MAM
Sameer Nair elevated to Star India COO
The man who is widely regarded as the creative brain behind the rise of Star Plus to its pre-eminent position in India’s channel stakes – Sameer Nair, executive V-P, head of content & communication, Star India – has just had a whole lot more added to his plate. Effective today, Nair is the chief operating officer (COO) of the Rupert Murdoch-promoted numero uno Indian cable and satellite TV network.
One immediate change that Nair’s promotion makes in the executive scheme of things is that Tarun Katial, V-P, programming Star Plus, Star Movies and Star World, will be devoting all his energies now to Star Plus. The new COO revealed that the next two months would be see some additional reorganisation.
Nair joined Star in 1994 in charge of Star Movies. Thereafter he moved on to lead movie acquisitions and headed the on-air promotion and presentation department. In 1999, Nair took over as the programming head of Star Plus and soon became the executive vice-president, programming for the whole network.
While Nair shares with Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea the credit for the phenomenal success of Kaun Banega Crorepati and making Star Plus the No 1 channel, the responsibility of getting Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan to host KBC was entirely his.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, Nair started his career with UDI Yellow Pages in Mumbai where he spent two years. He then moved on to spend another four years at Goldwire, an advertising agency in Chennai. Nair also worked as an independent ad filmmaker in Chennai for a year and a half.
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From mega bills to spontaneous dates: Swiggy Dineout Valentine’s report
From mega bills to last-minute plans, India celebrated love with flair
MUMBAI: Valentine’s Day 2026 was a feast for the senses and wallets alike, according to Swiggy Dineout. India’s on-demand dining platform revealed how the nation celebrated romance with big gestures, lively nights out, and plenty of spontaneous bookings.
Metropolitan hubs continued to rule the roost with Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad seeing the most reservations. Emerging cities aren’t far behind, with Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh joining the party. Growth was particularly striking in Surat (up 180 per cent), Vadodara (155 per cent) and Bhubaneswar (145.5 per cent) compared with the previous Saturday.
Mumbai stole the headlines with a single customer splashing out Rs 130,155 – the highest bill in the country. The city also hosted the largest single group booking, with 30 diners coming together to celebrate in style. Most Valentine’s transactions took place between 10pm and 11pm, proving love, and hunger, strike late.
Mumbai stole the spotlight with a mega-spender whose bill made everyone else blush, while savvy diners were cashing in on discounts, including a Pune customer saving 60% and another in Bengaluru saving 50 per cent. Fine dining was on fire, with bookings up 121 per cent year-on-year, though pubs, bars, and lounges remained the crowd favourites, accounting for 30.6 per cent of all reservations. Last-minute romance was the order of the day, with 66 per cent of diners booking within two hours of heading out. Together, India saved over Rs 6 crore, proving that love can be grand, yet thrifty.
Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi led the premium dining rush, showing a growing appetite for curated, high-end experiences. Meanwhile, spontaneous bookings reinforced modern lifestyles, where convenience and instant gratification rule the day.
Whether it was big spends, huge groups, or a last-minute romantic dash, Valentine’s Day 2026 proved love and dining go hand in hand – and sometimes, they go all out.
