MAM
Multi-day, multi-city, multi-genre comedy festival – The Circuit – launched by OML Entertainment
MUMBAI – Comedy’s never been taken this seriously before. OML Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the creators of India’s decade-old and much-loved Happiest Music Festival- Bacardi NH7 Weekender, have announced the first edition of a massive comedy festival called The Circuit. From March 7-15, the festival will travel to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
The lineup for all three cities is out, with all shows for Delhi and Bangalore being live, and part of the Mumbai calendar of shows being out. With a mixture of smaller club shows and auditorium shows, the festival is designed to offer innovative and unique experiences to audiences who enjoy comedy with stand-up comedy in various forms – specially curated lineups, women’s showcases, LGBTQ shows, regional comedy with shows being released for Marathi and Malayalam shows as well as formats such as debates, quizzing, various comedy games and much more. The lineup features over 100 comedians from across the country – for a variety of shows both big and small, with interesting lineups sure to appeal to a wide range of people, including comedians like Aakash Gupta, Rohan Joshi, Radhika Vaz, Tanmay Bhat, Anu Menon, Saikiran, Urjita Wani, Zakir Khan and more.
After kicking off in Delhi and Bangalore on March 7-8, the festival will run in Mumbai from March 11-15. After a packed calendar of shows from March 11-14, the festival will conclude with a grand finale – The Festival Circuit – in Jio Garden on March 15. This event will see a series of different performances by a strong lineup of over 20 comedians, and will be an all day outdoor event with comedy fans getting a taste of various types and formats of comedy. With just one ticket, the audience can see 5 different shows at the grand finale of the festival.
“As OML, we've had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented comedians from around the country and abroad. The Circuit is our celebration of the versatility of the genre and the messages it can hold. It will not only bring together a diverse range of shows from comics to sketch troupes, debates and game formats – but also venues, partners and artists that make the landscape as vibrant as it is. We're proud to be working with curators who have pulled together a great lineup ranging from regional comedy to unique ideas such as roast battles and comedy tag team, making sure there's something for every comedy fan” said Gunjan Arya, CEO, OML Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
OML worked with specific comedy curators to program the festival who brought together new formats of comedy to give a varied experience across venues, comedian styles and cities to put together a festival that distinguishes The Circuit from other comedy events in the country. Rohan Desai said, “We are very excited to be curating this festival that will feature a wide variety of concept shows which will be a unique one-time experience. The jokes and performances you see in these shows will never be repeated again.” Shreemayee Das added, “A few of the concept shows will actually be happening in tournament style – like a cricket world cup. So it will be very interesting to follow the progress of different teams and see which comedians will win the finals.” Reuben Kaduskar said, “This was a very exciting opportunity, because I got the chance to collaborate with artists from all over the country, and from an audience perspective, it's perfect because they get to see some of the best talent all at one place. Other than the game shows, what's unique about this festival is that a lot of the comedians are doing their brand new one hour solo shows for the first time ever.”
Four different show types are on the cards to give different sorts of comedy experience to the . The Club Circuit will have intimate venues with curated programming. The Theatre Circuit will have bigger showcases with a diverse lineup of different comedians performing to bigger audiences. Circuit X shows will have exclusive showcases. The Festival Circuit will see an all day outdoor event at Jio Garden on March 15.
There’s more to be announced with more shows coming soon in Mumbai.
Get ready to do The Circuit of comedy in your city.
Details for shows in all cities can be seen at www.thecircuit.in.
City Specific Pages
Mumbai – https://insider.in/the-circuit-comedy-festival-mumbai/article
Delhi – https://insider.in/the-circuit-comedy-festival-delhi/article
Bangalore – https://insider.in/the-circuit-comedy-festival-bangalore/article
AD Agencies
Omnicom Advertising Asia assembles new regional leadership team
The group is betting that a blend of creative talent, cultural intelligence and AI-driven data can help brands stay relevant in the world’s most complex marketing region.
Asia has long been the market that humbles the overconfident. Omnicom Advertising Asia is determined not to be among them.
The group announced on Monday the formation of a new regional leadership team of six senior executives, reporting to Sean Donovan, president of OA Asia. The structure is designed to help brands navigate a fragmented, fast-moving consumer landscape and build what Donovan calls “long-term cultural relevance” — the kind that survives a news cycle, a platform shift and an algorithm update.
The team
The six appointments span creativity, innovation, strategy, intelligence, business development and marketing, covering the full arc from brand idea to commercial outcome.
Peter Khoury takes on the role of chief creative officer for OA Asia, Melissa Daniels becomes chief innovation officer, and Emmanuel Sabbagh steps up as chief strategy officer. All three take on expanded regional responsibilities while retaining their leadership positions at TBWA\Singapore.
Andreas Krasser broadens his remit to chief client partner for OA Asia, continuing simultaneously as chief executive of OA Hong Kong. Ellie Brocklehurst joins as chief growth and marketing officer, drawing on her previous stint as chief marketing officer for Asia at TBWA. Rounding out the team is S. Subramanyeswar, known in the industry as Subbu, who was appointed chief knowledge officer for OA Asia alongside his role as chief strategy officer of OA India, a position that followed the close of Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG.The pitch
The team will work in close collaboration with leadership across TBWA, McCann and BBDO throughout the OA Asia network, with a brief to cut through the noise of today’s consumer landscape and deliver creative solutions that, in the group’s framing, prove short-term performance while building long-term brand health.
Underpinning the new structure is OMNI, Omnicom’s AI-driven marketing intelligence platform. The platform draws cultural intelligence from across the group’s agency brands, with the stated aim of ensuring that data is not merely accurate but grounded in context — reflecting how people actually think, feel and behave, rather than how a spreadsheet might prefer them to.
Donovan frames the proposition in straightforward terms. “Asia is one of the most complex regions for marketers, but the opportunity here is immense,” he says. “We’ve built a team that simplifies the landscape, combining top talent with an Asia-first, future-focused mindset, and unprecedented access to resources.” The model, he adds, is designed to be plug-and-play, responding to client needs in collaboration with agencies and markets across the region. “More than expertise, it’s about giving clients the perspective, ambition and access to think beyond the next campaign.”
The new structure also strengthens connections across the broader Omnicom family, including its media, production and PR operations — a post-acquisition suite of capabilities that the group is evidently keen to deploy as a single, coherent offering.
In a region where consumer attention is fractured across dozens of platforms, languages and cultures, the real test will not be the org chart. It will be whether six smart people with the right tools can actually make brands matter. Omnicom is putting its money on yes.
