Fiction
Endemol Shine India to create series on Damyanti Biswas’ bestselling novel
MUMBAI: Endemol Shine India has optioned Damyanti Biswas’s bestselling Indian crime novel "You Beneath Your Skin" to develop as a multipart drama series, with all proceeds from this option going towards social enterprises in the author’s native New Delhi.
Dramatic rights were acquired by Endemol Shine India from agent Ed Wilson at Johnson & Alcock Ltd, working with Sidharth Jain at Mumbai-based agency The Story Ink.
You Beneath Your Skin was published by Simon & Schuster India in September 2019 and has since gained considerable acclaim notching up multiple Amazon #1 bestseller categories. Set in contemporary New Delhi, the multi-strand narrative concerns an Indian American single mother and her autistic teenage son, whose comfortable middle-class lives are turned upside down by a police investigation; a crime spree of slum women found stuffed in trash bags, faces and bodies disfigured by acid. Although a work of fiction, it tackles many endemic problems in India: violence against women, slum poverty, and police corruption.
Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege said, “You Beneath your Skin is a crime thriller, layered with issues of poverty, misogyny and corruption. Taking a leaf out of the vast legacy of phenomenal women writers in the crime thriller genre – Damyanti’s book brings a sensitivity to an otherwise violent genre. The protagonist is fascinating as she is a single mother and traversing an unorthodox life through the rather orthodox setting of Delhi. Gripping, relevant and hard-hitting, this is a story populated with many characters, multiple fractured relationships, small intimate moments and effective back stories. This is a thriller with a family at the center of the plot. These are the stories that Endemol Shine India wants to bring to the fore.”
“Thanks to Ed Wilson and Sidharth Jain, You Beneath Your Skin has been optioned by a wonderful brand like Endemol Shine India. I’m pleased that Jatin and Anjali’s journey is headed for screens, highlighting voices against poverty and acid violence," said Biswas.
Biswas is a writer and activist, now based in Singapore. All proceeds from the book go towards her chosen causes: the educational charity Project WHY, and the Chhaanv foundation, which helps acid attack survivors. The charity sector in India has been hard hit by Covid2019, which has severely affected underprivileged communities.
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Fiction
Banijay merges with All3Media in $6.65 billion deal
Marco Bassetti will lead the combined company as CEO
PARIS: Six years after acquiring Endemol Shine at the height of the pandemic, Banijay has struck again. The European production heavyweight is merging with All3Media in a deal that will create a television titan with $6.65 billion in revenue and redraw the contours of a fast-consolidating market.
The combined company will trade under the Banijay name and be owned 50 per cent each by Banijay Group and RedBird IMI, which acquired All3Media in 2024. The transaction is expected to close by autumn, subject to regulatory approvals.
Banijay Entertainment CEO Marco Bassetti, will take the top job at the enlarged group. All3Media CEO Jane Turton becomes deputy CEO. RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will serve as chairman.
The logic is scale. Broadcasters are commissioning less, streamers are tightening budgets and global buyers are fewer but bigger. Against that backdrop, heft matters. The merged entity will generate roughly $6.65 billion in revenues based on 2024 figures, giving it sharper elbows in rights negotiations and deeper pockets for franchise-building.
“Entrepreneurialism, ambition and creativity” remain core to Banijay’s DNA, Bassetti said, flagging plans to invest more heavily in new intellectual property, live events and emerging platforms. Turton struck a similarly bullish note, pointing to All3Media’s journey from a 2003 start-up to a global supplier of hit formats and high-end drama.
Between them, the two groups control a formidable slate. Banijay’s catalogue spans MasterChef, Big Brother, Survivor, Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders and Deal or No Deal. All3Media’s labels include Studio Lambert, producer of The Traitors and Squid Game: The Challenge; Two Brothers, behind The Tourist; and Neal Street, currently producing the forthcoming Beatles biopics directed by Sam Mendes for Sony.
The back catalogue is equally muscular. Banijay Rights holds some 220,000 hours, while All3Media International adds around 35,000 hours, forming one of the industry’s largest libraries.
Banijay, controlled by French entrepreneur Stéphane Courbit and listed in Amsterdam, counts more than 130 production companies across 25 territories. All3Media operates over 40 labels, with strong positions in the UK, US and Germany. The enlarged group will also lean into live entertainment, building on Banijay’s Balich Wonder Studio, which produced the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the Independents.
The deal marks a shift in tone. As recently as October, Bassetti suggested that mergers and acquisitions were not a priority. But the drumbeat of consolidation has grown louder. Mediawan has moved for Peter Chernin’s North Road. David Ellison’s Paramount has agreed to a $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros, with plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount plus. ITV has explored selling its media and entertainment arm to Comcast-owned Sky, though talks have reportedly slowed.
