MAM
Endemol Shine Group, DoveTail Media and Shekhar Kapur to bring best-selling novels The Ibis Trilogy to worldwide market
MUMBAI: Global content creator, producer and distributor Endemol Shine Group today announces the development of a major high-end production for the international market.
Shekhar Kapur, the award-winning film director behind ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ as well as Bollywood smash hits ‘Mr. India’, ‘Masoom’ and ‘Bandit Queen’ has signed a deal with Endemol Shine Group to bring to life the trilogy of best-selling novels by acclaimed author Amitav Ghosh.
Ghosh’s masterpiece, which begins with ‘Sea of Poppies’, continues with ‘River of Smoke’ and concludes with ‘Flood of Fire’, has already achieved classic status and is seen as a landmark of twenty-first century literature.
The agreement also brings together Endemol Shine Group companies, Artists Studio (‘The Fall’) and Endemol Shine India (‘Test Case’) who will produce the drama in partnership with TV packaging consultancy service DoveTale Media who initially acquired the rights to the books.
Justin Pollard, whose credits include the blockbuster ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise as well as hit television series ‘Vikings’ and ‘The Tudors’, is on board as Historical Consultant and Story Editor. Set in mid-nineteenth century Asia, the series will interweave the lives of vividly drawn characters against the backdrop of the opium wars between Britain, India and China. The team is in the process of lining up a lead writer.
Abhishek Rege CEO, Endemol shine India said “We at Endemol Shine India have been focused developing quality content not just the Indian market but something that would elicit curiosity from a global audience. This is the first step in that direction. The Ibis Trilogy project will be an amalgamation of the best global creative and production talent, including Endemol Shine India, Artists Studio, Dove Tale Media, Amitav Gosh, Lars Blomgren and Shekhar Kapur!"
Shekhar Kapur adds; “I have always been fascinated that the drug trade was the engine for the Industrial Revolution. Amitav Gosh's books brilliantly bring out the vast epic and emotional tale of opium, from its beginnings in India where it is grown and onto China where it is pushed by drug lords. The story also follows the journeys of indentured labour from India to colonies around the world and tells the intriguing tales of people from India, America and China at a time when modern history was being formed. I’m very much looking forward to collaborating with Endemol Shine in this gripping series that could run into many seasons.”
Lars Blomgren, Head of Scripted for EMEA at Endemol Shine Group says; “Our ambition is to create a major high-end franchise for the international market, matching the scale and epic sweep of the Ibis novels. This deal represents our Group collaborating at its best, creating an exotic, never before seen tale with wide audience appeal. Shekhar Kapur completes the exclusive package and we’re expecting great interest in bringing this to the global audience.”
Lars Blomgren was appointed Head of Scripted EMEA in 2018 and is charged with enhancing Endemol Shine Group’s premium offering through increased collaboration, shared investment and opportunities across the Group.
Last year Endemol Shine Group’s unparalleled network of award-winning scripted producers and companies across markets in Europe, Middle East and Asia were responsible for 50 non-English language productions.
Recent and forthcoming series include Norway’s Beforeigners (HBO Europe), Sweden’s Beartown (HBO Europe), The Idhun Memories (Netflix), Cathedral of the Sea (Antena 3/ TV3/ Netflix) and Matadero (Antena 3) from Spain, The Oldenheim Twelve (RTL4) and Lois (NPO1) from the Netherlands, Germany’s Dark (Netflix) and Pagan Peak (Sky Deutschland), France’s Insoupconnable (TF1) and Guyanne (Canal+), Italy’s While I Was Away (Rai Uno) and Queens (Hot) and Just for Today (Yes) from Israel.
MAM
Smytten appoints Shishir Varma as CEO of Pulseai Research
Rebranded AI platform scales with 150 plus clients and 30 million users.
MUMBAI: In a world obsessed with what consumers say, Smytten is betting on what they actually do. The company has appointed Shishir Varma as chief executive officer of Pulseai Research, signalling a sharper push into AI-led, behaviour-driven consumer insights. The move comes as Smytten rebrands its insights vertical from Smytten PulseAI to Pulseai Research, marking a shift away from traditional, project-based research towards a more continuous, intelligence-led model.
Varma brings over 30 years of global experience across APAC markets, including India, China and Japan. Most recently managing director, Insights at Kantar Japan, he has built and scaled consumer insight businesses across geographies, including playing a key role in establishing Millward Brown in India. His mandate now: turn Pulseai into a category-defining platform in a space still dominated by surveys and static reports.
The pitch is straightforward but ambitious. Instead of relying on claimed responses, Pulseai Research taps into observed behaviour leveraging Smytten’s ecosystem of 30 million users built over a decade of product discovery, trials and purchases. The idea is to close the long-standing gap between what consumers claim and how they actually behave.
The numbers suggest early traction. In under 18 months, the platform has onboarded over 150 enterprise clients across sectors, pointing to growing demand for faster, more reliable alternatives to legacy research models.
Under the hood, the platform blends behavioural data with AI and large language model-led analysis to deliver real-time sentiment tracking, scalable qualitative insights, faster quantitative studies and always-on brand intelligence. In practical terms, that means compressing research timelines from weeks to days without sacrificing depth.
The ambition extends beyond FMCG. Pulseai Research is positioning itself as a cross-category intelligence layer, spanning auto, education, gadgets and emerging consumer segments anywhere behaviour-rich data can sharpen decision-making.
For Smytten, the leadership hire is less about optics and more about direction. With Varma at the helm, the company is leaning into a simple but powerful premise: in the age of AI, insight isn’t just about asking better questions, it’s about watching more closely.
