MAM
Pandit hits the write note with memoir on adland, music and more
MUMBAI: From the buzz of boardrooms to the rhythm of raag, Bipin R. Pandit’s journey finally finds its hardcover harmony. At Goafest 2025, amidst Abby cheers and industry nostalgia, The Advertising Club’s beloved COO Bipin R. Pandit launched his long-anticipated biography titled Impassioned. The launch wasn’t just ceremonial, it marked the culmination of 28 years spent scripting not just award shows, but a legacy in Indian advertising’s cultural corridors.
Released by Ad Club President and Havas India group CEO for SEA & North Asia, Rana Barua, the book dropped during the 58th edition of the Abby Awards, a fitting venue, given Pandit has helmed 28 editions himself.
But Impassioned is no dry professional recollection. Co-authored by Gokul Krishnamoorthy and supported by Gour Gupta’s Tribes, the book oscillates between Pandit’s rise from Castrol’s data division to becoming the backbone of India’s most prominent advertising secretariat and his other passions: cricket, Kishore Kumar and Khumaar, the live music IP he founded.
It also swings into his personal innings, including a rooftop romance in Dadar that turned into a lifelong partnership. Reflections from industry stalwarts Piyush Pandey, Prasoon Joshi, Ramesh Narayan and Barua himself add emotional resonance to a story that’s both deeply personal and distinctly adland.
The book also traces the birth of now-iconic properties like the Effies and Emvies, first conceptualised under Pandit’s watch in 2001 as part of a three-day Mumbai festival alongside the Abbys. Today, these awards stand as pillars of the Indian advertising industry.
“Writing started with a LinkedIn blog post post-Abbys,” Pandit shared. “Rana called me and said ‘You need to make this a book’. The rest, as they say, got written.”
Barua added, “Bipin’s been the pulse of the Club steady, smiling and always switched on. This book lets us meet the man behind the magic.”
Adding heart to history, Pandit has pledged 10 per cent of all proceeds from Impassioned to the Light of Life Foundation, which supports underprivileged communities.
From overseeing award ceremonies to belting out old classics, from managing committees to cricket trivia debates Bipin R. Pandit hasn’t just worked in adland, he’s lived it. And now, finally, it’s all on record with rhythm, recall and a whole lot of raag.
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.
