GECs
‘Kagaz Ki Kashtti’ on Sahara TV completes a century
MUMBAI: A century on air and counting. Kagaz Ki Kashtti (KKK), a daily soap which airs on Sahara TV, completed 100 episodes yesterday.
Shrishti Entertainment, promoted by Bhagyashree and her husband Himalay Dassani, held a bash to celebrate the occasion at Time and Again restaurant in Mumbai’s western suburb of Andheri.
Several invited guests from the industry, including the entire star cast of KKK, were present at the bash. “This is just a dress rehearsal for the party that we’re going to have for the celebration of KKK completing 200, 400 and 500 episodes in the future!” said an over-enthused Himalay.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Sahara TV’s commissioning editor Mahesh Patil said: “The audience should expect the unexpected now. There were two heroines and one hero till now but now it’s going to be vice-versa. There is a major twist in the story, which will keep the audiences glued to their television sets.”
Govind Namdeo, Rajeev Verma & Bhagyashree in KKK.
Executive producer Sushil Datta, who has also donned the director’s mantle in this serial says, “It is a double responsibility for me to be the producer as well as the director in the same serial. We are sure the serial can reach 500 episodes and more because the content is very fresh. The plus point is that we have opened many tracks and there is a lot of scope for plots and subplots.”
Himalay was ecstatic and happy with the way things were going. “Bandh mutthi laakh ki, khul jaaye to khaak ki” (till you don’t see it you don’t know its worth), he said. He said he was proud to be associated with a project where the effort that has been put in, shows.
“KKK is a very expensive and big project but we are also making a lot of money from it,” he said. He praised Sahara as a channel that was very easy to work with and did not interfere. “Shristi Entertainment has signed a contract with Sahara for 15 movies and all of them are women-oriented movies,” he informed. The shooting of the first movie is expected to begin in April/May and one movie will be launched every month.
Shristi has also developed two new pilots for Star and Zee. The serial which will be aired on Star is called Tanha Dil Tanha Safar and is a story of love and deceit. It is expected to be on air before the end of the year.
Bhagyashree, the protagonist and the creative director of KKK was just as pleased with the way things were progressing. Her role changes from that of a naive and simple girl to that of a strong and hardheaded woman who is suddenly saddled with a lot of responsibilities. “In a couple of years I am planning to get into direction because that is what I eventually want to do,” she said.
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.
