Skype partners with Yash Raj Films, Eros International.
By Dileep Thekkethil
Microsoft-owned instant messaging app Skype has come up with some exclusive Bollywood mojis for global Indian users by partnering with Yash Raj Films and Eros International.
Skype, the third largest instant messaging app, incurred a decline in its user base in India after the proliferation of apps such as Whats App, Hike, and Viber. Now, the company is changing tactics by trying to woo more users by embedding motion mojis of popular Bollywood movies and stars.
The new feature of Skype is expected to attract huge Bollywood fans and it could make Skype chats even more exciting and dramatic. Interestingly, many movie dialogues are part of the popular culture and are quite frequently used during instant messaging. By enabling Bollywood mojis, Skype will make messaging more fun filled and users will be able to convey messages even better.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Yash Raj Films and Eros International to bring you the latest and greatest content from movies such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, RA one, Dhoom 2 & 3, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Devdas, and many more. Your favorite stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, and Ranvir Singh, to name a few, are now at your fingertips to help you make your chats more expressive than ever”, read a blog post that appeared on the official website of Skype.
Adding to the Bollywood mojis, Skype has also integrated a few other emoticons to its new update, featuring some of the Indian delicacies, holidays and daily expressions, thus giving vital importance to the Indian culture in a global level.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Gurdeep Pall Singh the vice president of Skype said, “While these Mojis aren’t rolled out for Windows Phone, Skype is working on getting the experience right for Windows 10 mobile. All the new features will be rolled out once Windows 10 mobile reaches consumers.”
The new Bollywood mojis contain video files accompanied by audio, which essentially means they are data heavy, but to make things easier for the users, Skype has integrated it in the cache so that users need not download it each time they use, thus reducing the data charge considerably.
In an interview with IANS Gurdeep said, “There are about 100 Mojis now and we will keep adding them on the app. We are also thinking about including several features which may allow users in the future to send custom Mojis via the instant chat.”
Both Bollywood Mojis and emoticons are now available for users worldwide, and they can access it from the featured tab of the emoticon picker.