MAM
Policybazaar redefines strength: Celebrating courage in mental health battles
Mumbai: In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Policybazaar, an insurance platform, launches a brand film. Through the self-narrated story of Kargil war hero, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Winner, Major General Vikram Dogra, the film brings out the critical importance of prioritizing mental health and coping with conditions like depression. Traditionally, talking openly about mental health has been associated with weakness and is often even looked down upon. This campaign brings a much-needed shift in perspective as it portrays an army officer, who fits the textbook definition of strength, discussing just how much courage it takes to battle through mental health issues.
The film starts with Major General Vikram Dev Dogra thinking back on all the medals that he has earned in his inspiring life journey. He says that the real value of an otherwise ordinary-looking medal lies in how hard one fights to earn it. He has a plethora of bravery awards and accolades to his name – but he says that the medal most precious to him is the one he gave to himself for winning his battle against depression at the very peak of his career. He is shown to be narrating his journey from depression to health as a mental health champion with pride to an auditorium filled with keen listeners. The equally important subtext brought out in the film is that recognizing and addressing the condition helped him achieve his potential. He even became the first serving army officer to complete the Ironman Triathlon 2018 held in Europe at the age of 60.
Policybazaar.com head of brand marketing Samir Sethi said, “This film is our way of helping Indians rethink the concept of strength and give mental health its due importance. Mental conditions like depression among others are extremely common and it’s really sad that many of those who suffer don’t seek the required medical help – often because of the stigma attached to it. Over the past few years, the Health Insurance industry has embraced the criticality of mental health. In October 2022, IRDAI had mandated that all health insurance products must cover mental illness. When we have such thoughtful initiatives and the right products in place, then true stories like Major General Vikram Dogra’s can help customers move beyond social barriers and get the right medical assistance”.
The film concludes on a pitch-perfect note as it calls the fight against mental health issues “Himmat ki policy”, driving home the point that battling a condition like depression and prioritizing mental health require immense courage. In a country where 1 in 20 people suffer from depression, such narratives can make a real difference.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
