iWorld
Netflix India ropes in Aashish Singh as director, original film
MUMBAI: Streaming giant Netflix continues to keep its foot on the pedal when it comes to arming its India team with some serious talent. The latest high-profile addition to the streamer’s stable is Aashish Singh, who has been roped in as director, original film. "We can confirm that Aashish Singh has joined Netflix as Director, Original Film," the company told Indiantelevision.com.
The arrival of Aashish seems to be in line with Netflix’s ambitious Original film play in India. The media veteran was CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures in his last gig, where he had joined in September 2018. Prior to that, he spent over 15 years with Yash Raj Films, occupying the position of vice president, production.
Netflix has announced 22 original films in India, with nine out of those already streaming on the service. Serious Men, Bulbul, Upstarts, Cobalt Blue, Ghost Stories, Class of '83, Mrs. Serial Killer, Guilty, Yeh Ballet, House Arrest, Kaali Khuhi, Maska and Freedom are the next big Indian Original films that are slated to be launched soon.
Aashish and Srishti Behl Arya (director, original film), both of whom report to Los Angeles, will play key role in helping the company accomplish its vision as it continues to be the only streaming service investing in original films in India.
As a percentage of overall time spent on Netflix, film viewing in India is the highest in any country. 70 per cent Netflix members in India watch at least one film a week. The number of films watched per month/per member has grown 50 per cent since last year.
In a bid to add further value to its content proposition, Netflix is creating mainstream original series and movies in India apart from adding top quality, big budget licensed content. In an effort to add Indian subscribers, the Reed Hastings-led company is delivering an increasingly high volume of films to position Netflix the destination for finest films.
Having identified India as a key growth market, the company is investing significantly in Indian films and talent. Going forward, this focus is only bound to get more intense.
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.
