GECs
Sony creative head Saurabh Vanzara quits
MUMBAI: It’s time for some goodbyes at Sony. Creative head Saurabh M Vanzara has called it quits. He put in his papers about a week ago and is currently on a holiday, while serving his notice period.
Vanzara has been with Sony for over seven and half years. His career credits include Heena, Saaya, Hum Sab Ek Hai, and Devi. He was also on of the key members to get Sony’s much talked about show Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin on board.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com Vanzara offered, “I needed to move on. I had been working as a director before Sony came along. I will now go back to directing. I am already working on couple of scripts and am in talks with a few people from the industry.”
Vanzara joined Sony in August 1996 as a creative head. He was in charge of developing new shows and monitoring on-air shows like Heena, Saaya, Hum Sab Ek Hai, Aahat and Bhanwar till July 2000.
“I would say that 2000-2001 was by and large the most memorable and challenging period during my stint at Sony. It was the time when Hum Sab Ek Hai, Saaya and it’s likes were launched. But since the past one and half years, one feels that there hasn’t been much freedom to do anything” he reminisced.
One of the key person, who handled projects like Jassi… right from the conceptual stages till January 2004, Vanzara has been hands on with many projects like Devi till recently. “In the past four five months the channel has undergone quite a few changes. And different looks means different outlook, so I thought I needed to change,” he says.
Vanzara holds a Diploma in Cinema (Film direction specialisation) from FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) Pune. During his stint as a director, he produced and directed a short film With Little Rhyme And No Reason, which won critical acclaim at 13 international film festivals, including Oberhaussen Film Festival, Germany. He has also worked on two Hindi films and one Canadian film as an assistant director.
From July 2000 to October 2001 he was appointed as creative head feature film production with SET Pictures, a subsidiary of SET India. Later in November 2000, he moved back to television as the creative head and has been holding the same portfolio ever since.
At SET, he has also directed various in-house projects like short fiction films, multi camera coverages of live events and studio-based shows, documentaries and various stand-alone programmes.
GECs
Z launches ‘Dilfluencer Moments’ to boost brand engagement across screens
New omnichannel format blends TV characters, storytelling and digital reach to boost engagement and affinity
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (‘Z’) has unveiled ‘Dilfluencer Moments’, a new omnichannel media format designed to help brands cut through the clutter and turn audience attention into brand love.
With media access increasingly democratized, visibility alone no longer drives results. Shrinking attention spans and rising content noise have made memorability, emotional connection and action the real currency. Dilfluencer Moments addresses this by embedding brands into character-led, culturally resonant storytelling that travels seamlessly from TV to digital, social and creator ecosystems.
The format debuted with the “TumHoLovely” campaign on National Girl Child Day. Anchored in Hindi and Marathi shows, the campaign’s narrative extended organically across digital platforms, amplified by creators and community participation. A brand film featuring Sanya Malhotra further showcased how TV-originated cultural cues can spark broad engagement and virality. Within 24 hours, the campaign racked up 35 million total impressions, 20 million digital views, 2.5 million engagements and over 1,000 comments.
Laxmi Shetty, head – advertisement revenue, broadcast & digital, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said, “As consumers turn away from interruption-led communication, advertisers need moments that feel culturally earned and emotionally authentic. Dilfluencer Moments delivers reach at scale through character-first content systems that connect with audiences personally, transforming storytelling into brand love.”
Kartik Mahadev, chief marketing officer, ‘Z’ & Zee 5, added: “Access alone is no longer an advantage; affinity is. Affinity comes from storytelling, familiar characters and moments that stay with audiences across screens. Dilfluencer Moments lets brands participate meaningfully in moments audiences already love, travelling organically across linear, digital and social platforms at scale.”
By anchoring campaigns in high-trust television moments and extending them into digital and social ecosystems, Dilfluencer Moments enables brands to generate organic engagement, amplify virality and convert attention into long-term emotional equity.
With its national scale, deep emotional storytelling and character-first approach, Z is offering marketers a powerful new way to build affinity, cut through clutter and create culturally resonant brand moments that stick.
