iWorld
Airtel, Jio have bid for assets of Aircel
MUMBAI: Leading telecom players Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio both have bid to separately purchase assets of bankrupt telecom operator Aircel. According to a Mint report, lenders to Aircel are keener on a lump sum sale to a single party which could get better value of the assets.
The telecom operator Aircel Cellular Ltd and Dishnet Wireless Ltd, together known as Aircel, owe about Rs 50,000 crore to creditors which includes Rs15,545 crore debt to financial creditors and about Rs 35,000 crore to operational creditors.
Several factors worked as the catalyst to the telecom operator’s downfall. At a time when it was already trying to take a breath in the highly competitive sector after entry of Reliance Jio, the latter called off its plan to merge its wireless business with Aircel, citing legal and regulatory uncertainties. The move made the situation worse.
According to the report, Airtel is the sole bidder for Aircel’s spectrum assets and Jio is the sole bidder for the telecom towers. Jio is also in the race for Aircel’s fibre assets, along with Sterlite Industries, private equity firm I Squared Capital, and distressed asset fund Aion Capital.
Deloitte is reportedly happy with the outcome. Four weeks will be taken to know the final result while bids for the asset closed on Monday.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
