MAM
Celebrity-fan engagement start-up Gonuts raises seed round from Sweta Rau, Archana Priyadarshini, 9Unicorns and others
Gonuts, Asia’s largest and most influential celebrity commerce platform has raised 3.5 Crore in seed funding led by marquee investors Sweta Rau and Archana Priyadarshini. 9Unicorns, AngelList, Lets Venture, Pankaj Chaddah( Co-Founder, Mindhouse & Zomato), Ramakant Sharma, (Co-Founder, LivSpace), IIM Indore Alumni Fund, Harshal Morde, (Morde Foods Pvt. Ltd.) and other marquee angels and founders also participated in this round.
Founded by serial entrepreneurs Vinamra Pandiya and Mayank Gupta along with Media & Entertainment veteran Joji George in March 2020, GoNuts aims to bridge the gap between celebrities and their millions of fans, and democratise talent to the Indian and expatriate Indian diaspora. Gonuts has a long term vision of creating India's largest celebrity experience e-commerce platform.
GoNuts has a portfolio of over 700 of the leading celebrities, most of them exclusive on Gonuts, across categories like films, television, sports and music, amongst others, available on its platform. This gives users a diverse range of celebrities to choose from to convey personalized messages to their loved ones. The platform has leading celebrities exclusive on the platform which includes Shankar Mahadevan, Hans Raj Hans, Shaan, Kailash Kher, Sukhbir, Talat Aziz, Shibani Kashyap, Hariharan, Sivamani, Shivin Narang, Jonty Rhodes, Sumeet Verma, Ranveer Brar Ashish Vidyarthi and Vicky Ratnani.
Vinamra Pandiya, Founder, Gonuts said that “Our plan is to strengthen our market leadership and follow through on our vision to be Asia’s largest and most influential celebrity commerce platform. We feel that investments in the right team, technology and other levers of growth is very important and will be our immediate priority. We aim to on-board 5000+ of the most influential and inspirational celebrities by the next financial year and be the unicorn out of India in this category for the rest of the world.”
Sweta Rau, Angel and Venture Investor, White Ventures said that “Experiences are so much more valuable than anything else. Gonuts is creating category in by building marketplace that help create experiences of joy, excitement and fun. It is making it easy for fans and influencers/celebrities connect in a deeper way through personalised videos to begin with.”
Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, MD & Co-founder – 9Unicorns, said, “Indians are quite passionate about the celebrities that they follow. And yet, the influence that they hold over the masses has largely been untapped by brands. The team at GoNuts is creating a disruption in this field by delivering curated celebrity experiences. We are confident in its potential to achieve rapid scale. As brands look to bounce back from the pandemic by using newer ways of engaging with their audiences, we are confident that GoNut’s array of offerings will achieve greater traction in the market.”
The uniqueness of the platform is its ability to connect the Indian and global Indian diaspora to talent across genres that are multi- lingual and also at multi segmented price points.
MAM
Filmcity Media CFO Mohit Jain quits; CEO Kirti Vishnu Tiwari takes charge of finance
Board appoints Prabhat Modi as additional director and approves Rs 1.9 crore preferential share issue
MUMBAI: Filmcity Media has reshuffled its top deck. Chief financial officer Mohit Jain has stepped down, prompting the board to hand the finance reins to chief executive Kirti Vishnu Tiwari even as the company lines up fresh capital and new boardroom muscle.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE, Filmcity Media said Jain resigned from the roles of director and chief financial officer with effect from March 11, 2026, to pursue another career opportunity. He ceased to be a key managerial personnel of the company at the close of business on that date.
The board swiftly moved to plug the gap, appointing Kirti Vishnu Tiwari as chief financial officer from March 12, 2026. Tiwari, who already serves as executive director and chief executive, will now hold the combined role of executive director, CEO and CFO, taking charge of the company’s finance function while continuing to lead operations.
The leadership changes were approved by the board following recommendations from the nomination and remuneration committee, with the audit committee also backing Tiwari’s appointment as CFO to ensure governance oversight. Under the arrangement, Tiwari will continue as a key managerial personnel under Section 203 of the Companies Act, 2013.
Filmcity Media also expanded its board, appointing Prabhat Modi as additional director with effect from March 13, 2026, for a term of five years. The appointment, categorised as a non-executive non-independent directorship, will require shareholder approval at the next general meeting.
Modi brings capital market experience to the role. He holds a B.Sc in accounting and finance from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and a PGDM from the National Institute of Securities Market. His professional experience includes stints at SBI Mutual Fund, BSE India and Morningstar India, where he worked on market research, financial analysis and capital market operations.
Tiwari, meanwhile, brings experience spanning finance, marketing and hospitality. A graduate of Lucknow University, she has previously worked with Hotel Holiday Inn, Hotel Leela Kempenski and Hotel Sea Rock, along with roles at Pawan Hans Helicopter and CBRE South Asia.
Separately, the board also approved a preferential issue of equity shares to members of the promoter and promoter group as well as non-promoter investors. The proposed fundraising, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to raise up to Rs 1.9 crore.
The company said both appointees meet all regulatory requirements under SEBI regulations and the Companies Act and are not barred by any regulatory authority from holding their positions.
With a new board face, a CEO doubling as CFO and fresh capital on the table, Filmcity Media appears to be tightening its leadership and balance sheet in one swift move.
