MAM
Devendra Deshpande joins Friday Filmworks as head of digital content, IP
MUMBAI: The head of Content Plus at Mindshare Devendra Deshpande has moved on and joined renowned multi-media production house, Friday Filmworks as head of digital content and IP.
In his new role, Deshpande will create and monetise sustainable and scalable IPs for the ever growing digital/OTT space for domestic and international markets. He will also create new monetisation models around content, including franchising and l&M for Friday Filmworks.
Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia's collaborative venture Friday Filmworks has completed a glorious decade in Indian Cinema. Having being set up in the year 2008, Friday Filmworks has believed in both content and cinematic experience. The journey began with A Wednesday, a film which became a sleeper hit back then and has set trend of content driven films in showbiz. Over the years Friday Filmworks has garnered immense love and appreciation from audience and critics alike. Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia's Friday Filmworks has been a trendsetter in Bollywood. Over the decade it has delivered films like A Wednesday (2008), Special 26 (2013), Total Siyapaa (2014), Rustom (2016), Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017).
Devendra has been a part of GroupM for over eight years, and has served as the head of Mindshare Content Plus for the last three and a half years.
Devendra has 16 plus years of experience in developing long term strategic partnerships through a deep understanding of advertising, social, integrated marketing, consumer insights, and media.
Over the course of his tenure at GroupM, he has worked closely with several top tier brands such as Unilever, Pepsi, GSK, Diageo, Kellogg's amongst others.
MAM
Time brings TIME100 Next franchise to India with Reliance
List to spotlight 100 emerging leaders, gala set for December 2026 in Mumbai.
MUMBAI: It’s about time India’s next wave got a global spotlight and now, it’s on the list. New York-headquartered Time is expanding its TIME100 Next franchise to India, partnering with Reliance Industries Limited to launch TIME100 Next India, its first international extension of the rising leaders platform. The announcement was made at the Time100 Gala in New York by Jessica Sibley and Nita Mukesh Ambani, signalling a strategic push to tap into India’s growing influence across sectors.
The India edition will recognise 100 emerging leaders from the country and the global Indian diaspora, spanning business, science, sports, arts and social impact. The list will be curated by Time’s editorial team and published online, continuing the franchise’s focus on identifying individuals shaping the future.
The initiative will culminate in a gala event scheduled for December 2026 at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, anchoring the platform within India’s cultural and business ecosystem.
TIME’s broader Time100 franchise has steadily expanded its global footprint since 2021 through events and impact-led initiatives. Executives noted that India’s growing pool of influential voices and innovators made it a natural next step for the platform’s international ambitions.
For Reliance, the partnership aligns with its broader push to support emerging talent and ideas on a global stage. For Time, it marks a timely bet on India not just as a market, but as a talent engine shaping the next chapter of global leadership.
