Hindi
Carnival Motion Pictures to get into mainline content generation & distribution, says chairman
MUMBAI: It was an occasion to revisit memories as cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar launched the trailer of ‘Sachin – A Billion Dreams’ in Mumbai. Following the launch, Tendulkar had an exclusive screening of the trailer on Extraaa Innings T20 on Sony Max.
Carnival Group founder and chairman, and co-producer of the film Dr Shrikant Bhasi said, “I’ve always been keen to the idea of bringing the marvel of Sachin on the silver screen with the legend itself making his big debut. Carnival Cinemas will make sure that the movie reaches audience all across the country across all strata, as Sachin is a phenomenon everywhere.” He further adds, “Carnival Motion Pictures intends to begin its innings in mainline content generation and distribution, with this being an amazing start. There are many more interesting projects in pipeline that we will announce soon in the next few weeks.”
The crowded auditorium in Juhu, Mumbai, was witness to the love that the master blaster commands as the audience cheered and applauded after the first screening of the trailer. Also present at the launch were the director, James Erskine who had flown down from the UK specially to attend the trailer launch. The producer Ravi Bhagchandka of 200NotOut, and Shrikant Bhasi, Founder and Chairman of Carnival Group also shared the dias with Sachin Tendulkar and James Erskine after the screening of the trailer.
The chants of ‘Sachin, Sachin… Sachin, Sachin!’ from the trailer were still echoing in their ears as the MC Vikram Sathaye called the cricket legend to the dias to speak about the trailer and the upcoming film.
As Sachin settled down to answer questions, he was joined by the director James Erskine, and producers, Ravi Bhagchandka, Shrikant Bhasi and Anil Thadani.
Answering questions, Tendulkar said, “This film has helped me relive the important moments of my life through its making! I remain a private person but realised that there is much I have not revealed or spoken about, to those who have been instrumental to my life and career, especially my fans. I hope the film will be yet another avenue for fans who have showered their love and blessings on me, to cherish the journey that we undertook together for over 24 years.”
Bhagchandka, the producer, said, “Making this movie has been my pilgrimage! I personally am a huge fan of Sachin and it was Sachin who was my inspiration when I used to play cricket. My company’s name, 200NOTOUT is also dedicated to his highest score in ODIs. Sachin is dearly loved by all Indians as well by cricket fans all around the world. He has been an idol for three generations of cricket fans and continues to inspire! This film will give his fans who have watched his cricketing feats on the television screen, the opportunity to see Sachin on the big movie screen!”
The trailer gave the eager audience a hint of what the film has in store for Sachin’s fans. With glimpses of key scenes from the film showing moments of cricketing glory, personal moments, unseen footage from the dressing room and much more, the film promises to be every Sachin fan’s dream come true.
Erskine, award-winning director of a number of international films on sports, took the audience through the making of the film. He said, “Directing the film was a wonderful experience! Coming from the UK, I knew that Sachin was a cricketing legend but even then, it was an eye-opener to see the adoration and respect that Sachin commands across the globe. Scripting his journey for the big screen involved interacting with Sachin, his family, his teammates as well as players from rival teams and others. Sachin is both gracious, and a perfectionist, and being able to make this film for the Indian people and many more across the globe was a true honour.”
Hindi
India’s telecom subscribers cross 1.32 billion in February 2026
Broadband base swells past 1.06 billion as Jio and Airtel tighten grip on the market.
MUMBAI: India’s telecom sector is ringing in steady growth once again adding millions of new connections every month while the race for broadband supremacy continues to heat up like a fiercely contested cricket match. According to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 1 April 2026, the total telephone subscriber base in the country reached 1,321.31 million at the end of February 2026. This marked a net addition of 7.31 million subscribers during the month, translating into a monthly growth rate of 0.56 per cent.
Wireless subscribers (including mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) stood at 1,273.31 million, registering a net addition of 6.97 million and a growth rate of 0.55 per cent. Within this, urban wireless connections grew to 730.75 million (growth 0.70 per cent), while rural wireless subscribers reached 542.56 million (growth 0.35 per cent).
Wireline subscribers, though much smaller in scale, showed slightly faster growth. The total wireline base increased to 47.99 million, with a net addition of 0.34 million and a monthly growth rate of 0.70 per cent. Urban areas continued to dominate wireline connections with a share of 89.41 per cent.
Overall tele-density in India improved to 92.66 per cent. Urban tele-density stood at 150.68 per cent, while rural tele-density edged up to 60.02 per cent.
The broadband subscriber base crossed a significant milestone, reaching 1,059.05 million at the end of February 2026. This reflected a healthy net addition of 6.33 million subscribers and a monthly growth rate of 0.60 per cent from January’s figure of 1,052.72 million.
Segment-wise, mobile wireless access continued to drive the majority of growth with 996.52 million subscribers. Fixed Wireless Access (including 5G FWA) added 16.51 million, while wired broadband stood at 46.02 million.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. maintained its commanding lead with 519.64 million broadband subscribers. Bharti Airtel Ltd. followed with 364.14 million, Vodafone Idea Ltd. with 129.36 million, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. with 28.70 million, and Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. with 2.38 million.
Together, these top five players command a massive 98.60 per cent share of the total broadband market.
In the wireless (mobile) segment, private operators continued to dominate with 92.59 per cent market share, leaving public sector undertakings (BSNL and MTNL) with just 7.41 per cent.
Out of the total 1,257.29 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,177.60 million were active on the peak Visitor Location Register (VLR) date, representing an impressive 93.66 per cent activity rate. Bharti Airtel led in this metric with 99.42 per cent of its subscribers active.
Meanwhile, 14.47 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in February, indicating healthy competition and customer churn across zones.
While urban areas still lead in absolute numbers, rural connectivity is slowly catching up. Rural wireless tele-density stood at 59.46 per cent, compared with the much higher urban figure of 142.32 per cent.
Fixed Wireless Access using 5G technology also showed promising traction, growing to 11.93 million subscribers. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are the primary players driving this segment.
The data paints a picture of a maturing yet still rapidly expanding telecom ecosystem. With total telephone subscribers now well past the 1.32 billion mark and broadband users comfortably above 1.06 billion, India continues to solidify its position as one of the world’s largest and most dynamic digital markets.
From bustling city streets to remote villages, more Indians are staying connected than ever before proving that when it comes to telecom, the country’s appetite for growth shows no signs of hanging up anytime soon.
