GECs
Disney Star reshuffles top brass; Gaurav Banerjee’s role expanded
Mumbai: Disney Star has reorganised its leadership team by expanding Gaurav Banerjee’s role and implementing various organisational changes. This occurred over a two-month period following the resignation of Kevin Vaz as head of Network Entertainment Channels.
According to an internal email from K Madhavan (country manager and president, Disney Star), Banerjee will now be in charge of Star Bharat, the Hindi and English Movies cluster, Kids & Infotainment, and the regional portfolio (East), which includes Star Jalsha and Star Kiran, in addition to leading Content Studio for TV and Disney+ Hotstar. Banerjee will keep Madhavan informed about his development.
Krishnan Kutty will now serve as the business and content head for the entire South & Marathi regional portfolio, which includes Star Suvarna, Star Maa, Asianet, Star Vijay, Star Pravah, and D+ H Regional Specials for these markets. He shall report to Madhavan, too.
Sumanta Bose will continue to lead content for Star Plus, Star Jalsha, and Disney+ Hotstar Hindi Specials, reporting to Banerjee with an additional line of reporting to Sajith Sivanandan, who is the head of Disney+ Hotstar. He will also continue to serve as the business head for Star Plus and Star Utsav, reporting directly to Madhavan.
Alok Jain, who was in charge of Star Maa, Star Jalsha, Star Kiran, and Star Suvarna, has decided to call it a day.
Mani Rangarajan will also assume full responsibility for these tasks for the network in addition to managing technology and operations for the Disney cluster. As a result, Gajendra Tijare, who is the head of broadcast technology & operations, and Vivek Dhaimade, head of traffic & presentation, will report to him.
In addition to her current position as head of creative communications, Minakshi Achan will also be in charge of social listening. She will receive reports from Disney Star executive director Venke Sharma.
All alterations will be effective immediately.
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.
