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Tag: Ajit Andhare

  • With Viacom18's leading broadcast channels at play, the network has also acquired satellite rights for these films

    Viacom18 Studios hooks up with Dharma

    By Our Staff

     

    L to R: Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Ajit Andhare

    Viacom18 Studios has announced its collaboration with film-maker Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. As part of the association, Viacom18 Studios and Dharma Productions will collaborate on some of forthcoming films over the next 18-24 months. With Viacom18’s leading broadcast channels at play, the network has also acquired satellite rights for these films.

     

    Speaking about the partnership, Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios, said: “As Viacom18 Studios scales up and begins a new chapter, we are looking at key partnerships with creators who shape mainstream entertainment. Collaborating to build a slate of films further strengthens our long-term association with Karan and Dharma Productions.”

     

    Added Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions: “The partnership with Viacom18 Studios is a significant step for Dharma as together we gear up to bring back the best of Hindi cinema to theatrical audiences. We believe that strategic alliances are the way forward for the film industry and this partnership is the stepping-stone to a long-term alliance.”

     

     

  • The series are helmed by some of India’s finest storytellers, notes a communique

    Netflix to partner Viacom18 Studios for three originals

    By A Correspondent

     

    Netflix has announced three new original series in partnership with Tipping Point, the digital content arm of Viacom18 Studios.

     

    The series are helmed by some of India’s finest storytellers, notes a communique.

     

    Said Monika Shergill, Director, International Originals, Netflix: “We believe that great stories can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere. It’s exciting to partner with Viacom18 Studios and take these gripping stories to our members across India and the world. We can’t wait for fans to discover these beautifully crafted, well-produced series made by passionate and incredibly talented teams.”

     

    Commenting on the partnership Ajit Andhare, COO – Viacom18 Studios, added: “I am delighted to partner with Netflix to debut Tipping Point’s series to the world. Each series is motivated by a film-scale mindset, honed over many years at Viacom18 Studios. We look forward to these distinctive series, with our trademark narratives, entertaining audiences in India and around the world.”

     

     

  • The film is directed by Advait Chandan and is being written by Atul Kulkarni

    Viacom18 Studios and Aamir Khan Productions announce upcoming film

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom18 Studios in association with Aamir Khan Productions announces their upcoming Indian film Laal Singh Chaddha, inspired by Paramount Pictures’ Forest Gump. While Aamir Khan essays the titular role in the film, Kareena Kapoor Khan will be seen paired opposite him for the third time. The film is directed by Advait Chandan and is being written by Atul Kulkarni.

     

    Said Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios: “It gives me immense pleasure to announce our upcoming venture with Aamir Khan titled Laal Singh Chaddha. For every cinephile out there, the must watch list of films would be incomplete without the mention of Forrest Gump. To be able to adapt the classic for Indian audiences is a long-cherished dream for many of us.  Knowing Aamir’s burning passion for this subject for many years, he is the perfect partner to bring to life this dream. I also want to thank Jim, Andrew and the wonderful team at Paramount Pictures for believing in our vision and continuously supporting all endeavors to bring some of their best content to the Indian markets.”

     

    Added Andrew Gumpert, Chief Operating Officer of Paramount Pictures in a statement: “We’re thrilled to be in business with Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Studios, and to see them bringing this timeless story to a whole new generation of audiences.”

  • Among the various changes, COO Raj Nayak will oversee all revenue, Nina Elavia Jaipuria will be Head – Hindi and Kids TV Network. Manisha Sharma will be Chief Content Officer- Hindi Mass Entertainment and Ajit Andhare will take over the expanded role of COO – Viacom18 Studios

    Viacom18 rejigs top deck

    By A Correspondent

    Viacom18 has announced a rejig of its leadership team. It has consolidatee all revenue responsibilities under Raj Nayak, COO – Viacom18 and expanded Nina Elavia Jaipuria’s role as Head – Hindi and Kids TV Network. It has  appointed Manisha Sharma as Chief Content Officer- Hindi Mass Entertainment and Ajit Andhare will take over the expanded role of COO – Viacom18 Studios.

    In a first for the organisation, Viacom18 has unified all revenue across the network under Nayak.  Jaipuria’s mandate now includes channels across Kids and Hindi Mass Entertainment clusters. Meanwhile in her new role, Sharma will head content for the entire Hindi mass entertainment cluster including Colors and Rishtey. She and all other business heads will now report directly to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director Designate, Viacom18. Andhare will drive Viacom18 Motion Pictures’ forays into national and regional cinema and build Tipping Point as a brand for digital content production.

    As for others in the leadership team, Ravish Kumar as Head – Regional TV Network, will lead the network’s aggressive foray into regional broadcast entertainment across languages and genres. Ferzad Palia will continue leading the network’s efforts in strengthening Viacom18’s command on Youth, Music and English entertainment while creating content and experiences for Viacom18’s universe of the young. Saugato Bhowmik will continue to lead Integrated Network Solutions, building homegrown IPs in experiential entertainment and driving the licensing business under Viacom18 Consumer Products.

    Said Vats: “The first decade of Viacom18 marked the hyper-growth phase for us with ~50X growth in topline. In order to make Viacom18 future-ready and dial up growth across different lines of business, it is imperative to drive synergies, leverage scale and build content capabilities across screens. As we step into our next phase, it is important that we shape an organisational structure that allows us to retain the garage-nimbleness that got us here while enabling Viacom18’s independent business lines to leverage the synergies that consolidation brings. Integrating our revenues  and building content engines to cater to multiple screens across India, under the above leaders, is an important step towards a forward-looking organisation.” These organisational changes are being operationalised with immediate effect.

  • To launch a host of web series, short films and non-traditional formats under the brand

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures launches digital content brand, Tipping Point

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures announced the launch of its digital content brand – Tipping Point. The brand will extend the Viacom18 Motion Pictures ethos by creating content for online audiences. The brand will offer a host of web series, short films and non-traditional formats with unconventional narratives, notes a communique.

     

    Commenting on the development, Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures said: “Having conquered the big screen through unconventional narratives, it is time for Viacom18 Motion Pictures to make its mark in the rapidly emerging digital content space. Tipping Point – our digital content brand will appeal to consumers looking for edgy, contemporary, provocative yet relatable content typically missing in the traditional or mainstream media. Through Tipping Point, Viacom18 Motion Pictures will evolve from being a film studio into a holistic content studio, reaching beyond theatrical offerings into millions of screens on mobile & personal devices with its unique storytelling.”

     

    The list of soon to be launched web series include – ‘X Ray – Selected Satyajit Shorts’, a 12-part series presentation directed by the National award-winning filmmaker, Srijit Mukherji, an untitled crime thriller created by Imtiaz Ali, ‘Jamtara’ a story about a small district in Jharkhand, known to be India’s phishing capital, directed by Soumendra Padhi and ‘Best Days’, a psychological thriller by Abhishek Sengupta of the web-series Lakhon Mein Ek fame.

     

     

  • Mithali Raj is the highest run-scorer in women's international cricket

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures acquires rights for Mithali Raj biopic

     

     

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures has acquired the rights for the biopic of Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithalli Raj. The studio has in the past also backed films like Mary Kom and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag amongst others.

     

    Said Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures: “Viacom18 Motion Pictures has always been the pioneer in showcasing content with portrayal of strong women characters right from Queen to Kahani to Mary Kom. We are proud to be collaborating with the young and inspirational Mithali Dorai Raj, a name single handedly responsible in bringing about a shift in the way women’s cricket team was perceived in our country.”

     

     

  • Sane will report to Ajit Andhare, COO – Viacom18 Motion Pictures

    Viacom18 Motion Pictures appoints Nikhil ‘Sairat’ Sane to lead its expansion in Marathi cinema

    By A Correspondent

     

    Nikhil Sane

    In a coup of sorts, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, has appointed Nikhil Sane as Business Head to lead its Marathi cinema foray. Saney will report to Ajit Andhare, COO – Viacom18 Motion Pictures.

     

    Sane has managed the Marathi film division of Zee Studios. And his producer credits have some of the Marathi industry’s most commercially successful films including the  biggest box office grosser in Marathi cinema ever – ‘Sairat’. The other prominent films include Natsamrat, Lai Bhaari, Time Pass, Katyar Kaljat Ghusli and Duniyadari plus awardwinning films such as Natarang, Fandry, Killa and Elizabeth Ekadashi.

     

    Welcoming Sane to Viacom18, Ajit Andhare, COO – Viacom18 Motion Pictures, said: “Viacom18 Motion Pictures is the only studio that operates in all the three Hindi, Hollywood and regional segments. Our success in Hindi and Hollywood is well-established. Our endeavour is to make a similar impact in regional cinema. As a first step we are going after Marathi cinema which has tremendous potential and clear synergy with our broadcast business. Nikhil with his keen understanding of this market will be an asset to spearhead our move.”

     

    Speaking about his move to Viacom18, Sane said: “The Marathi film industry is going through an amazing phase of resurgence and evolution. I have had the privilege of working with some of the best talent from the industry. With Viacom18 Motion Pictures, I intend to combine the strength of the organisation’s experience in the Hindi and English film industries with  the remarkable strength of the Marathi film industry in storytelling and experimentation. I look forward to chanelising my best efforts and strengths into creating the next big leap in Marathi cinema.”

     

  • COO Ajit Andhare announced the celebrations reminscing the past and announcing a slew of new projects

    5 years & counting for Viacom18 Motion Pictures

     

    The great Satyajit Ray once said, “Cinema’s characteristic forte is its ability to capture and communicate the intimacies of human mind.”  At its core cinema is about storytelling. For five long years that is what Viacom 18 Motion Pictures has been doing. From a hard hitting movie like Gangs of Wasseypur to the coming of age film Queen, the studio has churned out movies which are commercially viable as well as rich in content.

    Starting its journey in 2010, Viacom18 Motion Pictures aimed at breaking the norm and make content the focus. Over these years,  along with movies with appeal for the masses as well as niche audiences, it has distributed English films and have now ventured in to regional markets with movies in Marathi, Bengali and South Indian languages.

     

    “Viacom18 Motion Pictures is an integral part of the value proposition of Viacom18 as a media network. Over the last five years we have built a distinctive identity for our movie studio that is built around our strong focus on stories. This ‘content-first’ approach is in synergy with our broadcast and digital business lines and together films, broadcast and digital complete the ecosystem of entertainment that Viacom18 offers its consumers.” said Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 on the milestone.

    Marketing is a very important aspect for any studio when they choose to back a film. So, what role does marketability of a film play while choosing a script? Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, said, “First of all comes greenlighting a script which means to see whether there is a significant audience for a film. And, therefore what kind of revenues a certain script or film can generate, which a combination of what the film is and the star cast is and what the film weight is about. The marketing question is the next one. Once you believe you have a certain kind of audience then how do you get that audience to sample that film? Which then addresses the conventional question of how many people need to be made aware, and then what is the waterfall of conversion from awareness to footfalls in theatres and that is where the whole conventional sort of marketing framework takes over.”

    “Last year was a very strong for motion pictures. We are profitable and we have grown to a reasonable size in terms of overall revenues and I think that is a very important milestone for us. Being profitable and earning a return on capital is something which every stakeholder looks to and that drives the entire key decision in the business,” said Andhare regarding the studio’s revenue earnings last year. He also stressed on the fact that apart from producing a film, collaboration with relevant brands also plays an important role in the success of a film. In the recent past we have seen a growing trend in product placement within films. “The main thing is to get media alliances. A brand which is possibly placed in the film will also want to promote that film. And, therefore a partnership on the media side is what is of great value to us. It allows us to curtail our marketing expenditure,” he added.

    Apart from celebrating and cherishing the years gone by, Andhare is excited about the future. He spoke about a strong pipeline of Hindi and regional films and extending their reach with Hollywood movies. “Continuing the agenda of innovation; that is the future for us,” he said in conclusion.

    Taking the celebrations a notch higher, Viacom18 Motion Pictures will showcase its blockbusters in a weeklong festival ending June 17. In collaboration with Cinepolis, the festival will be held across Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru showcasing hits like Kahaani, Manjhi – The Mountain Man, Special 26, PyaarKaPunchnama 2, BhaagMilkhaBhaag, Queen and Gangs of Wasseypur I & II.

     

  • Mr Andhare replaces Vikram Malhotra, who put in his papers, some time back, to pursue his entrepreneurial interests

    Viacom18 brings Ajit Andhare to head motion pictures biz

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ajit Andhare

    Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd has announced the appointment of Ajit Andhare as Chief Operating Officer of its films business – Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Joining today (April 15), Mr Andhare will be responsible for the growth and profitability of Viacom18 Motion Pictures and will be reporting to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO – Viacom18 Media. In this role, he will also lead Viacom18 Motion Pictures’ distribution alliance with Paramount Pictures.

     

    Mr Andhare replaces Vikram Malhotra, who put in his papers, some time back, to pursue his entrepreneurial interests.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Mr Vats said, “In Ajit, we’ve found the right leader to drive Viacom18 Motion Pictures to the next level of growth & profitability. His passion for films coupled with his education and experience across varied fields like engineering, marketing and creative production give him the edge to build a Business that would become a benchmark in the industry.”

     

    With an experience of over 17 years in FMCG and Media, Mr Andhare has been the CEO of Colosceum Media Pvt Ltd since 2007, a venture that he founded, along with Capital18. Colosceum is today amongst the leading media content development & production companies, having produced some of the very successful TV franchises like MTV Roadies and MTV Splitsvilla & Jai Shri Krishna for Viacom18, Wheel Smart Shrimati for Unilever and Master Chef India series for Star India.

     

    Prior to setting up Colosceum, Mr Andhare worked with Unilever Plc. in India and Asia Pacific region for over 12 years across Sales, General Management and Marketing roles. He holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business & B Tech from REC Rourkela.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Mr Andhare commented, “The fundamentals of the motion pictures business in India are improving with growth in digital distribution, multiplex screens, emerging digital platforms and above all success of high content cinema. It’s a great opportunity to lead one of country’s premier studios recognized for its distinguished work in this exciting context.”