MAM
Pocket FM dials up its brand game as Adityan Kayalakal tunes in
MUMBAI: If careers had soundtracks, Adityan Kayalakal’s would be a genre-blending mixtape and his latest track begins at Pocket FM, where he has joined as vice president for brand. For someone who has spent years straddling sport, streaming, edtech, fintech and Web3, returning to entertainment feels less like a move and more like a homecoming. “Feels incredible to return to entertainment,” he shared, summing up a journey shaped by platforms that travel, connect and stay.
Kayalakal steps into the Mumbai-based, hybrid-role in December 2025, bringing with him a decade-plus of brand-building that has hopped across industries but stayed rooted in one instinct: understanding what makes audiences stop, watch, listen and come back for more.
Before Pocket FM, he helmed marketing at Jupiter, where he spent seven months steering brand strategy for the fintech challenger. But his sharpest growth sprint came at Veera, where he was a founding team member and eventually Head of Marketing & GTM. The Web3 browser rocketed to 4 million users in its first year, clocking 1 million MAUs, 500k WAUs, 100k DAUs, and an average of 13 plus minutes spent per user per day numbers that placed it among the fastest-growing Web3 applications globally. The brand’s breakthrough campaigns from the see-through ‘Toilet’ installation to the giant ‘Cashpile’ didn’t just win awards; they sparked conversation and cemented Veera as a startup to watch in 2024.
Long before Web3 and fintech, Kayalakal was shaping storytelling at scale. At BYJU’S, he led global digital strategy, brand platforms and partnerships, delivering some of the company’s most high-impact campaigns. His slate included unveiling Lionel Messi as the face of BYJU’S social initiative; orchestrating communication for the BYJU’S x FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 partnership, which fetched 4 billion eyeballs; and driving the “Education For All” campaign to 100 million views. His sports-led anthems from Kerala Blasters to the Indian men’s and women’s cricket teams collectively racked up hundreds of millions of views.
But perhaps his most formative years were at the NBA, where he headed content and then digital and distribution partnerships for South Asia. In barely two weeks, he created 350 plus content pieces for the first-ever NBA India Games and went on to roll out Hoop Nation, which won Promax Gold and Silver. He also scripted landmark distribution deals with Disney India, DD Sports (driving 70 million new TV viewers), and ultimately a long-term partnership with Viacom18 & Jio helping expand NBA’s footprint across TV, digital, gaming and esports.
Earlier, he held roles across entertainment brands including Hotstar, Movies Now, ESPN and Hasbro’s Transformers, shaping his sense of narrative, culture and consumer behaviour.
With Pocket FM rapidly scaling its audio entertainment ecosystem, Kayalakal’s remit will be to sharpen its brand storytelling, expand its cultural footprint and build the next chapter of a platform that has already redefined long-form audio fiction in India.
For someone who thrives where stories breathe from courtside to crypto to classrooms, Pocket FM seems like the next world where the narrative is waiting to be rewritten. And if his track record is anything to go by, the brand’s next season is about to sound a whole lot louder.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
