iWorld
MX Player licenses its original series Queen to Zeel
MUMBAI: Extending its brand philosophy of Everytainment to all screens, MX Player, India’s leading streaming platform, has signed an exclusive deal with ZEEL, bringing one of their most loved MX Original Series ‘Queen’ to prime time television. The 11-episodic drama is now available across 3 languages – Hindi (Zee TV), Telugu (Zee Telugu) and Tamil (Zee Tamil).
Over the years, OTT has served as a platform for Catch Up TV content but with this deal, a new dimension has been created, with a leading regional web series airing on primetime Indian television. Queen was launched on Zee Telugu on 18th May, Mon-Fri 20:00-20:30 and is airing in Hindi on Zee TV every Saturday and Sunday night 22:30-23:30.
Elaborating on the same, MX Player content acquisition and syndication head Mansi Shrivastav said, “We believe in great stories, that appeal to viewers across geographies, languages and age groups. Viewers across the board are hungry for compelling content. We are always looking to push the boundaries to get our content to new audiences; we’re both delighted and excited to have partnered with Zee to bring Queen to massive television audiences. The success that Queen has met, with its opening on Zee Telugu only proves that great stories also cut across mediums be it OTT or linear television. MX has a robust pipeline of originals and we are looking forward to bringing more such stories that travel beyond the OTT universe & into the broadcast world via such linear partnerships, in India and across the world.
Zee TV business head Aparna Bhosle concluded saying, “In our endeavor of keeping audiences engaged with original content during lockdown, we are happy to introduce the finite series – ‘Queen’ as it beautifully chronicles the extraordinary journey of an ordinary girl whose determined vision and resilience helped her bounce back from life's various curveballs and emerge as not just a state topper, a film actress but make an indelible mark in the patriarchal world of politics. It is a tale worth telling in the current context as it holds the potential to inspire millions."
Directed by the National Award winner Gautham Vasudev Menon and Prasath Murugesan, Queen brings to life the story of Shakthi Sheshadri. Reluctant actress, reluctant politician and a non-conformist until the very end – She was destiny’s child who rose from the ashes like a phoenix to rule the state as its youngest female chief minister. Inspired by true events, the series is headlined by Ramya Krishnan who portrays the role of Shakthi. Additionally, it also stars Anikha Surendran, Anjana Jayaprakash and Indrajith Sukumaran in key roles amongst others.
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.
