GECs
Balaji soap ‘Kitni Mast…’ launching 25 October on MTV
MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms’ youth based Hindi fiction daily (Mon-Thurs) Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi will launch on MTV from 25 October. The time slot has not yet been finalised, but the channel and the production house are likely to pitch it at 8 pm.
MTV, along with Balaji, had conducted across auditions across five cities namely Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Pune and Chandigarh.
“It’s not complex parameters but just a smile, or the glint in someone’s eye that I look for before casting. Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi has not been an exception in that regard,” says Balaji Telefilms creative director Ekta Kapoor, who had shot a promo calling for a nationwide hunt to uncover some new faces to star in the series. The promo was shot under the supervision of an MTV in-house director.
So who are the chosen ones? Says Balaji Deputy Creative Director, Nivedita Basu, “We have been sworn to secrecy by MTV. We cannot divulge the main cast; MTV would be doing it formally very soon.”
Isn’t Manasi Varma (Monalika of Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii) a part of the cast? “No. We have heard the rumours you’re referring to. But I think the girl got mixed up; we were talking to her about some other role,” says Basu, adding, “Among the senior breed, actress-cum-writer Preeti Dayal (of Kittie Party fame) plays one of the main roles.”
Kapoor says that the show would differ from her previous ones in more ways then one. “It will be a mellow drama not a melodrama and it will be youth-based, but the basic set-up of an Indian family would remain. The story is about the growth of a girl Ananya, who comes to Mumbai from a small town. As she grows, we will try to depict that morality is a personal issue and not a mode to crucify others.”
No preaching? First time? “Well, there are many firsts in this programme. So why not this?” says Kapoor, explaining, “Four firsts already. For the first time, we are going on MTV who has never indulged in serials before. Plus for the first time, a serial ever conducted auditions on such a huge scale. And for the first time, the head of a production house shot for a promo.”
The show was scheduled to go on air from August. Why did it get delayed? Basu defends, “I drafted 18 drafts for this show. For obvious reasons, we can’t afford to become soapy. Plus with so much work being done both in Balaji these days (the production house is said to be working on at least five more shows slated to go on air before end of this year), one cannot take the risk of including similar sub-plots in any two ventures. We have to be original and fresh.
We have been sanctioned 39 episodes and we are ready with 18. We have stopped shooting for a while. We’ll see how it goes and then take it from there.”
Is Basu indirectly hinting that they are aiming for an extension? “Why not? If it clicks, logically there could be an extension. Obviously the channel will take the call. We have no issues if they would still demand 39 episodes only. We have a script which would culminate the story in 39 episodes. At the same time, we have kept a provision that we can go further,” Basu stresses.
It would be interesting to see what Kapoor’s first offering to MTV registers on the TRP scale.
Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi has the Kapoor stable etched onto it due to the letter ‘K’, but its name surprises with the lack of spelling mistakes. Kapoor carried off Hum Paanch without numerological help, but now it’s a matter of belief for her. Did her trusted numerologist not ask for a spelling change for the first time? But who knows, knowing her fetish for changing spellings, we still won’t be surprised if we hear something of such kind from her even at the last minute.
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
