GECs
International Emmy Awards judging held in Mumbai
MUMBAI: Judging is not an easy task and especially when it is for the International Emmy Awards which are considered as the Oscars of the television world.
Indiantelevision.com founder Anil Wanvari once again – for the ninth year – hosted the semi-final judging round of The International Emmy Awards for the New York-based International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. A bevy of Indian television professionals – 12 of them from both on screen and off screen – descended on to the Raheja Classique Club, in the Andheri suburb of Mumbai on 23 August to decide which of the entries – from two categories, comedy and telenovellas – would get into the final round of the International Emmy Awards 2013. The International Emmys had a healthy response from television content creators and broadcasters world wide with more than 1000 entries pouring in, but the Mumbai leg of judging saw seven entries for comedy and four entries for telenovelas being judged.
The jury comprised of producers, directors, actors and writers. The ones judging comedy were: Anita Basu, Amit Aaryan, Harshad Joshi, Prabal Baruah and Divyanka Tripathi. On the other hand, Meghna Malik, Ashka Goradia, Shruti Ulfat, Rajan Shahi, Yash Patnaik and Sudhir Sharma were judging the telenovela category.
Founded in 1969, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences promotes excellence in international television programming. With more than 700 members from 50 companies in the media and entertainment space in 500 countries, it is the International Emmy Awards are the premier recognition for those involved in content creation in television, internet, and mobile.
“It is always a pleasure to have India as a part of our judging which is taking place in more than 20 countries worldwide this year,” says The International Emmy judging director Nathaniel Brendel. “And we are delighted to have indiantelevision.com and Anil Wanvari as our hosting partner, like we have done for so many years.”
“The International Emmys is a recognition producers and broadcasters and creators globally aspire for,” says Wanvari. “By hosting the judging we continue the very good relationship we have with the International Academy and we also become a part of a global initiative. This apart, it gives me and my company a good opportunity to give the Indian creative and production community exposure to the best in global content. We are grateful to the Academy.”
After the first round of shortlisting and filtration, six to seven entries for each category make it to the semi-final round. Following this, the entries are posted online for final jurors to decide on the final nominees and winners. The main two criteria of judging are content and execution. Indian industry professionals were more than happy with Wanvari’s initiative to host the judging and on being called to do International Emmy jury duty.
Says comedy juror Big Synergy director / producer Anita Basu: “This is my third year with the International Emmy, and it is a fantastic experience to see a lot of rich and good content and be exposed to a lot of innovative content outside India.
”Telenovela juror and Beyond Dreams Entertainment producer & creative director Yash Patnaik says being on the jury is a time for him to get away and chill on the best of international content. “Judging the International Emmys is a wonderful experience. This is my second year with Emmy and we get to see a lot of good content and you get to know what kind of effort they put in. Their style of working is very different from ours. The storytelling, cameras, scale is different.”
“It is always very good and educational to come and watch different programs and this time it is the international platform and watching good shows from all over the world. The telenovelas are brilliant and it’s a good experience and you get to see good work and good content of international quality,” says director and producer Rajan Shahi.
“It was a very different experience judging the telenovela category,” says respected actor Meghna Mallick. “The entries were of a very high order, and a couple of them, well they blew me away.”
What surprised the jurors was the absence of entries from India in the categories they were judging. Say Brendel: “The fact is Indians would not get not judge entries from India; they would be judged elsewhere. Going by the huge production base India has entries can only go up, I believe that Indian producers should compete in the International Emmys because it is the only way that their shows can be judged and be seen by the best producers, networks. These may then be interested in buying their shows.”
Agrees Patnaik says: “Yes of course Indian shows should compete, because there is a lot of original content in India. Our programs are quiet popular in the US and UK and we have Indian audience everywhere. It will be good refreshing change for them to see Indian content which are original and go beyond self-zone.”
Anita Basu chips in: “Production and technical wise we are much ahead and there is a lot of good content here. We are way ahead of the curve, and I think we need to make an effort to represent ourselves in a very big platform like the Emmy awards.”
“There are two reasons why we don’t see Indian entries in Emmys is a lack of information and I think Indian television industry is still evolving. And you never know maybe next year we will see entries from here as well. Indian content is improving every year so we definitely stand a chance to showcase out talent in the international platform,” adds Sharma.
The gala event is slated to take place on 25 November in New York. The next competition will start early this December and the deadline is till February 2014 to submit their shows.
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.
