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Star Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma is stepping into entertainment for the first time, fronting a new show set to launch in September on Sony Entertainment Television and streamer SonyLIV, as Sony Pictures Networks India unveiled
an expansive content slate spanning fiction, reality, sports and regional programming.
“We have announced a show with active India cricket star Rohit Sharma. And Rohit will start anchoring and presenting his own show on SET and SonyLIV in September,” said Gaurav Banerjee, managing director and CEO of Sony Pictures Networks India.
The slate’s marquee title is “Kaun Banega Crorepati” Season 18,” which premiered on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony LIV under the new campaign line “Sochna Padega.” As revealed by Variety, the new season, hosted by Indian cinema legend Amitabh Bachchan, is the franchise’s first to be crafted with artificial intelligence, shifting the show’s focus from trivia recall toward reasoning under pressure.
Top Bollywood star Ajay Devgn will host true-crime series “Crime Patrol 2026,” bringing real-life cases to viewers through the franchise’s established storytelling format. Bharti Singh and Harsh Limbachiyaa will host comedy format “Indian Game Show,” bringing celebrities together for a series of challenges.
Bollywood icon Madhuri Dixit Nene will front “Kon Honar Crorepati,” the Marathi-language edition of the “Kaun Banega Crorepati” format, which is the Indian adaptation of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” Banerjee said Dixit Nene “has broken the glass ceiling more than once, and we are really confident that she can and she will be able to do this again.”
Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman will lead “Tamil Idol,” the first Tamil-language version of the singing competition format, searching for Tamil Nadu’s next major vocal talent. SonyLIV will also stream “MasterChef Tamil,” featuring star Samantha Ruth Prabhu.
Also joining the lineup is “Scam 2010,” a production from Birla Studios, Applause Entertainment and SonyLIV, helmed by Indian National Film Award winning director Hansal Mehta and starring Pratik Gandhi, which has begun shooting. The show had drawn a legal challenge from Sahara India Pariwar following its announcement in May 2025. Asked by Variety whether the dispute had been resolved, Banerjee said, “I believe so.” Sony LIV will additionally carry the digital and television premiere of “Haiwaan,” Priyadarshan’s upcoming film starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, following its theatrical release.
Sony Sports Network will complement the entertainment offering with its Festival of Sports, an Aug. 15-Dec. 1 window covering India’s cricket tour of Sri Lanka, the Women’s T20 Asia Cup cricket, the Asian Games and India’s all-format cricket tour of New Zealand.
SPNI, which Sony Group Corporation owns indirectly and in full, runs 29 premium channels spanning Hindi, Marathi, Bangla and English general entertainment, movies, kids and factual programming, alongside Sony Sports Network and streaming platform SonyLIV, reaching more than 700 million viewers across India with distribution in over 150 countries.
