GECs
Pradhan & Chandrashekar call it quits at UTV
MUMBAI: Seven months after UTV made some strategic appointments Abhijeet Pradhan vice president UTV and Venugopal Changrashekar channel director (Sony, Zee, Zoom and Sahara One) have decided to move on.
Both Pradhan and Chandrashekar put in their papers last week.
Interestingly, these appointments were done with the thought of incorporating client servicing processes within the production house. Pradhan and Chandrashekar, both former Contract Advertising employees have enjoyed substantial number of years in the advertising world.
Pradhan will be joining The Times of India’s response section and will be reporting directly to TOI director Bhaskar Das.
Chadrashekhar is currently grappling with two offers, and will make his decision next week.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Pradhan and Chandrashar said, “We had come with a vision of setting up a channel driven team which is similar to the account management process in the advertising agencies. But we think we are better suited in the broadcasting or media arena.”
UTV, after the recent shift of Zareena Mehta to Hungama as programming head, has appointed two creative directors Ronita Mitra from Smile TV and Arif Ali, who is essentially a script writer.
Pradhan who was with Contract for six years, was a brand custodian as well as a founding team member of Core Consulting, which is a marketing/ customer consulting outfit started by Contract Advertising (a member of the WPP group). Cadburys, Godrej and Portico were some strategic accounts that he handled at the agency.
Chandrashekar has had extensive experience in servicing in the last 12 years. In Contract, Chandrashekar worked on international and national accounts like Asian paints, Bajaj Auto, Philips lighting, Heinz, Shoppers stop, ICICI BANK, BPCL and Allianze Bajaj, to name a few.
GECs
Sony ties up with EU for MasterChef India finale
GI-tagged European ingredients headline finale week
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has struck what it calls a landmark association with the European Union for the finale week of MasterChef India, marking the first such collaboration between the bloc and an Indian television format.
The tie-up will culminate in the “European Union mystery box challenge”, which opens the much-anticipated finale week. The task will see the top six contestant pairs cook with a curated basket of ingredients bearing geographical indications (GIs) from across EU member states: a nod to provenance as well as palate.
Chef Ajay and Chef Guntas, introduced as chef ambassadors to the European Union, will present the mystery boxes and set the brief: use the fewest ingredients from each category and produce a MasterChef-level dish that marries European produce with Indian flavour sensibilities. Precision and restraint, rather than extravagance, will be tested.
For Sony, the move signals a push towards high-value integrations that blur the line between sponsorship and storytelling. The network said the association underscores the show’s growing global stature and its ability to attract world-renowned institutions to Indian screens.
Chef Ajay Chopra, food ambassador in the European Union, described the collaboration as a strategic opportunity to spotlight the heritage and authenticity of GI-tagged European products to India’s vast food-loving audience.
Over the years, MasterChef India has positioned itself as a gateway to global cuisines. The EU partnership sharpens that pitch, turning the finale into a stage for cross-continental culinary diplomacy.
The finale week will air from 2 March, 2026 at 8 pm on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony Liv.
