MAM
Tobacco ads surface in May issues of some mags
MUMBAI: More than a week after the ban on tobacco advertising came into effect, there still seems to be confusion and uncertainty over the dos and don’ts of the ban. Another debate that has risen around the issue is that of the presence of full page colour ads of tobacco products like Gopal Zarda and Babul Zafrani Zarda in the May issues of magazines like Filmfare and Chitralekha.
The Gopal Zarda ad in question in Chitralekha’s 3 May issueThe argument that the concerned magazines put forth was that their magazine issue hit the stands almost 10 days before the date of issue which is printed on the magazine. Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Chitralekha’s chief editor Bharat Kapadia explained, “Our 3 May issue which carried the tobacco ads was closed in April and hit the stands on 24 April itself. The magazine issue is dated for our convenience only.” Kapadia further said that the ban was on the advertisers restraining them from advertising their product and not on the media.
Chitralekha’s one full page colour ad cost Rs 72,500 and with the ban coming into effect the magazine will undergo a revenue loss of almost Rs 4.2 – 4.5 million. “We cannot help the loss of revenue with the implementation of the ban. While there is no substitute for tobacco products, we will try and expand our base to cover up for the loss,” said Kapadia. Keeping aside the ban that will monetarily affect him and his magazine, Kapadia who is the chairman of the Advertising Standards Council (ASC) of India is personally in favour of the ban and is happy that it has finally come into effect.
The Babul Zarda ad in the May issue of Filmfare magazine
While no official statement was forthcoming from Filmfare; sources in the magazine did reveal the same as Kapadia that the May issue of Filmfare had already hit the stands in mid-April. A full page colour ad in Filmfare costs as much as Rs 1,40,000. So the loss of revenue can be well imagined.
On the other hand an unforthcoming Outlook vice president advertising R Rajmohan when queried about how stringent the ban seemed to be considering the fact that May issues of some magazines carry such ads said, “I cannot comment on this as I haven’t seen the magazines you are referring to.” When questioned further about Outlook’s policy on the ban Rajmohan said matter of factly, “We will not carry any ads which are banned.”
In the wake of this, it may also be recalled that indiantelevision.com had earlier reported on how the Indian government which brought about this ban on promotional activities of tobacco and tobacco-related products was clueless about the effective implementation and monitoring of the ban and still doesn’t have a proper mechanism in place for the same.
Also notable is the fact that Chitralekha’s website www.chitralekha.com hosted a cricket contest during the Indo Pak cricket series called ‘Live from Pakistan’ Cricket IQ series which was sponsored by Babul Zarda (which can still be seen on the website). While this particular contest does not violate any rules since it took place before the ban was implemented, it is a matter of debate whether the ads in the May issue of the magazines breach the law or not.
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.
