MAM
Vidya Balan set to play M S Subbulakshmi in biopic
MUMBAI: Known to have directed critically acclaimed Tamil films like Minsara Kanavu and Kandukondain Kandukondain, cinematographer turned director Rajiv Menon has approached Vidya Balan to play noted vocalist and Bharat Ratna awardee M S Subbulakshmi in a biopic to be made on her.
In a message from a distant land where he is currently shooting, Menon stated, “When I narrated the script to Vidya, she has approved of it. Next week, we would be taking the project to the next level after I return to India. At the moment, I am shooting in South Africa.”
It is said that earlier Menon wanted to make a biopic on Lata Mangeshkar but later changed his mind to do the same of Subbulakshmi when he came to know that Vidya, being a keen student of music, would be able to carry out the role encompassing the songstress‘ age-span from 18 to 88 with ease.
According to the director, the Subbulakshmi biopic would be the most costliest ever to be made at an estimated cost of Rs 70 crore in three languages Hindi, Tamil and English.
MAM
Smytten appoints Shishir Varma as CEO of Pulseai Research
Rebranded AI platform scales with 150 plus clients and 30 million users.
MUMBAI: In a world obsessed with what consumers say, Smytten is betting on what they actually do. The company has appointed Shishir Varma as chief executive officer of Pulseai Research, signalling a sharper push into AI-led, behaviour-driven consumer insights. The move comes as Smytten rebrands its insights vertical from Smytten PulseAI to Pulseai Research, marking a shift away from traditional, project-based research towards a more continuous, intelligence-led model.
Varma brings over 30 years of global experience across APAC markets, including India, China and Japan. Most recently managing director, Insights at Kantar Japan, he has built and scaled consumer insight businesses across geographies, including playing a key role in establishing Millward Brown in India. His mandate now: turn Pulseai into a category-defining platform in a space still dominated by surveys and static reports.
The pitch is straightforward but ambitious. Instead of relying on claimed responses, Pulseai Research taps into observed behaviour leveraging Smytten’s ecosystem of 30 million users built over a decade of product discovery, trials and purchases. The idea is to close the long-standing gap between what consumers claim and how they actually behave.
The numbers suggest early traction. In under 18 months, the platform has onboarded over 150 enterprise clients across sectors, pointing to growing demand for faster, more reliable alternatives to legacy research models.
Under the hood, the platform blends behavioural data with AI and large language model-led analysis to deliver real-time sentiment tracking, scalable qualitative insights, faster quantitative studies and always-on brand intelligence. In practical terms, that means compressing research timelines from weeks to days without sacrificing depth.
The ambition extends beyond FMCG. Pulseai Research is positioning itself as a cross-category intelligence layer, spanning auto, education, gadgets and emerging consumer segments anywhere behaviour-rich data can sharpen decision-making.
For Smytten, the leadership hire is less about optics and more about direction. With Varma at the helm, the company is leaning into a simple but powerful premise: in the age of AI, insight isn’t just about asking better questions, it’s about watching more closely.
