MAM
82 per cent Indians see TV/OTT impact on mental health perception: Survey
Mumbai: Cinema influences culture with the power to shape perception and impact societal beliefs, cinema remains a catalyst to drive cultural change. Mental well-being in recent years has gained some prominence in broadcast content but the need to make it a more proactive conversation continues. To address this, ITC Fiama’s recent survey highlights the need to explore a more positive portrayal of mental well-being in cinema and entertainment.
The Feel Good with Fiama Mental Well-being Survey, 2023 revealed that better portrayal of mental health in cinema would influence perceptions and drive conversations – 82 per cent of the survey respondents felt that TV/OTT can be instrumental in influencing perceptions about mental health, 77 per cent believed that TV/Movies and OTT content can drive mental health conversations. To augment the conversation further and help influence perceptions at scale, in a first in the cinema and TV/OTT content awards fraternity in India, ITC Fiama collaborated with India’s premier film platform Filmfare to announce a special recognition for the sensitive portrayal of mental health in cinema.
At the Filmfare OTT Awards 2023, ITC Fiama and Filmfare announced this special recognition and in its debut year, it was deservedly won by Director Anvita Dutt for her sensitive portrayal of intergenerational mental health issues in her critically acclaimed film ‘Qala’.
A Filmfare representative, states, “Filmfare is a pioneer and has many firsts to its credit. With the power cinema holds to break the stigma around mental health, we are elated to have collaborated with ITC Fiama to acknowledge the movie ‘Qala’. It is a step forward in the direction of sparking a dialogue around a sensitive subject. We hope that the recognition encourages more filmmakers and content creators to initiate more conversations around the subject.”
Commenting on the win of her film ‘Qala’ and the need for positive portrayal of mental health in cinema, Director Anvita Dutt said, “I really like stories where women save themselves. But sometimes we have to tell stories where they can’t. We therefore spin yarns that are thinly disguised veils over such uncomfortable truths, hoping that people understand and recognize it as a cry of help. That is what I tried to do with my story and I thank ITC Fiama and Filmfare for appreciating the intent behind my film. We often forget to ask for help, not knowing there are people on the other side willing to provide it, even if it’s you, yourself.”
ITC Limited divisional chief executive personal care products business Sameer Satpathy adds, “Cinema has been instrumental in shaping beliefs and perception in society, making it intrinsic to our culture. Our effort to make mental health a more proactive conversation continues with the first-ever special award for the portrayal of mental health in the movies. The collaboration with Filmfare marks a significant step for Fiama to reinforce our commitment to raise awareness on mental well-being and encourage positive conversations around it.”
ITC Fiama in collaboration with The Minds Foundation, has also launched its first Virtual Clinic. The Virtual Clinic is designed to enable affordable access to mental health therapy delivered by licensed professionals. It is an appropriate platform that encourages individuals to seek help in an intimate virtual space without the fear of embarrassment or the prevailing stigma. The MINDS Foundation has specially put together a team of highly qualified therapists for the Virtual Clinic, thereby, offering expert advice, therapy, and counselling at the convenience of one’s privacy.
Register here for a professionally qualified therapist consultation from Minds Foundation at an affordable fee of just Rs 300/- per session.
The ITC Feel Good with Fiama Mental Wellbeing Survey 2023 was conducted with 800 men and women between the ages of 16-45 years across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. The survey was conducted by NeilsenIQ in September 2023.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
