Film Production
Aanand L Rai’s Colour Yellow names Harini Lakshminarayan as COO
MUMBAI: Colour Yellow Productions, helmed by filmmaker Aanand L Rai, has appointed Harini Lakshminarayan as chief operating officer. She brings over two decades of experience in IP development, production and strategy to the Mumbai-based production house.
In her new role, Lakshminarayan will oversee strategic operations and business development while maintaining the studio’s focus on storytelling and IP creation. She joins the company as it plans to expand its content slate across markets.
“Harini brings a unique combination of creative foresight and strategic expertise that aligns perfectly with our mission,” said Colour Yellow Productions founder Aanand L Rai. “Together, we will continue to raise the bar for what Indian cinema can achieve in both domestic and global markets.”
Lakshminarayan said she was excited to join the studio known for films like Raanjhanaa, Tanu Weds Manu, and Tumbbad. “Aanand L Rai’s incredible vision for storytelling that consistently pushes boundaries is truly inspiring,” she noted.
The appointment comes as Colour Yellow, established over a decade ago, looks to build on its legacy of creating culturally rooted content that appeals to wider audiences. The studio has previously produced critically acclaimed films like Newton, Mukkabaaz and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan.
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
