MAM
Hari Krishnan is new Lowe Lintas president – South
MUMBAI: Lowe Lintas has announced that Hari Krishnan is the new president of its South operations. This appointment comes on the back of GV Krishnan’s recent exit.
To be based out of Bengaluru, his remit includes the agency’s offices in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. As the largest creative agency in South region, the portfolio includes over a 100 clients and brands such as Arvind, Britannia, Fastrack, Flipkart, Gold Drop, Hike, ITC Foods, MRF, Mobizz, Paperboat, Sonata, Tanishq, TI Cycles, TVS Motors and many other companies and brands.
Krishnan, currently CEO of MullenLowe’s operations in Sri Lanka is in the process of transitioning into his new role.
He had joined MullenLowe early 2015 from Grey India where he was heading their South operations.
Hari has about 20 years of experience in the advertising and media industry; having spent most of it between Lowe Lintas, JWT, Star TV and Grey.
Commenting on his move, MullenLowe Lintas Group, India Group CEO Joseph George said:“Hari has done an incredible job in Sri Lanka almost transforming our operations there overnight. Going by his track record across the agencies he has worked in, he is just the right person we need to build on the fantastic momentum that the South operations of Lowe Lintas have achieved over the past 3-4 years in terms of creative product and new business acquisition. Both of which, Hari is rabidly passionate about.”
Hari Krishnan too added, “This is a homecoming of sorts for me since my association with Lowe Lintas almost 18 years ago started in the Bengaluru office. The India operations of Lowe Lintas has been on an unbelievable roll the past few years and my mandate is clear. The talent in our 3 offices in the South, especially the creative fire-power under Rajesh Ramaswamy’s leadership is just reassuringly and intimidatingly brilliant. Can’t wait to get started!”
Speaking of succession for MullenLowe Sri Lanka, Joseph George said, “Our Sri Lanka operations are in a sweet spot thanks to all the efforts made in the past 18 months under Hari’s leadership and some fantastic clients. And we are perfectly poised to build on from here; which is why Hari’s replacement for the Sri Lanka CEO’s role is crucial; and so I am very pleased with whom we have found. The announcement will take place in a few days.”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
