MUMBAI: There were five of them in contention, but Marathi series Lampan finally bagged the best OTT series award (we at Indiantelevision.com refuse to use the term web series for reasons best known to all) at the International Film Festival of India in Goa on 28 November 2024. Produced by Shrirang Godbole and Hrishikesh Deshpande of Indian Magic Eye, the series airs on SonyLiv.
The best series award was received by the jubilant team of Lampan including a beaming SonyLiv programming commissioner and head of content Saugata Muherjee, Shrirang Godbole, and its cast and crew. The award also entails a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh which is to be shared between the producers and SonyLiv.
A jury consisting of Madhur Bhandarkar, Krishna Hebbale, Harish Shankar and Rupali Ganguly went through a difficult process of adjudicating the winner amongst the five finalists which included: Kotta Factory (TVF, Netflix), Kaala Paani (Posham Pa Pictures, Netflix), Ayali (Estrella Stories, Zee5), Jubliee (Andolan Films with Reliance and Phantom Studios, Amazon Prime Video).
However, Lampan (set in rural India) which explores the emotional and social struggles of a young boy navigating his identity within the complex dynamics of his community came out on top for its remarkable storytelling, high production values, and exceptional performances.
The series directed by Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari is based on stories written by Prakash Narayan Sant. It stars Chandrakant Kulkarni, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Mihir Godbole, Kadambari Kadam, Pushkaraj Chirputkar and Avani Bhave. The writer of the show is Chinmay Kelkar.