MAM
Somil Nijhawan takes charge as CEO of Kun Group
TELANGANA: Kun Group has brought in seasoned automotive leader Somil Nijhawan as its new chief executive officer, marking a major leadership shift for the dealer network across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Nijhawan steps into the role after an accomplished stint steering premium automotive brands to sustained growth and performance.
His move follows more than six and a half years as group president and CEO at Kristan Auto, where he oversaw Audi Gurugram and BYD operations. His tenure was marked by steady profitability, sharper customer focus and consistent KPI wins. He built a culture rooted in trust, transparency, ownership and integrity, while strengthening ties with manufacturers and ensuring immaculate compliance with brand standards.
Under his watch, Audi India repeatedly recognised Kristan Auto with a string of honours including Dealer of the Year, Best Audi Partner, CEO of the Year and top awards across sales and aftersales. BYD India acknowledged the group with accolades such as Excellent Partner, Outstanding Aftersales Service and Sales Champion.
Before Kristan Auto, Nijhawan held key leadership roles at BMW India for almost nine years. He turned around Bird Automotive’s performance as managing director, lifting it from the lower end of dealer rankings to among the top performers. He drove profitability, delivered double digit growth and led the business to cross a turnover of more than Rs 500 crore. His rise through BMW India included impactful stints as regional head for North India, regional manager for West and Central India and area sales manager across multiple zones, consistently outperforming targets.
His earlier experience in auto finance with Kotak Mahindra Prime, ICICI Bank and Citi, combined with a marketing foundation at The Times of India, rounds out a career defined by strategic thinking, financial discipline and a firm grip on customer experience.
With this appointment, Kun Group positions itself for a new phase of expansion and performance. Nijhawan’s track record across luxury brands, his focus on developing people and his ability to revive and scale businesses signal a fresh chapter for the group as it aims to accelerate growth across the Telugu states.
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.
