GECs
Shemaroo fortifies its leadership team with two more appointments
Mumbai: Shemaroo, India’s media and entertainment powerhouse, has announced the appointment of two more key executives to further strengthen its leadership team. Arpit Mankar has been appointed as head – non-Bollywood category and Abhishek Joshi will be head of ShemarooMe, the OTT platform of Shemaroo.
As head of Non-Bollywood Category, Mankar will be responsible for developing an overarching content strategy for various regions in India and abroad. Mankar comes with over 20 years of experience in the media & entertainment industry, having worked in leadership roles at Star India Pvt. Ltd., Sony – AXN Networks and Reliance group. In his last stint at Disney-Star, he served in key positions including head of programming strategy for Star Plus and general manager – Star Bharat, responsible for delivering viewership and profitability targets for the Hindi GEC. In this new role, he will be reporting to Shemaroo COO Arghya Chakravarty, and will be a part of the executive committee.
Joshi will be overseeing the strategy, planning and operations of the platform. He will be responsible for driving revenue, subscriber acquisition and will be leading a team of cross-functional executives to maximize growth. In his last role, Joshi was the business head of SVOD & head of business partnerships at MX Player. Through his career spanning more than two decades he has worked with leading M&E players like Sony Pictures Networks India, Zenga Media Pvt. Ltd. (ZengaTV), Reliance Big Pictures, Sony Liv & ABP Group. He will be reporting to digital business COO Zubin Dubash.
Chakravarty said, “We are excited to onboard Abhishek and Arpit in our leadership team at Shemaroo. Their proven track record and diverse skill sets will be invaluable assets as we continue to drive growth and innovation across various B2C businesses. I extend my heartiest congratulations and wish them great success in their new roles.”
Shemaroo is committed to fostering a culture of innovation and excellence, and these new seasoned industry leaders are a testament to that commitment. The company is excited to onboard Mankar and Joshi and watch them thrive in their career at Shemaroo.
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.
