GECs
Bigg Boss 7 takes the road to heaven and hell!
MUMBAI: What do James Bond and Colors’ reality show Bigg Boss share in common? It’s the number 7. In its seventh edition this year, the Endemol-produced Bigg Boss will begin airing from 15 September promising action like ‘never seen before’.
A pointer is the new theme that has been planned for this year’s theme, which plays with the two afterlife abodes – heaven and hell amplifying the message the pleasure of heaven and the pain of hell. And the tag word they have coined for this year is Bigg Boss Saath 7 (Remember Big Boss Five Five and Season 6 Alag Che?).
Says Colors marketing head Rajesh Iyer: “This season Bigg Boss will make sure that you get to see heaven and hell *saath-saath* on Bigg Boss Season 7.”
The teasers that hit TV screens this week show an open gate with one side leading towards heaven and the other towards damnation or hell. And if you look closely at the promos which are on air you will see Sallu aka Salman Khan donning the avatars of an angel and the devil. The campaign will involve print, digital, mobile and below the line mediums. The face behind the TV campaign is Orchard Advertising and Tubelight films.
The number 7 has been incorporated into many aspects apart from the tagline. The number of participants is 14 (2 X 7) and all the action during the show will be captured on 70 cameras. “The message is simple – pleasure or pain: both are inevitable and there is nothing to be taken for granted,” says Iyer.
Inspiration has been taken from the mythological space and the pleasure of heaven has been articulated as ‘wow’ and pain as aao. Khan will be seen his usual cheerful self and being an improviser himself has created his own catchphrase ‘By God.’ Seems to be very pun intended!
Speaking about what made them choose this particular theme this year Orchard Advertising Executive Creative Director Hemant Kumar Sivan says that they had two tasks to deal with: to raise the curiosity and interest levels amongst viewers and to present Khan in a fresh manner.
“We worked with the simple truth of life that, heaven and hell are of man’s own making. It all depends on how one deals with what life has to offer,” he says intending that the inmates are going to face some hell-like situations and only one of them will survive the best of both worlds.
Living up to its reputation of being very interactive on social media, a heaven versus hell interaction will be initiated every day post the trailer launch. “As of now, we are just feeding cues for people to pick up,” says Colors digital head Vivek Srivastava.
Previously, the fifth season saw two biggies Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt, both involved in the promotional campaign with a special music video featuring the two while the sixth season played on the theme alag che (it’s different).
Bigg Boss hasn’t gone without its share of controversies. The year 2011 saw the show go into a slightly negative zone with Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone and the channel was pulled up for using the national anthem to promote the show in movie theaters last year. It hasn’t given up hope but. Even this year it will continue to air its promos on theater screens.
According to Colors CEO Raj Nayak its non-fiction shows generate more traction from advertisers than its fictional shows and Bigg Boss gets some of the biggest brand. However, he adds that it works as a loss leader and the channel has been investing in it because it is a cult show. This apart, it generates a lot of buzz. Estimates are that it is in the region of Rs 15-20 crore.
Going by the lyrics of Black Sabbath’s song if it seems to be real, it’s illusion the happenings in the house surely seem to be on the same path. The number seven is lucky for a lot of people. Will it be the same for the Bigg Boss’ Eye or will it suffer a seven year itch with its viewers?
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.
