MAM
Anushka Sharma replaces Prachi Desai as Sofy ambassador
NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma is the new brand ambassador for the Japanese sanitary napkin brand ‘Sofy‘. She has replaced Prachi Desai as the brand ambassador.
By roping in Sharma, known for her roles films like ‘Band Baaja Baraat‘ and ‘Ladies V/S Ricky Behl‘, the Japanese firm Unicharm intends to create a direct connect with the new age women. With an exclusive market for its Sofy brand, Unicharm aims to create an era where Indian women can take ‘Pride in being a Woman‘ by leading a more active and confident lifestyle even during menstruation.
It is through the new campaign that Sofy Side Walls aims to highlight the unique feature of Flexible ‘Side Walls‘ which prevent side leakage and staining along with the comfort of Long Lasting Absorbency, thus, creating a sense of confidence in the go-getter woman of today.
On her association with Sofy, Sharma said, “I am very excited to be associated with Sofy, and am keen to create a new era where all Indian women will take pride in being a woman. I am very sure that Japan‘s No. 1 sanitary napkin brand will become India‘s No. 1 too.”
On the latest TVC for Sofy, she exclaims, “Sofy‘s TVC is different. In the TVC, I am mostly like myself – outspoken, confident girl who has a mind of her own. I believe the best way to convey SOFY‘s message to all young girls is when I can be myself and directly talk to my audience. And I spell things out clearly. After all, it‘s high time we stopped hush-hushing about periods and opened a mature conversation about it.”
“Through this TVC, I wish to convey to every girl out there that she should no longer be worried about staining and can move about confidently during periods. Also through this association, I would like to introduce to them a product which is revolutionary in its own way and brings to the consumer an extension of comfort that helps them lead an active life.”
Unicharm India MD Yukihiro Kimura added, “We are privileged to have Anushka as the new brand ambassador of Sofy, as she truly exudes the confidence of the brand. Roping in Sharma was a strategic decision as the company wanted a youth icon to represent the brand and also talk freely about the unique feature of Sofy Side Walls. Being the quintessential girl-next-door, the engagement of Anushka Sharma will work well for the brand, which intends to engage itself with the everyday girl.”
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.
