MAM
PR Professionals appoints Rajveer Ahuja as director – film & entertainment
Mumbai: PR Professionals, the flagship of PRP Group has appointed Rajveer Ahuja as director of its film and entertainment division to enhance its presence in the industry.
Ahuja brings over two decades of experience in filmmaking, writing, and direction, with notable roles as an actor and writer in Gollu Aur Pappu and as a dialogue writer for Fugly, which introduced Kiara Advani. His portfolio includes contributions to award-winning films like Modi ji ki Beti, Cheel Gadi (Flying Wagon), Girl in Red, Mukti, Peanut Butter, Lonely Girl: A Psychological Thriller, The Gift, Tera Mera Pyar Amar, and The Last Show.
Ahuja also produced all seasons of the musical series Bhoomi by Salim-Sulaiman, known for featuring Indian musicians. As part of Bhoomi 2024, Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan have collaborated on a new song, Chhaila. In advertising, Ahuja has produced the JBL ad featuring AR Rahman and directed the Matrix Forex commercial with Shahrukh Khan.
With Ahuja leading the film & entertainment division, PR Professionals aims to expand its influence in the entertainment sector, focusing on creative innovation and strategic partnerships.
PR Professionals founder & MD Dr Sarvesh Tiwari shared “We are excited to welcome Rajveer to lead our Film & Entertainment division. His extensive experience, visionary approach, and passion for storytelling align with our goals of creating impactful content and fostering growth in the entertainment industry. We are confident that this strategic expansion will enhance our capabilities and elevate our work to new heights.”
Ahuja shared, “I am happy to be a part of PR Professionals which has grown phenomenally in the past. I am thrilled to lead their films and entertainment division and take it forward to newer heights.”
The Films and Entertainment division of PR Professionals has managed publicity and promotions for Bollywood hits like Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar with Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, and Dream Girl 2 with Ayushmann Khurana and Ananya Pandey.
Founded in 2011, PR Professionals is an integrated communications agency focused on branding and public relations. The agency supports businesses in achieving market presence and engages in philanthropic activities. Confianza Consulting, part of PRP Group, provides human resource solutions, including talent acquisition, performance management, and compliance. PRP Group has expanded to 12 offices in India and six international locations.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
