Hindi
Indian and American business houses need to rise above minor disagreements
NEW DELHI: ‘The Girl Rising Project,’ an innovative partnership between the industry and Hollywood to work on empowerment of women and education of the girl child, has been presented the Social Citizenship award at the 15th edition of the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum at Tampa Bay in Florida.
Infosys chairman N R Narayanmurthy has been honoured for lifetime achievement and Bharat Desai, chairman of Syntel – the American Information Technology major and the richest Indian American in United States – was feted for Business Achievement at the function.
FICCI also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tampa Bay Trade & Protocol Council to enhance the business connectivity with the region. Over 30 per cent of the merchandise trade between United States and India is routed through the Port of Tampa. The region can become significantly important for India not only as an access point for Southern United States but also can act as a gateway for Latin America.
The two-day business meet was held on 24 and 25 April to coincide with the Indian International Film Academy awards weekend. Political and business luminaries of Florida were present at the event on US-India Partnership: A Catalyst of Economic Growth.
The film and entertainment industry in India was represented by media personalities like Shabana Azmi, Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, and Rakesh Omprakash Mehra.
FICCI vice-president Harshavardhan Neotia who led a 20 member CEO’s delegation to Tampa Florida, urged business leaders from both sides to look at opportunities beyond infrastructure and IT, driven by genuine interest in each other’s economy. In the backdrop of the Indian elections and a new Indian government by June, there is a keen anticipation to take forward the Indo-US strategic partnership, which seems to be somehow gone to a zone of discomfort, he stated.
The Florida and Tampa Bay politicos – Mayor Bob Buckhorn and commissioner Al Higginbotham – and Florida attorney general Pam Bondi echoed similar sentiments.
Diane Farrell, the acting president of USIBC, was quick to list out various opportunities that India and US can and are exploring. India’s CG Atlanta Ajit Kumar specifically emphasised that the India US friendship should not be affected by small disagreements.
The Global Leadership Award is one of the highlights of the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum and is conferred on individuals or organisations that have championed success stories and made a difference to business or society across the world.
The business event discussed most of the compelling issues in the US-India Commerce, which include issues related to energy partnership and resource efficiency, collaboration in media & entertainment, life sciences, education and skills, and also areas of discomfort as movement of skilled labour which ails the Indian IT industry.
FICCI secretary general A Didar Singh said both Indian and American industry needs to look beyond the temporary irritants and continue to gain from each other’s strengths through business to business and people to people connects. He said that we now need to look beyond traditional cooperation in infrastructure and IT and highlighted three more sectors such as defence, skills development and higher education and energy, going forward.
Others who spoke included Narayanmurthy, TERI chairman R K Pachauri, , L&T Infotech CEO Mukesh Aghi, University of Hosuton president Renu Khator, University of South Florida president Judy Genschaft and many more.
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
