GECs
Sony to embellish ‘Hanuman’ with VFX and stunts
MUMBAI: Taking a cue from the popularity of mythological shows on the small screen, Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) general entertainment channel Sony Entertainment Television is all set to roll out a show on Hanuman.
With an emphasis on the creative aspect, Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman will showcase Hanuman’s unique voyage in a manner, which is hitherto untapped. The channel, along with the production house Contiloe Productions, will be using state of the art visual effects and stunts to give the show a larger than life look and feel.
Contiloe Productions CEO Abhimanyu Singh said, “Contiloe has always experimented with multiple genres. This would be our first mythological show and we are pretty excited about it. The show will project the tale of the Hanuman ji from his childhood. We will be using state of the art visual effects and stunts to tell this great tale of Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman. I hope the audience enjoys the show as much as we have while creating it.”
The show will go on air from 4 May, 2015 and will air from Monday to Friday at 8 pm.
SET India senior vice president and marketing head Gaurav Seth said that Indian viewers would be treated with extensive visual effects and high technological developments. “In this series we will show a number of never seen before imagery of Hanuman and large scale of visual effects to make the end product look as allusive as possible. It will be a larger than life avatar of Hanuman and that makes the series interesting. We cannot change the concept as Hanuman is a mythological character but we added whatever we could to make it a worthy experience for viewers,” Seth said.
Sony has backed the launch of Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman with innovative marketing activities. “We have organised a drone that will fly Hanuman in 12 cities across the Hindi speaking territory. This is something that we are doing for the first time and is witnessing success so far. In the 12 cities, we take a busy location and fly Hanuman with the help of a drone and people gather to enjoy the sight. Besides that, we have built huge creatives of Hanuman in various cities. We also constructed a mobile friendly interactive website to connect with people and are also distributing the Hanuman Chalisa in different temples. Besides the normal marketing activities, these are the extra efforts that we put for Hanuman,” informs Seth.
With Leo Burnett as the creative agency on board, Sony ran the outdoor campaigns in 35 cities across the Hindi Speaking Market.
The entire show will be reverberating around courage, power and faith, which are few words synonymous with the mighty Hindu God, Hanuman.
Sony Entertainment Television senior executive vice president and business head Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “We, at Sony Entertainment Television, would like to bring a mix of various genres to our viewers. We feel that adding the mythology genre to our offering, completes the channel and we are happy to present the story of Lord Hanuman in a very unique format to our viewers. The show explores a mix of untold and popular mythology around Lord Hanuman, in a never seen before format, with mindblowing visuals and powerhouse performances. We are delighted to collaborate with Contiloe Productions once again, with whom we have tasted phenomenal success with the show Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap. We are confident that Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman will set a new benchmark on how mythological shows are presented on television.”
Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman will see Nirbhay Wadhwa as Lord Hanuman.
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.
