Film Production
Percept signs RGV for his international movie ‘Within’
MUMBAI: Percept Picture Company (PPC) has plans of taking Indian cinema to a global platform and as a part of this initiative, the company has entered a long-term business relationship with director Ram Gopal Varma.
Varma is due to make his international directorial debut with the movie titled – Within.
This is PPC’s second international venture after Tree of Life, which is produced by Los Angeles based Donald Rosenfeld and directed by Terrence Malick.
Tree of Life stars Colin Farrell and is currently on the floors. This film is being produced in collaboration with Sahara One Motion Pictures with PPC being the executive producer.
An official communiqué informs that a vast repertoire of films and collaborations are also in the pipeline.
Percept Holdings joint managing director Shailendra Singh said, “We have timely identified universality of Indian cinema and its extensions. Indian talent can add tremendous value to international projects and vice-versa. Our vision combined with our high value network gives us an edge in recognising opportunities and porting resources globally within the entertainment space.”
Varma added, “I truly look forward to teaming up with the incredible enthusiasm and foresight that Shailendra Singh at Percept Picture Company has. I am sure that these ventures, which are primarily spearheaded by him will result in a highly rewarding experience for all concerned.”
The other film that Varma and PPC will be working on together is the former’s long delayed international project, Ek. Starring some big Bollywood names, Ek costs $20 million.
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.
