iWorld
Facebook appoints Umang Bedi as managing director India
MUMBAI: Facebook has appointed Umang Bedi as Managing Director, India, where he will lead in building and maintaining strategic relationships with top clients and regional agencies in the country. He will take over from Kirthiga Reddy, who will be returning to United States to take on a new role at the company’s headquarters at Menlo Park.
“I am thrilled to join Facebook and am looking forward to working with the talented teams in India, to help brands and agencies grow their business on our platform. For me it’s a promising opportunity to participate in India’s digital growth, and I can’t think of a better place to be at.” said Bedi on her new appointment.
Umang comes to Facebook with close to two decades of leadership experience covering sales, marketing and partnerships where he successfully built teams and grew businesses for multinational companies. Prior to joining Facebook, Umang was the Managing Director of the South Asia region at Adobe. He was responsible for growing their business in India and helping India grow to amongst the leading markets for Adobe in the APAC and global regions.
Umang is an engineering graduate from University of Pune, an alumni of Harvard Business School and the recipient of the prestigious ‘40 Under Forty: India’s Hottest Business Leaders Award 2014’ given by The Economic Times and Spencer Stuart in 2014.
On the other hand, Kirthiga Reddy, who was the face of Facebook in India, is set to join the Global Accounts team at Menlo Park, CA where she will manage a set of global brands and also lead the emerging markets efforts globally for the Global Accounts team, which manages Facebook’s relationships with the world’s largest global advertisers.
“After six years in India building our operations and business, it’s hard to leave a team I now call family. The good news is that we will continue to work together. As I look ahead, I am excited about how well positioned our business is, to grow from strength to strength with Umang’s leadership, and with my next opportunity to shape and drive our emerging markets strategy across some of the world’s biggest brands,” Reddy shared.
Umang will officially start at Facebook in July 2016. Kirthiga will start her new role in August 2016.
“India is known for its great talent pool and we are really pleased to have Umang Bedi, a proven business executive to lead our business in India. I also want to wish Kirthiga the very best in her new global role. Kirthiga has played a huge and key role in building our India business from scratch, and I know she will continue to deliver the same impact in the US,” said Facebook Asia Pacific VP Dan Neary.
He further added, “Facebook is where people and businesses connect on mobile and with close to 150 million monthly active people in India, we see significant opportunities to help Indian business – large and small – deliver against their business objectives in the mobile world.”
Facebook works with more than 85% of the top 100 advertisers in India identified by Kantar. 100% of those advertisers use video within their Facebook campaigns in India.
iWorld
Prime Video drops trailer for Lukkhe, a rap crime drama starring KING in his acting debut
Eight episodes of revenge, redemption and hard-hitting rap arrive on the streaming platform on 8th May
MUMBAI: Prime Video has unveiled the trailer for Lukkhe, an eight-episode musical action drama built around the world of rap, crime and bruised relationships — and it has done so in suitably loud fashion, launching it at a live concert in Mumbai featuring electrifying performances by KING, Amira Gill, Akshath, Raashii Khanna, Ruaa Kayy and RUTVXK. As if that were not enough, the show’s music album was also dropped at the event, in collaboration with exclusive music streaming partner Amazon Music and music label Warner Music India.
The series is directed by Himank Gaur and produced by Vipul D. Shah and Rajesh Bahl under the banners of Optimystix Entertainment and White Guerrilla LLP. It is created and executive produced by Agrim Joshi and Debojit Das Purkayastha.
The cast is the talking point. KING, the acclaimed Indian rapper and songwriter, makes his acting debut as MC Badnaam, a performer consumed by rivalry and hunger for recognition. Raashii Khanna, returning to Prime Video after Farzi, plays Gurbani. Palak Tiwari, making her streaming debut, plays Sanober. Lakshvir Singh Saran plays Lucky. The ensemble also includes Nakul Roshan Sahdev, Kritika Bharadwaj, Shivankit Parihar, Yograj Singh and Ayesha Raza Mishra in pivotal roles.
The trailer plants its flag squarely in the tension between MC Badnaam and his rival MC OG, played by Parihar, while threading in the love story between Lucky and Sanober. The soundtrack, which spans hard-hitting rap anthems to emotionally charged melodies, is as much a character in the show as any of its leads.
Gaur was candid about what drew him to the project. “Lukkhe gave me a chance to dive into a world that’s loud, emotional, and constantly on edge,” he said. “What stayed with me was how every character is chasing something personal, and music becomes their way of expressing it. Working with this cast, especially KING in his debut, along with Raashii, Lakshvir, and Palak, was incredibly rewarding because they brought honesty that elevated every moment.”
Khanna reflected on her character with evident relish. “Playing Gurbani in Lukkhe was a really intense and fulfilling experience,” she said. “What I found most interesting was how her strength comes from something deeply personal, which shapes every decision she makes. It was about finding that balance between vulnerability and grit.”
KING, stepping in front of the camera for the first time, was characteristically direct. “Stepping into Lukkhe as MC Badnaam has been a defining moment for me,” he said. “What drew me in was how real his hunger and need to be heard felt. It’s something I connect with as an artist. Bringing music into his journey made the experience even more personal.”
Tiwari described the role as a first on multiple fronts. “It was my first time working with Prime Video, and the whole experience felt new and creatively satisfying,” she said. “Being part of a story that has both intense and heartfelt moments, along with a team that brought so much honesty to it, made this journey truly memorable.”
Saran, for his part, zeroed in on what made Lucky tick. “Lucky is someone who’s trying to move forward while still carrying the weight of his past, and that push-pull made him really interesting to explore,” he said. “There’s a sincerity to his journey that I hope people connect with.”
Lukkhe premieres on Prime Video in Hindi on 8th May, across India and in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. In a streaming landscape drowning in crime dramas, this one is betting that putting a rapper at its centre – and meaning it – is enough to cut through the noise. On the evidence of the trailer, it might just be right.
