GECs
Sahara One ignites a societal debate with its new series
MUMBAI: Sociologists wonder why today joint families across India are giving way to nuclear families. There are many reasons but the primary difference is in the expectations that mother-in laws and their daughter-in-laws have from each other. And here is where Sahara One is looking to score with its brand new show Aakhir Bahu Bhi Toh Beti Hee Hai set to air from 30 September at 9:00 pm.
This story is set in Gorakhpur, up and revolves around a typical conservative family where the mother-in-law Naulakha Devi (Prachee Pathak) is a very strict and a very dominating woman who is ritualistic to the core. She sees her bahus in a very orthodox light. She believes that the bahus of the house should be ruled with an iron hand and any change will break the entire house.
On the contrary, the main protagonist Sia (Payal Rajput) is a young, vibrant, bubbly and extrovert. She is a today’s girl representing the young women, fearless and with self-respect. She is intelligent, confident with an opinion of her own and stand up for what is right. She firmly believes that her sasural is not going to be any different from her maayka.
Sahara One media and entertainment programming head Sharad Raj said, “With changing times, social and family dynamics also need to change and evolve, and this is what we intend addressing in our forthcoming show. The evolving young women of our country have a question in their minds, that if a girl leaves her family, adopts her husband’s family as her own family and delivers all the duties expected of her, then why can’t her in-laws, more specifically her mother-in-law treat her as her daughter? Why does she have to be a “typical” daughter-in- law distanced, restricted and bit removed from the rest of the family, when she has the right upbringing, right “sanskaars”? The series attempts to address this question which women of today are asking…it is an emotional aspiration of every bahu today and it is time that this debate should come out in the open.”
Impact Tele Network producer Bharat Srivastava, who debuts with his first show on Indian television said, “Aakhir Bahu Bhi Toh Beti Hee Hai is a saga of different shades attached to this most celebrated tradition of Indian wedding where a girl transforms from innocence to maturity, from carefree life to a role of responsibility and from a girl to a woman. In the process, the girl sacrifices a lot but the same is not taken by the society in the right spirit. Her biggest challenge then becomes to make the new family fill the gaps of the old one. Her mother-in-law undoubtedly becomes the centre point, especially in a joint family. Our story revolves around these two characters as how the interesting unfolding of incidents bonds these two strangers so strongly that the daughter-in-law is accepted as a daughter and mother-in-law as a mother.”
Aakhir Bahu Bhi Toh Beti Hee Hai is a story of a mother-in-law, Naulakha Devi and her daughter-in-law, Sia and the conflict between them when two different people with different thinking meet. The show captures evolving relationships between mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws and the eternal concept of how bahus and betis are treated differently in our society. The show attempts to add muscle to its socialistic storyline with versatile actors like Payal Rajput, Prachee Pathak, Seema Pandey, Aryan Pandit and Paritosh Sand.
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
