Colors Gujarati Cinema
Colors Gujarati Cinema is a Gujarati-language movie pay television channel owned by JioStar, launched on 1 June 2019 by Viacom18. Billed at launch as the region's first 24-hour premium Gujarati movies channel, it carries the tagline "Filmo Matrubhasha Ma" — "Movies in your mother-tongue" — and broadcasts Gujarati films around the clock. Based in Mumbai, the channel is the Gujarati movie companion to the general entertainment channel Colors Gujarati, and it remains the first and only dedicated Gujarati movie channel in Indian television.
Overview
Colors Gujarati Cinema is a 24-hour pay television channel devoted entirely to Gujarati cinema. It airs Gujarati films across genres — action, drama, comedy, romance, and mythology — alongside world television premieres, behind-the-scenes footage, songs, comedy marathons, and Gujarati plays. The channel broadcasts in standard definition with stereo audio and is distributed through direct-to-home platforms and cable networks across Gujarat and to Gujarati-speaking audiences nationwide.
The channel's launch filled a long-standing whitespace in the Gujarati television market. Before its arrival, no premium television channel was dedicated to showcasing Gujarati movies, despite Gujarat's 87-year legacy of film production and the strong growth of Gujarati-language television viewership.
The Launch
Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. announced the launch of Colors Gujarati Cinema on 28 May 2019 at an event in Mumbai addressed by Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director of Viacom18, and Ravish Kumar, Head of the Regional TV Network. The channel went live on 1 June 2019 as a pay channel and was included in the network's primary Colors wala Value+ Pack.
The launch was backed by an aggressive programming strategy: eight premieres on eight consecutive days at 8 pm, starting from launch day. Co-powered-by launch partners included Wagh Bakri Chai, Adani's Fortune Oil, and B-Tex, signalling strong advertiser interest in the new channel. The channel carried a strong content plan supported by a powerful marketing campaign aimed at Gujarati households.
The launch followed the success of Colors Kannada Cinema, Viacom18's first regional movie channel, which had been launched the previous year. Colors Gujarati Cinema was Viacom18's third movies channel overall and its second Gujarati channel, after the general entertainment channel Colors Gujarati.
Strategic Rationale
At the launch announcement, Sudhanshu Vats outlined the business logic behind the channel. Viacom18 had consolidated and rebranded its regional television play under the Colors umbrella four years earlier, and had since added seven more channels while entering new markets through its broadcast, digital, and films businesses. Over the preceding two years, the company's regional cluster had grown at a compound annual growth rate of 36.5 percent in viewership and 22 percent in revenue.
Gujarat presented a distinctive opportunity. Colors Gujarati, the network's regional general entertainment channel, held a strong 43 percent market share position in the state. The Gujarati language had clocked the highest growth rate among all language television viewerships, with 36 percent year-on-year growth. Movies as a television genre accounted for 25 percent of viewership in Gujarat — a state with an 87-year-old legacy of producing films and plays — yet no premium channel existed for Gujarati movies. As Ravish Kumar put it at the announcement, "With the absence of a premium television channel showcasing Gujarati movies, it was the perfect whitespace for us to capture."
Viacom18's Gujarati Journey
Viacom18's relationship with the Gujarati audience began nearly two decades before the movie channel's launch. The company entered Gujarat with ETV Gujarati, which was later rebranded as Colors Gujarati as part of the consolidation of Viacom18's regional channels under the Colors brand. Colors Gujarati became the number one Gujarati general entertainment channel, catering to audiences across the spectrum and building the bond that the movie channel was designed to strengthen.
Colors Gujarati Cinema extended this relationship into film broadcast. The channel was positioned to leverage the vibrant cinematic heritage of Gujarat, bringing the past, present, and future of Gujarati cinema to television screens.
Programming and Film Library
At launch, Colors Gujarati Cinema front-lined Gujarati cinematic masterpieces including Viacom18 Studios' Dhh, which won the National Award for best feature film in Gujarati, along with recent commercial hits such as Chello Divas, Love ni Bhavai, Reva, Mijaj, Duniyadari, Oxygen, and Backbencher. The channel launched with a library of more than 300 Gujarati films that had collectively won the hearts of more than 6 crore audiences.
Beyond films, the channel's programming includes world television premieres, behind-the-scenes footage, film songs, comedy marathons, and a range of Gujarati plays — reflecting the close relationship between Gujarati theatre and cinema. The channel showcases movies across genres including action, drama, comedy, romance, and mythology, aiming to promote Gujarati culture, heritage, and splendour, and to familiarise viewers with Gujarati stories and folklore.
Gujarati Cinema on Television
Gujarati cinema has one of the longest histories among Indian regional film industries, with its first talkie-era productions dating to the 1930s. The industry has experienced periodic revivals, most notably in the 2010s with a new wave of urban Gujarati films — including Chello Divas (2015), which became one of the highest-grossing Gujarati films of its time. Before Colors Gujarati Cinema's launch, these films had no dedicated television home; they were aired sporadically on general entertainment channels or not at all.
The channel's arrival gave Gujarati producers a reliable television window for their films, completing the theatrical-to-television cycle that sustains regional film industries. For viewers, it meant round-the-clock access to Gujarati films in their mother tongue — the promise captured in the channel's tagline, "Filmo Matrubhasha Ma."
Ownership: From Viacom18 to JioStar
Colors Gujarati Cinema was launched and operated by Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd., the joint venture between Network18 and Paramount (formerly ViacomCBS) that operated the Colors network of channels. In November 2024, Viacom18 merged with Disney India to form JioStar, a joint venture majority-owned by Reliance Industries. The channel is now part of the JioStar portfolio, sitting alongside the Colors network's Hindi and regional channels and the Star network's entertainment and sports channels.
Under JioStar, the channel continues to operate as the only dedicated Gujarati movie channel, serving a market where Gujarati remains one of the fastest-growing language segments in Indian television.
Position in the Gujarati Television Market
The Gujarati television market includes general entertainment channels such as Colors Gujarati, news channels including TV9 Gujarati, ABP Asmita, Zee 24 Kalak, Sandesh News, VTV Gujarati, and GSTV, and the public broadcaster DD Girnar. Within this landscape, Colors Gujarati Cinema occupies a unique position as the sole movie channel — a distinction it has held since its launch, when it was described as the nation's first 24-hour premium Gujarati-language movie channel.
The channel's pay-channel status and inclusion in the Colors wala Value+ Pack placed it within Viacom18's curated bouquet strategy, bundling it with the network's other regional and Hindi offerings.
Distribution and Availability
Colors Gujarati Cinema is available on major direct-to-home platforms and cable networks across Gujarat and in markets with significant Gujarati-speaking populations, including Mumbai and other metropolitan centres. The channel broadcasts in standard definition. Its availability as part of the Colors wala Value+ Pack has ensured wide distribution alongside Viacom18's flagship channels.
Legacy and Significance
Colors Gujarati Cinema's launch marked a milestone for Gujarati-language television: the first time the state's rich cinematic heritage had a dedicated 24-hour television home. By combining a 300-plus film library with premieres, comedy marathons, and Gujarati theatre programming, the channel created a complete Gujarati film-viewing destination.
Its continued operation under JioStar underscores the commercial viability of the regional movie channel model in high-growth language markets. For Gujarati cinema — an industry with 87 years of history and a new wave of commercially successful films — the channel provides the television window that connects producers with the more than 6 crore Gujarati-speaking audiences the network identified at launch.
