Film Production
Balaji Telefilms merger proposal for ALT Digital and Marinating Films with itself gets NCLT sanction
MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms has received the green light from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, for its Composite Scheme of Arrangement that merges its wholly owned subsidiaries — Alt Digital Media Entertainment and Marinating Films — into the parent company. The appointed date for the merger has been set as 1 April 2024.
The scheme, sanctioned under sections 230–232 of the Companies Act, aims to simplify the group structure, slash redundancies, and boost operating efficiency across its content empire — from streaming platform ALTT to reality show production and IP development.
According to the tribunal’s order, the merged entity will benefit from economies of scale, unified cash flow management, and enhanced resource optimisation — all under the Balaji banner, which is already listed on NSE and BSE. No shares will be issued, given the transferor companies are fully owned by the transferee.
The consolidation brings together:
* Alt Digital, home to subscription-based OTT content under the ALTT brand;
* Marinating Films, known for unscripted and event IP;
* and Balaji Telefilms, India’s leading producer of Hindi and regional TV content.
The merger was approved by shareholders at an April 2025 meeting and has cleared all statutory hurdles, including SEBI, BSE, NSE and tax authorities. The company has also settled creditor objections and responded to pending GST disputes, with all liabilities transferring to Balaji Telefilms post-merger.
In short, Balaji is scripting a cleaner, leaner, and meaner future — bringing its IP under one tent to better play the platform and profit game. The final step? Filing the certified order with the Registrar of Companies, which will trigger the scheme’s effective date.
More drama, less duplication — just the way Ekta Kapoor likes it.
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.
