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Rakesh Sharma’s film wins accolades at Berlin film fest
MUMBAI: After being ‘miffed’ in India, film maker Rakesh Sharma’s feature-length documentary on the Gujarat riots Final Soultions has won two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival recently.
The first award – the Wolfgang Staudte award – which is presented in memory of the noted German film director Wolfgang Staudte carries a cash prize of 10,000 Euros. Final Solution is the first Indian film to win this award which was instituted in 1990 at the Berlin International film festival.
The international jury comprised director-actor-author Catherine Breillat from France, Zanzibar International film festival director Imruh Bakari and German film maker Thomas Arslan.
Said the jury in its citation, “An epic documentary focussing on a culture of hatred and indifference. The directness, clarity and accuracy of the film enables the viewer to both reflect on the universality of the subject matter and relate this to his or her own human attitudes. The film-maker has chosen a documentary form that completely shuns the use of melodramatic effects.”
The second award for the film is the Special Jury Award by the NETPAC jury comprising Garin Nugroho (Indonesia), Dorothea Holloway (Germany) and Fang Yu (China). The jury said, “The award goes to Final Solution for its clarification of issues that spawned hate and violence between Hindus and Moslems in Gujarat, its analysis of propaganda mechanisms for political purposes, and its measured voice to seek a final solution to the conflict.”
Five Indian films were invited to the festival in the International Forum of new cinema section of the Berlinale. These included Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi by Sudhir Mishra, Maqbool by Vishal Bhardwaj, Kal Ho Na Ho by Nikhil Advani, Hava Aaney De by Partho Sengupta and Final Solution by Rakesh Sharma.
Final Solution was rejected by the recently concluded Mumbai International film festival and was screened at Vikalp: Films for Freedom, a parallel festival organised by the Campaign Againt Censorship. Rakesh Sharma who has been on the jury of the Indian Telly Awards for two consecutive year, has been an active member of the campaign since its inception in July-August 2003.
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Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
