MAM
Amitabh Bachchan named as APL Apollo’s brand ambassador
Mumbai: APL Apollo structural steel tubes and pipes company, has announced the appointment of the extraordinaire Amitabh “Big B” Bachchan as its brand ambassador. Building on its 30-year legacy and the Make in India mantra, APL Apollo aims to further strengthen and expand its brand identity across the country with this signing.
Amitabh Bachchan’s legendary career and countless achievements, which have established him as a symbol of longevity and trustworthiness, make this association a perfect one. Leveraging the giant superstar’s fan base and global appeal, APL Apollo aims to further boost its current market dominance, besides expanding its brand recognition across the nation. The two-year partnership will see the celebrated Bollywood veteran endorse the brand across all media channels including print, electronic media and outdoor, as well as in-store promotional material.
Reflecting on the announcement, APL Apollo Tubes Ltd chairman & managing director Sanjay Gupta said, “We are incredibly proud to welcome Bachchan as he embodies all the qualities that APL Apollo stands for–excellence, versatility, and timeless quality. We are consistently channelling our efforts to deliver world-class quality, much like Big B and we are confident that this partnership will serve to reinforce our strong presence in the Indian market.”
“Amitabh Bachchan’s iconic face is a forever appeal that strikes a chord with millions of hearts, not just in India, but worldwide. His enduring appeal will go a long way in elevating our brand image everywhere. This strategic move by APL Apollo will pave the way for not just elevated brand recognition but also an enhanced brand experience. By bringing diverse audiences through this ploy, the brand will witness wider connections,” said APL Apollo Tubes Ltd chief brand officer Charu Malhotra.
APL Apollo Tubes Ltd (APL Apollo) BSE: 533758, NSE: APLAPOLLO is India’s leading structural steel tube manufacturer. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Delhi-NCR, the company operates 11 manufacturing facilities with a total capacity of 3.6 million tons. It has a pan-India presence with units strategically located in Sikandarabad (UP), Hyderabad, Bangalore, Hosur (Tamil Nadu), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Dujana (UP), Malur (Karnataka) and Murbad (Maharashtra). APL Apollo’s multi-product offerings include over 2,000 varieties for multiple building material structural steel applications such as pre-galvanized tubes, structural steel tubes, galvanized tubes, MS black pipes and hollow sections. With state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, APL Apollo serves as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for a wide spectrum of products, catering to the domestic market as well as 20 countries worldwide and an array of industry applications such as urban infrastructure and real estate, rural housing, commercial construction, greenhouse structures and engineering applications. The company’s vast three-tier distribution network of over 800 distributors is spread across the country, with a presence in over 300 towns and cities.
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.
