Audible, the world’s largest seller and producer of audio entertainment and audiobooks, on Thursday introduced a new service created exclusively for Indian listeners. Audible Suno, available for free on Android devices, offers unlimited, free access to hundreds of hours of audio entertainment, enlightenment and learning featuring many of India’s favourite celebrities and personalities.
At launch, Audible Suno offers more than 60 original and exclusive series in both Hindi and English. Each show is comprised of short, easy-to-digest episodes featuring stars like Amitabh Bachchan (Kaali Awaazein), Katrina Kaif, Karan Johar (Picture Ke Peechhe), Anil Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Mouni Roy, Anurag Kashyap, Tabu, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Diljit Dosanjh, Vir Das, and Vicky Kaushal.
The range of fiction series includes horror (Kaali Awaazein), romance/relationships (Matrimonial Anonymous and Piya Milan Chowk), and suspense (Thriller Factory), while the comedy series on Audible Suno feature India’s funniest comedian (The Unexperts by Abish Mathew). Non-fiction series available on Audible Suno include intimate interviews with some of the country’s biggest stars (Kissa Khwabon Ka, Picture Ke Peechhe); socially relevant series that explore topics like mental health, sex education and the rights of the LGBTQI+ community (Azaad Awaaz, SentiMental). Dale Carnegie (translated in Hindi), Om Swami, Radhakrishnan Pillai, and Divya Prakash Dubey are among the top authors featured on Audible Suno.
With Audible Suno, Audible enables listeners to turn their idle time into “found time” and unlock more hours every day to fill with entertainment and learning. Whether listeners are riding on the bus or the local train, are busy doing chores or cooking, are working out at the gym or even relaxing at home, Audible Suno offers the perfect solution to spend the time meaningfully.
“Audible Suno is a world-first for Audible, and reflects our commitment to creating exceptional entertainment for our Indian customers,” said Audible founder and CEO Don Katz. “I’ve always been passionate about the transformative power of the spoken word, and I’m delighted to be able to offer this breadth of famous voices and culturally resonant genres with unlimited access, ad-free and free of charge.”
“In India, our love of storytelling is ingrained in our culture, as we share stories generation after generation, and as we create and pass on new stories with family and friends today. Since its founding, Audible has worked in service of a singular purpose: to ignite the power of sound to entertain, inspire and move listeners, which we will now further with the launch of an India-first offering – Audible Suno,” said Shailesh Sawlani, VP, Country Manager India, Audible.
Amitabh Bachchan (Kaali Awaazein) said, “I have always believed that audio is an incredibly powerful, yet thus far under-utilized entertainment medium in India, and it is exciting that Audible is poised to change that. It is breaking new ground with spoken-word entertainment, showcasing a wide range of deeply Indian stories told by some of India’s most famous voices. The series featuring my voice, Kaali Awaazein, is a fictional psychological thriller inspired by ghost stories and supernatural sightings, designed with immersive 3D sound to make these stories come alive on Audible Suno in a way I hope my fans would enjoy. It has been a first-time experience for me and one that I have enjoyed doing.”
“As an artist and director, I’m constantly on the lookout for new ways to present riveting stories. With Audible Suno, I am thrilled by the opportunity to create cutting-edge audio entertainment in a completely new format. Audible Suno has inspired me to push the envelope when it comes to storytelling, harnessing the power of audio,” said Thriller Factory director and presenter Anurag Kashyap.
“What excites me about Audible Suno is being able to explore a completely different format as an artist. I think an audio show can spark imagination in ways that few other formats can, leading to a powerful experience as a listener. I am proud to be a part of what promises to be a wonderful and rewarding journey,” said Thriller Factory performer and actor Tabu.
“Comedy can often rely on being visually engaging. So, Be Stupid with Vir Das was a cool creative puzzle - trying to get the funny from my mouth to your ears with nothing in between! More than anything else, I got to sit down with amazing people. I'm a storyteller at heart and I can't wait to bring you their hilarious and stupid stories. I’m so glad I was able to explore this new medium with Audible Suno, and I hope my audience listens to me and other series on the app, from my particular stupid...all the way to the sensible,” said comedian Vir Das.
The Audible Suno app is now available to download for free on devices that run Android 4.4 onwards. iOS users in India can access Audible Suno content for free as well via the current iOS Audible app.
Audible Suno is a distinct offering from Audible’s audiobook service, which launched for Indian customers in November 2018 to provide members with access to a large library of over 200,000 audiobooks, including more than 250 recently added titles in Hindi and Urdu. Among the selections available in Hindi are Charag by Waseem Bareilvi, Manas Ka Hans by Amritlal Nagar and Buri Ladki by Priyanka Gupta, as well as translations of works including Meeri Gita by Devdutt Pattanaik, The Mastery Manual by Robin Sharma and Chanakya Mantra by Ashwin Sanghi. One year on, Audible is solidifying its commitment to Indian listeners and to growing the rapidly evolving category with the launch of Audible Suno, an India-first, free-of-cost audio entertainment service.
ORIGINAL SERIES AT A GLANCE
SCRIPTED SERIES/FICTION
Thriller Factory: Thriller Factory is a 10-episode series directed by Anurag Kashyap, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tabu and Sachin Khedekar. Adapted from the work of celebrated writer Ved Prakash Sharma, written by Pravesh Bhardwaj and created with an immersive score inspired by ‘80s Bollywood movies, every episode takes you into the blood-soaked underbelly of India’s best pulp fiction.
Kaali Awaazein: Kaali Awaazein is a 10-episode fictional series featuring the one and only Amitabh Bachchan, directed by Mantra and written by Mantra and Mishkka Singh Shekhawat. This psychological thriller is inspired by ghost stories, supernatural sightings and strange phenomena reported from the most haunted places across India. Every episode features a new story and an immersive 3D sound experience that will place you at the very center of the story. Listen with the lights on.
Bhoot Kaal: Bhoot Kaal is a 30-episode series created and narrated by Neelesh Misra. This series is based on supernatural and horror stories from across urban and rural India that play on the very basic human instinct: the fear of the unknown. The stories are fictional and created purely for the purpose of evoking thrill and entertainment.
Chhupe Saaye: Chhupe Saaye is a 38-episode series featuring stories of the supernatural, paranormal, horror, suspense and crime from the best of English, Bengali and regional literature. From strange creatures emerging from a moonlit lake, to a deadly stalker following a schoolmaster in the dead of the night, to a lifeless doll coming to the rescue of a little girl, to the sad tale of a patient fighting his inner demons, experience stories that will stay with you long after you listen.
Mine and Yours: Mine and Yours is a 10-episode romantic drama starring Mantra and Mishkka Singh Shekhawat, about hidden desires and unfulfilled lust in a relationship. “Yours” has a secret. “Mine” is hiding something from Yours too. As you listen, from a chance encounter, to a first kiss, to a night together in a hotel room and a whirlwind trip around the world, you’ll soon realize that Mine and Yours are keeping something from you too.
Pull to Refresh: Pull To Refresh is an 8-episode fictional series created by Terribly Tiny Tales. Ananya Mehra is a foul-mouthed, unfiltered twenty-something who runs a podcast that divulges her entire life. Nothing is sacred or off-limits. She records intimate, personal conversations with the people in her life and streams them on her show without their knowing. When she hits her lowest low, it is her own life that begins to unravel before listeners.
Tridevi: Tridevi is an 8-episode fictional series created by OfSpin for Audible Suno. Three mothers and close friends from college reconnect after the upheaval of recent motherhood. Funny, deeply honest and poignant, Tridevi follows Imli, Sifu and Niko as they take on the highs and lows of love, careers, in-laws and children.
CELEBRITIES/BEHIND-THE-SCENES
Mera Music Mera Mantra: Mera Music Mera Mantra is a 10-episode series hosted by Jankee Parekh Mehta, featuring musicians Armaan Malik, Harshdeep Kaur, Guru Randhawa, Nucleya, Naezy, Palak Muchhal, Javed Ali, Divine, Jonita Gandhi and Farhan Akhtar. This series reveals their own personal mantras for success. How have they hustled their way to the top? More importantly, how have they managed to stay there? Hear how they have pushed the boundaries of their own life stories to make their name and their music known.
Spot Dada is a 10-episode fictional series starring national award-winning actor Swanand Kirkire, Rajeshwari Sachdev and Neena Kulkarni. For the past 40 years, one man in Bollywood has seen it all. Manohar Patil, lovingly known as Spot Dada, started as a spot boy and went on to become the wise old Banyan tree on some of Bollywood’s most iconic sets. However, in the last twelve years, Manohar Patil’s career has nosedived, with a new generation of spot boys taking over - those with smartphones and fancy shoes, and a smattering of English and loads of smarts. Embittered, cynical and jobless, he still hangs around the sets of large film studios freeloading and pretending to work. When asked at home about money, he says the production units are delaying payments. What will happen to Spot Dada? Will he fade into oblivion like many before him, handing over the reins of the industry to a capable new set of individuals and to a new set of rules? Or will there be a miracle?
INSPIRING/DOCUMENTARY
Yoddha with Neelesh Misra: Yoddha is a 30-episode series created and performed by Neelesh Misra. This series celebrates the bravery of the Indian Armed Forces, chronicling soldiers’ fierce sense of duty in the face of impossible odds. The stories also reveal their personal lives and sacrifice, and the courage of their family members.
My Ex-Breast: My Ex-Breast is a 7-episode series by Tahira Kashyap Khurrana and Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment. In this series, Tahira takes you on an intimate journey through a mad storm called breast cancer. In a single moment, she went from praying for her breasts to grow, to life throwing her a curveball in the form of a mastectomy and reconstruction. Poignant, honest and radically hopeful, Tahira shares how she and her loved ones chose joy in the face of fear.
LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS
Matrimonial Anonymous is a 12-episode confessional series from Audible Suno, hosted by Mouni Roy. Amidst the ceremony of shaadi, between the sacraments and sangeets, live our secrets. In the Big Fat Indian Wedding, these are the unspoken questions, desires, fears and fantasies we whisper only to ourselves, that chase us in our search for the perfect partner, which can unsettle even the quietest hearts. This series features the real confessions of women and men who bravely share their own personal secrets about their search for love.
Cupid Kaneez: Cupid Kaneez is a 10-episode series created and hosted by comedian Kaneez Surka. In this series, Kaneez plays matchmaker to her friends and sets them up on blind dates. Every episode is a post-mortem of the date and explores the suspense, intrigue and awkwardness of modern dating. Cupid Kaneez explores the love lives of Sumukhi Suresh, Rohan Joshi, Kubra Sait, Rega Jha, Pooja Dhingra, Daniel Fernandes and more, as they share their thoughts on what it takes to play the dating game.
Azaad Awaaz: Azaad Awaaz is a 10-episode series hosted by filmmaker Mozez Singh, created by Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment. In a series of powerful interviews, Singh and his guests celebrate life’s most important pursuit: the freedom to be and love who you are. Hear the dreams, hopes, triumphs, struggles and joy of India’s LGBTQIA+ community. Join allies and guests like Vicky Kaushal, Richa Chadda, Manish Arora and Sushant Divgikar in this celebration of freedom and love.
Ae Dil Hai Complicated: Ae Dil Hai Complicated is a 24-episode series hosted by Neena Gupta. The series explores the very edges of modern love and relationships. Spanning secret sex lives, open marriage, polyamory, missing parents, almost lovers and everything in between, this series explores the intimacies of real stories and confessions from Arré writers across the country.
Piya Milan Chowk is a 14-episode series written and narrated by Divya Prakash Dubey. Divya Prakash Dubey is one of the most popular Hindi authors of our time. He’s also a poet and a songwriter. This series, written and performed by him, celebrates love that blossoms in ‘Piya Milan Chowk’ – a junction where lovers secretly meet. Each story in this series is woven around an encounter that took place in ‘Piya Milan Chowk’. Beautifully narrated and heartwarming, these stories are sure to touch your heart.
COMEDY
The Unexperts: The Unexperts is a 10-episode live comedy series created and hosted by Abish Mathew. The Unexperts are experts at giving you information you don’t need—unsolicited advice, ridiculous opinions and really, really bad reviews. Every episode features a panel of Unexperts who will take down and breakdown everything from their old school teachers, to artificial intelligence, ghosts, the apocalypse, family and more.
Why Would You Do This?: Why Would You Do This? is a 12-episode series hosted by comedian Sahil Shah that explores the most bizarre and silly news stories from India and around the world. Join Sahil Shah and some of India’s top comedians as they dissect some of the stupidest things humans have done by asking, "Why Would You Do This?"
HINDI SELF DEVELOPMENT/AUTHOR-BASED
Be Stupid with Vir Das: This 15-episode series is created and hosted by comedian Vir Das. What if a stupid decision could change your relationship, your career and even the course of your life for the better? In this counterintuitive guide to life’s best mistakes, Vir talks to people who have funny, heartwarming and insightful stories of instant regret but ultimate redemption.
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