthly affair that will get the best of theatre to the audience of Delhi.

Manish Porwal

Prabhu Tony

Manish Porwal, managing director, Alchemist Marketing Solutions, says in a press release, "Over the past few years, Alchemist has enjoyed creating successful and diverse IPs, some that are stand-alone and others that are advertiser-funded, picking up a few awards along the way. Now, we are at a place where we wish to bring multi-genre productions to the Indian audience who we believe are actively seeking novel entertainment experiences. Hence, Alchemist LIVE comprises of a young, kick-ass team, passionate about creating original content and producing live events. Watch out for another large innovative integrated property from us soon; this time in partnership with a top and edgy news channel."

Tony says in a press release, "The audience is genuinely interested in watching good content. And marketers are smart enough to know that mere logos don't lead to brand mileage. Alchemist LIVE creates captivating content and strong platforms which allow advertisers to communicate with their audience in a non-intrusive, non-contrived atmosphere thus creating a win-win for audiences and advertisers alike. At Alchemist, we have run this model successfully and have found like-minded brands who are seeking real engagement. DTF opened with a bang in Delhi, and now we're gearing to go into Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai soon."