Brands
PVR opens three screen multiplex in Kolhapur
MUMBAI: Multiplex player PVR has opened a new multiplex at DYP City Mall in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
The three screens multiplex with a seating capacity of 726, enabled with state of art technology and 3D technology with 7.1, became operational from 22 October.
With the opening of this multiplex at Kolhapur, PVR’s screen count in Maharashtra has touched 138 across 34 properties. Pan India, the multiple chain now operates 477 screens at 107 locations across 44 cities in 15 states and 1 Union Territory.
PVR joint managing director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli said, “Our debut in Kolhapur is an earnest attempt to bring in the multiplex culture to the city. We want to make sure that the best in class cinematic experience is accessible to all our patrons, not only metros but to tier 2, tier 3 cities.”
“Kolhapur is a film city for the cinema lovers and we see tremendous scope and potential in this market to launch our property. I would like to extend my gratitude to the mall developers, Mr Sanjay Dnyan Deo Patil of DYP Group, who has provided us the most suitable location – in the heart of the town, which is easily accessible to our patrons not only in Kolhapur, but also in adjoining cities like Belgaum, Bhiwandi, Ichalkarangi etc,” he added.
PVR Cinemas CEO Gautam Dutta said, “From being an industrial hub for the entrepreneurs, to a favourite tourist destination for the explorers; Kolhapur breeds a population with varied interests. But one thing, which binds everyone is cinema; no wonder that the city plays a host to so many important film festivals. This is PVR’s debut project in Kolhapur.”
The opening of this cinema is a part of PVR’s organic growth strategy of PAN India expansion and increasing its presence in major cities.
Brands
Rakesh Menon joins Paytm as avp – lending
Fintech product leader takes on new role after building digital lending, payments and credit products across fintech ecosystem
MUMBAI: Rakesh Menon has joined Paytm as assistant vice president – lending, taking on a new role focused on strengthening the company’s lending and credit products.
Prior to this, Menon worked at Profectus Capital Pvt Ltd as chief manager – payments based financing and digital lending.
At Profectus, he designed and launched digital credit products for merchants with variable cash flows, including overdraft-linked and revenue-share lending models. He led end-to-end LOS–LMS API integrations with payment partners and aggregators, enabling real-time underwriting, disbursal and repayment workflows.
He also worked on funnel optimisation initiatives using journey analytics, improving onboarding, KYC and disbursal conversion by 35 per cent. He developed ecosystem partnerships for transaction-data-based credit assessment and automated settlement systems, and collaborated with credit and data science teams to strengthen risk models and early delinquency detection.
Menon standardised partner onboarding and API frameworks, reducing go-live timelines by 40 per cent and improving digital scalability.
Before Profectus Capital, he worked at PayU as senior manager – presales lead – enterprise business from August 2022 to August 2023. He set up a national presales function for fintech and digital commerce clients, aligning solutions such as EMI, BNPL, BBPS and offer engines to merchant requirements.
He also helped improve conversion rates by around 15 per cent through merchant persona mapping, demo frameworks and structured sales playbooks, working closely with product and go-to-market teams.
From April 2019 to July 2022, Menon served as business unit head – SMB – direct acquisitions at Worldline, where he built the SMB online payments vertical from scratch. The business scaled to Rs 2,500 crore in annual transaction volume, growing at 45 per cent year-on-year.
During this period, he introduced paperless onboarding processes including eKYC and eSign, developed partner dashboards and CRM automation systems, and integrated platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and Tally to expand merchant adoption.
Across roles, Menon has worked across digital lending, payments and merchant financing, with experience in product development, ecosystem partnerships, API integrations and fintech-led growth strategies.
At Paytm, he will focus on scaling lending products and strengthening digital credit infrastructure within the company’s financial services ecosystem.
His appointment comes as fintech firms continue to expand their lending and embedded finance offerings in a competitive market.
