News Broadcasting
Kolkata HC to hear ‘Karishma’ case on 13 June
MUMBAI: Friday the 13th. A lot riding on that date for Subrata Roy’s Sahara TV because that is when the copywrite infringement case brought against its blockbuster soap Karishma – The Miracles of Destiny comes up for hearing.
The Kolkata High Court, which was to have heard the petition regarding Barbara Taylor Bradford’s contention that Karishma is based on her novel A Woman of Substance yesterday, has postponed the hearing to 13 June, informed sources say.
After the first episode of the series aired on 12 May, Bradford moved the Supreme Court and stayed further telecast. Sahara got the case shifted to the Kolkata High Court, where the matter has been sub judice till date.
A massive promotional campaign that had been put into place for Karishma, comprising heavy outdoor presence, including painted local trains in Mumbai, is now languishing for want of a launch date for the ‘biggest television series ever’. Sources close to the show say shooting has been put on hold for the last few weeks.
The delay has reportedly also put a spanner in the works of another big show Hamari Bahu Malini Iyer, featuring ’80s superstar Sridevi, that was to debut on Sahara by mid to late June. Hamari Bahu… was to have tied in loyal viewership wooed by Karishma and helped Sahara Manoranjan to rise in the popularity stakes in a post-CAS scenario.
One new show that will launch as per earlier schedules is a Asha Parekh family drama Kuch Pal Saath Tumhara, that will go on air from end June or early July. A Saira Banu production Kisse Apna Kahein has gone on air from 26 May at 10 pm.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
