GECs
Deepak Dhar cracks the code of India’s format future
MUMBAI: You could say he broke into the session with a punchline instead of a headline. “Is everyone awake?” asked Anil Wanvari, founder and chairman of Indiantelevision.com, before inviting the audience to jog in place. What followed was a lively fireside chat with Deepak Dhar, founder and group chief executive of Banijay Asia, that swiftly shifted gears from banter to business, and from formats to the future.
Dhar, often positioned as the sharp commercial mind of India’s format universe, revealed early that the stereotype misses half the story. Before becoming the rainmaker behind blockbuster franchises, he was a director shaping shows such as Laughter Challenge, Popstar, Khatron Ke Khiladi and the early seasons of Bigg Boss. “If the story is not right, there is no business around it,” he said, emphasising that creativity remains the company’s engine.
On whether Banijay Asia is India’s number one production house, Dhar sidestepped rankings but highlighted its vast footprint. The company creates content across seven to eight Indian languages, long and short formats, vertical videos, micro-dramas and premium series. “We produce everything from Bigg Boss to Night Manager, from Kapil Sharma to Trial by Fire,” he said.
The conversation then moved to the shifts reshaping entertainment consumption. Dhar noted that the last three years have forced creators to unlearn and relearn as audiences move across devices and platforms. This has led to new ventures including Creatia, the company’s Asia-focused content arm, and the Banijay Creator Universe, built to merge premium formats with creator-driven ecosystems on Youtube.
Banijay is also expanding aggressively into live events, sports reality and large-scale global experiences. Dhar highlighted the company’s work on Miss World, the India–Pakistan match opening ceremony, and international partnerships with event-design studios that have crafted spectacles for World Cups, Euro Cups and the Olympics.
A clear ambition surfaced repeatedly, to find Indian stories with global potential. Dhar believes India’s moment mirrors the waves previously enjoyed by Korean, Turkish and Scandinavian content. “The next Narcos or Money Heist should really come from India,” he said, adding that Banijay Asia is scouting journalistic accounts, independent stories and bold formats that can travel across continents.
On the fast-growing FAST channel ecosystem, Dhar confirmed that Banijay Asia owns most of its library, including Bigg Boss seasons across languages, and is exploring ways to make them available as connected TV channels.
AI, unsurprisingly, entered the chat. Dhar dismissed fears of displacement and framed generative tools as accelerators. “It will make the human mind faster, more efficient,” he said, confirming that Banijay has already set up a global AI lab and will begin experimenting with GenAI-driven short-form content in India within months.
Micro-dramas are also a focus area, with three shows already in production through the company’s joint venture with Collective Artists. These will be brand-funded and released primarily on YouTube.
In the Asian market, Banijay’s Creatia division is moving quickly with shows such as Race to Space, where one contestant from Thailand will win a chance to board a Jeff Bezos rocket. Other formats, such as My Chef and Grind from Taiwan, have already sold to Thailand and Indonesia and will debut in India soon.
As the session wrapped, Wanvari teased Dhar about shoes gifted by his daughter, a running joke that bookended the chat as playfully as it began. The mood was buoyant, but Dhar’s roadmap was unmistakably serious: diversify, globalise and push Indian storytelling into orbit.
GECs
Sebi sends show-cause notice to Zee over fund diversion, company responds
Regulator questions 2018 letter of comfort and governance lapses; company vows robust legal response
MUMBAI: India’s markets watchdog has reignited its long-running scrutiny of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, issuing a sweeping show-cause notice that drags the broadcaster and 84 others into a widening governance storm.
The notice, dated February 12, has been served by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to Zee, chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra and managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka, among others. At its heart: allegations that company funds were indirectly routed to settle liabilities of entities linked to the Essel Group.
The regulator’s probe traces its roots to November 2019, when two independent directors resigned from Zee’s board, flagging concerns over the alleged appropriation of fixed deposits by Yes Bank. The deposits were reportedly adjusted against loans extended to Essel Group entities, triggering questions about related-party dealings and board oversight.
A key flashpoint is a letter of comfort dated September 4, 2018, issued by Subhash Chandra in his dual capacity as chairman of Zee and the Essel Group. The document, linked to credit facilities availed by certain group companies from Yes Bank, was allegedly known only to select members of management and not disclosed to the full board—an omission SEBI believes raises red flags over transparency and governance controls.
Zee has pushed back hard. In a statement, the company said it “strongly refutes” the allegations against it and its board members and will file a detailed response. It expressed confidence that SEBI would conduct a fair review and signalled readiness to pursue all legal remedies to protect shareholder interests.
The notice marks the latest twist in a saga that has shadowed the broadcaster since 2019. What began as boardroom unease has morphed into a full-blown regulatory confrontation. The final reckoning now rests with SEBI—but the reputational stakes for Zee, and the message for India Inc on governance discipline, could scarcely be higher.
