Film Production
Jio Studios wraps ‘Paan Parda Zarda’, promises to spice up streaming wars
MUMBAI: If you thought digital dramas were starting to taste bland, Jio Studios is here to shove a mouthful of Paan Parda Zarda down your streaming queue. Imagine mixing action, drama, and intrigue, sprinkling it with gritty central Indian flavours, and serving it hot with an ensemble cast that’s spicier than your grandma’s masala chai. Hungry yet?
Jio Studios, alongside Reliance Entertainment and Dreamers and Doers Co., has officially wrapped filming its ambitious new web series, Paan Parda Zarda. And, boy, does this sound like a blockbuster recipe.
Starring an array of talent including Mona Singh, Tanvi Azmi, Tanya Maniktala, Priyanshu Painyuli, Sushant Singh, Rajesh Tailang, and Manu Rishi, this series isn’t just packed—it’s stuffed to the gills with acting chops. Set against the vivid and raw backdrop of central India, the series promises to be a high-voltage narrative filled with compelling characters and edge-of-the-seat drama.
Directing the chaos (and hopefully keeping actors in line) are industry veterans Gurmmeet Singh, famed for gritty dramas like Mirzapur and Inside Edge, and Shilpi Dasgupta. Supporting this powerful duo are filmmakers Mrighdeep Singh Lamba (Fukrey franchise) and Suparn S Varma (Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hain, Family Man, Rana Naidu). The writing team is equally stacked with talent, featuring the Dalal brothers, Hussain and Abbas (Bambai Meri Jaan, Farzi, Brahmastra), alongside Radhika Anand and Vibha Singh.
“With its grand scale, gripping screenplay, and a stellar team at its helm, Paan Parda Zarda is poised to be a game-changer in the digital entertainment space,” says Jio Studios. No biggie, just casually promising a digital spectacle.
Produced by Jyoti Deshpande and Namit Sharma, Paan Parda Zarda is readying itself to invade screens globally. And let’s be honest—who doesn’t love a good cinematic takeover?
This one promises to leave viewers more hooked than the cliffhanger at the end of your last binge-session.
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
