By Jamshed
“ DON which was born in 2019, is now available in 117 countries of the world. I was not aware that I will receive so much of Respect and honour because of DON, that too in a short span of time. In Covid time also ,DON got the maximum respect. Today DON has become a household name”. This is Mehmood Ali for you. A renowned film writer, distributor , film producer and now owner of an OTT platform, digital online network [ DON ] for you. Mehmood Ali while talking to Tehelka said that he has spent 25 years in Mumbai film Industry. When he planned to start OTT platform DON, people advised him that it is very expensive business, require 50 to 100 crore to start OTT platform. But Mehmood Ali said that he was determined to start OTT, because he think future is of digital platforms, so with the help of his friends, Mehmood Ali launched DON OTT platform and in no time it became a successful venture for him, add Mehmood Ali.
Mehmood Ali who hails from Bandra, Mumbai started his career as an Assistant writer with an epic Mahabharat. He assisted Mr Rahi Masoom Raza, the dialogues writer in Mahabharat, in translating Hindi into Urdu and vice versa. After that Mehmood Ali never looked back. His first film “Saazish” as a writer ,starring Mithun Chakravorty was released in 1998. And till date he has written scripts for 67 films. He mostly worked with renowned Bollywood actor late Mr. Kadar Khan. Mehmood Ali’s honeymoon with bollywood was not restricted as a writer. He went on to become film producer and distributor. According to Mehmood Ali, so far he has produced 29 films and distributed 200. He said on IMDB he is ranked as the second in top ten film distributors of India.
Mehmood Ali told Tehelka that actor Shah Rukh Khan is a lucky mascot for him. It was Shah Rukh Khan movies through which he has earned good money as a distributor. Mehmood said that he has distributed DDLJ, Dil to pagal hai, Kuch Kuch hota hai, Main hoon na etc all SRK movies and have earned good money. Mehmood Ali is a Nepal distributor of SRK latest film “PATHAAN” which he bought in two lakh dollar ,adds he. Mehmood Ali has just returned from London after completing his Bhojpuri film “Dulhania London Wali. And going to London again for his next hindi film shoot, “ANA” both as a producer. Mehmood revealed to Tehelka that he is also planning three Hindi web series for the OTT platfoms.
While talking to Tehelka about “DON”, Mehmood Ali said that today on OTT, content is the King. People want to see the content about which they have only heard but have not seen. “Tehelka became Tehelka because of one story. The subject which people only heard off not seen”. Said Mehmood Ali. According to Mehmood Ali, his only focus is on the content of his OTT “DON”. According to Mehmood Ali, today more than 1800 foreign projects are on his OTT radar. Out of which 800 film makers are from Iran, known for their best film making are in talks with him for supplying content for DON.
According to Mehmood, his OTT DON is making revenue from subscription and from advertisement. For the content he is mainly relying on outsourcing. People with good scripts are welcome on his platform. when his team like the script he commissioned the project, and sometimes he buys the ready projects from the producers. His OTT also carry good documentaries films. Said Mr. Mehmood . He further told Tehelka that Netflix famous series “Jaamtara” was initially rejected by the Netfilx, when producer approached the platform with the script. But later on when the producer approached Netflix with the shoot. The platform liked the series and rest is the history.
Now on 26th January 2023, Mehmood Ali has launched DON 2.0. The new version of DON. Which can be viewed like Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon etc. With this Mehmood Ali told Tehelka that in coming April he is launching an exclusive show for the writers. called “Writer-tainment” on DON. According to him this will be a reality show like Indian Idol, where all the writers from India, with their scripts can come and narrate their respective works to the producers present in the show. And if they like their script. They will invite them for making a film or a web series based on their scripts. Mehmood Ali said “Since I am a script writer, I have a special regards for all the writers, and wants that good scripts should get a platform like “DON”.
