iWorld
Jackie Thakkar joins Nikhil Kamath’s WTF as Lead Creative Producer
Mumbai: Jackie Thakkar is on the move again, and the timing is telling. As digital studios race to mint scalable intellectual property, the creative producer known for marrying brands and storytelling has joined WTF as lead creative producer, tasked with developing and executing new-age content IPs at Nikhil Kamath’s content studio.
Thakkar arrives with a résumé built for the attention economy. At JioHotstar, where he served as supervising creative producer for branded content, he led and created India’s Ultimate MotoStar, a Castrol Power1-backed reality show that ran on MTV and JioHotstar in 2024. He steered it from script to screen, working on anchor links, contestant diaries, edits and final delivery. The show drew strong reviews and added to his credentials as a builder of advertiser-funded entertainment.
His stint also included shaping title marketing and branded projects across marquee channels such as Colors TV, MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Campaigns with Amazon miniTV, Garnier and Castrol Power1 ranged from integrations to full web series. An early win included cracking a brief for Imperial Blue’s “Men Will Be Men” communication and helping craft a Holi campaign around Bigg Boss stars.
Before the broadcast scale came digital muscle. At Pocket Aces’ FilterCopy, first as senior creative associate and later as creative director, Thakkar led writers and directors while pushing new video IPs. His breakout script, When Your Boyfriend Puts You in Awkward Situations, became FilterCopy’s most viewed video of 2020 with more than 20 million views. Projects under his watch collectively crossed 100 million-plus views on YouTube.
Earlier, at Arré, he was part of the four-member team that grew the channel from 300,000 to 2 million subscribers in two years. The platform’s presence expanded nearly sevenfold. His If Gaitonde… spoof series won a 2019 Talentrack Award, and he wrote sketches featuring Vidya Balan, Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao and Kartik Aaryan, alongside more than 100 articles spanning pop culture, politics and relationships.
The backstory stretches from copywriting at Merry Men to assistant directing in Los Angeles after a filmmaking and creative-writing course at UCLA. Even his teenage years included film criticism for BookMyShow and campus pieces for AOL.
The through line is clear: branded stories that travel. As platforms blur the lines between advertising and entertainment, creators who can sell without seeming to sell are in demand.
New studio, bigger canvas. In the content arms race, Jackie Thakkar is betting that sharp ideas still cut through the noise. And in a market hooked on views, brands and virality, the next hit is always one script away.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
